1. The first storm of the season moved in last night. We had a wee bit of rain earlier this month, but this is the first storm. And it is going to be a doozy, with high winds accompanying heavy rain. Brett has been busy all week cleaning out rain gutters and storm drains, in preparation. He also stacked another cord of wood. We are ready.
2. Brett had a really nice visit with his son's family last weekend. I was sure happy to have him back home, though. My foot was really sore after doing all the chores, by myself, for three days. Kersey was confused; she kept looking for him in the mornings. Of course, when he walked in the door Monday night she was snoring on her bed and didn't even look up. I called out, "Are you home?" and when he answered, her tail started thumping like mad.
3. I expect the blog will be quiet this weekend. We will be watching the rain -- which will continue through Monday. I will escape the weather briefly, on Sunday, when I fly down to LA to have lunch with Camille and my ex-mother-in-law. She is in her 90s now and we haven't seen each other since Camille graduated from high school -- four years ago. The unfortunate part about divorce is that you lose the family, as well as the spouse. I hated losing her -- and she hated losing me. So, Camille decided we should (the three of us) go to lunch. A brilliant idea, and much better than the messages of greeting and love that she and I send each other through Camille.
4. I was stuck at the office late last night so Brett had to bring the horses into the barn by himself. Pistol, Flash and Jackson are always easy. Lucy is a 50/50 proposition -- if the wind is up, or its cold, (or she's in a "mood"), she can be very prancy, dancy about the whole thing. Tex, as you know, has a history of being halter shy. They were both docile as can be last evening for Brett.
5. Brett found a dead snake just outside the front gate yesterday when he went to get the mail. He had noticed it the day before, and thought it was napping. It was a gopher snake, and fairly large, so we are sad. Gopher snakes are a welcome addition to the ranch. I almost stepped on a little one in the garden one evening and I, of course, jumped out of my skin. I stopped, looked at it closely, and then it slid under the lavender. Its funny how we are hard-wired to jump when we see a snake. There are rattlesnakes in our area, but they are nocturnal so we don't see them much. I'm constantly battling gophers in my garden so I'm happy to have snakes help me. I have to plant everything in little wire cages or the gophers kill them. One day I have a healthy plant, the next day I have a stem with no roots.
Centuries ago people killed moles for fur. Then there were less of them, so it became illegal. And now every single farm is dotted with hundreds of mole hills. And we are not allowed to kill them. I found five new mounds today in my garden, and I don't mind the dozens going up in my pasture, cuz I have no chance there. I sometimes wonder how wrong a mole jacket would be, that these pests are allowed to conquer our gardens and pastures freely, year after year.
ReplyDeleteNo blogs make me want a dog, but yours just kind of did, a bit. To be on good terms with an ex mother in law is awesome. I have a big old language barrier between me and my MIL.
That's very true about losing family in a divorce. It's really nice that you can do lunch together. I used to see my ex-in-laws quite a bit, but they retired further south and now I rarely see them. It's sad. We did see them last summer at my daughter's wedding and it was a lot of fun. Enjoy your time together.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the weekend and your lunch with the ladies. :)
ReplyDeleteLunch sounds like a great idea. It will be so nice to see your daughter and ex-mother-in-law. I'm sure she misses you.
ReplyDeleteGlad they were all no trouble for Brett to bring in. They were probably just happy to get in there before the storm.
I'd have jumped a mile if I saw the snake. I don't like to be startled and they just do it to me. Mice too. It's just you don't expect them and there they are!
Sounds like you have been busy!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Ladies Lunch! Great idea, by the way!
We must have had the same storm that you had. Lots of wind and oh my gosh, SO much rain! We brought the horses inside for the worst of it, made a fire and I put a pot of soup on the wood stove. Other than a few random branches strewn about, we were none the worse for wear. Lots of power outages in more remote areas though, and even in Portland. Oh, and the tornado on the beach about an hour and a half from here. That's not common for around here!
ReplyDeleteSounds nice that you still keep in touch with your in-laws. Your daughter has very good ideas!