Pay MORE get LESS!!! (Sophie says...)

Today was a most beautiful day in Southern IL! It's November 17 and the high today was about 60 degrees, I'm not sure the deer hunters loved the warmth as much as I did. Speaking of deer hunters, today was the Pope County Deer Festival Parade in Golconda, IL. This is an annual event that my riding buddy Chester, along with my oldest grandchild Mariah and I attend, with our horses of course. This is about the only safe riding available during shotgun season so we take advantage of it. As usual it was a well attended parade with many high school bands, politicians, festival queens and of course the "Little Miss and Misters".
All in all a very enjoyable afternoon that includes a BBQ sandwich and then the short ride through the parade route.





What I would most like to mention about today is the handout given to me by "Sophie", a rather pleasant four legged with very long ears, a hat with flowers and an owner with a feed bucket full of information from Sophie. For those of you who are Farm Bureau members I'm sure you are already familiar with Sophie and her "Sophie Says" column. You see, dear old Sophie is responsible for keeping many Southern Illinoisans up to date on the goings on in the Shawnee Forest. So in an attempt to help Sophie out a little, I'm going to post her latest update. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

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The Forest Service LACKS FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY!

Why should YOU have to pay?

1. The Forest Service has lost MILLIONS in timber sales.
2. The Forest Service is spending $5 MILLION on a complex to replace the Vienna facility.
3. The Forest Service uses your tax dollars!
4. The Forest Service charges you for bridle tags!

The Forest Service has closed trails, and shut off water! Trailheads have not been mowed! Sanitation facilities have been eliminated or are non-existent!

...AND NOW the Forest Service wants to charge you $5 a day to ride the Shawnee Forest!

...AND NOW the Forest Service wants to charge you $50 a year to ride the Shawnee National Forest!

Sophie says, "We'll pay MORE and get LESS!
That's the U.S. Forest Service way!!!"
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SOPHIE SAYS: "Ask the right questions!"

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Trail Rider: Please consider asking the following questions about the proposed fees for trail riders.

1. According to the Shawnee National Forest website, "By far the greatest year-round use on the Shawnee National Forest
is horseback riding." DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?

2. WHY SUCH A HIGH ANNUAL FEE ($50) when the Hoosier National Forest charges only $25 and the Land Between the
Lakes charges only $60 per TRAILER LOAD, not per person.

3. WHY IS THERE NO SENIOR DISCOUNT?

4. Current policy states that after a 1" rain in the Wilderness, trails are closed for a minimum of 24 hours. HOW DO YOU
PLAN TO REFUND PARTIAL FEES FOR DAYS LOST DUE TO THIS POLICY?

5. Many riders live on property that borders the Lusk Creek Wilderness Watershed. HOW WILL REDUCTION IN THEIR RIDING
FEES BE CALCULATED, SINCE SUPT. NICHOLAS CLOSES THIS WILDERNESS AT LEAST 1 OUT OF 3 DAYS PER YEAR?

6. Since fees are supposed to be used for trail maintenance, IS SUPT. NICHOLAS WILLING TO MAIL AN AUDIT OF EXPENSES
AND WORK DONE TO JUDGE GILBERT AND TO ANY CITIZEN WHO MAKES A REQUEST?

7. Since the Shawnee National Forest has so many chiefs, WOULDN'T IT BE WISE TO HIRE MORE INDIANS, REDUCE THE
NUMBER OF CHIEFS, AND THEN MAINTAIN THE TRAILS?

8. Other National Forests do not have a limit on un-ridden horses (pack/pony), so WHY ARE YOU USING THIS RESTRICTION
IN THE SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST?

9. Knowing that all monies for the U.S. Forest Service comes from the same pot, HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY SUCH A POOR
TRAIL SYSTEM AND THE BUILDING OF A NEW MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR COMPLEX IN VIENNA?

