Slept In This Morning

Arrived home at midnight, kissed the kitties and fell into my bed.  The kits let me sleep for 8 whole hours.  Now I feel "draggy" because I was able to sleep that long - but it was great!  It was cool enough to turn off one of the fans, and the kits curled up on either side of me.  Pure heaven.  Lovey is now on the cat tree, and even though the raven family has chased Nedi inside multiple times this morning, he's back out there, taunting them. Besides spending time with Rosie and Remy and with Cloudy and Shady, I was able to renew my acquaintance with the 5-point buck who sleeps under Alexy's fir tree, and I was able to watch a lot of hummingbirds.  The high point for me was having a male goldfinch fly within inches of my face, and then alight on a lattice with a yard of me.  (I haven't seen a goldfinch up close and personal over the past five years...)
  I plan on lazing around the house today, and doing a little bit of a clean-up.  Other than that, I hope to just relax and spend time with my two furries.  I had a great time watching the end of the Olympics last night - and the passing of the torch and flag to Rio was refreshing.  Of course, being my age, I was thrilled to see the rockin' tributes to the bands and singers I grew up with - and I must admit I laughed hysterically at (with?) Eric Idle close to the finale.  London was a wonderful setting, and the people of Great Britain made this edition of the Olympics extremely pleasant.  I especially appreciated the streaming of events online, as one got to hear the local announcers introduce new-comers to the different sports and explain how they came about.
  Now, I just hope to win the $305 million lottery...

Womens Modern Pentathlon

The women's side of the Modern Pentathlon did not have the equine fireworks that the male section experienced.  Maybe I'm silly, but I think I could compete (except in the running section) in the event well enough to be proud of my accomplishments -  fencing, swimming, riding, and shooting, I think I could handle.  It's the run that completely throws me.  In any event, the Gold medal went to Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania; Samantha Murray of Great Britain won the Silver; and Yane Marques of Brazil garnered the Bronze.  Margaux Isaksen (USA) was fourth, and Suzanne Stettinius (USA) was 28th of the 36 competitors.
  Looking forward to the Closing Ceremonies tonight.

Mens Modern Pentathlon

Well, the Mens Modern Pentathlon produced a few surprises yesterday.  David Svoboda, of the Czech Republic, took the Gold; Cao Zhongrong, of China, the Silver; and Adam Marosi, of Hungary, took the Bronze medal.  It was the first time anyone of  Asian ethnicity had achieved a medal in this competition.  The real fireworks were provided by Hwang Woojin, of Korea, during the equestrian phase - both on the horse, Shearwater Oscar, and on the ground.  As the pair entered the start box, Hwang kept shortening his reins, kept leaning forward, and kept his spurs in the horse's ribs.  Not a good idea.  The horse was getting very contrary signals from the rider, and acted out accordingly.  I would expect any horse to dump me if I had been riding the way he was!  He did, eventually, re-mount, and rode the course....  The only American male finished in the 32nd spot out of 36 competitors - and one of them did not finish the competition.  Today, the women compete, and I will be watching how they all ride.
   Lovey is laying up against my left forearm while I type this.  Nedi is sunning on the patio.  I need to remove all my overnight stuff from the car before I head back to Rosie and Remy's.  I did do something foolish yesterday - don't I always?  I was rounding up Shady, who didn't want to come inside, from the neighbor's back yard.  Keeping an eye on the black cat, I walked right into the side of a tree limb - took some skin off my scalp, bled quite a bit, and knocked myself flat my butt.  Luckily Shady paused at the time I fell, and I was able to get him back inside the house.  But this morning I still have a swelling the size and shape of a hot dog on the right side of my head....  Tsk, tsk...  And, I get to sleep in my own bed tonight and tomorrow night - oh, joy!
  I hope you enjoy tonight's Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics from London...  The next Olympics will be the Winter competition in Sochi, Russia.

