2010 - Day Two Hundred Thirteen...

This was working its way towards a PERFECT WEEKEND, but then at the last minute, things happened. So, on a scale of 1 to 10 for a perfect weekend, and ten being perfect, I am giving this one a 9.9. You will see how this is all coming about. TO begin, I absolutely love New Mexico Bird of Paradise plants, and we saw this one yesterday on our adventures on the way to Georgetown. I think they are absolutely gorgeous bloomers, and I wish we had a couple of them. I am not sure why we don't, we just don't. End of story! But they are magnificent!

I got almost everything on my to-do-list accomplished, except for greasing up the air show in the front of the property close to the road. The air show is the whirly-gig that I got Jody for our anniversary. It just needs a good lubricating so it will 'whirly' a little be better when it is in the mood to 'gig'. Anyway, I did get the grass cut all around the house (which means shredding the high grasses), and I got the figs picked (I wore latex surgical gloves to do it, because the sticky stuff on the figs will not wash off and it is sticky for DAYS). That may be the last of the fig picking for this year, although if I see more figs ripening, I will most likely go and pick them, cause I really do not want to let them go to waste. There are starving children in China...Whatever...

Jody and I went into Georgetown and did a little bit of shopping and errand running, which, of course, included spoilers at the Dairy Queen. We got back from that and we both went down for naps. When we work up, we watched 'Julia & Julie' that we have had from NetFlix for a couple months. Now we can send the three films back. We kind of did a movie marathon this weekend, in addition to everything else. ANYWAY, we both enjoyed the film very much, and are glad we had it to watch. This is a random shot of some trumpet vine blooms that seem to have decided to have a second blooming this year. Very nice!

Just about the time I was going out to clean the chicken coop, I saw Jody walking quickly from the front of the property and chickens clucking. It seems the dog was chasing the chickens, and Jody went to the rescue and got the bees a little bit perturbed. He was not stung, but they were swarming around him. ANYWAY, I commenced to clean the coop, give them fresh feed and fresh water, but there was one chicken missing. SO, Jody and I went back to try and find the missing chicken, and I was counseling Jody to steer clear of the bees since they were not happy at all, and that is just about the time I got stung! CRAP! And a couple other good words thrown in just for the heck of it. I got stung right behind the ear, kind of in the fold between my ear lobe and my neck, but more in the ear lobe part. SO, of course now my ear lobe is swollen up to the size of a grape fruit, and if this goes as usual, it will remain this way until about Thursday. PERFECT. If you look closely at this photograph, you will see the little baby 'walking stick' in the center of the photo. If the chickens see it, it will be a goner for sure!

See why I am rating this one a 9.9?

Whatever...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SWOLLEN LOBES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Twelve...

Chasing two head of cattle that got loose when I left the pasture gate open was not one of the things I had on my 'To-Do-List' for today. BUT, I am nothing if not flexible. The two culprits were Doodle Bug and Minnie Moonbeam, and there was not too much incentive for them to go back in the pasture. They made it all the way up to the house and turned back, but there was still some herding to do. I finally got Minnie back in the pasture, and finally Doodle Bug decided she would like to see what it was I had in the feed bucket. So all is well that ends well.

OH, and it seems Doodle Bug had a new heifer calf last night, so that could explain some of her incentive for fleeing the premises. I had moved the cattle from one pasture to the other, and that is when the great escape occurred. After everyone was back in the confines of the fenced pasture, I went to move the hay ring to the fresh bale of hay I put out last week. I was heading for the far back pasture when I noticed Doodle Bug wandering towards the pasture I had just moved them from...AND...there was the new calf. I guess she had been taking a little schnooze when I moved them (then chased them) and the youngest of them all slept through the whole thing. I had thought of calling her 'Lonesome Bug' but I think I will change that to 'Sleepy Bug'. I don't really want to give her a complex this early in life. She is certainly a cutie!

Oh, and now the chickens are roaming free during the day. They did not hesitate to venture out when I propped open their chicken gate from the screened area they have been roaming in. I am pretty confident they will be easy to herd back into their confined area with a little bot of food in the evenings. I think the first several days will be the most angst ridden for me. We shall see. I will go and check on them in a little while.

