Summer Rains and Drop Noodles

It rained at home while I was at work! I saw the clouds and the darkness covering the Wet Mountains and was so excited all afternoon. Drove home - lickety split - and delighted in the few light showers on the windshield that splattered all through Coal Creek and lands south. Tried to prepare myself for the likelihood that there was nothing more than wetting sprinkles. I even ditched yoga class. It's cooler here - about 70 degrees and it looks like there was SOME moisture. Not the deluge I had been imagining - but some rain. That is more than we've had for two months. The air is humid now and there is that smell in the air that is promising. How does that smell so fine? That mixture of dampness, sheep manure, grass, and buffalo grass. I inhale it, I gulp it.

I made harvest stew tonight to celebrate early summer and the rains. New potatoes, new carrots, new peas, some scallions, chicken and broth. The drop noodles are scrumptious and are made simply with 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, some pepper, 1 egg, and a little milk. Drop them into the finished stew by scant teaspoonfuls and cook for 7 minutes or so. I always make a double recipe because everyone loves the drop noodles so.

Soil Testing and Cousins

It has been nasty windy for the last two days. Too windy to plant anything, really. The garden is ready and waiting, but we've had a cold Spring so far. The peas are up finally and they love cold weather so you can guess how cold the soil has been. Barring planting I decided to do a soil test using the "Mosser Lee Master Soil Testing Kit" that I purchased last year and never got around to using. I felt like I needed a lab coat - it was very cool. It seems that our soil is pretty nice provided that these home test kits are at all close to accuracy. I always fret about soil amendment and whether we've done enough - and Jerry always tells me that we have. "That garden soil is PERfect, Suzan!" I need proof.

Memorial weekend has been oh so fine because all our lovely daughters came to visit. I made gathering bags for the grandkids the week before. I can't say they were an extreme hit but there was some gathering going on.

There was some wagon play, too. Those cousins went down the hill a thousand times. Fell out, too. They're still in their pajamas. They got up at the crack of dawn and dashed outside while the adults were still drinking first cups of coffee.

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!

Oven Cleaning the Green Way

I cleaned my oven yesterday. It is a totally Big Deal as it is not a "self cleaning" oven. Oh, if it only were! This is the same stove that was in the double wide trailer house that we lived in on our property while we built our current home. It's an old LP propane Kenmore that works just fine - but, you have to clean the oven the old fashioned way. It hasn't been really cleaned for 11 years. Now before you go all weird on me and accuse me of being a slob I have to tell you the the damn oven sort of self cleans itself whenever you bake in it. You know, stuff turns to ashes so it's really not seething with maggots or anything like that. Yesterday I cleaned it with some sort of spray that is pure lye based. It's nasty stuff. I tried using the vinegar in a boiling pan of water left in the oven overnight "green clean" idea but 11 years of gunk does not render itself to "green clean". It's spanking new looking now. But, I'll bet you anything I won't clean it again for another 11 years.

Modern Medicine

It snowed a little last night. A surprise in the night kind of snow. There is that comforted feeling that comes about from the realization of how buffeted from the elements one can be, all snuggled in a warm bed. Entwined with that one person who is as familiar with your life as you are.

There hasn't been a lot of that entwining business going on here for the last week until last night because of the Illness. I thought I'd go to work yesterday because I was feeling like the Illness might be leaving me. I was wrong. Started the "Zpack" antibiotic and some kick ass steroids yesterday and I just about feel human again. Does anyone else ever think about how many times they might died in their lifetimes without the miracle of modern medicine?

It looks like it will stay cloudy today. I will hang out some sheets later if it doesn't snow/rain and knit on my sweater and be grateful for kick ass modern medicine.

Long Weekends, Hiking, and Knitting

Sweet weekend all in all. Jessica and the grandkids came to visit Saturday and left Sunday. We had fun looking for elf doors in the "woods". At four, almost five, Evan really didn't think there was anything unusual about finding elf houses sprinkled around Grandma's farm. The matter of fact reaction surprised me a bit!

