Lilacs and Smiles

The lilacs are starting to bloom. I always find it interesting that we are about 1 week behind the
"season" in town. In town the lilacs are in full bloom. Out here they are just starting to bloom. Yesterday we had a mothers day bbq and dear Sara brought out a big bouquet of lilacs and they have filled my family room full of their lovely scent. Betty put together a beautiful bouquet of lilacs and red roses, courtesy of Dean, and the contrast is surprisingly pretty.

Mothers day was a nice relaxing day for the most part. Doug had to go into the hospital to admit a patient first thing so the girls and I shared the morning together at church. Attendance was light, I suppose most people had either traveled out of town or were spending the morning doing something outside. It was a beautiful day.

While Kate took a nap I stole away and took Sedona for a little bareback. But let me back up a little bit. Flash back two years. We gave Sedona to a local rancher who had previously used her for moving cattle in the mountains, etc. It seems that she was ready for something kid broke for her kids so she was returned. Hmmmm...not exactly what I was planning but I have always had a soft spot for Sedona despite her issues. So I took a little spin around the pasture on her followed by a riding session with Cruiser. He is healed enough to be put back into service under saddle and he felt very good after having so much time off!

I have a new opportunity ahead of me in the organization I have been involved with off and on over the past several years called bible study fellowship. They have asked me to become a discussion leader starting in the fall. I was honored to be asked and the commitment means add'l time at the church on Tuesday mornings. I have started attending the leaders meetings to learn the ropes before we start up again in the fall after we break for summer. I am excited to see what happens with this new role.

We have planted half our garden with the vegetables that do best with the cooler weather. The onions (red and white) spinach, lettuce, turnips and carrots are emerging from the ground. I can see already what a battle the weeds are going to be...I hope I am up for the challenge.

Big Boys with their Big Toys

Country boys love... big motors

dirt

girls

things that go "bang"

Country Girls

Being a country girl means... carefree hearts and dirt roads

baby chicks to cuddle in the spring

picking flowers with your favorite country neighbor

taking a wagon load of spring flowers to your grandma's because she lives right next door.

Country living is what my girls love best.

Easter Weekend

It seems spring is really here. Along with spring comes a new assortment of tasks to complete after a long winter. But we always try to mix fun in with the work to keep everyone smiling.

Saturday was a day I had been looking forward to saddling up and meeting my mom at a local farm to ride over their outdoor trail course. I was set, Doug was watching the girls and I headed down to load up Elvis and hit the road. As fate would have it, Cruiser had injured himself while being turned out in the pasture. He had stepped on himself and had a nasty looking cut about an inch above the coronet band. So instead of hauling Elvis in for a fun afternoon of riding I hauled Cruiser in to the on call vet and had it sutured up. He is on 2 weeks of stall rest. Disappointed and frustrated would be emotions that come to mind. I have my first show, Walla Walla, in 2 weeks and it is out. You just never know what life is going to deal you when it comes to horses.

Shaking off after a refreshing swim.

Okie at work.

Jake and Brody. Jake has been living in our guest house since January and we have thoroughly enjoyed his company and help. The girls love him, the farm critters love him (he feeds in the mornings) and we appreciate all of his help. It is also great to have another guy for Doug to do guy things with like ride motorbikes and shot guns.

Working on the quad.

After I got home and set up Cruiser his his stall I went down to see what Dean, Jake and Doug were doing. Amazingly, they had drug the fallen bridge out of the creek and moved it west a little and we are back in working order! Boys and heavy equipment can accomplish impressive things.

I love Easter. It is probably my favorite holiday of the year. We had a reasonably nice weekend weather wise and were happy to enjoy it outside. The Webb's and the Dunham's are always looking for a good reason to celebrate with a fire.

Christa looking especially beautiful in her darling Easter dress, smart high heeled shoes and sassy pose in the horse manure/ fire pit domain.




Just a couple of good ol' dogs having some fun in the creek.

Pinks Moons and Easter Chicks

Ok, Ok....I know it's been a long time. I will catch you up to date on the past week. As luck would have it, I haven't been able to get a picture of the full moon this month due to cloud cover. Sad but let me tell you, it's called the Pink Moon. This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn. Have I mentioned I love full moon's?



This week my mom, the girls and I took a drive up the mountain to make sure their cabin was still standing. We took a very short side trip to look at the elk ranch on the way to the cabin. I can't tell you how many elk they had grazing in their beautiful mountain pastures but it was impressive along with the velvet antlers that were starting to blossom from their impressive bodies. WOW! Can't wait to make a regular stop of this place when we visit the mountain. They sell elk meat so we will have to get our hands on some of those tasty treats for summer bbqing.






With that said, not more than 5 miles up the mountain it was like going back in time to January with all the snow. It was easily covering the t-posts. We had to hike into their place and we stepped over their fence line with the kids. The girls got a giant kick out of opening the back door to see what the backyard looked like. What should to their wondering eyes should appear but a solid wall of snow??

But back in the valley it is trying it's hardest to be spring. We had a nice bbq at Dean's of pork and potatoes and sweet treats the women brought. The kids were tickled to play on the rock pile and when the sun went down we took turns spooking each other by pretending the barn was haunted.

Dean has a gorgeous little pond that is stocked with bass and the kids took turns throwing casts unsuccessfully. Looking forward to more chances this summer.

It couldn't be spring without adding to the pecking flock out here. It's hard to say who gets more of a kick out of the chicks and chickens, me or the girls. We have added 4 black sex link chicks, 2 silver laced wyandottes, a sussex, and 4 aracauna's that lay the colored eggs. And the names? Let's see, we have Belle, Jasmine, PECKER, Orea, Stacey, Susie (is it a compliment to have a chicken named after you?? I guess I shouldn't have to ask considering we have one named Jesus.) We also have Easter, Bunny and Lily. I know there are 2 more that I am forgetting.

Hadley is the ultimate mother hen taking care of her chicks. Easing their worries with calming talk. Afternoons in the sun playing. Making sure Kate doesn't strangle them.

Chicks with Chicks

Before all of this spring like weather this week we had a lot of rain. Mother nature had her way with the banks to the creek and our old reliable bridge fell to it's demise in the rushing creek below. You know what the name of this creek is that runs through the middle of our property? Dry Creek. I kid you not. And I promise you it is never dry. So this little project will fall on the shoulders of Doug and Jake to pull out and repair. The white pipe crossing the creek is what allows us to irrigate on this side of the creek so it is imperative we repair it sooner rather than later. We have talked about replacing it with something much bigger and wider that we could ride the horses across and drive a truck or 4 wheeler.

I will leave you with the sad news of the farm. We laid our best buddy of 13 years. Max has been buried in the back yard beneath the Cottonwood and Locust trees. We will plant a tree to mark his place and will never forget the impact he had on our lives.

Worm Moon

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter.

Making Me Laugh

Ya know, I have to give you a little glimpse into what kind of humor cracks me up. I have a former student from Inglemoor High School in Bothell where I used to work that I have remained in contact with all these years. He cracked me up then and he is still making me laugh today. His humor always reminded me of Seinfeld. And what especially impresses me is his humor is never (around me) vulgar and rarely at someone else's expense. Very rarely do you find someone who can make people laugh while avoiding those two pitfalls in my opinion.

He has a blog that he doesn't write on nearly enough but it chronicles some of his life.

http://www.spap.blogspot.com

Thanks for all the laughs Matto.