Magic

By mentioning Missy yesterday, it was as if I'd conjured her out of the ether because there she was at the barn.  It was difficult to get a picture with perspective because she was constantly moving, rubbing on my feet, rolling in the dirt, rushing here and there.  This shot doesn't show what a tiny little thing she is, not even as big as skinny Ralph, but it does show her unusual tortoise-shell coloring.  She raced ahead into her room for breakfast, and that was that.  Nice that she dropped in for a visit.

It's not enough that I support turkeys, ground and grey squirrels, goats, multitudinous wild birds, and a stray cat, I glanced out the front door in the morning to see a jackrabbit go fearlessly tootling past in the driveway right in front of the house.  I hesitate to ask what next.

Cats weren't the only magic trick showing up yesterday.  The lilac bushes exploded into bloom almost overnight.  Ohmigosh, the wave of perfume when stepping out the door is heavenly.  It's not just this lilac, either.  I made a quick-as-possible trip to town and the hills are dotted with blue and white wild lilacs.  Scotch broom add punctuation marks with brilliant yellow.  It's such a pretty drive (when I'm forced to go).

With the fluctuating temperatures, Nature reminds my of my parents.  Most of our time was spent in the den.  The thermostat (I dream of thermostats) was in the seldom-used living room.  My dad was always cold and Mother was generally too warm.  One or the other was always sneaking around through the hall and turning the thermostat up or down.  Nature must have been watching.

Drat.  I thought I might have solved Bessie's problem with the deck stairs by putting down a large, flat slab of too-big firewood for her to use as a helper step yesterday.  Either she didn't see it in the dark or it isn't going to work because she came around to the front door again this morning.  Oh well.