Cowgirls

So the Rancher and Ranchwife have three adorable cowgirls. They have more energy than should be legal, but they are awfully cute. There's Clara, who, her mom says, "is just like I was!" I feel for Ranchwife's mom. One day Clara came out of the house and told me, "I ate a raw egg." "Why?" I said. She replied, "Because I can."

Faye is a bright redhead; bright in hair color and also bright in brainpower. She's also young enough to be an almost fearless horse woman. (horsegirl?) She handled tall, rangy Tess with confidence. Once, I saw her race off after a cow. Tess jumped a sagebrush; those aren't tiny plants. Faye lost her hat but not her seat! It was quite a sight.

Then there's Josey. She's a blond 5 year-old; 5 going on 35. She knows just what needs to be done, when, and is usually right in there, trying to get it done. She's not almost fearless; she's fearless! Her pony, Anna, is just the right size that when she falls off, she's still half on. Anna tests her, and Josey generally give back as good as she gets.

Here's s picture of Mary with Clara; don't they look like they've been planning something scary?



Clara owns Pathfinder, who is the daughter of Mary's horse, Wakiya. Clara originally planned to name her horse Lightning, and she told Mary that Thunder would be a good name for Lightning's mom. Well, Mary didn't like the name Thunder, so we started searching for the word in another language. We started with Lithuanian, because one line of our family comes from that Baltic country. Griausti didn't roll off the tongue. Then came German. Donner. Then Shoshone; Mary likes Indians. Dowoyagaide. None of these seemed right for a female horse, or they had pronunciation difficulties that Mary didn't want to deal with. Finally she looked at Lakota. Wakiya. It's pronounced Wah-Kee-Yah. She liked it. It rolled off the tongue, it sounded feminine, and it was Indian. So the horse became Wakiya. Lightning was renamed Pathfinder, after the ranch from which she came. She is a sweetheart who looks much like her mama. Here, compare...

Wakiya...



Pathfinder...



See the resemblance?

The girls had a message to send to you all. It's simple, but it's cute.



And, for tonight, I say, "Goodbye!"