Sunrise over Patuxent

This picture is sunrise over the Patuxent River this morning. It was beautiful, but so dry the hounds were unable to do much. My streams are drying up again and I have to move broodmares to field with trough as their watering hole is a small muddy, muddy mess.  I received a unexpected  check yesterday from some property taxes and with small check in hand wondered..." Botox and looking good or new bridle for my gag bit which is about 20 years old! As I am at heart a horsewoman, and because I am doing Field Hunter Championships next week in Virginia ( and need to look good) the choice was a no contest - new bridle! My frown lines and  laugh lines are well-earned and tell the story of me.  So my tack will be new and I care more about that anyway! Off to play trivia with my son and daughter-in-law  tonight and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Fall is here

I have seen two "V's" of geese flying overhead this past weekend and this morning the first yellow leaves really can be seen in the treeline close to the house. Fall. The welcome coolness after summer's heat and humidity. We have started cubbing and had a terrific "view" yesterday. This fox was way ahead of hounds and stopped to stare back at us before darting into woods. Scenting must have been difficult because the hounds never really locked on, but they stayed on the line and twisted and circled in the corn with this wily fellow. The other whip had a couple of views as this fox just kept dodging thru the corn about 10 minutes ahead of hounds. We finally called off hounds when close to trailers after two hours and I am sure this fox just "stuck his tongue out at us" as he cruised past the last time.  It is cool enough now in the morning that I am staying under the covers and watching sunrise from window. Signed up for the Virginia Field Hunter Championship which takes place in about two weeks. Get to hunt with Warrenton, Fairfax, Orange County and Old Dominion! Yeah. Hope to see some friends in the hunt fields and I love riding in Virginia.

Marlborough Hunt Club book is done...

I have finished the book about Marlborough Hunt Club's first 75 years that I have been working on for almost a year. It was a really interesting, fun project to research the old Tally-Ho's ( our monthly newsletter) and old newspaper clippings etc., to recreate the timeline of our history. Then putting it into a historical event timeline also was the most interesting part. I walked the history of the Club through the events that shaped America over the past 75 years. We were hunting the day of Pearl Harbor and we cancelled hunting after the JFK assassination. It was just little facts that made the stories of our founders come to life. I know where they were when they recounted a good hunting story or a funny episode with friends in the hunt field. They may be gone but they are not forgotten when we can follow in the exact "hoof prints" as we do the same thing that they also loved doing every time we saddle up and cry Tally-Ho! It is a unique sport that has maintained its customs and clothing and way of life for hundreds of year. As I researched I kept coming across a book called "The Bolinvars". It was a story written in early 1900's about a foxhunting dynasty in New Jersey and Virginia. The places were familiar and the desire to follow hounds is as constant today as then. The thrilling chase at the end of that book is why I love fox chasing. The ties to the countryside and the bonds among friends were never better described. I hope I have managed to bring alive some of the history and stories of our earliest members in my book. It is being printed now and the response has been wonderful.

9-11

It is a day to remember the sacrifice that so many made to save fellow Americans. The firemen who rushed in to help at the towers, the friends that no doubt lost lives to stay and help their co-workers, the strangers that I am sure, stopped to comfort someone in that inferno. Remember the passengers who, realizing the pilot was a terrorist, risked everything to stop him. It is a day that exemplifies the very best of America- we will run to help and we will not tolerate hatred. We will fight back and we did. My husband knew the fellow who spent ten years meticulously hunting down every lead in the search for Bin Laden. Ten years he never stopped following every thread or whisper and he never wavered in his quiet determination to do the right thing and stop this man who hated America. We will never forget.

September morn

I had a wonderful visit with daughter, Sarah in LA. The new home is beautiful with big rooms, big backyard and lots of flowers and blooming trees. We made lemonade from her own lemon tree! Too short but great to see her and Kevin. Small earthquake when I was there just to remind me that it is LA and the one thing I worry about! Came back and moved right into the fall schedule of early, early cubbing. The only thing that makes it OK to get up at 4:30 am to go hunting is the fabulous sunrises over the marshy Patuxent River. Watching the morning mist lift over the river and the sun start to warm all the reeds, trees and fields is amazing. The leaves are turning and it is a patchwork of tweeds and soft yellows, the corn is brown. The world is truly awesome in its beauty and being on a horse at daybreak is my favorite place to be! Will made it down to Charlotte and is starting his career in the financial world. He was very happy to pass his last exam and he is now a licensed securities trader. Congratulations. Sam ran a 5K yesterday called the color run. It seems that at every 1 mile check people threw colored cornstarch at the runners. Pictures were hilarious and I am proud he is running. Not sure what the colors represent but there was a large turnout!