Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Please Be Seated

Ralph has been showing signs of feeling left out.  Bessie Anne and Celeste have been hogging the lap, leaving no room for Ralphie.  I hadn't been too worried about my redheaded kid as he's usually off doing Ralph business, as evidenced by the thuds, rustles, and crashes from various rooms.  However, for the last few days the always ingenious Ralph has found a way to satisfy his need for togetherness.  In his eyes, my lap is a lap, wherever it might be and whenever available.  Being of the lady variety, I sit in the bathroom, ergo, creating a lap with room for just one.  Need I say more?

Yesterday's storm was a doozy.  The strong, strong winds of early morning finally died back some after filling the yards and driveway with leafy twigs from the oaks.  The girls will be so happy to get treats today.  The only thing better than dried oak leaves that crunch like potato chips are fresh oak leaves in a goat's eyes.  I am just grateful that the ground is littered with the twiggy bits and not big branches.  It rained buckets, hailed a couple of times until the deck looked like it had snowed, and rained some more.  Thunder rumbled in the afternoon, but we kept power.  Cold?  I hope to shout it was cold!  (Easterners will laugh at our wimpy temperatures, but hey, it's California.)  Even with a good fire going all day, the house didn't warm up until evening.  My weather app said that with the wind chill factor, it never got up to 30 degrees and was well down in the 20s.  Shoes and socks were soaked and bibbies were wet to the knee in the morning.  Long ago I'd purchased rubber knee-high boots, put them away and totally forgot about them.  Until last night.  Unbelievably, I found them in the first place I looked, put them on at dusk and feet stayed dry and toasty while tucking soggy goats and chickens in bed.  I'd been a bit concerned that after years of disuse the boots would crack, but they're made of stronger stuff than I'd thought.  People have posted photos of snow (not far away) on the dogwoods, the portent we've all been waiting for, so I guess winter is officially over.

I can't say that yesterday was one of the best, but we certainly need the rain and snow, so it wasn't one of the worst, either.  There is a light breeze ruffling the leaves, the sun is shining brightly, and the sky is clear.  I'm hearing a call of nature; can Ralph be far behind?

1 comment:

Kathryn Williams said...

Oh Ralph, Ralph, Ralph - you silly boy...or ARE you? Gosh I think I'm glad that you had to wear your sundress at the end of March, as sitting outside to enjoy pecan pie yesterday would have been tough! Pie a la hail?