Jody just got up from a quick little snooze, so I think we are going to head off to Georgetown for a spoiler. I will let you know how that all works out later.

Once Jody and I got home from our adventure at the Georgetown Dairy Queen, I went out to make sure the chickens were okay, but there was not a chicken in sight. I called them (yes, I can call the chickens and they respond), but there was no response. I looked all around, and there was no sign of any chickens, but there were also no signs of feathers anywhere, either. Upon further investigation, all six of the chickens were hunkered down in the bamboo between the house and the coop, and they seemed to be very comfortable. Were you looking for us? Whatever...

Later on I went out and cut the grass in the front, and they decided they did not really care for all the commotion the riding lawn mower made, and they decided they would go back into their fenced in area. Smart chickens! Later on, they again decided to go out and investigate, but when they saw me coming out with their evening snacks, they headed into their pen, and that was the end of their adventures for this day.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FREE RANGE CHICKENS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Eleven...

The drive in to the office this morning was met with this view of the sun coming up as seen from my side view mirror. GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!

A great day for getting things done. I actually can see the top of my desk now. I did not leave the office from the time I got in this morning, until the time I left this afternoon. Other than the fact that I had no lunch, it was all good.

No issues other than those that you usually expect on a Friday, but overall it was a pretty darn good day. Tomorrow looks like it will be a busy one, and not too sure what Sunday will bring. I think I might try and talk Jody into going on an excursion, but a lot will depend on how much stuff I get done. There are things to do with the cattle, grass to cut, this-and-that!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BALLS OF FIRE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Ten...

Meetings are done for this week, and I think I may only have meeting next week (outside the regular office type things) and on Friday I am teaching one class. SO, it looks like I will have a relatively calm week. I say that now, but things have a tendency to change rather quickly.

I was happy with the meeting today at the Board, more very interesting stuff, and I am happy to be involved and to be able to learn about our Association and how difficult it is to keep it moving forward. Lots of thinking and planning, and lots of dedication from lots of people.

Made it into the office this afternoon, and did a bit more power real estate. No real traffic problems on the way home, either. Pretty darn smooth sailing. Once I got home, I sat down to watch the news with Jody, and pretty soon I was out like a light. That is pretty typical of me, I almost always take a 10 or 15 minute nap if I am watching the evening news. My dad used to do the same thing!

Jody and I went into Taylor for dinner this evening. We tried out a new restaurant (at least it is new to us) called Mimosa, and it was very nice. I had the chicken fried steak, and Jody had a small portion of trout. Both were very good. There is also a restaurant in Taylor that we want to try called Ricoco's. Maybe next week.

A full day in the office tomorrow, that will be a change. Then not too sure what the weekend will bring quite yet.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MIMOSA, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Nine...

Rain again last night, after I published yesterdays entry. It came in just as we were finishing dinner, so we sat at the table for a long time just watching the clouds roll in, watching the rain, watching the wind speeds register on the nuclear weather station. Oh, and we spent a good deal of time assuring the dog that nothing terrible was going to happen, and that thunder and lightning is a natural occurrence during a storm, and that he had survived several in his lifetime, and the odds were pretty good that he would survive this one as well. After the storm was over (we got a little over an inch of rain) the skies cleared up a bit, and I went out to see the clouds, and they were once again grand. There was also a cow in distress across the road from us, so I went to make sure that it had not been swept away somehow in one of the arroyos and was stuck somewhere. So, there was no evidence of cows in distress, obviously just a young cow that enjoyed the sound of its own MOO!

Spent a long day at the Board today, the more I get involved, the more I enjoy it. Again, Associations are complicated animals, and I really enjoy the work that it takes to keep them running smoothly. Rewarding!

I did finally make it in to the office around 3 o'clock this afternoon. Well, let me correct that...I actually got into the office this morning about 6:30, and did some power real estate before I headed off to the Board, and then I got back to the office about 3 for more power real estate. My desk is relatively clear at this moment, but that is not likely to last very long.

I have a meeting tomorrow that will go from about 9 until 1, and then back to the office. At least tomorrow I have nothing pressing at the office so I will not need to go into the office first. Then I will be in the office in the afternoon, and all day on Friday, finishing up end-of-the-month things. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful business partner and two staff members that are totally competent in their jobs. It allows me to be absent for long periods without feeling like something is being neglected. Thanks to Carrie, Tom and Karla!

