Valentine's Day

Yesterday started out a bit slow..Gary took a tumble while walking Elli. No immediate injuries..just pretty sore..more so as the day went on. And, as usual he is more sore today but hopefully it will start improving soon.

Thankfully..the day got better after that. We drove over to Solomon's Castle. http://www.solomonscastle.org/home.html
This castle was built many years ago by an artist named Howard Solomon and his family. It is out in the middle of the Florida countryside. It is quite a sight to see. At first we thought it was covered with aluminum foil. But upon closer inspection decided he had used sheet metal to cover the outside. Interesting. Most of the windows were made with stained glass. They were pretty nice. It was good to walk around and look at it all on a sunny but cool day with the person I love. :)
While there we eat lunch at the "Boat in a Moat" restaurant.. Yes, the boat is really in a moat. All though the water in the moat is about dried up due to the drought. The food served was excellent. I had pot roast with real mashed potatoes and spinach casserole. Gary had chicken pot pie. All of their food is home made on site. A very good meal for a pretty reasonable price.

We talked to a couple of other TT members that were there and learned there was a Lippizan stallion farm nearby. They gave us directions and we went looking. On the way, we realized there was a pretty big fire nearby. So, being a bit nosy we decided to drive over and check it out. We drove and drove and I swear that fire kept moving further away from us. Finally we turned on the last road and there it was. Running down the side of the road for about a mile. We talked to a fire person/emergency person that came along while we sat on the side of the road. (You know I had to take pictures). He was checking out the fire and thought it had been deliberately set as a "controlled" burn. Huh!! It didn't look very controlled to me. Thankfully the smoke was blowing away from the road and it wasn't causing any problems for the traffic. There was a fire brake(his term) running down the side of the fire between the fence and the fire. I guess that is supposed to keep the fire "contained" within the fence. I don't think that always works but it appeared to be working today.

After much picture taking..we went back to looking for the Lippizan stallion farm. Thanks to our handy GPS we got back on track and located it without any problem. When we arrived we learned we were just in time for a demonstration by the stallions. These exquisitely beautiful Lipizzaner stallions were being exhibited during a training demonstration.

The stallions are descended from the original surviving Lipizzans rescued at the end of WWII by General George Patton. They trace their ancestry back to Austria and are descended from Andalusian bloodstock. From the program we bought and their website, I learned that Sir Ottomar Herrmann of the Original Royal Lipizzan Stallions of Austria was loved and admired by millions all over the world. Most knew him as Col. Herrmann. He was a world renowned equestrian and humanitarian.

Col. Herrmann passed away on the last leg of an east coast tour in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. His daughter Gabriella Herrmann and her family are honoring his greatest wish for people to see the miracle of the White Stallions. Gabriella Herrmann and her family plan to continue to present the rare white stallions for the world with performances on the Ranch and tours throughout the country.
While waiting for the show to begin we were allowed to tour through one of their barns. We also got to see their newest Mom and her foal. The foal was only 2 days old. Mom didn't seem to mind us being nearby and the foal was just taking a nap in the straw.

The show lasted about an hour and a half. It was very good. The stallions used were young..from the kindergarten class on up to about 5 years of training. They also showed a couple of stallions that were well trained and had been performing for years. Overall, a great way to spend the rest of the afternoon. Even Elli seemed to enjoy as she was allowed to sit with us while we watched the show. And as usual, she got her share of attention by other spectators. Lots of pats and rubbing of the ears. She was smiling.

All in all..not a bad way to spend a Valentines Day. I hope you all had a wonderful day with your loved one(s).

Love to you all and good night. Deb