Saturday encore ~ Johnny goes fishing but doesn't catch anything

The post below is from early June last year. I'm pleased to report that Fish is still alive and swimming,

and I'm still cleaning fish poop out of the stock tank.

***

 It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of Fish.

 He's still alive and swimming and pooping in the stock tank,
but he's also eating the algae so I'm not complaining.

 Under that goldfish exterior is the heart of a shark. 

 He fears nothing.

A late spring evening at the ranch

Smooch's new happy place

As the recent redecorating snowball rolled downhill, it collided with Etsy 

and I ended up with a new cover for the windowseat in my bedroom.

Smooch was never very fond of the previous utilitarian blue cover, nor was I.

It was sturdy and easy to clean but lacked personality. Besides, Smooch's delicate sensibilities

prefer the soft, warm texture of fabric over the harsh coldness of marine vinyl.

Anyway, the windowseat is Smooch's new happy place.

Mine, too, because the indoor/outdoor fabric is a breeze to clean with the Shark.

which I still love and couldn't live without.

Johnny's new happy place is just below the window from Smooch's,

in a smashed down clump of feather grass. 

JCC: I'd prefer a cushion.

Sage green, stormcloud blue, and dirt brown

You've seen this picture before. I call it "Dining room accent wall, #3 in a series." 

It took me that many tries to get the color right.

 I liked the final color so much that I then used it to paint my bedroom. 

But then the bedroom no longer coordinated with the adjoining bathroom, so I painted that, too.

I went with my version of  "New Mexico Stormcloud Blue." 

Since it took only one attempt to get that color right, I took my over-confident self

to the laundry/mud room to see what havoc I might wreak there.

 I painted it "uninspired yellow" many years ago and was ready for a change.

My emerging color palette was taking on a colors-I-see-outside-my-window theme,

so I thought "dirt brown" might be appropriate in here.

 Mrs. Hughes helped me select the right shade of dirt.

I've officially run out of rooms to paint. Amen. But now I'm thinking about white-washing 

the cabinets and trim in this room. Please, somebody stop me.

p.s. Because I'm paranoid and we're still getting daily thunderstorms, 

the washer and dryer are staying unplugged while not in use...

until this Friday, when the electrician returns to install a whole-house surge arrester.

A peaceful, easy weekend

 What's not to love about a three-day weekend with just the right amount of rain?

Grumpy, Mopey and Droopy went underground until next spring, 

and Gimpy is a little less so.

 His slow and measured gait gives him lots of time to stop and smell the flowers.

Lucy and I got in a couple of great rides in between the weekend storms. I keep reminding her that

the longer we ride, the longer it will be before she has to start wearing the dreaded grazing muzzle.
She seems ok with that arrangement.

The rest of the weekend was a comfortable balance of chore time and play time.
The laundry room got painted, the chicken coop got organized for the new girls,
who will be arriving mid-June, and the jungle front yard got thinned...

...though I may need to keep working on that. It's hard enough keeping track of five hens

amongst all the bushes. What fun it will be when there are eight.

Saturday encore ~ The further domestication of the feral beast

 For the record, the feral beast has access to five water bowls/tubs/troughs in the barn.

 All of the water at the ranch comes out of the same well.

The water served inside the house is the same as the water served at the barn.

 Try telling that to Johnny.

 Johnny: I like this bowl best. The color complements my features.

His thirst quenched, he performs his morning stretches...

...and strikes a pose to show off his impressive tail.

Best food hack ever

Back when I discovered the "stick-a-pin-in-it" method for making easy-to-peel hard-boiled eggs, 

I thought I was on top of the world. With my latest discovery, I'm orbiting around it a few times

every time I peel an egg. How did I not know this trick before?

1. Crack your hard-boiled egg on all sides, then peel off the shell 

at the bottom of the wide end of the egg.

2. Stick a teaspoon between the egg and the skin that lines the shell.

3. Work the teaspoon around the curve of the egg.

Fast, easy, and no stray bits of shell sneaking into your egg salad.

Gimpy, Grumpy, Mopey, and Droopy

The herd got their spring vaccinations on Saturday and, as usual,

Lucy, George and Alan are feeling the after effects...or maybe they just miss Ethel.

Droopy is walking around with his head lowered and 

a lump on his neck at the injection site.

 Mopey is generally listless,

 and Grumpy isn't helping matters by spreading her ill will to whomever will listen.

Since this happens with the donkeys every stinkin' year, I don't panic anymore,

but I still worry and fuss over them until they're back to normal.

Meanwhile, Gimpy's knee has been bothering him for a week, 

probably because of the wet weather we've been having.

 Everybody is confined to the corral until he's feeling better.

When Hank's not happy, nobody's happy.

Johnny: I'm not getting near any of them. Call me Scaredy.

Treats for everybody

Upon my return from Florida, everyone was rewarded with their favorite treat

for behaving themselves in my absence...

 ...including Ethel.

 Leaving home for a few days isn't too hard when I know my animals are in capable hands.

Returning home is another story.

Smooch: Don't you dare leave me again.

Sold to the highest bidder

This vacation story will make more sense if you understand the cast of characters. Here they are:

 The tall stick figure on the left is Jim, standing next to his wife, Pat.

Jim and Pat have been dear friends of the family forever.

The not-as-tall stick figure is my brother-in-law, Gianni, standing behind the couch 

and next to my sister, Kathleen. Anyway, we were all at Jim and Pat's house, 

drinking margaritas, when J&P and G&K proceeded to tell the story of a recent beer tasting 

they had attended, followed by a trip to the Palm City Auction. 

They swear the beer tasting did not influence their decision to bid on a certain item, 

which all agreed was meant for me. When they presented the item to me, I had to agree. 

All I had to do was figure out a way to get it back to New Mexico – it was big and heavy and fragile.

Jim took care of that. He packed it up like a precious piece of art (because it is), 

and I checked it as baggage. Amazingly, Delta Airlines didn't break it or lose it.

Smooch was as curious about it as you might be by now.

Between the duct tape, the styrofoam, and the plywood inserts covering the glass,

it took quite awhile to unpack.

Smooch lost interest.

Had she looked closely, she would have appreciated the fine detail 

of the donkeys that framed the mirror...

...and the cowboys in the corners with their hands up. I'm not sure what donkeys and cowboy bandits

have to do with one another, but it doesn't really matter. This work of art could only belong in one place, 

and that would be my house, specifically my laundry room/mud room/coat room. 

Now I can see what I look like and properly adjust my hat before I go outside.

Thank you, Pat and Jim and Gianni and Kathleen, for recognizing fine art when you see it,

and for listening when it spoke to you.

The laundry room is my new happy place because of this art...

and also because the washer and dryer are working again! 

 

 

Re-entry

The vacation is over. Bummer. I'm back to work today, with nothing to show for my time away

 except a bunch of pictures and great memories.

 Please bear with me while I dump them here over the next few days.

The Ethels love my animals and vice versa. 

It was one big love fest...

...despite the wind and whacky New Mexico weather.

(It snowed here on Saturday. And rained. And sleeted. And hailed. And the sun came out, too.)

Smooch loves having houseguests, and she loves waking them up in the morning. 

Dog breath at sunrise is the first order of the day.

Let this be a warning to anyone planning to visit. 

Hiking at the neighborhood ruins is also a popular activity.

As is eating and drinking.