Dribs and Drabs

My favorite kind of day.  Short ribs in the crock pot meant an easy dinner.  Goldilocks weather made working down in the barn a pleasure.  I always enjoy the animals; dripping sweat, not s'much.  Mini-Squint made his morning appearance for cereal and milk.  There have been fewer mice lately, but MS is a regular.  Come to think of it, I haven't seen many ground squirrels in the barn or pens this summer either.  I wonder why.

There was time later for a quick power nap.  I wanted to be well rested before going to sit on the deck and read.  That's a joke; I just love naps.  As pleasant as the day was, the sun got pretty hot over on the south side, so Bess and I moved around to the front porch.  Neither of us was ready to come in yet.  When my conscience began to interfere with my book, it was time to finish cleaning out the wood stove and haul the ashes out to the burn pile.  The fine ash dust that creates was the final spur to get me to dust the living room.

Brown rice cooked in broth with onions, peas, and walnuts was ready when Camille and Honey arrived, and Cam brought a wonderful salad chock full of extra goodies to go with the spicy short ribs that had perfumed the house all day.  It's been awhile since Cam and I've gotten together, and it was a good visit, short because sundown comes early these days and we both have critters to tuck in bed.

Bessie and I walked our guests to their truck, and she and I headed to the barn.  I can't resist sunsets, especially ones as lovely as this.  Little Miss Ginger is definitely with the program now.  She comes to meet me as I drag the alfalfa cart back to the barn and leads the way to the chicken pen.  I find it rather endearing to have this small feathered companion on one side, Bess on the other.

At bedtime, Bessie Anne hurried after me down the hall, looking over her shoulder for Ralph and Celeste.  She got her boost up onto the bed, got a quick back rub, and immediately moved to her place on her pillow.  Bessie was not going to be a displaced puppy again, cats or no cats.

It was a good day.