The Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Hungarian Horsemen

WOW!!

Some of the horses on the hillside are Lipasaners. They are always black when they are born, and they do not turn white until they are 7 or 8 years old. Occasionally one will remain black. Stables which raise them,
always keep one black one for good luck.



























Welcome to my gracious home. It's not exactly the palatial digs at the Spanish Riding School, but it suffices.












Target practice from a moving horse. He never missed.

Think about it. Archery is a 2 handed act. The horse is directed with the knees only. Click on the picture to enlarge. There are NO reins in his hands while he is riding past targets and shooting.

And his horse did everything he asked of him

Now, if a Magyar horseman were out in the woods and he spotted an enemy, he would have to lay low. ONE BIG PROBLEM. Unless his horse could lay low too, he would not be hidden. Hence, wise horsemen taught their horses to do this. This is quite a vulnerable and unnatural position for a horse to be in. The rider must have skill and patience, and the horse must have an incredible amount of trust.

And NOW for the realio trulio


HEARTSTOPPER!!!

Imagine controling these 5 horses which are in no way hitched together other than the 5 sets of reins in your hands. You have one foot on the back of one horse and the other foot on the another one. Their gaits are not at all matched. Then you just take off at breakneck speed. Now, Try to look casual!

Hungarian Horsemen --- WOW!!

I'm Back!

I've been gone a long time, but now I'm back home with pictures to bore you for hours and hours. After Miss Mousie's (The adorable Grandchild) visit, life became a long grey grind, while we worked like crazy to get everything done so that we could launch ourselves to Europe for a boat tour via rivers and canals across Europe.

First up: Budapest- home of fiery paprika , lovely architecture, crazy horsemen, gypsy musicians, plum Brandy and great beer. Now THAT'S culture!! With the Commies gone, what's not to like?!? Of course, when I took this picture, I'd been up for 2 1/2 days and was completely enraptured by just being there.


Some things never change-
We get to our boat on the beautiful blue Danube (which, most of the time is just river colored). Ah tranquility! I can just hear the strains of a Strauss waltz..... But what's this?!?!...... Amplified rock music?... Some DJ on a bull horn yammering away in Magyar?... Everybody cheering? The words were unfamiliar, but the scene replays like "Groundhog Day". We're at the finishline of the Budapest Marathon! I know they follow me around the country (and I them); but I had no idea they followed me around the world! Karma. Just can't escape it. Don't try, You'll just make the gods mad!







The marathon eventually ended and we were left alone in the lounge of the Viking Pride, looking at the Chain Bridge, heretofore only known to us on postcards. This is exciting! We were also to find it is a very restful way to travel. You unpack and settle in for 2 weeks, you don't have to worry about repacking the next day. You can wash out your socks and underwear and hang them in your room and not worry about when they will get dry. You can just lie there and watch life float by like an international Huck Finn.




Here we are blissfully docked beneath the Chain Bridge in Pest, looking across to the much older city of Buda

Today-- food, drink and sleep.

Tomorrow--ADVENTURE!!





On the plaza which celebrates Hungarian history. These statues represent the 7 tribes which came together to form the Hungarian nation. They were short strong implacable people who rode like the wind.


























St. Stephen -not the same St. Stephen in western Christianity. This one was an early king of Hungary (maybe even the first one) who was also granted sainthood by Rome. It is one of the most popular names ever in Hungary. Many many things are St. Stephens.





For instance:-------



























St Stephens (of course) Church in Buda















































This entry is getting too unwieldy to move pictures around. So farewell to the lovely Buda and Pest on the Danube. We'll come back again any time at all! Next up Horesmen and Gypsy Musicians.

MISS MOUSIE CHARMS THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT

Miss Mousie -the Adorable Grandchild- Paid an inspection visit to the local medical facilities to see just what was what. "What" seemed to meet with her approval. Does that mean everyone's NIH grants are automatically funded? Even the ones which haven't even been applied for yet? -Maybe even double funded. YEA!! Jello popsicles all around!!








That Neurovirology lab is a happenin' place!

--and the pizza isn't half bad either.







Well, the ward office seems to be runnin' along OK.

































This neuro anatomy stuff is great!












Asian and Caucasian comparative anatomy. VERY IMPORTANT!

The Surgeon General says "WELL DONE!"


Did anyone order a Neurology consult?

BIOLOGICAL SIMILARITIES

Now, don't get all excited thinking that I am about to show you something salacious which will bring the FBI storming in to confiscate my computer. Down Fang! These are BOTANICAL similarities.


Did you ever notice how it is that.......

POTATOES

And.........

TOMATOES.......

have similar leaves and flowers??
Well, they do.

