Thankful and Poetic Thursday #51 Christmas Eve 2020

Thankful Thursday hosted by

I'm very thankful for the  most wonderful 4 legged friends we met
on our walk at Shelley Lake yesterday, December 23rd.  

As we were trekking up the trail toward the  parking lot lo and behold we were greeted by two of Raleigh's Mounted Police on the most gorgeous

I think I might have been at least if not more excited than the children on the trail.

I am very THANKFUL I had my camera and especially THANKFUL for having the opportunity

to meet  two and four leggers on Raleigh's Mounted Police.

They graciously agreed to pose for lots of photos.

Ike is a German Warmblood** and Willow is a ***Percheron 

The police lady on Willow said she was small for a Percheron.

They have one other horse at the stables, a Belgian.  Don't know its name. I have never seen either of these breeds in the furs.  I'm easily pleased. Evidently as weather allows it sounded like they ride about the trails near Christmas.

**A warmblood is a term that covers any horses for sale that are not a coldblood (the draught breeds) or a hotblood (a thoroughbred or an Arab). However, it is generally applied to a range of European horses, perhaps the best known being the Dutch warmblood (KWPN), the Oldenburg, and the Hanoverian.

***The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name.

When we got to the parking lot we saw their truck and horse trailer

Now for my Christmas Eve Poem...

  Today we join Two  SPOLED CATS 

Angel Sammy and Teddy for their poetic pictorial poem.

Here is our inspiration

Today I'm going to 'try' to tell you a true story, via a Poem.

In case the font above is too small, I have it below in a larger font.

Twas Christmas Eve in NC

Back in the year 1956

with my Annie Ma* we lived.

Next door lived my Aunt and Uncle

and cousin Carol.

Carol was older and she thought wiser.

A few days before Christmas,

She was overheard telling gullible me

That Santa had no sleigh 

and reindeer could not fly?

Oh my what was I to believe...

I was about to cry

My uncle and my daddy were clever men.

No worries, they had a plan.

The Ladies were to keep the

children at the front of the house. 

The men vowed,

we'll be as quiet as a mouse.

Bed time came, stories were read

and we children were tucked snug in bed.

As our eyes became heavy,

and pillows cradled our heads

There was a sound bells ringing  

and a thump thump thump on the roof overhead.

The children asked what is that clatter

The ladies shook their heads

asking what did it matter?

We proclaimed with glee

it must be Santa and his reindeer.

We pulled the covers over our head and 

quickly to dream land we went.

******************************

Side note: Carol age 10 once again became a believer

It was many years before we discovered the source of the 

thump on the roof and the ringing bells.  My daddy was on the roof walking over our bedroom and my uncle was running around the house shaking as set of bells.

*Annie Ma was my maternal Grandmother.  The first grandchild could not

pronounce "G".  Grandma became Annie Ma.