Fight. For Your Right.

To paaaaaaaaaar-tyyy. Which we did today. Vast, vast quantities of partying.

We started off with a very strong day of soccer from Q. He has a gift for hitting the post - two shots today, one of the post, one off the goalie's hand. And then a long, arcing, twenty-yard shot for the heck of it after practice, trying for the goal. "PANGGG!!" Right off the post. It's getting to be kind of weird. But a very strong soccer day - he was very pleased. (I will keep my own reactions to myself.)

Mostly, though, we partied. I present to you: Evidence Thereof, consisting both of video and still images. The first comes from Zephie Gollin's birthday party, where Q and Owen did a pretty good job of representing maleness. Of some 14 guests, they were the only boys. Here Q shows the fairer sex just how a MAN does the riding thing. Check out this hyper-masculine, chest-thumping, bone-breaking thrill ride:



And you're right: that horse is smaller than some dogs you've known. By FAR the most popular mount at the event. Poor little thing...Name's Tonka. Killed a kid up in Canada, had to cross the border to avoid prosecution. Just happy to have a job, keeps his nose clean these days. You don't want to cross him, though.



Cake in the barn. What a great place, up in Shaftsbury, VT. Another of the horses:



This one's name was T, strangely enough. I told Q that he and this horse had two things in common. Both are Norwegian, and both have someone named T in the family.

This evening, we went to the Caretaker Farm End-of-the-Growing-Season Potluck, Contra Dance and Cockfight. Put on by Don and Bridget, the farmers at the CSA we're members of. Wonderful event for the whole farm community. T had cracked out the contradancing videotape we got at the last one we went to this morning, and had done a lot of practicing, recruiting the whole family into some dosie-does in the living room. So now, here's some evidence of the potluck:



And now, the contradance:



And now, some more of the contradance:



And now, finally, here it is: The cockfight.



Surprising, perhaps, that they don't escape from that ring. But if people are quick enough and kick hard enough, eventually they stop trying to get out.

And now...Off to dreamland AGAIN! Two nights in a row, I'm in bed before 11:00! Wow. This, I could get used to.