I got my days crossed and July 25 1963 got in where July 18 should have been. Scrambled brained me. so I will try to get back on track with a jump ahead of one year.
July 25, 1964, Sat
I didn’t try to get up early. What’s the use? Fed, ate breakfast etc. Drove out and worked on Happy’s and Ginger’s manners a bit. They get pretty sassy. When we came home I saddled Prez and watered everyone and then led Lyno, Leo and Chief and rode Buzzie. She was just a little tight at first. I guess she is in heat but she did okay. Finally got done and came in about 2:30. That’s the worst yet. After lunch I read my mail and then lay down and slept until 5:00. I guess that is a poor way to spend the afternoon but I was tired as could be. We did our home chores and drove out. Mom went along to admire Bravo. A big cloud came up while we were out there and we barely beat the rain home. And did it ever rain. It leaked in all over and we had to move things frantically. It must have rained 2” or more in an hour. Oh it was terrible! It really was. We went down to check on the stock and the canyon was running like mad. All the critters were standing in water. Gee this is really awful. The corrals, trails etc will be a hell of a mess. I dread for tomorrow to come. Then I wrote a sentence backwards. Isn’t that silly, I said? But it might come in useful sometime.
The summer of 1964 was one of some big rains. This was one day of it and August saw even more and worse. When water came down the Clarkdale canyon it often flooded the area where the corrals were up to 6-10 inches. It drained off fairly fast but left a mess on it's wake. The road out to the pasture could get pretty slippery and sometimes the ditch that ran through the dairy and the middle of the pasture would wash over the bridge the road used to cross it. The bridge was never taken out though but I expect it is gone now with the marsh and all. I'm not even sure if there is a road from the other end that extends to the pasture area. I haven't found one in recent years anyway, although there is occuppied private property just to the south.
I have mentioned the horses named here before and mostly provided photos. I do not have many flood shots but may find a few. Bravo was my beloved Tina's first foal, sired by Chief, and he was born March 19, 1964. That means he was close to time to be weaned but he'd had an accident from which he was recovering so that was delayed a bit. He did not come out Appaloosa, a bit disappointing, but otherwise he was a fine handome colt and almost uncannily similar to his dam except more brown the reddish bay. His white markings were a bit less than her's also.
Those houses in Clarkdale were not in the greatest state of repair. The one we lived in had a terrible pathetic roof. Supposedly it was replaced after the old wooden shingles caught fire once but for some reason it never stopped leaking! I think water came down around the central chimney and I'm not sure where and how else. Maybe that is why I tend to freak out about leaky roofs! We had a good job done on the porches here in 2020 which did leak some at first but the house itself was just reroofed when we contracted for it and should be good for awhile barring bad hail or fierce winds.
I have been able to read backwards or upside down since I was fairly young. Just for spits and giggles I decided to see if I could write (in cursive!) backwards and by golly I could. Not quite as neat but legible. I still can read upside down very easily and do so at times. Dubious talent?!
The first photo shows the lowest point of Clarkdale or close to it. about 1965. Many houses were vacant and vandalized. This was across the street from our two houses. It was really desolate and pitiful looking then. The next is Bravo, about the time of this date. He was 4-5 months old and looked so much like Tina except less white. And a shot of her about the same time. She had a white blaze face as well as the one white foot.
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