10.Considering how unpopular the Forest Service is with, not only the trail riders, but environmentalists and hikers,
and how services leave much to be desired, HOW CAN YOU ASK THE PUBLIC TO PAY A USER FEE WITH A CLEAR
CONSCIENCE?
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ATTENTION


HIKERS! TRAIL RIDERS! ROCK CLIMBERS!

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If you are recreating in YOUR Shawnee Nation Forest, be prepared to pay as much as $50 annually to do so!

Even though the Shawnee National Forest has lost MILLIONS in timber sales and is spending MILLIONS on a new facility at Vienna, THE AGENCY WANTS TO CHARGE YOU MORE!

Even though the Forest Service uses your tax dollar and you still have to purchase bridle tags, THE AGENCY WANTS TO CHARGE YOU MORE!

The Forest Service has CLOSED trails, SHUT OFF water, REMOVED tables and trash cans, left trail heads UNMOWED and
ELIMINATED or not provided sanitation facilities! THE AGENCY WANTS TO CHARGE YOU MORE!
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People, if you do not like what's going on...then you need to take a few minutes and express your thoughts
and feelings on the subject of FEES for the Shawnee National Forest.


For the price of one soda, you can potentially save yourself $50 per year.

Purchase two stamps!
Write down your thoughts and ideas about fees!


Send copy #1 to:
Recreation Advisory Committee
% Region 9
Regional Office
626 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Send Copy #2 to:
Congressman John Shimkus
110 E. Locust
Room 12
Harrisburg, IL 62946

Sophie says, "If you don't do this, no one is going to do it for you!"

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I THINK SOPHIE MAKES A LOT OF SENSE! IF YOU ENJOY RIDING OR CLIMBING OR HIKING IN THE SHAWNEE FOREST, IT'S TIME
TO TAKE A STAND!!! STOP WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE CARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND WRITE THOSE LETTERS!

Make your voice heard, if we don't all speak up NOW, we stand to loose more and more. It doesn't matter if you live in Southern Illinois or not, if you enjoy spending time in the Shawnee, please take this opportunity to speak your mind on the subject of fees. Please don't wait, do it now, please.

My FAVORITE Season

October is here!!! I love the month of October, I love autumn. The way the cool, crisp air smells, the coolness
in the air and the need to actually wear long sleeves. The way my horses smell and the quckness in their step.
(I have always thought I could bottle that aroma and sell it to every woman in love with horses at a resonable
price and still become wealthy!) Life is always good, but this time of year, life is even better, somehow more
beautiful. Of course a beautiful array of autumn leaves would add to the beauty of the season a great deal,
but we will have to leave that up to Mother Nature.

I find it very difficult to stay indoors to work. Let's see, retirement at 52? I could go for that. Of course as it
is now, having my studio in my home, being self employed and not having any employees, that's almost as
good as being retired, right? Take the jobs you want and leave the rest to the multitude of other photographers
in the area. Notice I didn't say "professional" photographers? Digital cameras are great but since they came
on the scene, everyone thinks they can "do it as good as the professionals". Life moves in cycles, changes
happen, things come and go and people tend to learn the hard way. When the event is over, such as a wedding
or reunion or anniversary, etc., events that can't be re-enacted, and the photos Aunt Mary or Uncle Joe took
are back from Walmart...you've heard of 20/20 hindsight, right? Enough said.

We have had many wonderful rides recently, even before the weather cooled. Last Monday, Columbus Day,
I took my 10 year old granddaughter on the 12 mile ride at Giant City State Park. We rode the trail backwards
in order to arrive at the lodge near lunch time. That chicken sure was good! It's always a little tough to get back
on your horse, with such a full belly, for the final 20 minute ride back to the horse camp. We made it though and
my granddaughter had a great time. It was wonderful to hear her laughing and giggling behind me as we "moved
on" down the trail. Mariah seems to be somewhat of a natural horseperson which of course makes grandma quite
proud.