Critters, Olympics, Football

I watched all of the Jets/Bengals game last night.  The big cats made the Jets look like flies without wings; it was sad.  I did get a kick out of watching Tim Tebow during the opening kick-off, and I was very happy with some his his decisions to scramble and/or throw the ball away.  He seems to have grown a lot over the past year.  I'll have to keep my eyes on him.
   The cats are out playing in the back yard.  They both wanted love and attention before breakfast, but once they were satisfied in that area, they gobbled and then ran out.  Both have been back to my desk multiple times for more attention.  Cloudy and Shady were pretty stand-offish yesterday - this morning, however, they both wanted love and attention; then they wanted to go out.  Last night their irrigation ditch share night came around, and as the water runs until noon, the sprinklers all over the back yard are going strong.  Cloudy and Shady were pretty ticked that I wouldn't let them out this morning.  Cloudy actually growled at me.  (But, then, she and Shady have been highly put upon during the last few weeks.  The cat formerly known as Chiton and Mango, now named Mister Kitty, has been terrorizing these two.  He jumps on them, rips out tons of fur, and then urinates on them.  It must be extremely distressing.)  Rosie and Remy are doing fine - last night they found a raccoon in the back yard and I had to get them inside so the critter could swarm back up the ivy and over the fence.  You have have thought that Rosie was a true hound, by the way she was baying.  It was funny.
   The fencing and swimming elements of the Mens Modern Pentathlon have already taken place.  The equestrian jumping part is scheduled to begin in about 25 minutes...  It will be interesting to see all of the scoring  -   and to see how the women counterparts do tomorrow.  It seems strange that the 30th Summer Olympics will be over and done with tomorrow night.  I was able to view a lot more of the different sports, and I thoroughly enjoyed it...  But, it's almost September.  It's getting to be time for FOOTBALL!!!

Olympics, Critters, & Baking

I've been able to view the coverage of two days of the Three-Day Event - I thoroughly enjoyed the dressage competition, and today's coverage of the Cross Country was grand - even though I didn't get to see all of it.  I hope to be able to view more of the jumps via film on the Olympics website.  I have to say I was almost struck dumb by Mark Todd's horse trying to put in an extra stride just at the last jump - it looked like it surprised him, too.
  Brandi and Peach were great yesterday.  And Brandi and I slept together last night.  My kits are running in and out today - they come get a bunch of love and scratches, and then they run back out into the sun.  I'm going to take a nap with them, then I'll need to go shopping for my bus drivers bake day.  They have requested brownies, and lemon, strawberry and peach pound cakes  -  that should keep me busy in the kitchen for a while tonight!
   Boulder has had late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms since Friday, and it's expected to continue during this week, along with highs in the mid-90s.  We're back to our usual weather pattern, even though it is warmer, overall....

July Dog Days (For Me)

I spent yesterday running between Rosie and Remy, Brandi, and Peach.  Today it's just Brandi and Peach - but I'm currently at home with my kits, and I plan on spending a couple of hours with them.  Lovey is sitting on the corner of the desk, as usual, and Nedi has been running in and out, with frequent stops for a chin and chest scratch.  Brandi and I slept like rocks last night - and Peach and I had a great walk early this morning.
   Yesterday, I saw the TV coverage of the Eventing dressage test, and hope to see the second part today.  I also saw the last 40 miles of the men's road race, and watched Boulder's Taylor Phinney finish in fourth place.  I've just finished reading James Rollins' Blood Line, Randy Wayne White's Chasing Midnight, and Linda Fairstein's Night Watch.  I highly recommend all three books, if you like a good mystery-suspense-thriller read.  Once I read Catherine Coulter's new FBI thriller, Back Fire, I'll have to revisit the public library for new reads.
  I now wish I was in England, watching the Equestrian tests of the Olympics - I can smell the River Thames, see the "Cutty Sark" and "Gypsy Moth" there at Greenwich, and I hear the rhythmic cadence of horses performing their dressage tests....  I can't get horses and ponies out of my blood...

