Finally came the day she could ride Lightin'. She started him out with a hackamore. When she finally got him riding good her and Judy decided to go for a ride to Seney Wildlife Refuge. It was 15 miles one way. Tony said Judy could ride Teddy. They got up early in the morning before the sun came up and feed the horses while they got ready. They rode them through town. DeAnna thought that was so cool. She felt she was in a western movie. The town was so small. They rode the long round down into the wildlife refuge but they weren't allowed to ride on the property. They spent the whole day.
Sometimes they'd ride over the the Zellar's who lived right behind them. They had 200 acres of land and a lot of cows. Big John Zellar was their school bus driver. He was always very nice and friendly. DeAnna loved riding through the cow pasture! Her and Judy would sing the song "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo" over and over again. Or "Mr Boo Jingles". Laura, John's daughter, was a little older than them but she would ride their big work horse. DeAnna rode him once but she had to get on top of a car to get on his back. It was fun though. He was pretty old and really slow.

DeAnna was alone one morning with her mom. She was getting ready to go to work. DeAnna was feeling so happy and be talkative with her mom watching her put her makeup on.
"You know me and Tony have been having sex together." She said all the sudden.
"What did you just say?" Her mom looked at her angry!
Oh no, she thought to herself, I just said something wrong! But her and Big Tony joked about sex all the time. Everyday! Talking about the "green winnie" and she even crochet a warmer for his thing. She thought it was just something you do with someone you care for. DeAnna was about in tears. The look on her mom's face scared her. She never seen her look so mad!
"We.... we have sex." She said frozen scared.
"Oh no you don't!" Her mom screamed as she walked into her bedroom grabbing her belt! She came flying out of the bedroom and laid it on DeAnna big time as she held her arm. DeAnna ran in circles crying and screaming "No, momma! Please don't! You joke about it all the time! And so open about it! I didn't know!"
"Well, that's for adults and ADULTS ONLY!!" She said laying it on her even harder. She finally stopped. "Go to your room AND STAY THERE! And I better not hear about this anymore. I'm talking to his dad about all this!"
DeAnna ran into her room crying. What has she done? Now Tony would be really mad. He probably won't even talk to her anymore. She fell asleep as the tears rolled down her face. The next day Tony wouldn't even look at her. She knew he was mad. Well, she didn't know. She took off that day with Judy. They walked into town and DeAnna told her about what happened. Judy looked shocked that she told her mom.
A few days later they all went to visit some friends in Manistique. They had a pet skunk named Flower. They all loved it so much. The order bag had been cut out. Big Tony talked them into selling it to them. DeAnna was so happy. It got her mind off the trouble she just got into. She played with him a lot when they got home. He was so cute! DeAnna would be down on the floor and Flower would come running up to her. And then all the sudden lay his front end down on the ground and just kinda skoot backwards.
Steve had found a baby hawk that fell out of it's nest. He brought it up to the house and fed it rare meat. He raised it until it could fly. Then he let it go. It would come back everyday and fly round the house.
Judy was out back in the second clearing one day. She came running back up to the house in tears. She said she seen a black bear. She was so scared she could only climb two feet off the ground. No one believed her so Steve and Tony went back there to see if she was telling the truth. She showed them where she seen him. And sure enough there were bear tracks on the ground. And they seen where he had marked a tree with his claws.
They kept Flower outside the house in a cage they had built. DeAnna went out there to get him one day and he wasn't in it. She asked everyone where he was no one seemed to know. Then Jimmy came home from walking into town. He found Flower dead on the road. DeAnna cried so hard. She had loved him so much.
Big Tony bought some more Siberian Huskies. There was Bandit Steve's, Wolf Alan's, Juno Jimmy's. They breed the male's with Minka to sell the puppies. Nanuk DeAnna's he came from one of the pups she feel in love with.
That summer Big Tony bought wood to build another room onto the house. It was for the girls to sleep in so they didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore. It was twice the size of the boys room. The girls loved it. They finally got a bed to sleep in.
Tony still wasn't talking to DeAnna. She felt really hurt. She never meant to get him into trouble. Her and Steve started talking a lot. He seemed to really understand how she felt. He knew Tony was mad at her.
One afternoon DeAnna was outback laying on the edge of the second clearing watching a few deer graze. Steve came up from behind her. He laid down next to her.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" She whispered as she looked into his eyes. God, he was so cute.
"Yes, you are!" He said as he pulled her close to him kissing her. It was such a deep passionate kiss. She started to resist him but it was so powerful she couldn't. They wound up making love right there as the deer ran off into the woods. God, he was so heavenly. So big and strong. That night as she laid in bed she thought of that afternoon with Steve. She felt like she was falling in love. She closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Dreaming of him.
The next day she was heading out back to go ride Lightin'. As she was heading down the trail all the sudden she heard "WHORE!"
She turned around and Tony was standing right there behind her. She was shocked. She didn't even hear him come up behind her.
"Did you hear me? WHORE?" Tony said to her again. DeAnna hauled off and slapped him across the face! He threw her down to the ground and laid on top of her with his legs holding her arms down.
"Don't you ever slap me again! Do you hear me!" He said looking deep into her soul.
"Well, don't call me a whore!" She yelled out!
"Well, that's what you are! You did it with Steve!"
"So! You're all pisted off at me! He's been nice to me!"
"Well fine! You just stay with him then!" He said as he got up and headed to the house.
"FINE! I WILL!" She yelled after him watching him head up the trail. I WILL! She thought to her self! You just wait and see! She rounded up Lightin and took off through the woods.

Photo by Ethel

The next morning DeAnna and Judy got up real early and rode to Blaney Park which was 30 miles one way. It was an old resort area that was shut down. The main highway to Germfask went through the resort. It was on top of a small hill with restaurant, bar and a old tennis court on one side and a store with cabins on the other. At the bottom of the hill was two small lakes with a few small cabins on both sides of the road. Ronnie Norris said he used to work there when it was open and Elvis Presley and other famous people would come there to stay. Ronnie said there was an old airport landing somewhere back in there. But where they rode to was just before the lakes and the resort. As they came up to the England's who her mom had bought Lightin' from. All their horses got out of the fence and started running down the highway to them. It was funny! They didn't know what to do and was glad no cars were coming. So they rode up to the England's. Nancy a friend of Judy's came to the door.
"Look what we got!" Judy said.
"Oh my God!" Nancy yelled! She grabbed the oldest horse and took him to the barn as the others followed.
"Thanks!" She said "See you in school Monday."
When they got close the the lakes in Blaney Park they followed an old road way back into the woods. As they got a couple miles into the woods they came across a deer. DeAnna hit Lightin' and try to follow it through the woods. But it was too fast. They came to a big cabin with a lake they didn't know about. They got off the horses there and ate some sandwiches they made while the horses grazed on the grass. The finally decided it was time to start heading back. As they came up Ten Curves road it was getting dark. AND IT WAS STARTING TO SNOW! They were glad to be home. They were cold and tired. They fed the horses and went inside to bed.