The day before Giant City, Chester and I rode on the "E-Town Ride", Elizabethtown to Karbers Ridge/High Knob.
Now I'm not sure how many miles the ride is but I do know that we spent about six hours in the saddle - and
that's not counting the 45 minutes or so we spent on the ground for lunch. This is an annual ride, I have been
going on this one for about ten or eleven years. Chester on the other hand, at the ripe old age of 89 years and
9 months, has been on the ride at least twice as many times as I have. This is a beautiful ride, even though this
year we had a very warm day with temps in the 90's. One thing I can always count on concerning this ride, even
though I ride often and put a lot of time in the saddle, on the E-Town ride I will manage to aquire at least one
blister. And I'm not talking about a blister on my heel!

On Saturday, the day before the E-Town Ride, Chester, Mariah and I loaded up our animals and traveled to the
Enfield Mule Days Parade. Chester of course was on his mule, Jake, while Mariah and I rode Fancy and Lady,
our horses. Once again, for about the third year in a row, Chester took first place in the mule judging and came
home with a nice little check for his troubles. It was very warm, no, it was HOT! We did have a good time and
Mariah and Fancy did a great job, even though Mariah was a bit dissappointed the horses were not judged as
well as the mules. Well, after all it was the MULE Days Parade!

October is off to a great start, today is cool and the sun is shining. So why am I sitting here, indoors, typing
on this computer?

Star with her new owner

On December 10, 2006 I sold my two year old filly to a family in WI. In this photo Star, the two year old filly is being used for a riding lesson by a 9 year old family member of Star's new owners. Not many two year old's are calm and gentle enough to be trusted with a youngster just learning to ride! Star was always an exception, she was almost too easy to "break" or gentle as some trainers now like to refer to that initial stage of training. I guess I would have to say that she is the perfect example of the best of imprint trained horses. Congratulations to Star's new owners in WI!

Good food, good people, time to recover!

Yet another Christmas and another year have passed. Where does the time go? I recall my Grandmother saying such things when I was a child, back when time seemed to drag on forever. Now each day flies by and I never seem to have enough time to accomplish everything I want and need to do. On a daily basis I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and thank God for the time I have. Life is such a blessing, even on the worst of days.

On Tuesday morning, the day after Christmas, I went to the barn bright and early to feed my horses then turn them out for the day. After giving them their grain and hay I walked outside the barn to look for the kitten. Thank goodness I looked to the west side of the pasture! With all the rain, and constant breezes, a large top heavy tree had fallen. Now of course this tree couldn't have just fallen AWAY from the fence, not even just across the fence, it had to fall ALONG the fence and take two smaller trees with it. My corner posts are all leaning at a sickening angle and the wire snapped at the first tree. The hole from which the first tree uprooted is filled to the top with water! I had no choice but to leave my girls in the barn until I could work out a plan.

I returned to the house and called my dear friend and riding buddy, Chester. My husband is currently working an hour (+) from home and with shortened daylight I knew it would be too dark for him to help with anything when he returned home.
Chester said he would come over in the afternoon to look things over, to see if we could patch the fence or if necessary move the horses back to his farm. So I left my two increasingly restless horses in their stalls and went to town for a couple of hours. Chester came over about 2:45 p.m. to check the situation out. After looking at the fence, broken wire, leaning corner posts, extreme wet and muddy ground and a big tree laying just about right for two horses to walk right over it and out into the road, we decided to move the girls to his place.

Actually I believe both horses are quite happy with the situation now. They have other horses (old friends and some relatives) to run and play with. Chester also has a lot more pasture than I do and the girls are also enjoying the larger area in which to roam. When I looked at the BIG PICTURE from the fence line now laying on th ground, I realized just how fortunate I was in so many ways. 1. My horses didn't get hit by the falling trees 2. Nothing fell on my new barn 3. The horses didn't get out the afternoon before as I now know the tree was down as early as 3:00 p.m. Christmas Day 4. I have a wonderful friend with the pasture and barn space to accomodate my two horses! See, I am blessed!

And with that I am prompted to once again say we should always remember to LIVE, LOVE & LAUGH!!!