London, the Arts, Ramsah, and Books

It's been 25 years since I was last in London - I don't particularly like crowds, but if I could see the Equestrian events at the Olympic Games this summer, I'd be there.  I did have to laugh as I read that, with over 237,000 people arriving at Heathrow Airport yesterday (most of them Olympic athletes), one bus load full of athletes got lost on its way to the Olympic village.  One has to wonder how much training the bus drivers have received - I know that cab drivers in London have to study for years to get licensed....
   This weekend, besides the Queen City Horse Show in Denver for Saddlebreds, Peruvian Paso Finos, Arabs, half-Arabs, Sport horses, Fresians, half-Fresians, Hackneys, etc., there is also an open air Arts Festival taking place in Boulder, on the Pearl Street Mall.  Artists from around the world, and several local talents, are participating on Saturday and Sunday - with items ranging from paintings and photography, to wood and metal sculpture, weaving, ceramics, glass, and jewelry.  At the moment, our forecast calls for very hot, very dry weather for the area - so if any one goes to either event, please stay hydrated, and avoid excessive over-heating.
   The past few nights, I have been in the back yard between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight, and have been happy to see momma raccoon and 4 youngsters searching the yard for edibles.  Last night, I was trying to observe Ramsah when the cute critters appeared; and I had to walk forward and convince Momma  that Ramsah was not to be thought of as a potential meal.  Nancy has been managing to keep Ramsah's weight between 10.8 and 11.1 pounds; last night she was at 10.8, and then Ramsah had urinated under Nancy's bed - Nancy grabbed her, causing Ramsah to squeak, and then Nancy panicked, so I was called from my bed to check Ramsah, while in my nightgown.  Ramsah was OK - but she had either not quite finished urinating when Nancy had grabbed her, or she just finished relieving herself in the grass out back when Nancy let her go. In any event - Ramsah was OK, but had pee on her hind-end - whether from stepping in it, or being pulled through it by Nancy, or having laid in it, I don't know.  I do know that I am losing my patience with Nancy, and I don't want to do that - but recently, I can't even go to the bathroom without her phoning me, and if I don't answer immediately, she lets herself into the apartment, calling my name.  I am not happy with this development.  I am going to have to set some rules down and enforce them.
   Today is the day I don't walk Rosie and Remy - my kits have been running in and out of the back door since 6 a.m. - and the only thing I need to do today is return some library books and grab some new ones to read.  (I do have 5 new books on order, and they are in the process of being shipped here at the moment - but I still need something to occupy my mind....)

Olympic Finals - Equestrian

50 horses and their riders competed in the first round of Individual Show Jumping; 21 made it to the second round; 3 made it to the jump-off finals. The top six finishers were:
1st place: Eric Lamaze, Canada, on Hickstead
2nd place: Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, Sweden, on Ninja
3rd place: Beezie Madden, USA, on Authentic
In fourth place was Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Germany, on Shutterfly; fifth was Rodrigo Pessoa, Brazil, on Rufus; and sixth was Mclain Ward, USA, on Sapphire.

Cut lines; weather; horse doping

The weather has been ideal this week - highs in the upper 70s and low 80s, lows in the lower to mid-50s, with late afternoon cloud cover and a few sprinkles. It was glorious walking weather this morning, and Hila and I hiked over to Wonderland Lake and then around it and back to her house. Eliphalet Pease, the rooster, started crowing at 5:30 this morning - and I gathered 8 fresh eggs from the henhouse after feeding the flock - besides their usual scratch and corn, they got pears and an apple this morning. No sign of the skunk so far - and I'm keeping an eye out for it.

A contractor cut the telephone and internet lines in North Boulder yesterday afternoon, and so no one in the neighborhood where I'm staying has either service available. My sister thought that her old telephone had finally died, and I was the one to inform her and Jim of the cut lines.

