Missouri Mule Days

I was in Missouri for Labor Day weekend for a bridal shower, and while I was there I found out that Missouri Mule Days was happening!! My family had mules when I was growing up, and I've been to a mule show in Maryland several times, so I was really excited to go to this one. Unfortunately I missed my favorite event, which is the jumping. Mules jump from basically a stand-still, unlike horses who get a running start. And mules aren't ridden during their jumping competitions, they are led up to the jump. I highly recommend watching some videos on youtube! Here's a fun one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6O6u8P3QA0&t=29s

A sweet looking mule getting some attention:

The events I got to see were the youth showmanship classes, where the mules are led around doing different things, walk, trot, turns, back up, etc. The kids have pretty awesome blinged-out outfits as you can see below.

I also saw some of the driving events. This mule below is the same one as in the second photo above, and I thought it was so pretty. Its name was "Fifty Shades of Foxy" and they won one of the driving classes.

It was a real treat to get to see a bunch of mules again.

The Long Awaited Day: Beer Bottling!

Faithful blog followers, do you remember this post about brewing day four months ago?

Well today was bottling day! Huzzah!!!

So we took the carboy of beer that has been sitting in the closet fermenting since October...

 and managed to siphon it into the white bucket with a spout next to it

(after a lot of sanitizing of bottles and caps and tubes).

Then I (wo)manned the spout and filled the bottles while Clay capped them.

And here is the result:

and again in the cupboard...

It's an Imperial Stout and it measured at 8.9% ABV (alcohol by volume).  

Becky the Snail Mailer posted a really good idea for a name on my original posting: Bête Noire, the black beast.

I'm not using that name, but it is quite similar to the name I finally arrived at.

Three Dark Mules Imperial Stout

named after the three mules you see on the sidebar,

Molly, Elmer and Livee.

This is in tribute to them because I miss them a lot. This summer my parents had to sell them because of health issues with my dad.  It was a hard choice, but with another Wisconsin winter on the horizon, it would have been too much for my parents.  So they were sold, all three together to a farm an hour or so away from where my parents live.

Hopefully when I go to visit my parents next I can also visit the mules.  Their new owners use them to give trail rides, so perhaps I'll even be able to ride my sweet Livee again.

But, tonight is a night for celebration, and I'm doing that with a delicious cocktail, a Martinez (a precursor to the Martini), and a marvelous letter from a newish penpal.

Have a good night!

Father's Day

This is what I sent my Poppa for Father's Day:

Birthday Continued... Mule Stick

A year or so ago I was in New York with my family and my dad and I went to the National Museum of the American Indian, to see a special exhibit called "A Song for the Horse Nation".  The exhibit was incredibly beautiful, and very moving for me, since I love horses and because my horse had passed away.  One of the things that I loved the most in the exhibit were the horse dance sticks, carried in ceremonies.  They were carved and decorated in the likeness of a special horse, usually one who had died in battle. 

This is one of the horse dance sticks shown in the exhibit.

You can see a few others as well at the online exhibit of A Song for the Horse Nation.

When I went back home I wanted to make a horse stick of my horse Windsong (Winnie) who had passed away. It was hard for me emotionally and physically and I didn't get too far.  

For my birthday this year, my dad made me a mule stick in the likeness of our mule Livee.

Here it is:

It is a beautiful work of folk art and it is so special and meaningful to me.

Thanks so much Poppa.