Quick Change

It's the time of year when it's difficult to keep up with the rapidly changing weather.  Seems only a week or so ago I needed a hoodie and warm gloves because of the cold.  Yesterday we were in the 80s and I was sweating down in the barn.  Bess and I were grateful for the warmth of the south end of the deck when it was chilly.  Now we sit in the shade of the covered north end and hope for a breeze.  I poured standing water out of the potted plants outside so they didn't drown; yesterday I had to water those same plants that were now wilting and dry.  I've gone from turtlenecks to T-shirts and am thinking about tank tops.

However, the forecast is for rain tomorrow and temps in the 50s.  Go figure.  I've been planning to switch the fleece sheets for cotton, having already removed the winter blanket.  Maybe I'll hold off on that a few days.

Let Me Count The Ways

(Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.)

Back in the day when I had a real job, I had an office and a paycheck and all that good stuff.  I actually worked two full-time jobs for ten years.  I was organized and focused and task oriented.  Now, not s'much.  I know what I need to do, what I should do, and automatically start finding ways to put off doing anything.  (Taking care of the animals is first priority and, while I might run late once in awhile, they are never neglected.)

I thought it might be helpful to those Type-A personalities who are having trouble relaxing their schedules to get a few pointers in procrastination.  "All work and no play," etc.  Yesterday was a good example and fairly educational.  I'm in the middle of a paperwork project that I really don't want to do, a good starting point for a distraction exercise.

Getting ready to go to the barn, I noticed the hummingbird feeders were empty.  They could wait, but getting to the goats late would use up more of the day and put off the project.  (1) Mix the "juice" and fill the feeders.  Barn chores done, while taking the obligatory rest break I saw that an episode of "Criminal Minds" was on that I hadn't seen before.  (2) Watch TV.  Lest there be a guilt build-up, I sorted papers at the same time.  Okay, time to knuckle down and do some work.  Am I hungry?  I think I'm hungry.  Maybe have a little something first.  (3) Stave off starvation with a couple of fried tortillas.  Go to work.  What?  You have to go outside right now, Bess?  (4) Go sit on the deck with Bess Anne.  GTW.  Heading to the computer, there was a pile of laundry that I'd put off (extra points right there).  (5) Put the laundry in the washer.  GTW.  Did some work.  Don't tell me you have to go outside again, Bess.  (6) Go outside to sit in the shade with Bessie.  GTW a little while until the washing was done.  (7) Hang washing on the line.  GTW.  By this time we're well into the afternoon.  Time for a break.  (8) Go out front to pull some weeds.  Even a chore I enjoy can be put off because I remembered that I wanted to call Code Enforcement to say thank you for shutting down the dirt bike track and restoring peace to the hills.  (9) Call the County office.  GTW and actually get something done until the washing had to come off the line.  (10) You get the idea....

With a little practice, anyone can become a champion procrastinator.  However, you don't have to start right away.  In fact, I'd advise against it.

Always Something

Buried in paperwork most of the day, a beautiful day, and there I was stuck in the house.  Phooey.  There is a saying, "About as exciting as watching grass grow."  Well, maybe not exciting, but the grass here is growing great guns.  Well versed in the art of procrastination, I decided that the paperwork could be done after dark, but the mowing needed to be done right then.  Accordingly, Bess and I went out to the feed barn where the lawn tractor had been parked, lo these many months.  Checked the tires for air; all good.  Filled the gas tank and crossed my fingers that Fu Manchu would start.  Ta da!  The old boy fired up on the first try!  Put it in gear and....  Nothing.  No movement forward or back.  ???  It was only then that I noted that the ground squirrels had burrowed underneath and the tires had sunk deep into the dirt.  Okay, I can do this.  Given that there is a slight slope under the shed, I thought that if I dug a trench toward the downward side, I could give Fu a runway.  Wrong.  I tried lifting the back end up enough to lessen the anchor.  No.  Pacing around the front yard while the grass was growing even as I looked, I weighed my limited options.  In a slight panic and definite desperation, I texted Helper Dude and asked if he could bring his quad and a tow rope to pull Fu Manchu out of his ditch.  Luckily, HD came right away.  HD is nearly 16, over six feet tall, and he took one look at the situation, bent slightly and lifted the back end out of the dirt and onto firm ground.  (I'd tried that.)  HD rode off to do whatever it is that 16-year-olds do, and I rode off to mow the side yard.  It was by then nearly sundown.  Just as well.  I may need another excuse to get out of the house today.  There's always something.

Bonanza!

My happy cup overfloweth.  Any visit from my Kids is a Red Letter event, and two visits in as many weeks sends me over the moon.  Deb and Craig came up yesterday!  As if that weren't gift enough, they drove up and unloaded two big, healthy peony plants loaded with buds.  Not only that, the two worker bees planted them in what used to be the herb garden.  I didn't have to lift a finger.  I'm officially changing the name of that plot to The Peony Garden.  After the growing season, peonies die off and disappear, but pop up again in spring.  I've been watching the plants they'd previously given emerge one at a time.  It will be a virtual forest of peonies and I can't wait for them all to bloom.  The Kids also gifted me with a Thai basil plant.  Since I don't trust the squirrels, I will not plant it in what used to be the herb garden, but in a pot on the deck.  The ground squirrels are out in full force now, racing around in the front yard, playing tag, sounding off with that irritating chirp, and the brazen little devils are coming right up to the screen door on the porch to torment Ralph and Celeste.  I'll be darned if I'm going to spice up their salads with basil, too. 