Four horses at the Olympics have tested positive for a forbidden substance - including a horse on Norway's Bronze-medal winning show jumping team (their medal might be stripped). The drug? Capsaicin - a component of chili peppers, and usually applied topically for pain relief. The horses who tested positive were: Camiro of Norway, Lantinus of Ireland, Chupa Chup of Brazil, and Coster of Germany.
The Individual Show Jumping competition is currently taking place, with highlights to be shown on NBC stations between 1o am and 1 pm today - including the awarding of the medals, which will end the equestrian compettitions of the 2008 Games. Best wishes to all!

Open Chickencoop; Olympics

I was scared spitless when I arrived at Hila's home yesterday afternoon and found the chickencoop door wide open and no fowl visible. I had a handful of green grapes and cherries for myself, but found I was calling ,"Here, chick, chick, chick!", so I tossed them on the ground in the pen. Lo and behold, everyone came out of the henhouse and started to eat. I felt so relieved that I didn't know what to do - I went inside the coop and made sure there were no fox or skunks hidden, and went back out, closing the door securely behind me. I've seen the foxes and the skunk in the area, and have so far been lucky with the skunk - Hila's owner was not so lucky and got sprayed last week.

I finally got some of my photos on a CD, and hope to start sharing them - I have downloaded them onto my computer, so hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post them to this blog soon.
I came back to my apartment via bus this morning - caught the 6:52 - and was surprised (but I shouldn't have been) that, other than the driver, I was the only person on board (SRO) who was not a middle- or high school student. Not only have public school classes begun, but the freshmen are invading for the fall term at CU, so the town is very lively again.

The only part of the equestrian Olympics that are still being contested is for the Individual Show Jumping medals. I've checked the TV listings, and it looks like the jumping finals will be aired on regular NBC stations between 10 am and 1 pm on Thursday (tomorrow). Mclain Ward of the USA (riding Sapphire) is one of the favorites for a medal.
I was lucky enough to see the Oxygen Channel's coverage of the Grand Prix Freestyle Musical yesterday. The channel showed bits and pieces of Steffen Peters' ride, and a little of Heike Kemmer; they showed the entire rides of Isabell Werth and Anky vanGrunsven - and they were breath-takingly beautiful. Stachmo, Werth's horse, refused to piaffe and pirouette, and when she dug her spurs into him, he gave a buck. Anky had begun to grin with more than 40 seconds left in her presentation - Salinero had worked beautifully and willingly. Her gold was a cinch!

Musical Freestyle Finals - Dressage

The Individual Dressage Finals in Grand Prix Freestyle Musical did not produce any surprises in the medalists:
1st place: Anky VanGrunsven, Netherlands, on Salinero (for 3rd time)
2nd place: Isabell Werth, Germany, on Satchmo
3rd place: Heike Kemmer, Germany, on Bonaparte

The Surprise: 4th place: Steffan Peters, USA, on Ravel

Neatnik Neighbor; Olympics

I'm off to Hila's house this afternoon - I'll be gathering fresh eggs in the morning, and choosing fresh veggies from the gardens for meals. It was 50 degrees this morning, and the walking was refreshing - snow is easily seen on the mountaintops and shoulders of the Front Range.

I've had to laugh - my neighbor sweeps her patio 3 times a day; I sweep mine every evening, about 6:30. Apparently, I don't sweep my patio early enough for my neighbor, as she now sweeps my patio between 3:30 and 4:30 each afternoon - I guess she's such a neatnik that having peanut hulls and birdseed hulls on the patio until the evening makes her need to clean it. This fall, once it stops being so hot in the mornings, I'll start sweeping it in the mornings again. But, for the moment, she's saving me sweat and effort, and I will let her....

The kits have been behaving and have been playing up a storm. I'm almost finished with the data in-put for the family tree report I need to send out - so it should go in the mail tomorrow. Yeah!!!! - I've also been spending some time in the atevi universe each day, and find I'm refreshed when I close the book(s).