So don't let the economy set you to thinking about grazing on their leaves as a source of nutrition.

BECAUSE

GUESS WHAT?

They are all close cousins to each other and also to...........

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE!!
just thought I'd share.

Your cultural Horizons Are About To Take A Big Jump

Whenever you see artwork depicting western grazing land -particularly in the Basque sheep raising regions of Utah and Nevada- the artist always throws in one of those picturesque little round-roofed trailers with a small smokestack known as a sheepherder's wagon.

Sheepherding is a rough, lonely, and, no doubt, hard drinkin' business. The wagon and the shepherd are transported off to hellngone up into the high country for the summer where he and his Great Pyrenees-or his Komondor, or some useful breed like that- keep watch over his flocks by night (also by day) ---day after day after day, and night after night after night. Eventually fall approaches, and they move down to lower pasturelands and begin all over again.

Sheepherder's wagons are such unique little vehicles. I've always wondered how they evolved into their particular shape and conformation. They all look just alike, and they have forever.






Well, those questions are still unanswered, BUT I can report that I have actually been inside one. And now you get to see too. On a bike ride on Antelope Island, we visited an historic ranch which actually had one- all equipped and ready to receive visitors.

Behold and marvel.
Note how far down the curve of the roof comes. You can stand up only in the middle and turn to work areas on either side. The whole thing sits inside of what appears to be an old REA freight wagon liberated from some abandoned (or maybe not abandoned) train station

Not unlike a truck camper, but lots more primitive.(actually "cozy" is a nicer word)
The hardware fittings tell you that this one is relatively modern- 60s or maybe 70s.

Sheep are strictly grazing critters and do not lend themselves to feedlot life. In this highly mechanized life we have developed for ourselves, sheep still must be shepherded around. It's a Biblical reality (and analogy) which is still viable in the 21st century. So the next time you order lamb in a restaurant, be thankful that there are still solitary persons who are drawn to this singular way of life.

The porch

The Greenlee Flower and Hummingbird Sanctuary Is Now OPEN

Our back porch is our private little tree top sanctuary 4 levels above the back yard. We have breakfast and dinner out there from as early in the spring as we can until as late in the fall as we can.

It has needed painting dreadfully for at least 4 years -maybe more. The trouble is, by the time the weather is pleasant enough to use it, we have been ready to use it for weeks. So we do not want to wait while the paint dries.

This year, it was unequivocal. There was more bare wood than painted, and it was getting extremely pitted from attacks of the sun and the storms.

Sadly, we moved all the furniture out to the garage and began scraping. That took days.

~~~Loose nails and flakey paint~~~

Next there was the painting. ---The Fatherhead spent days on his hands and knees jamming paint into every little crevice. 3 gallons and 4 coats laters later, it was pronounced DONE

~~~It's a better shade of grey too~~~

Just about there!
Now it needs to cure for a couple of weeks.
NO scraping furniture feet. NO doggie toenails!!!

We are now back to the good life in our little hideaway. The plants, which spent weeks potted up waiting under the shade tree in the front yard are installed. They are happy to the point of exuberance.

~~~AH! gracious living in the treetops!~~~

Now we think, if we just have the discipline to give it a quick once over each spring with a long handled roller, then we will never be inconvenienced like this again. Right!

You know what they say---

~~~"He who paints with the devil needs a long handled roller."~~~

The Birthdays Party

That's right- Birthdays Party (like Attorneys General)

2 birthdays...1 party.

The He Child was 7 and the She Child was 5 (still are, in fact) So with the 2 aforepictured exquisite cakes, and one big bash, we held a grand celebration one Saturday afternoon. ("Our Big Fat Greek Party") It was glorious! There were mothers, grandmothers and Godmothers. That pretty well covers the Mommie waterfront. Then there were Daddies, Aunts, Uncles, and friends. And, of course, there were dogs. There are ALWAYS dogs!

Getting Ready:

Well, as far as Mr. R. was concerned, just getting dressed takes care of it all. Spiffing up is not really a "guy thing."

But with Miss S. it takes the arrival of the ever faithful Auntie M. an hour before hand to fix the hair and pick the dress and take care of any minor crises which may arise. If it weren't for Aunts and Godmothers nothing would ever get done.

Then there are the guests.

And, of course, the presents.

Everyone had their favorite.

Some of us had several.

What do you think?
Is it Jackie O. or Audrey Hepburn?

There's nuthin' better than......

GODMOTHER HUGS!!!

You know what? The party circuit is tiring!

Fun, but definitely tiring!

I'm going to bed now. You all can stay as long as you like.

Happy Birthday to ALL, and to ALL

A GOODNIGHT

The birthday children send LOVE