Old McDonald Had a Farm

So remember when I mentioned that Hales came to visit me in SLO and was going to post about it on her blog? Well that slacker finally did, and here it is (just kidding about the slacker part!....a real slacker would just steal a post from her friend's blog so she wouldn't have to write about it herself....)!  The only thing I can find fault with is the fact that she left out the parts about the naked kid running around on the beach in Presidio and the fact that I thought it would be a great idea to go out in Union Square wearing 4 inch heels (San Fran = hilliest city in America.  Alaina = an idiot.  Operation "walk to Union Square" = epic fail and resulted in a cab ride back home).

I trust that "Part 2: Adventures in SLO" will be along shortly ;)

In other news, remember that secret mission that was a massive failure last Saturday?  Well, I'll give you a hint: I've been talking about it for a while and this has definitely been a dream long in the making.  A dream woven together from the fantasies of a little girl trapped in a 25 year old college professor's body.  A dream above all dreams (cue dramatic music)....

Allow your mind to wander, and picture the following scenario, if you will:

A majestic white, noble beast.  Tall, graceful, with strong legs and a heart of gold.  Bold.  Beautiful.  A new bond formed between noble steed and rider.  A lifelong partnership is born and is celebrated by galloping across hills of green!

Of course, I'm sure that your mind immediately pictured this:










(oh yeah, that's right!  This is intentional white space added to move the picture down lower so you can't scroll ahead and ruin the surprise for yourself! boo-yah!)

Meet Belle, my new gaited mule!!!!  That's right.  I finally got a big white ass :)

Now, while she's not quite the majestic, noble steed that you ride across rainbows on, I'm super stoked about her.  I've been looking for a gaited mule for quite a while now, and they are slim pickins out here on the west coast.  Then I found this girl....the result of a mammoth jack and a Spotted Saddle Horse mare!  She's over 16 hands tall, 6 years old, and not started under saddle....... let the adventure begin!

For right now, I'm still on crutches (turns out there was a fracture in my ankle after all....), so Belle will be a contribution to Cal Poly's colt starting class.  I think a little mule-wranglin' will be a good character building experience for these kids.

Ta ta for now,
Alaina (the owner of a gaited mule....finally!) :)