There was a jump-off in the Team Show Jumping Finals yesterday between the USA and Canada. The United States finished in 1st place; Candada in 2nd; and Norway got 3rd.
The Free Style Dressage to Music is being ridden as I write this... I should be able to post the official finish later today. (The US has 77 medals over all right now.)

Kits; photos; Olympics

Going to be working hard on getting a late genealogy report sent out, hopefully within the next three days. Beautiful morning - cool, almost chilly with 80% humidity; sun; lots of birds and wildlife out and about. The kits are thrilled to be out and about in the grass and trees this morning, and I'm thrilled I'm not dealing with doggy diarhhea again. Still can't get photos to post from Webshots - oh, well, I'll have some of my photos to share soon. I'll start pet-sitting again for a week beginning tomorrow, so I'll be home during the day and away nights.

In the Olympics Team Show Jumping, the results of Round 2 are:
1st place: USA
2nd place: Canada (Go, Ian! - I hadn't realized that Ian Millar is 61 this year)
3rd place: Norway
4th place: Switzerland

Today was also the 3rd Qualifying Round for Individual Show Jumping; the top 50 will proceed in the competition. In first place is: Tony Andre Hansen, of Norway, riding Camiro; there are 4 tied for 2nd place, including Mclain Ward (on Sapphire) of the USET. All USET riders qualified for the finals, as did the Canadian riders.

Home; Olympics

The sun is actually shining and it's 64 degrees outside. The kits are running crazy all over the backyard and back into the apartment, celebrating the cool weather and lack of rain. Gimpy the squirrel was waiting for me to put out peanuts when I arrived home this afternoon, and the birds are quite happy that I just re-filled their feeders as well. Suki and Boo are awaiting the return of their people; their house is clean, as are the dogs (what a difference a day makes!).

In Team Show Jumping, the USA and Switzerland are currently tied for first place; Sweden is in third; and Canada and Germany are tied for fourth place. There are two more days of jumping for the Teams. Seventy-one horses and riders qualified for the Individual Show Jumping competition.

Rain, Snow; Poopy Dogs; Olympics

Trail Ridge Road is still closed due to snow and temperatures in the 30s. Loveland Pass at US 6 is closed due to snow. Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins are under a Flash Flood Warning through noon tomorrow. Oh, the joys of much needed rain in an arid climate after a longish period of drought.... Boulder has received 1.7 inches of rain in the last 24 hours - and it is very much welcomed by me.

Before getting over to Suki and Boo's last night, Jim informed me that both of the girls had gotten into a tub of salt, and had ingested a good deal of it. Kathy and I put down extra old blankets and towels over the rugs in the dogs' room before they left. This morning, as I approached the door, I was greeted by the odor I expected... but really didn't want. Both girls had drunk lots of water during and after their salt escapade - and diarrhea was the result. Boo is now a brown Samoyed with a white face; while Suki is white with brown spots. I have shaken and scraped the blankets and towels and put them in the washing machine; I have hosed out Boo's crate; I will mop the floors and hallways a little later this afternoon; then I get to bathe both dogs. Luckily, Boo is "blowing her coat" - that is, shedding her undercoat, so she won't be that difficult to get clean. Suki, on the other hand, while not as dirty, has that full double coat to wash, groom and dry.... I know that I'll sleep like a log after cleaning up the room, the crate, and the dogs!!

Official of the Individual Dressage Grand Prix Special are:
1st place: Isabell Werth, Germany, on Satchmo
2nd place: Anky VanGrunsven, Netherlands, on Salinero
3rd place: Heike Kemmer, Germany, on Bonaparte
4th place: Steffen Peters, USA, on Ravel

And please root for "Mini" Finney, from Boulder, in the bicycling roadrace at the velodrome!

