Cookie Monster and Ernie explain the Bernie Madoff scandal

Here's a funny video from Jimmy Kimmel, except for the very last part. Warning: This video contains violence against Cookie Monster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ8OjAB_e3g

Popcorn Sutton

Popcorn Sutton was a family member of my good friend L. This is an interesting story. I'm sure he is missed.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/03/18/moonshiner_kills_self.html

Don't try this with a large dog

A friend at the barn has a dog named Muffin, who likes to ride Teddy (the horse). That's Gary in the background - he's probably thankful that I don't own a dog.

Blooms

The trees are blooming here now, and they're gorgeous.

Sad loss

My heart goes out to Leah and her family today, who lost her dad over the weekend. He had been battling a bad heart.

Docs Sug

Duke has a strong pedigree. His sire (or dad) is a cutting horse named Docs Sug. Docs Sug's sire was a famous quarter horse named Doc Bar.

Here's a chart that shows Duke's pedigree starting with Docs Sug. If you click on the icon at the top of the page you can see a photo of that horse.

Big chicken

On weekends my friends and I like to ride horses to Poole's store, where we hitch the horses and eat lunch before riding home. A really big rooster has been hanging out in front of the store lately. Makes me crave fried chicken. The drumstick is my favorite part.

Happy birthday. Again.

Lately I've been getting confused about the dates of other people's birthdays. I haven't forgotten any birthdays - in fact, I've been over-gifting.

For example, one of my nieces had a birthday in January. I sent her a card with some cash (my standard niece birthday gift). When February rolled around, I sent her another card with cash. Luckily she's too young to realize that I accidentally sent her birthday gifts two months in a row. Either that or she's smart enough not to mention it.

Yesterday I wished my friend Leah a happy upcoming birthday - I thought her birthday is next week. She reminded me that her birthday is in September. Luckily, Amazon makes it easy to cancel purchases.

If you receive a birthday gift or card from me when it's not your birthday, know that in my mind it's your birthday. Eat some cake, maybe even blow out some candles. It won't mean that you're actually another year older. :-)

Duke

Here's a cute picture of Duke.

Spring

It feels like spring this weekend - in the 60's and sunny. Yesterday I rode Gary. We're working on building his confidence away from the herd. To start, I have been riding him in the pasture so that he's near the herd but he doesn't have another horse with him on the ride. Yesterday one of the members of the herd stood on top of the hill and watched us. He and Gary talked to each other during the ride. Gary tried to turn and go to the herd a few times, but he was otherwise cooperative. Gary gets more relaxed with each ride. We're making progress.