Friday flashback and friendship

This morning I got a text from an unknown number. But as soon as I saw the photo, I knew that an old friend has a new number.

Look at those munchkins! Brian was five years old; Cami was just shy of five. Cami's mom and I had been friends for 30 years at that point (over 40 now! 😮); both of us are old moms of only children.

Last night Rick and I (and Lance, who I rode for his exercise) went for a sunset walk and started talking about friendship. Rick sympathizes with Brian, who he feels hasn't had many close friends. I think both of them have trouble finding people they can relate to, who share common interests, then stew about it. Me, I've never had a flock of friends, but treasure and maintain the ones I've made along the winding way of my life. As a result, I feel like I have a priceless 'charm bracelet' of special friends – two from high school (including Cami's mom); another added in college; two more added while Rick was in vet school; several added after we moved here to Oregon; and even more when I started blogging. And it's not just a male/female thing. I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day about getting together with one of my friends (the first one I met upon moving to OR 30 years ago who now lives in HI) and she said, "That's one of the things I admire about you. You have worked at maintaining friendships over the years." (In Mom's defense, working long hours as an administrator left her little time to nurture relationships outside of family.)

Yesterday after work I stopped by my favorite store from which to buy plants (they only sell them in the spring and early summer; it's not a nursery) to pick up a mint. Like parsley, there is no substitute for fresh mint in some recipes. After smelling and sampling small leaves from an orange mint, a peppermint, and a chocolate mint, I came home with the first one as the best addition for pesto, along with a calibrachoa to tuck in the same pot "just for pretty." And here they are in their new home:

The other day I noticed some blue flowers in the pasture near our entrance. There are bachelor's buttons up there, but these are different (I had to zoom in or climb over the fence; I zoomed):

When I was riding in our arena Wednesday, I saw two more of what looked like the same type of flower in the bottom pasture, but in different colors:

I think they are all cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), wild relatives of my cultivated-but-out-of-control perennial bachelor's buttons (Centaurea montana, also called perennial cornflower).

I also noticed a deer in our stand of firs in the bottom pasture:

Thinking I might get to see my first fawn of the season, I walked closer:

Then I got concerned; she never moved. As you can see, she is extremely thin; I worried she might be dying. But the next morning I saw her walking past the henhouse, so at least she was up and moving. I may call them meadow rats, but I hate to see any creature suffer.

The deck was wet and it was downright cool this morning, although it's partly cloudy now. Crazy weather; our high today is forecast to be 62, but look at next Tuesday and Wednesday! (May the hot weather be gone as quickly as predicted; amen.)

That's it for now from . . .

Snipping away

Yesterday I got Bardot sheared, she of the BIG fleece. It is an outlier in my flock, with looser crimp and longer staple, but still well within the parameters of fine-fleeced, Traditional 1927® Shetland sheep. The first photo was taken right after I led her out of the Sheep Sheraton; you can see why I coat my sheep from shearing to shearing – to keep most of that straw and hay out of most of their fleece!

As Sara at Punkin's Patch noted, wool grease can double as a camera filter. I unintentionally tried it for myself yesterday evening when I took this photo of the evening clouds: 😉

In other sheep news, I finally got Rick to evaluate Blake. You may recall that he was limping last winter. I thought it was hoof rot so I treated it and moved the boys into the barn where it was dry and clean, but Blake didn't get better. Now that all the boys are sheared I'd like to put them out in the wooded lot to eat all the grass that's grown up, but not until Blake was looked at. The verdict? A soft-tissue injury in the right knee. Rick's thinking about treating it with extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and the boys will probably have to go back into a divided Ram-ada Inn so Blake has protected recovery time. He's a mellow ram, but the boys still do their share of 'ramming.'

Ready for x-rays

A break for clover

Rick's x-ray machine has been busy here. He shot images of Jackson's lungs, trying to diagnose what ails him (we now think it is just aging 😞),

Setting up in the house for Jackson's exam

and he tried to x-ray Lance's neck to get more data on his arthritis (which he diagnosed with ultrasound).

(Unfortunately, the machine glitched that day and he couldn't get good shots of Lance's vetebrae.)

The garden is growing well. The strawberries and a few sweet banana peppers are ripening; the peas are blooming; there's kale, rhubarb and lettuces for the picking; wee bell peppers and tomatoes are forming; and a total of four zucchini plants finally made an appearance.

Last night I planted some "Blue Star" lavender in the cleaned-up bed along the front walk. What I'd planted there once upon a time died years ago, so it's just been collecting pots and weeds. I love lavender and this variety's flowers are so appealing with their purple "bunny ears;" I'm hoping they will inspire me to keep up this area!

Yep, th-er-r-r-r-e's Chuckie! He has been in rare form lately, feeling in fine fettle now that his injuries have healed and he's not feeding a load of parasites. Yesterday morning I turned my iPhone on him and serendipitously caught him in a spray of rainbows, making him look like an 'angel cat' (even though he can act like a little devil-cat!):

Here are few shots of flowers blooming around the place right now:

This is finals week for Brian, and the final week at work for my departing co-worker. Her son is graduating high school this week-end, and just got his first job. He applied at Walmart online Sunday night before last, got a call-back the next day, interviewed and got an offer that Thursday, started orientation this last Sunday – and is making at the same amount per hour that I'm making as a college graduate after four years on the job. 😳 Good thing I have fleeces to sell, a vet for a husband, and a garden to supplement our pantry!

That's it for now from . . .

Officially over the halfway mark

Today was Bing's turn.

He's #6; 'only' five more to go.

Current spinning project:

That's all the news that's fit to print from . . .

Never alone

I often say I need my "alone time," but it would be more accurate to say I need "people-free" time. Animals are usually welcome – usually. Good thing, that 'usually.' This morning while on the 'throne':

Later this morning, while skirting Bridget's fleece:

On the job front, my boss texted me yesterday morning asking me to come in early for a 'pow-wow.' It sounds like she is planning on three of us (a fourth employee will continue fulfilling her specific and limited role) absorbing all that her full-time Jill-of-all-trades did – without anyone (but maybe the boss) working significantly more hours. We'll see!

I finished spinning a third color of Jamieson & Smith combed Shetland top, and am getting ready to start on something MUCH more colorful.

The bearded iris are petering out after a wonderful show; now Centaurea montana (perennial bachelors buttons) and white flag are blooming in my island bed:

Last night I was shocked at how much light lingered in the northwest at 9:45. I guess it makes sense; the longest day of the year is coming up in June. Tis sum-sum-summertime!

Speaking of which, I've got to get the rest of the fleeces off the sheep and spend some serious time in the garden. Clone me, please!

That's it for now from . . .