My 1st Rodeo in GA!

FACT: The Goat, Feb. 22, 1892 Georgia’s mascot for its first football game against Auburn, Feb­ruary 22, 1892 in Atlanta, Ga., was a goat. Old newspaper clippings indicate that the goat wore a black coat with red U.G. letters on each side. He also had on a hat with ribbons all down his high horns, and the Auburn fans yelled throughout the game “shoot the billy-goat.”~~GO DAWGS~~

So, you can surmise from the picture of the goat that this rodeo will have goats. Well, it gets better. Ok, so, Matt and I are in Georgia before the rest of the family when we moved up here. My friend Pam invited Matt and I to go to a rodeo since her boys and their horses would be taking part in it. We were new here, like only a few days, so we said, " Why not," and went. This was sponsored by 4H. I had only been to professional rodeos before in south Florida. I was in for a treat. I didn't tell you that it was to start late afternoon or early evening - I can't remember. All I know is it was HOT, muggy, sticky and SMELLY! PLUS this was our 1st encounter with Georgia bugs...WOW they are big...especially the nasty flies...YUCK!

The first round of tricks that we saw were little kids dressed in full cowboy gear, hoping on a sheep and riding it. It was weird and very funny. This was a first to see anyone ride a SHEEP.

But then Pam leaned to me and said, "have you ever seen them pant a goat?" WTF? What does that mean???? Well, we were about to find out. The announcer said something in his very thick southern drawl of an accent I couldn't understand- remember, FL girl here...no ear for THAT accent just yet. The next thing we knew, goats ran out of a gate and stopped. Then little kids ran up to the goats and LITERALLY tried to put pants (YUP- the kind you and I wear) on a goat. THIS was an actual rodeo event. The crowd in the stands went crazy and routed these scary little children on. Putting clothing on livestock. This just leaves me to ponder this, WHY? Even more so, WHO was the BRAINIAC that came up with this potential Olympic event?

Cow Patty Bingo

Interesting Fact: The average cow produces 30lbs of urine and 65lbs pounds of faeces daily.

I know what you are thinking...Cows again...this is a good one..keep reading. Picture this...It is a beautiful Saturday in middle rural Georgia. Looking for something to do that was free and entertaining, I decided it would be a great Idea to take the family, my friends Lusia and her daughter, and of course Mary Sue to downtown Eatonton Georgia. The Plaza Arts Center was featuring Agricultural Awareness. There were old tractors, FFA displays, and a display on farm life. It was a wonderful view into histories past. (I really enjoyed the history aspect) They also has a petting zoo complete with a cow, chickens, goats and pigs. You can imagine how thrilled Maryann (the other fact chick) was, has she has been wanting to pet a calf since we moved her. Well, as much as she loved the calf...she was enthrauled by the pigglets (I must admitt they were very cute) She got to hold the pigglet and it snuggled under her chin. She was in love with it and wanted to take it home...Then of course my Georgia husband said, yeah in about six months, we'll be eat'n good. He is always looking to eat...(good thing I can cook or he might starve). When we finally left the petting zoo, I found Mary Sue, blunking down money on a bingo game...I LOVE BINGO! I wanted to play too. Turns out I was playing COW PATTY BINGO...Now, sit down for this one...ARe you sitting okay...This was not my grandmother's bingo..(She used to bring me to bingo with her when I was a little girl....) There were no ink dabbers, there were no bingo cards, no balls with numbers floating around in an air machine, no caller shouting "B 7". No there was none of this...Instead, there was a grid on a paper, you put your name in the square you wanted to bet on, the cost for a chance $3...the look on my face priceless...Turns out that once the grid on the paper is filled up, they take the calf to a field with the same grid on it and wait to see where she is going to do her "business" Wa-La...Cow Patty Bingo... (which is never to be confused with Beach Blanket Bingo) I don't know why they are called cow "patties"..They look nothing like a hamburger patty, nor a peppermint patty..there is nothing "patty" about them... A couple of questions to ponder...What if the cow "patty" lands between two squares?...What if it lands on four corners? or better yet what if the cow is constipated...Then what..the game is called on count of no poop! Do they return the money? I still don't know if I won or lost...I had to leave before 3:00 or when the calf was ready to do her business. And if you read the interesting fact above, 65 pounds is one heck of a patty!

You must think by now that I am crazy, maybe even two kinds of crazy, but I am telling you, you can't make this stuff up...This stuff really happens in Georgia...I Love it here and I am never moving!

P.S. The pig above are the one's Maryann got to hold...The cow patty bingo sign was the actual sign from the Ag. Awareness event....

Dog and Pony Show

Today during my mad rush to Walmart to get more cleaning supplies for school, I had an "only in Georgia" moment. As I walked out of the store I noticed a green jeep. There were two elderly people inside. I saw the elderly gentleman in the passenger seat feeding a treat to a big dog. I thought it was a giant collie or sheep dog but it's hair was white and looked like people hair. I looked again and MUCH to my surprise this big dog was no dog at all but a miniature horse. YES, not only did they have a miniature horse, they took it to Walmart. IN THEIR CAR(Jeep)! OMG! I really wanted to take a picture but by the time I mustered up the courage, they had left. Here is a bit more to the story, the older lady and gentleman had that wild white(ish) coloed hair just like the horse. I guess it's true that animals do look like their owners. BUT A MINIATURE HORSE IN YOUR CAR????


Miniature Horse Fact:
The Miniature Horse breed is the product of nearly 400 years of selective breeding. Many trace back to the early 1700’s, when the small horses were used to pull ore carts in coalmines of England and Northern Europe. The miniatures were brought to the United States in the late 19th century for that same use. The European royalty were known to keep the smallest minis around as pets.