Thursday, June 28, 2018

Riding off into the sunset

I don't usually allow myself the luxury of taking time to ride until the end of the day. If we get our usual evening coast breeze it's refreshing then, and if we're lucky (well, if I'm lucky; I don't think Lance cares one way or the other), we get the bonus of beautiful skies.

Last night as I was getting Lance tacked up, the sky looked promising. After several clear days, there were clouds for the sun to paint on its way westward. We headed out to chase the light, me snapping photos all along the way. It was spectacular from beginning to end!






In the summer the sun rises before I usually do, but I still got a treat this morning:

Sunrises in the winter; sunsets in the summer – I am aware of the embarrassment of visual riches I get to enjoy here at . . .


Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Pondering; pending

Lately I've been bugged by my lack of blogging mojo but was unable to overcome it. I knew it was tied to bigger issues but was unable to outline them. Ugh; "unable" is not a sustainable position for me. I was raised to "do something;" that's what my immigrant grandparents and great-grandparents did and taught. Ah, immigrants.... I personally know ONE full-blooded Native American; the rest of us just got lucky. Lucky that our ancestors weren't banned from this country for one reason or another (MANY groups have been excluded or vilified over the years), or lucky they found their way here by hook or by crook in spite of laws or prejudice (ever heard of stow-aways?). Interesting that in Bible prophecy all "kingdoms" or world powers are described as rising out of the "sea," which it defines as "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" – in other words, nations that arise out of other nations in populated lands. All but one kingdom, that is. That world power rises out of the "earth" or unpopulated place and is described as starting out "lamb-like" but changes to speaking as a dragon and uses deception and force. I know how the story ends (hallelujah!), but it's still a very uncomfortable place to live right now....

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. I've been pondering ways around my writer's block, ways to deal with this unease I'm feeling. I needed to name it, define it, acknowledge it and move past it. "Pending" came to mind while I did chores yesterday morning. Aha, a place to start; a word that might be the key that opens the lock! So to merriam-webster.com I went to look up synonyms and sort my thoughts; I guess it worked, because here I am. Anyway, now that I've acknowledged, at least in part, the elephant in the room, I can move on to the mundane, in no particular order.

The hens are still laying bountifully – more bountifully than I have room or market for! So I purchased a mini-muffin pan and am freezing eggs for next winter, when supply doesn't meet demand.

Summer cycles of watering, weeding, and picking in the garden are in full swing. Last night after pesto pasta made from the first picking of our basil, Rick and I picked strawberries for the fourth time; I have 15 pints in the freezer and we've enjoyed them fresh and in a strawberry/rhubarb cake. Brian picked the first container of raspberries for the freezer and we all sampled the boysenberries, but the red currants had to wait. The tomatoes all have cages now and the snow peas have a trellis line.




There seem to be a lot more songbirds around this year. I wonder if it's because of all the development on our hill (unhappy thought), but I'm glad we can provide some habitat and food. The Western bluebirds and the violet-green swallows are working on round two in our nest boxes; we're thrilled about that!

There's not much blooming right now, except for the Stella D'Oro daylilies in the island and the orange flowers (still can't remember their name) in front of the house – and they just keep going, and going, and going, bless their sunny faces.


I finally got the last of the fleeces skirted, weighed, and posted on Ravelry, including two from last year that I didn't get marketed well because of dealing with my dad. Two were snapped up the first day, Bogie (lighter) and one of Vienna's (darker).




My own creative/crafting engine has been idling if not dead (hence the blogging lapse), but this Friday should be a good jump-start. I've been intending to learn how to ply-on-the-fly with my Jenkins Turkish spindles but haven't ever sat down with tools and YouTube videos to "just DO it." So when Wanda Jenkins mentioned in a blog post that she was going to be teaching a class on PoF at Black Sheep Gathering, I decided to go for it. I'll get to see my friend (and will be driving to BSG and back with another friend), provide a little financial support (Wanda has bigger dental problems than I had 😣), learn something new, and get hooked on creating something again. I'm excited!

Anticipation is so much better than brooding at . . .

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

"Today's episode of this blog...

...has been brought to you by the letter S."

As in Squirrel:

And Strawberries:

And Sunset:




Today was hot again, as evidenced by the prostrate squirrel; I broke down and set the AC at 80° so it didn't get any hotter than that IN the house. But by mid-afternoon, a cool coast breeze was blowing and I was able to shut off the AC and open the windows. Revived from my own torpor, I rode my horse and then headed to the garden. Things are looking good; five of my six tomatoes have green fruit, there is an eggplant and some pepper flowers, the basil is big enough consider picking. I pulled some weeds and then picked strawberries. As I finished up, I noticed stunning clouds in all directions.




We had a chance of thunderstorms today, but so far, no luck. We could use a good soaking – and I love a good thunder and lightning show! Unfortunately, we rarely get those here. Oh well, one can't have everything! 😉

That's it for this episode from . . .

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

It's only June...

It's hot. I've been been as still as possible the last few hours, trying not to break a sweat IN the house with the fan running. We only get a handful of nights – at most – every summer when it doesn't cool off at night; to get one this early is worrisome. It's not even officially summer yet!

Before I chose inertia, I got the last fleece of 2018 harvested. Bernadette was rooed – mostly. The fleece on her neck and shoulders was pretty tight, so I scissor-sheared her there. What a luscious, dark chocolate fleece! Between the glistening lanolin and the camera trying to let in more light, the close-up shot doesn't show it; the full-body "after" shot does. She looks extra-fuzzy because I combed her after she threw herself on the ground and rolled around in the leaves and debris. 😖



I'm feeling Oreo's absence keenly; she's left a hole that I don't see filling easily or quickly. Thank-you for your comments and condolences; it does help to be able to share. All of us who choose to share our lives with animals know this pain; they just don't live long enough....

That's it for now from . . .

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Coming in for a soft landing

It's been a rough weekend on the heart. Saturday morning Oreo was much worse, which didn't make sense until I learned that Rick had given her some steroid with the sub-cu fluids on Friday. Once that wore off, there was little left in her but breath. Rick finally ended her suffering today (a rotten job, especially on Fathers Day), right after I learned that Sara had lost her little lamb on Friday. When I looked up and saw a hole in the clouds, all I could think of were the holes in our hearts....

I did manage to get Bridget sheared this morning. No 'before' photo, as I didn't take off her coat until I had sheared off her trashy neck fleece. I was expecting her to be difficult (she's loud, pushy, and spoiled from being a short-term bottle baby) but she was actually very good – and easy to shear.

There was no time to harvest the last waiting fleece (Bernadette's) before I needed to get my horse ready for a dressage lesson – but my student didn't show up. 😒 Then Rick and Brian wanted me to go with them to try out a little fishing boat they had borrowed, and I didn't feel I could say "no" with it being Fathers Day and all.

It was a beautiful day to be on Henry Hagg Lake (said a LOT of people), but the boat itself was a little nerve-racking. I managed to knit a few rounds but mostly just hung on – and took a few photos.





Rick wasn't entirely comfortable with the boat, either, but Brian loved it!

The sun was setting on as we neared home, and the sky put on an amazing show. Reveling in such beauty crowded out all other trauma for awhile; it really was a balm to the soul.






That's it for now from Gilead . . .