Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo...Get Along Little Dogies!

On March 26, 2022, my younger sister and I attended the Immokalee Cattle Drive & Jamboree. It started out with a pancake breakfast. It had been a long while since we had eaten pancakes. They were delicious! The 4-H kids were running the breakfast and it cost us each $7 to start off the day. Our breakfast included two large pancakes, one link sausage, one patty sausage, a strawberry, coffee, orange juice (we opted out on the juice), a pat of butter and some pancake syrup.  Quite filling and delicious.

 

Once we ate our breakfast, we got the folding chairs out of the car and made our way to the sidewalk along Main Street to await the arrival of the cattle.

The sidewalk looks empty in the above photo. Not to worry, others began to fill the sidewalk later. Before the cattle came down the street, police cars cleared the way. 

Then the police men on horses followed.

Next were the flag bearers, The American, Seminole and Florida flags.

Two pioneer families of the Immokalee area were honored in the parade, the Roberts and Howard families.

Finally, the cattle arrived and were driven down Main Street. It was fun to see the cowboys and cowgirls herding the cows, with their dogs, down the street towards the corral awaiting them.

Once the drive was over, my sister and I took our chairs back to the car and made our way to the Jamboree grounds. There was food, drinks, music, cloggers and alligator wrestlers there to keep our interest peaked (there was supposed to be dancing horses too, but they did not arrive).

The cloggers were interesting to watch. The older girls were impressive and the little ones were cute.

Watching cloggers dance makes one hungry...who knew? We decided to grab some lunch before the alligator wrestling. We had the most delicious tacos and Mexican Street Corn!

When we finished our most excellent lunch, we grabbed a ringside seat, on a bale of straw and waited for the alligator wrestling to begin.

The man who wrestled the alligator was a Seminole Indian. He had some help getting the big alligator out of his SUV and into the ring. Once it was there, the show began. He would tap the alligator on the snout to aggravate it. He jumped the tail as it swished back and forth (it hit his leg one time...ouch). Once, he placed his hand inside the gaping maw of the alligator.

The Seminole Indian drug the alligator by the tail before "Bulldogging" it. Bulldogging is wrestling and then tying the alligator single-handedly. He showed us the alligator's teeth before he tied its snout.

The Seminole man had a young son who was learning the alligator wrestling trade. He (with his father's guidance) bulldogged his own, much smaller, alligator. 

 

I was able to hold an even smaller alligator (thank God its mouth was taped closed...no bulldogging for me). My sister opted out of the photo op.

I took a few photos of the cows in the corral, some cute babies and pretty horses before we called it a day for the Jamboree.

LOVE the belt buckle!

My sister and I had a very fun day among the dogies, horses and cowpokes.

Pinching Some Clay

 A few months ago, Yam gave me some modeling clay she had left over from one of her art projects. I did not know what I was going to make with it, so it sat in my studio for a little while. Yam's question of what I had finally made with it, prompted me to actually start making something...but what?

The Colonel and I have helped children (and adults) learn how to make pinch pots out of clay as volunteers for county programs. To begin a pinch pot, one must roll the clay into a ball and then insert one thumb into the ball. Then with the thumb and fingers, pinch the clay into a bowl/pot shape.

I decided to start out with a pinch pot base and build upon that. Of course I had to make a mermaid and a bird.

Once I sculpted my mermaid and bird, they had to be baked to harden the clay. My clay creations sat unpainted for some time before was inspired to adorn them with color.

Of course the mermaid had to be a bright, tropical color. I opted to make her a brunette with brown eyes (like me). I added some glitter in the paint to highlight her patches of scales and I gave her a shell bra for modesty's sake (plus it looks cute). 

I decided to make the bird a Robin. Every year, my yard is filled with hundreds of  Robins as they stop for a rest during their migrations north and south. Robins also remind me of  my childhood summers in Indiana. Keep in mind that my Robin is not John James Audubon realistic. 

I am submitting an image from the web of an American Robin so that you can see that my Robin is not too far off the mark (artistic license is at work here). 

I had fun creating my pinch pot mermaid and American Robin. Thanks Yam for giving me your extra modeling clay.

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

 

On January 21, 2022, Spud was promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG, 02). He had been an Ensign (ENS, 01) for two years. His promotion was right on track.

Old rank of Ensign 

 New rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade

The Colonel, Spud's fiancée and I attended the ceremony which was held aboard Spud's ship, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) in the wardroom because of inclement weather. 

Ship's crest, photo and rank images from the Internet

Spud gave us a quick lesson on how to board the ship before we stepped onto the gangplank. We had to walk partway up the gangplank, face the U.S. flag on the fantail, pause for a few seconds, continue up the gangplank and ask permission to come aboard before stepping onto the ship. A ship's bell was rung when The Colonel came aboard and his presence was announced over the ship's loudspeaker. He was the highest ranking person on board at the time.

Spud took us to the wardroom and soon after we arrived, it began to fill up with other sailors who wanted to be present for Spud's promotion. There was little room left when Spud's Captain and Executive Officer arrived.

The promotion ceremony was a short one. There was to be another sailor being promoted along with Spud, but she was ill and could not attend. After the ship's captain said a few words, Spud raised his right hand and renewed his oath of office.

The Colonel, Spud's fiancée and I pinned Spud's new rank onto his uniform.

When he had his new rank on, Spud then said a few words to those in the ward room. 

Spud's new rank.

Proud parents and fiancée.

Spud's captain granted him permission to give The Colonel, Spud's fiancée and I a tour of the ship. We climbed up and down narrow, metal stairs and stepped over bulkheads as we toured the ship (sorry, no pics of inside of the ship). Before we toured the ship's deck, Spud had us put his new rank on his jacket. It was still windy and a bit damp out.

After the promotion ceremony, we all headed back to the house so that Spud could change into civilian clothes before we went out for a celebratory lunch (we had the most delicious ramen bowl meal I have ever had...nothing at all like the ramen we all had during our college days). While back at the house, we gave Spud his promotion gift.

The Colonel's dad was in the navy during the Korean War, and when Spud sent us a picture of himself aboard his ship, The Colonel remembered seeing a picture of his dad taken 68 years earlier aboard his ship. The pictures were strikingly similar. That's when The Colonel had the idea to make the gift for Spud. He enlisted Yam's help to "meld" the two pictures together and then had the results printed on canvas. Spud was thrilled with his gift.

Both Spud and his Gpa have their work uniforms on and there is a ship, a destroyer in the background of each picture. Spud's Gpa passed away about a year before Spud entered the navy. He would have been so very happy for and proud of him. He would have loved Spud's gift too.

The Colonel and I were extremely delighted to be able to attend Spud's promotion. Next rank is Lieutenant, those two years will fly by!

Fair Winds and Following Seas to the new Lieutenant, Junior Grade!