A Bit of Rain on a Tuesday

Egads! I think it actually rained some last night!   I see little puddles of water on the porch.  This is special, for sure, because it is so dry here.  Humidity is less than 5% most of this spring.  The little grasses that did come up were withering away and our volunteer fire department has asked residents to attend their wildfire preparedness training on a weekly basis.   And - it rained some last night!   Old Virgil's mother (a pioneer in this area) used to say, "Well, it'll rain someday...."  There is hope, but it's rather sad to miss the spring wildflowers.

We've kept the sheep, donkey and horse in the corrals to save what little pasture there is.  Had to move Angel, the donkey, out of the sheep pens when she started to drag the sheep around on the ground out of sheer boredom. 

I need to get ready for work.  Egads!  Just found myself sitting and thinking. 

Red Flag Warnings and Love

Pike's Peak seen through the scrub oak

I woke early this morning to the wind howling yet another day.  The humidity is low, too, which means another "red flag warning" day.  There is a bit of green here in the Wets but on the plains it's looking brown and dry.  I got up at just before 6 am - because there are few things I like better than to make coffee at the break of dawn and NOT go to work.   The habit is to pour a cup and then wander from window to window to savor the four directions.

My youngest daughter, Madeline, has returned home for awhile.  She has brought Rooster, the blue heeler, back with her and her huge yellow cat, Moses.  Last night my middle duaghter, Emily, came home for the weekend and she brought her dog, Bear, with her.  We now have four dogs and two cats who are used to being allowed in the house.  My first task this morning was to feed them all (the animals, not the daughters) and send them outside to play.  They've been in and out all day.

My daughters each are moving on their journeys through this time and I am honored that they allow me to be, in some small way, part of them still.  They are truly my pride and joy.  My daughters, not the animals. 

So, I'm wrapping the day up now and stopping to reflect again.  Despite the wind which has only just now calmed it was a lovely day.   The daughters have gone together to a girlfriend's 30th birthday party and Jerry is downstairs making some music.   He's wooing me, I think........ 

Spring Fever and Farm Update

Ohhhh, it was a long day today. The afternoon stretched on and on. And when I looked at the clock it wasn't cooperating at all. Others at work seemed tired and worn a bit at the edges. It's gotta be Spring. Farm update - I planted my pea patch this weekend. It snowed the next day so that was perfect for snow peas, wasn't it? I've put lettuces and radish and spinach in the cold frame (although I could have done that even earlier - we'll see if it helps at all - still a month of freeze possible). We woke Saturday morning to find a surprize lamb! A little April Fool. Our ewes are real young and we didn't think we'd have lambs this year. He's adorable. People ask what we do with our lambs and of course we eat them at some point. A good friend's mother once said that she would prefer to know and name the meat she eats - and I agree with her. Good karma. New chicks are due to arrive next week. We're all set up for them. So are the coyotes, I'm sure. Damn coyotes. Eat the rabbits! Eat the rabbits!