Cooool Day; Olympics

The change in weather is certainly evident! It began to lightly rain at 6 pm yesterday evening; and I changed from a short-sleeved blouse to a long-sleeved one prior to dinner at Chautauqua. Today, at 1 pm, the temperature is 53 degrees and it's still lightly raining. I am not complaining about either fact; the change in temps feels wonderful, and we desperately need the rain. With the weather as it is, we have a huge flock of sparrows feeding on the patio (covered by the deck above) and sometimes the pigeons and flickers and crows join them. Lovey and Banichi are completely in hunter mode at the window and patio door, but I'm not letting them out.

Suki and Boo were wonderful last night, but I missed the kits sleeping with me. I came home this morning and took a nap with them, even though I slept well last night. Lovey is currently curled up in my lap, while Banichi is watching the patio from the "guard chair." I'll be heading back over to Suki and Boo's in a couple of hours, and will visit home tomorrow, before spending Saturday night at their house again. Then I'll have two nights at home before heading out to pet-sit again.

In Olympic results: for Team Grand Prix Dressage, the rankings were:
1st place: Germany
2nd place: The Netherlands
3rd place: Denmark
4th place: USA

In Individual Dressage, the standings are:
1st place: Isabell Werth, of Germany, on Satchmo
2nd place: Anky VanGrunsven, the Netherlands, on Salinero
3rd place: Heike Kemmer, of Germany, on Bonaparte
For the USET: Courtney King on Mythilus in 7th; Steffan Peters on Ravel in 10th; and Debbie McDonald on Bretina, in 34th place.

In the Individual Show Jumping preliminary round:
USET's McClain Ward, Beezie Madden and Will Simpson all rode clean rounds; Laura Kraut of the USET had 4 jumping faults and 1 time fault.
The Team Show Jumping preliminaries are still unofficial.

Odds and Ends

Well, apparently I wasn't paying much attention to the "fall weather" report I wrote about yesterday.... It's about a cold front coming in tonight, and our high temperatures will be in the low to mid-60s Friday and Saturday; and snow is predicted above 10,000 feet - so the mountaintops and their shoulders will receive a new white mantle.

Walking the Boulder Creek Path this morning was the usual treat - seeing wild critters and listening to the birds, squirrels, and the creek itself. My kits have been behaving themselves - no live prey recently, other than a few insects. A new squirrel has arrived; it has a very long, thin red tail that almost looks like a feather boa, and he's very leery of the kits. I've been helping my next-door neighbor learn American English; his name is Massoud, he's from Libya, and he's very eager to learn the vagaries of the English language.

Tonight we celebrate my sister's wedding anniversary at the Chautaqua Dining Hall; she and Jim will wear the clothes they wore at their wedding in 1981. In the last 3 days I've received 18 requests from possible distant relations about our family tree and how they might tie into it - most of the folks are from the northeastern US - and I'm trying to answer all of them. I am also preparing to put my husband's family tree on-line, as well as the Lancaster family that my paternal grandmother belonged to. Will begin a 3 night pet-sitting job tonight - but Suki and Boo are never a problem.

The Individual and Team Grand Prix Dressage competitions are still underway in Hong Kong - will post the results when they are available. Enjoy your upcoming weekend!

Olympic Results; Lovey

A cloudless, Colorado blue sky greeted me this morning, as well as a wonderful westerly breeze. We are experiencing "fall like" weather, according to the meterologists - highs in the mid- to low-80s, lows in the upper 50s, and thunderstorms every afternoon/evening. It was a delihgtful walk this morning!

Just before leaving to talk with my therapist yesterday, I heard a "thump" against the sunflower feeder (it's a wooden house), and was dismayed to see Lovey bring in a English sparrow. It was very much alive, and as she set it at my feet, I said, "Lovey! What a wonderful huntress you are! But, let's let the poor thing go, OK?" In an unusual response from her, she crunched down and instantly killed the little bird.

