River Time...

This has been the busiest yet the most fun weekend that I've ever had. On Thursday and Friday I have cooking classes at Faullkner State College... on Thursdays I have Culinary sculpting and these are my marzipan sculptures...

 

And then on Friday's I have a European Cake class... this is the Yellow sponge cake with a mocha swiss buttercream...

 



So after I made that cake I made the 3 hour drive home and once I got home I was immediately thrown in to the "country life" again. Had to hook up the horse trailor, walked 2 miles to try to find my horse just to realize he was at the barn, and wash him and groom him up for the show Saturday night. We came home and hooked up the four wheeler trailor, gassed up the ranger, loaded the dog box, and loaded the ranger.
Alarm went off at 4:30 Saturday morning and the normal hunting routine went on... we finally caught one in the briar thicket of Water's clearcut (where we aren't supposed to be)....

Melissa :)

BUZZARD!! :)

Yea, we got stuck and got Buzzard to winch us out ;)

 

 

Saturday night I got the honor to be asked to carry the flag for out National Anthem and prayer.

Me and Leg's getting ready to carry the flag!

 

We finished the night with 2 first place ribbons and one second place... we lost to a MULE!! I didn't even mind losing to the mule because she was beautiful and I loved her! My best friend Tiffany showed too and she finished the night with a first, second, third, and a fourth place. So, we racked up some ribbons lol.

 

We got up Sunday and caught 2 hogs...

 

And then we went to the sandbar...

 



 



We left the sandbar that night close to 1am.
Monday I got up around 8am and got a rude awakening. Dad had loaded some of his bulls (that had escaped) into the horse trailor. For those of you who don't know, cows poop EVERY WHERE! Well, I had to wash the trailor out before it dried. Then we took the trailor back to the barn and unhooked it and then wormed all the dogs down there. Then I came home and wrapped some corn on the cob in some tinfoil with some butter and Tony's so we could put it on the grill at the sandbar. Loaded everything into the truck and set off to the river and we finally get home around 1am again. I had to get up at 6:30am and leave by 8 to make the three hour drive back to my condo and then go to a 5 hour math class starting at 2pm.
Needless to say, I went to bed at 9pm last night and did not get up until 8:30 this morning... That's the most I've slept in my entire life! Lol

I know that I have been updating a lot on one day, but Wednesdays are my only days off, so from now on I Will update on every Wednesday!

New View

So, today was supposed to be the start of my cooking classes. I was to have a bread baking class at 8am this morning. I got up and get ready and drove to campus. At 7:45 there were still only 4 cars in the entire parking lot and I began to get a little nervous. At 7:50 I decided that I would go inside and pick up the books that I had ordered and sent to the campus. No one was in the office. I had no idea where my class room was and I had forgotten my original schedule at the condo. So I went and printed a new one off and that's where the trouble begins... I noticed that all my classes had been changed and no where did it say I had a Wednesday class. So, I took it in the office with me when I went to pick up my books. She said oh well those classes had been dropped. There weren't enough people to make a class. She said your advisor should have contacted you. HE DIDN'T!
 So, I was also supposed to order uniforms today. They told me in the office that if I had any question to go see Chef Hurtubise who is my advisor. Went down to his office... not there. I just finally gave up and came back to the condo. I then proceeded to call the school and ask her about the uniforms, and she said that we would be fitted in class on Monday... called mom to tell her and she said Monday is a holiday, MEMORIAL DAY. Called back to the school she said let me transfer you to  the store and I said ok. She finally told me that they will be on campus on Tuesday.

Anyway, i'm back and have ordered all new books for the new classes they put me in which includes a sculpting class. And I've been watching the golfers attempt to get the balls in the holes and they are quite funny....

this is the view right outside my door on my "front porch"

busy, Busy, BUSY

ok, I know it has been a while since I last updated, and I understand that this post may be a little too long, but it has lots of pictures and I think it should be kinda interesting... lol

ok so the first weekend of hog hunting: we didn't get started until almost 12:30 PM, so it was already hot and the mosquitos were AWFUL!! Anyway, we struck a hog mid-way through the morning. About a 35 pound spotted pig. Pat's first catch on his own. He was so excited. Sorry, no picture for this one. However, we did get stuck for 3 hours! Got 2 rangers stuck, almost a 4-wheeler, and burnt up a winch motor trying to get out.

 

Well, later that day a man called and said that he wanted to buy all our hogs out of the pen, and this is what he got....

Ok, so second weekend on Saturday we caught 2... no interesting story for these...

That Sunday Bo and Travis caught one little piglet. No picture of that either.

 

Next  weekend, round 3... we caught three hogs about the same size as the last ones pictured. Had to clean one on the spot because the dogs messed him up pretty bad, one we got to bring out, and the last one the dogs actually ate in a THICK, THICK, THICK clear cut.



And Sunday we only caught one but it had a bigger size to it....

And Sunday at 2pm I officially moved to Gulf Shores to start my culinary classes. I registered on Monday and I really like the chefs... starting classes tomorrow... So my new weekend schedule will be, come home on Friday after my class ends at 2, hunt Saturday morning, show horses Saturday night, hunt Sunday morning, go to the sandbar Sunday night, and leave to come back at a quarter to 5 Monday morning so that I can be at my 8am class on time! Busy busy BUSY :)

A revelation....

Mosts of my posts consist of nothing much but pictures. However, this one is different... no pictures at all...

I've had a stressful last few week just prepping for finals which I've already done three of and have three more left to take next week. Not to mention, I'm "moving" in 2 weeks and hog hunting comes in tomorrow and all of our hunting spots are under water. I've been getting back in to the horse show world coming out with 3 first places and one second in a 5 week time period and a show in Frisco City tomorrow. So, tonight I took a night off. A night to just solely focus on me, my friends, and of course the boy friend lol. It was a good night.

So, tonight I came home around 9:30pm and find that dad is still up and is going out... Alone? NOT! Lol I am going with him. He's had a cow that has been sick now for a day or two... I'm not even sure how long. As we pulled up to the cow I looked at it and watched it as it struggled for life. My heart hurt for it, but after all it is just a cow. And then, I saw it... another cow that looked exactly the same as the other one... standing off in the background. I thought for a little while that it was all alone... But it wasn't... she was there with her friend... the dying one... We worked with the sick cow for almost an hour pushing and pulling, trying to get her up... when we had finally given up Dad went to the back of his truck to get another chain, and what would have normally been a skidish cow, walked up to her dying friend and nudged her, over and over. Just like a mother would when her child has fallen off a bike. Telling her to get up. It was like I could here her telling her friend to get up, give it one more shot, try harder. The cow never left her friend through the entire time. I finally asked dad where the rest of the cows were. He said that they were shut up on the other side. Apparently this one cow had fought to stay with her friend, and he had let her. The final decision was to put the animal out of it misery... the bff cow remained through that, too. She said her goodbyes as her friend was hauled off.

I rode beside dad silently thinking about things. My entire life I've heard the argument that animals do or they don't have souls. And you all have your own opinions, but I do know that animals feel and they hurt just like we do. You all may think that I am crazy and that's ok, because just like you I am entitled to my own opinion.

I wondered what the world would be like if humans cared as much as that cow did. If people never betrayed each other and never left their friends in their times of need... would the world be better if we were all cows???