And, what a treat it is to have President's Day holiday. All day I've been grateful. A few times I caught myself thinking about work tomorrow - and promptly reminded myself to focus on the moment. We got up early and went into Canon City to do errands, came home and raked up the yard a bit, planned a few garden-y type projects. After lunch we took a hike and because Jerry was there - we ended bushwacking up the back of the property on deer trails through the scrub oak. Jerry loves a good bushwack.

I've started another knit project - the February Lady's Sweater which is a "big ass version of the February Baby's Sweater" originally patterned by the queen of knitting, Elizabeth Zimmerman. And - hey! - it's February!

The Shine of the Moon and Sewing for Grandchildren

On my lunch hour today I went into Cañon and shopped for fabric at the little quilt store on Main Street. I intend to make my granddaughter, Delilah, one of these little animal homes.

I actually had this in mind for another granddaughter a couple of years ago but didn't get around to it - and now she's probably too old. And, truth be told, I actually bought the pattern in the early 80's to make for Delilah's mother. I think she's definitely outgrown it by now. The pattern makes me happy whether I ever finish it for anyone. I know - that's kinda weird.

Jerry's away to northeastern Colorado minding the private prison mental health system. So every couple of weeks I get the house to myself for a night or two, can make bruschetta yet again with no flack, and feed the sheep a little extra grain just to be a kind shepherdess. They do love me for it and when Jerry returns to the chores I'll bet he wonders why they follow him so eagerly. The moon was wonderfully bright tonight out in the corrals and it was calm. I had to take a few minutes just looking at the stars while everyone munched their grain and hay. Life is good.

Rebuilding the Flock

Jerry and I drove the pick up and stock trailer out east to Manzanola early this morning and picked out new three ewe lambs. When we had decided to sell out that included our little sheep flock. And now that we're staying, well.....we need our sheep. These girls are Warhills (Rambouillet, Columbia, Targhee lineage) out of a Wyoming flock. We've always liked the herding qualities of Rambouillet. There's just something about having sheep around a place. In my mind anyway. The burro is Angel - and she is their guardian angel, literally. We've not had trouble with dogs or coyotes getting into the sheep with Angel watching over them.

It's - dare I say it? - unseasonably mild here on the Front Range this year. La Niña weather pattern, I'm told. Gorgeous but always with a touch of anxiety. What if we don't get our moisture? What if, what if.....who can say?

I'm all packed up and ready to travel north to Denver for a training all next week. My coworkers and I have busted our butts getting ready for the second half of this project that began 6 months ago. One of us is expecting a baby next week and another one is caught in Hurricane Tomas. We've got a huge presentation to give and half of us may be somewhere else....well, just pray for us, okay?

Felicia

I adopted a dog from the pound last week. She was very sweet, responsive, and quiet when I visited her there and seemed like the kind of animal who would fit in anywhere. They called her "Felicia" and we've kept that name because she looks like a Felicia might look. She was abandoned in an alley behind a business in Cañon City, tied to her doghouse. The photo above is Felicia on the first night in her new home. She was tired.

She's still very sweet and responsive. But.....she is always in motion. Always. Miss May, the cat, has been treed a couple of times and now I can't find her. And Felicia ripped up the porch cushions today - totally ripped them up, there is foam stuffing everywhere. She won't let the chihuahua be the Boss and he so loves to be that. He's been pouting. A lot. She took her blanket out through the pet door again, it's lying out in the yard somewhere. And she sleeps on any bed in any room with an open door. We've been used to older dogs who have better manners. Felicia is only seven months old and I guess we'll just have to get used to her energy.

I'm enjoying our walks - me, the chihuahua, and the Felicia. She doesn't tug on the leash and seems so happy to be out and about. She hasn't chased the chickens yet which is very mannerly of her. That probably comes later........