We are so excited that the Comstock family has moved to Texas from Utah. And they are such studs … they moved into their house on the “Hottest June Day Ever in Austin, Texas,” reaching 109 degrees! Many of you know them as Cosmo Cricket, because Julie and Eric are the artists behind all those gorgeous scrapbooking collections and fabrics that you might very well have in your stash. It’s so much fun to have fellow artist friends, who we have only seen in our trade show aisles, right here in Austin. So here is a little housewarming gift for our new Texan friends: your own cattle brand! We hereby christen your new homestead, the Rockin’ 6C in honor of all six Comstocks makin’ it all the way to Texas. (See cow above modeling the spiffy new brand.)
And, what better way to introduce the Rockin’ 6C wranglers to Austin than a trip to the rodeo. Right? Well, maybe. It had been a few years since we had been to the rodeo, and some of the events were a little rougher and tougher than we had remembered. For example, mutton-bustin’ for the littlest cowboys and cowgirls sounded cute, but turned out to be totally intense. Each little buckaroo held on to a fistful of sheep wool as the giant running mutton (these were not little Bo Peep’s sheep) flew down the arena. Then, as the little cowpokes slid off the sheep sides … under the sharp running mutton hooves, we all exclaimed “oh dear,” and “oh my!” And when the team-roping started, we watched the first steer’s neck yanked in one direction while his legs were being yanked the other way. Ouch! We were all a little bit shocked. Jim and I kept assuring the newly transplanted Texans that our cows and sheep actually like this sort of thing. “Look at them, they get to be in an arena, cheered by a crowd, under the stars at night … which are big and bright, (clap, clap, clap) deep in the heart of Texas.” (A new song to add to the list of “Important Songs Texans Will Need To Know For the Rest of Their Lives.”) There were actually plenty of fun rodeo displays that did not make us cringe and were full of cowboy fun. Below are some pictures which are semi-in-focus due to the fact that I forgot my camera and had to photograph the festivities with my phone.
Part of the reason it’s just a tad bit difficult for us to see a cow being roped or a sheep being chased is that we are artists … artists, who draw these little critters all the time for nurseries and babies, so our cows softly say, “Moo Moo,” and our sheep bashfully bleat, “Baa Baa … black sheep have you any wool? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three bags full.”
Happily, we were all relieved to see that the ropes were released right away, and the cows and sheep just trotted off, as if they had simply taken off their neckties from a day at work and were ready to eat some dinner. You will be glad to know that there were plenty of events with a little less fretting on our part, like Barrel Racing and our favorite: the Calf Scramble. And, who was right there with the arena full of cowfolks scrambling for a calf? Our brand new little Comstock cowgirl, running so fast to capture one of those tail ribbons. There she is below with her pretty red hair flowing in the Texas wind.
And here I am surrounded by our new Texas friends. I don’t think I have heard them use the words, “fixin’ to” or “tump it over,” yet, but I bet the word,“ya’ll” will creep into their vocabulary before the weather changes. Welcome Home Comstock family. We’re so happy you are here.
