MBR - Miniature Bull Riders??

I'm back to gorgeous cool mornings on the patio sipping my fake coffee and enjoying the quiet.  Although the wind wreaked havoc with my big pile of cardboard boxes, it cleared out the warm weather nicely.

As my gardener/landscaper fixed yet another valve, I contemplated how I could get rid of some grass.  I've decided I have an overabundance, only because I'm too cheap to pay the electric bill to keep it watered.  This section on the back side of the house that no one ever sees, is going to disappear on Monday and be replaced with gravel.  

I've actually counted up the minutes.  This bit will save me 75 hours of watering over one year.  Pretty crazy, right?  I know PG&E will raise my bill to more than cover that, but at least it's something!!

Looky who felt better!!  As soon as I put one shoe on, he went ballistic.  That means he wants to go outside and chase off all those other dogs that have walked by his territory.  He's a Great Dane in a tiny body.  He appears to be back to normal, making Mom very happy!!!  Except for the dry cleaning bill!!  

Just a stones throw away is part of the big field that I think houses the foxes den.  It's also probably where all those skunks lived.  By the way, did I tell you the owner of the property where I was allowed to dump the skunks has had to call in the Army?  He can't figure out what is digging all those holes in the orchard.  BIG holes.  Now he knows what my back yard looks like!  The State Trapper has been summoned!

Apparently there is something called nut grass that grows in the almond orchards.  There is a small nut at the roots which the skunks love.  When harvest times comes along, the nuts will fall into those holes and not be picked up.  When you have a 100 acre field full of holes, it can be a problem.  I offered to help trap them, but he declined.  I feel pretty bad ... sort of.  I'm just glad they aren't over here any more!!!!

After marking our territory 89 times, Cooper was ready to head back to the house where you can get a birds eye view of my driveway.  Aren't these black marks lovely?  I'm still learning to back up.  As you can see, I was making a beeline for that tree.  I really do need to practice more.

I took a break from those crazy blocks and stitched up the red binding for this quilt.  It's all hand sewing from here on out, but gives me something to do while watching the boob tube.

THIS ........ this is what caught my eye for about two hours.  Have you heard of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Association?  Well this is MBR ... Miniature Bull Riders.  I don't know how they came up with them, but these bulls are from three to four feet tall, the perfect size for kids to ride.  The kids run from 9 to about 12 years old.  It does appear most of them are from bull riding families (dad, maybe even granddad).  

I admit, I laughed out loud several times, mostly because the bulls were so darn cute!!  I love the announcer who regales you with their successes ... World Champion bull rider THREE TIMES OVER!!  You wouldn't know it because only two of the twenty riders made the 8 second clock.  At least they do it right ... if no one rides for the full 8 seconds, they just go by the longest time the kids stayed on.  How cool is that!!

No kidding, these little bulls were a kick in the pants ... kind of like miniature horses!!!  If you have Dish Network, they are on the Cowboy Channel.

Knowing Cooper felt better by late in the day made my appetite return.  Instead of frying up these gorgeous pork chops I found on sale, I chopped them up and marinated it for awhile.  I always wonder where my love of Mexican food came from.  We NEVER ate something like this when I was a kid.  I'm English/Irish on one side and Louisiana on the other.  We had beef and potatoes every single meal.

After another $100 grocery bill ..... I'm up to $350 this month for just me ..... I remade that salsa.  Lots of pork, salsa, cheese and slaw on one of those special tortillas made for a tasty dinner.  Seems the tortillas work great for tacos and burritos!!!

Cooper is chomping at the bit for another walk this morning, so I better get to it before the sun rises.  We're burning daylight!!!!