The arborists are here.
They are doing a fine pruning on the Japanese Maple, and a pruning and
height/girth reduction on the Rhododendron.
They seem like careful, attentive tree huggers, so that’s all to the
good. I’m trusting them with my plant
family!
I am sitting in the dining room which has a wall of windows
looking right into the rhodie, and surveys all of the front yard. They are in the tree! They are in the giant, strong shrub! Light weight young men, all three. I do hope they are careful.
Well, since it’s been a while, how about if I catch you up
on the doings over here?
The real reason I went was to meet my friend 8. And my other friend, MG. They were so much more amazing in real
life! These are the people about whom
you would say, I wish they were my neighbors!
I am happy that I was able to meet two awesome women and can call them
friends. People, if you know them
online, I can attest that they are as they present themselves. (But they are much more than that, too.) This is when the internet is a positive
thing. Thank you, Internet Kismet, for
finding me some kickass women friends!
I flew home from Chicago Oregon
I had my daughter down for a weekend visit after I returned
from Chicago
I played a 9-hole round of golf with T a couple weeks
ago. My second time golfing ever. It was a pleasant morning walking around and
swinging a stick at a ball. Fortunately
we don’t keep score or even care, often hitting 4 or 5 balls from the tee until
we get one we like. It’s supposed to be
fun, right?
Most recently, I traveled down to California
I had been talking to KA some weeks ago about getting back
to the ranch and trying to get some projects back on track. I asked her if she would consider coming with
me and helping with the paperwork nightmare in the dining room. KA is a paperwork professional, being a tax
preparer. She actually likes that kind
of thing. She readily agreed, I’m happy
to say. My friends are awesome people!
So, she and I drove out there Thursday. Arrived in the late afternoon, just in time
for chores. Ha! The rancher’s mom is in the throes of
dementia, remember, but she fell in love with KA. Not surprising, really. KA is great with old people. Well, with all people, really. She took care of both of her parents through
their long declines.
KA stayed for 3 days and got a lot of sorting done. She plans to return in another week to do
more.
I stayed for another week plus. Lots of chores, but also some progress on
some of the bigger projects. We emptied
out a rented storage locker and brought the junk back to the ranch. The next time I’m there I will be sorting
into donate, trash and keep. And then
going to the dump. I hope to make
several dump runs next time. I think I
have gotten the electrical repair at the barn project back in motion. At least it is a couple steps forward.
Went to a doctor’s appointment with my friend. She’s now scheduled for an MRI
this month, so that project is moving forward as well.
The rancher has also made some progress at reducing the size
of the flock. She sent a dozen of the
oldest ewes and the oldest ram to market while I was there, and 20 lambs to
market the day after I left. There are
still hundreds, don’t get me wrong, but it’s going in the right direction. She also met a gal who might be interested in
buying 20 or so of her Tunis Tunis
Meanwhile, back at my house, everything is fine. Pierre
I picked, washed, chopped and froze two large bags of
rhubarb from the garden before I left.
Waiting for the blueberries to ripen and then bring on the Blubarb
Jam! I need to get back to the Farmer’s
Markets to see where we are with the stone fruits. Too early yet for apricots or peaches,
berries are in season right now.
I think that’s the catch up.
I am so glad to be home. I’m so
appreciative of the quiet of my small household. And the relative quiet of my urban
neighborhood. I need some time to
decompress and reorient myself to my life.
I have been putting my own stuff on the backburner and I need to get my
focus back. There are still stories to
be edited, stories to be finished, and many more stories to be written.
Have a lovely day, friends, and thanks for reading
along.