The chickens survived the storm as well, and seem to be happily putzing around in the little world. They seem to be contented (as contented as a chicken can be). We have a friend that sometimes 'house-sits' for some chickens (when the chicken owners have to be out of town). Anyway, he told Jody that when he takes care of the chickens, there is one chicken in particular that, when they are let loose from their run, it RUNS to a particular flower pot on the porch, lays a nice sized egg, and then wants to be petted and held and told what a good chicken she is. I am not sure if that could be considered 'enabling' or not, but I definitely think it is borderline.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, ENABLED CHICKENS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Eight...

Rain! We got rain! Last night as I was laying in bed (about 8:30, just more proof that I am not young) I thought I heard it raining outside. I asked Jody if it was raining, and he said no. I waited for the commercial break (I was watching 'Big Bang Theory' and it was a really good repeat) and got up to go see for myself, and sure enough it was raining up a storm. It rained until about 9:45 and it was lovely. When I got up for morning chores, we had about 1.15 inches in the rain gauge, but our fancy-schmancy nuclear weather station reported we had 1.55 inches of rain, so I am going with that measurement. The fancy-schmancy always has a higher reading than the rain gauge with large print, so since we bought the fancy-schmancy, we may as well take advantage of it!

There is no way that the little digital camera I use for taking photographs can come even close to capturing the beauty of the clouds we have been fortunate enough to observe in the last several days. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Did I mention that the clouds have been really interesting and beautiful?

School is not even back in session yet, and two-days-in-a-row there have been traffic jams caused by accidents on the Interstate. I have been lulled into a false sense of security with the better-than-normal traffic flows lately, and I know it is just a matter of time before I am back to stopping on the Interstate on a daily basis. Whatever... This morning, the wreck was between a CapMetro bus and an 18-Wheeler. Not sure, but it was not a pretty sight. And the traffic on my side only slowed to a crawl so we could all gawk. Again, whatever...

Board of Directors meeting tomorrow morning, and then back to the office. We are all working towards the end of the month and the beginning of the next one. There does not seem to be much time in the middle, but we do the best we can.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CLOUDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2010 - Day Two Hundred Seven...

Something like this can have a tendency towards slowing your homeward commute. Traffic was STOPPED on the Interstate even before I got on it. There is really not that much you can do, even a stopped Interstate is often the quickest way to go for many folks, and it is definitely quicker for me. There is really no other choice for me, unless I want to drive about 80 miles home instead of 50 miles home. Luckily for me (not for the folks in the silver car) the back up was not far from where I entered the highway, and it was relatively smooth sailing once I made it a mile or so. AND, there was no sign of any other vehicles involved in the wreck; plenty of police and fire department vehicles, and one tow truck, but nothing else.

Once I made it about ten miles or so, it began raining, and I called Jody to see if it was raining at the farm. NOPE. Raining all around us, but again, nothing at the farm. We have a 60% chance of rain tomorrow, and a 40% or 50% chance of rain on Wednesday. There is even a pretty good chance of rain on Thursday and Friday. Surely (don't call me Shirley) we will get a little bit of rain out of this. Even if we do not get any rain, we are really happy that the cloud cover is keeping our temperatures lower than average. When I got on the Interstate this afternoon, the temperature outside was 97 degrees. Once the rain hit, the temperature went down to about 75 degrees, and by the time I got home, it was back up to 84 degrees. There is plenty of wind outside, and lots of clouds and thunder, but so far no rain. I will keep you informed.

This just in from the chicken cam...the chickens are pretty well trained to know when there are about to be fed in the afternoons. I think pretty soon we will experiment with letting them loose from the fenced area during the day time, and see how that will work out. I am pretty confident that they will come a running when I feed them in the afternoons. I am a little bit scared of them being victimized by hawks or owls or coyotes, but I guess that is just part of life on the farm. I hope they will all be okay.

Today was a pretty good day for accomplishments, and tomorrow will be a good day as well. Only one meeting tomorrow, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday (not including Meals-on-Wheels). Nothing scheduled on Friday, so that may mean another day off for me! Woo-Hoo!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, RAIN OR WHAT?, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!