June So Soon

12 June 2018

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?

Chicago trip: check.  I had a darned good time!  Awesomeness Factor of 15/10 for meeting friends.  Comfort Index of staying in a hostel next to the El 5/10 (and that’s generous!)  The trip did not turn out at all as was advertised.  We were going to be planting shore grasses along Lake Michigan and we ended up planting native trees and shrubs in a reclaimed woodland.  Close enough.  Because of the change of plans we had more time to see downtown Chicago.  It is a dynamic city! 

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 on a beautiful blue sky day.  We flew over the forests and mountains and rivers of my country.  The mighty Columbia, Mt Hood gleaming in the sun, the chain of snow-capped volcanoes marching north – St Helens, Adams, all the way to Mt Rainier outside Seattle.  I saw sad brown swaths of burned timberland lining the south side of the Gorge.  The Eagle Creek fire did so much damage, and so much of it is visible to a large population.  We had a much, much bigger and more devastating fire in southern Oregon last summer but it was in a more remote area, affecting far fewer people.   We of the short attention spans will forget the bigger one.

I had my daughter down for a weekend visit after I returned from Chicago.  She’s got a houseful right now and has enjoyed getting away.  Her two in-laws will be moving out this summer, maybe this month.  She’ll be ecstatic!

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 flew to the Bay Area to meet up with my friend KA.  I was delivering a quilt to her second granddaughter.  We had a great time with the kids and the parents.  Played for a little bit, went out to dinner (very early!), and then left the little family and went to KA’s and drank some wine.  Lol.  We left the next morning for the ranch.

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 sheep.  She is trying to diversify her flock.  Good!  Take these!  They’re good sheep!  (Actually, the Tunis are the best looking, imo, they have reddish brown heads and legs with white fleece.  The gingers, lol.)

Meanwhile, back at my house, everything is fine.  Pierre is alive, the house is undamaged; well done, Sara.  I need to get back to the yardwork, for sure.  I did a massive amount of weeding before I left but…  yeah, back at it.  I’m not sure if I’ll get anything vegetable-like in the garden or not this year.  I wouldn’t mind a sprawling butternut squash.  It’s late, but it should be ok.

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.