Official Individual results for Olympic 3-Day Eventing :
1st place: Hinrich Romeike, of Germany, on Marius
2nd place: Gina Miles, USA, on McKinlaigh
3rd place: Kristina Cook, of Great Britain, on Miners Frolic
4th place: Megan Jones, of Australia, on Irish Jester

Qualifying rounds for Individual Grand Prix Dressage are currently under way in Hong Kong.

Nice Morning; Olympic Eventing Results

Last night and this morning, Lovey slept on my legs, while Banichi slept on top of my head. We made a love sandwich that was quite warm - I had the fan on all night due to the kits' sleeping decisions. It was beautiful again this morning! Cool temperatures, low humidity; birds flying and singing, squirrels chattering, a fawn 'mewling' to its momma; a good morning for a nice long walk.

I was on stand-by yesterday to act as a guide and take an Italian couple out touring in and around Boulder; thankfully, they were too pooped to want to do that. I'm finishing up (printing out) a family tree for a couple of distant cousins in Idaho; and I have to finish putting Kathy's chaplet together for her and Jim's anniversary on Thursday. (This time it will be silk flowers, so they can be re-used.) And I'll be taking care of Suki and Boo from Thursday night through Sunday afternoon, as Jim is running in two races at Pike's Peak this weekend...

The results are final and official for the Team competition of the 3-Day Event in the Olympics:
1st place: Germany
2nd place: Australia
3rd place: Great Britain
4th: Sweden; 5th: New Zealand; 6th: Italy; 7th: United States; 8th:Ireland; 9th:Canada: 10th: Brazil; 11th: France.

There is still another Individual stadium jumping round to go; currently, the top 4 contenders:
1st: Hinrich Romeike, of Germany, on Marius
2nd: Ingrid Klimke, of Germany, on Abraxxas
3rd: Megan Jones, of Australia, on Irish Jester
4th: Gina Miles, USA, on McKinlaigh
American Phillip Dutton on Connaught is in 16th place; Mark Todd of New Zealand on Gandalf is in 22nd place; Rebecca Holder, USA, on Courageous Comet is in 43rd place; and Karen O'Connor with Mandiba is in 45th place.

Of all the horses competing in Eventing, one was withdrawn prior to the Dressage Test; 1 was withdrawn before the Cross-Country; 8 were eliminated by falls (of either horse or rider) on the Cross Country course; 3 horses were withdrawn before the Stadium Jumping phase, and 1 was eliminated during Stadium Jumping.

Sleepy Sunday; Olympic Cross Country Results

I did laundry and dishes yesterday, as well as scrubbing the kitty litter boxes, and I watched a bit of the Olympics coverage. But I was a sloth most of the time and slept a great deal. We had a good rain last night, with plenty of lightning and thunder - and for my walk this morning, the air felt positively cool. I hadn't realized it until this morning, but the kits have been collecting grasshoppers and turning them loose indoors. I sat down to a bowl of fruit this morning after my walk, and found myself contemplating a large tan and black grasshoppper on the rim of my bowl. I've caught and released 22 grasshoppers so far today.

Official individual results for the Olympic Cross Country are in:
1st place: Hinrich Romeike, of Germany, on Marius
2nd place: Ingrid Klimke, of Germany, on Abraxxas
3rd place: Megan Jones, of Australia, on Irish Jester
4th place: Clayton Fredericks, of Russia, on Ben Along Time
5th place (tie): Gina Miles, USA, on McKinlaigh
5th place (tie): Mary King, of Great Britain, on Call Again Cavalier
Mark Todd on Gandalf, from New Zealand, finished 29th; Karen O'Connor on Mandiba (USA) finished 54th. Amy Tryon and her horse, Poggio II, (USA) fell and were eliminated.

Unofficial (right now) Team results for the Cross Country are:
1st place: Germany
2nd place: Russia
3rd place: Great Britain
The US Equestrian Team is in 7th place as a Team.