And then...and then Deb and Craig brought out a bucket of KFC!  How's that for the frosting on the cake?  We did not, however, have cake.  I finally paid off my debt to Craig and had made a pecan pie when I found out they were coming up.  (My boy is a sucker for pecan pie.)

Craig knows someone who may be interested in the old tractor and all the implements that have been sitting in the field.  I would be so happy to know it/they were fulfilling destiny and not sitting like yard art, sadly unused all these years.  Fingers crossed.  We went out to take some photos, and then did a walkabout in the yards, stopping to chat with the goats, who are always curious about guests.

It's going to get hot soon and I know that will curtail any visits from the valley Kids.  "Oh, let's go visit Mom in the sweat box!"  Not!  (They all have A/C.  I don't.)  The weather was perfect yesterday, and seeing Deb and Craig was perfect, too.

Imagery

Today would have been my mother's 112th birthday; she's been gone 33 years.  Good grief, those are impressive numbers.  Mother left me a legacy of love of words.  I've mentioned before how, on our many road trips when I was a kid, she would point out something and ask how many ways I could describe it using just one word.  For example:  butte, mesa, plateau all refer to an uprising of earth on the plains.  Probably because of her approaching birthday, I got to thinking about the imagery of words while cleaning stalls yesterday.  Just one word can create a picture, a sound, a taste, a smell in your mind.  Listen to cacophony or tremolo.  Smell vinegary or lemony, or gingerbread.  See the difference between gleaming and gloaming.  Love and hate evoke emotions.  Words are powerful tools.

Not eager to overextend activities after the headache of the day before, piddly chores were in order, with plenty of breaks.  On one of our outings to the deck, Bessie Anne and I sat down to watch four deer in a sylvan setting (down by the edge of the woods, as it were).  Migraines amplify sound.  After an enforced day of quiet, Bess evidently required a little excitement.  Watching the deer browse on newly sprouted oak leaves and graze on verdant slopes got too much for her and she took off around the deck and headed toward the deer.  Not in the least afraid, the deer obligingly played the game and moved off into the woods.  That was enough for Bess and she came back to me.  I'm not sure if the herd was thumbing their nose at the dog or proving they felt safe here, but a few minutes later all four were feeding down in the front pasture.

I took some good photos yesterday which, unfortunately, I cannot share until I get the cellphone and the computer back on speaking terms.  I fear that's going to take a trip to the AT&T store for some professional help.  One of these days.  In the meantime, I'll try to draw pictures with words.

April Fooled Me

"You think you're going visiting and have a good time today?  I'll show you," said April.  I'd awakened with a migraine headache, but thought I could catch it early and soldier on.  I did get the sink unplugged, the pie baked, a load of laundry done, and the chickens fed and goats milked before I cried uncle.  Cleaning stalls was beyond my capabilities yesterday, it just was.  Migraines affect my vision and driving wasn't a good idea.  Weighing my options, reluctantly I called Tinka to say I was definitely going to miss lunch with her, Kit, Earlene, and Tinka's daughter whom I've not yet met, but I'd try to make it later in the day.  Well, that didn't happen.  I am ill so seldom that I don't know how to act.  Approaching a state of catatonia, I didn't do anything I wanted or needed to do for the rest of the day.  It was a perfectly beautiful day, and I could hear April sniggering as I missed the whole thing.

Fortunately, migraines last only so long and today is a much better day.  I missed the window of opportunity to see my friend Kit on her once a year or every-other-year visit.  Ratchafratch.  April did a number on me, for sure.  The stalls await.

Stop And Go

Got the truck gassed up so I'm ready to get over the hill to Fiddletown today.  The gas cans are filled so I'm ready to mow whenever I get around to it.  I thought about doing it yesterday, but a fairly strong, very chilly wind was blowing and I opted to put that job off.  On our afternoon outing (Bess insisted), I did put in time pulling some of that pretty, fern-like weed that springs up in shady areas under the oak and behind the chicken pen.  It's really lovely, but will soon put out those dratted dagger-like seeds that stick in socks and Bess's fur, so it's best to get a start on it while I can.

I received a wonderful text yesterday saying that Deb and Craig are coming up on Sunday.  She didn't say what was the occasion, but it doesn't matter.  Two visits in close succession are a reason to celebrate.  I made pie crust yesterday, enough for two single-crust pies.  It's always best to chill the dough thoroughly, so I'm ahead on the peaches-and-cream pie for today (finally made up my mind), and with any luck I'll make the pecan pie I owe Craig on Sunday.

The "stop" part of this is the danged bathroom sink.  It's been stopping up a lot lately.  Putting drain cleaner in takes timing because the cats' litter box is in that bathroom and Ralph, being Ralph, has to inspect any and everything different.  I don't want them not to have access to their box, but I also don't want Ralph anywhere near the drain cleaner.  The cats are taking their morning nap now, so I gave the sink a healthy dose of cleaner and shut the door.  I hope to heck it works, because the alternative is taking the pipes apart to check the trap.  I'd be worried about the septic tank backing up, but that sink is the only drain with a problem.  I don't think I'd have a problem getting the P-trap apart; it's getting it back together that scares me.  Fingers crossed.

I'd better get a move on if I'm going to get a running start on the day.