We went to races last week, and it was quite the experience. I’d never been to anything like it. To get there, we drove for over three hours, over extremely bumpy dirt roads (I’m short, and was wearing a seatbelt, yet I kept hitting my head on the ceiling as we went over ruts). Anyhow, eventually we reached the middle of nowhere, and there it was: the Oak Park races. Hundreds of people were milling around in their very best clothes.

We spent the weekend camped out there, living in tents, sleeping 'swags' (bedrolls) and cooking our meals over an open fire.



You know the song Waltzing Matilda? "And he sang as he waltzed and he waited while his billy boiled..." That tin can off to the side of the fire is a billy.

In our two days at the races tracks, I caught exactly one horse race:



Jet bet on Like a God, and I bet on Gellato. Neither of us made any money.

It quickly became clear to me that the races, though, are more about dressing up than they are about horses. In fact, in between races they have something called 'Fashions of the Field' wherein people compete for best dressed awards.

Getting dressed all fancy-like in a tent that you can't stand upright in took some doing, but somehow I managed. Jet's sister Kat made me a lovely 'fascinator' to go on my head.

Here I am, with my future sister-in-law and mother-in-law.



I got engaged at races, too!

In keeping with the name of this blog, I have a new picture to post:



I haven't seen many of my froggy friends of late; I've been told the weather is just too cold for them. This little guy has been hopping up and down the hallway in the house for a few days now, though. Jet's mom, Min, is very worried that he is going to hop into the kettle, and checks it every time she goes to boil water.

And no, this is not some strange Aussie species of hairy frog: Mr Frog spent some time hopping around in the laundry basket, too.

I spent this morning following behind Jet as he hacked at exposed tree roots with an axe and I gathered up the severed roots and dragged them off to the side. Jack, Jet's dad, has already tilled the area with his tractor. He'll be using the area to train a few horses for the next week or so, and then I have been promised that I can plant some pumpkins and potatoes.

We've been taking a lot of walks, lately. Here's what we came across on a walk a few weeks ago:



Birdseye peppers. Boy, oh boy are these things hot! Out of curiousity, I split one open and licked it and it burned like anything. They are what gives Olga Martell's Tomato Relish its lovely zing, though. Jet and I made three big jarfulls of it, and in the course of a week have gone through one and a half.

I'll close this post off with a picture of the present Jet brought me from his visit to the garbage dump last night:



So to sum things up, I am becoming a real stick-picking, preserve making, wildflower-wearing pioneer woman.