Blessing of the Horses, Roanoke Ranch in Lowell MI ~ 5/22/16

It was a beautiful day and having heard about Roanoke Ranch, we decided to visit on the Blessing of the Horses Day.

We had about 30 minutes to walk around the ranch before the horses would be back from their trail ride so we walked around the ranch to see what we could see. And it's a lovely place. Besides the horses, there are steer, sheep, ponies, and chickens. Lots going on.

It was getting close to 2pm so we headed back down to greet the horses who were coming back from the trail.

They held up at their stopping point and the ranch's awesome Board President, Mike Vanderploeg, said a few words. We then listened to the Star Spangled Banner beautifully sung acapella by Sophie Bolen,* had the blessing performed by Pastor Brady Nemmers from Keystone Community, and heard a few words from the owner of the ranch, Aaron Decker. (*Sophie Bolen starred in the 2016 movie "Rodeo Girl," much of which was filmed here at the ranch.)

There were all kinds of other things provided for kids and their families: bouncy house, games, and later horse riding. Food was also available.

But it's mostly about the horses and the relationships that develop at this ranch between horses and people (and there's always time to take a phone call).

The setting is gorgeous and it feels like a very welcoming place.

Check this place out sometime if you get a chance. www.roanokeranch.com

Three times the charm with the lasso :-) 

17 seconds of horse cuteness

 

Fourth Day of Grand Rapids Flooding Photos - 4/20/13

Watching Mayor Heartwell's press conference today, I learned that Riverside Park was closed to everyone - oops! He had driven by in the morning and saw people walking around it. Yeah, me too :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The river is still rising with another foot predicted. The flood walls downtown are holding but sandbags are appearing just in case. Plaza Tower has been evacuated because of a power outage due to water in the basement. JW and Amway are pumping water and fish from their basements. The water is up to the windows in this building - what will another foot do?

Up river the Grand River & the Thornapple are flooding Ada and Lowell and roads are closed. These two photos are from Ada today. Lowell has asked people to stay away...