The first morning here, while on a walk with Clara, I dropped my camera, lens down, on the gravel drive. It is broken ... for good. So here are some verbal snapshots of the last couple of days.
1. I sleep on a single sized pull-out couch in the big room, which is kitchen, eating area, workshop, sewing room, playroom, and general living room. In the morning, Luke wakes early and makes himself a big breakfast. If he doesn't have to be at the ranch so early, he cooks for all of us. He is a breakfast man - coffee, eggs, hash browns, sausage. Clara wakes and comes into the big room. She smiles so big and crawls into the bed and we snuggle, smelling the morning aromas of coffee and sausage, til the breakfast is ready. Pregnant Erin is enjoying being able to sleep a little longer while I am here and she's getting some needed rest while the rest of us sit at the counter and start the day with a hearty ranch breakfast.
2. We are making a little garden just near the house. I.'ve been told that unless you have a tall, electric fence around the garden, the coons and deer will get it. I am hoping that proximity to the house will help. I am also hoping that the coons just won't care that much about the squash seedlings from Aunt Kandyce or the flowers that will grow from the seeds I brought. Today we hauled over some dirt from the trash pit dirt pile mixed with well aged cow pies that Clara helped me find in the pasture by the cabin. She kept calling them cow "hides."
3. I went for a walk this morning. I felt like I was in a national park. The landscape here is so beautiful, the air so fresh, and as I said last post, it's just so quiet. And there were elk tracks on the gravel road. Yea, elk tracks.
4. We went down to the main ranch buildings this afternoon and I got a little "tour." Here are a couple of our conversations:
-when we were walking around to see Bentley, the cow who is being fattened up for you know what, Clara said, "Gramma, his name is Bentley, but we call him Bread."
Erin chuckling, corrected her, "Not Bread. Dinner."
-then in the chicken house, Erin said to the rooster who dashed up a little menacingly, "If you get too feisty, you'll end up in the soup pot."
Clara repeated, "If you get too pasty, you'll end up in the soup pot!"
Feisty - pasty ... what's the dif?
5. Erin and I trade nightly foot massages. The first night, my turn. Last night, her turn. Tonight, my turn. Tomorrow night ... Well, you get the picture.
6. Sadie is the gentlest, most patient, long- suffering dog I have ever seen. Clara loves her immensely, if not always gently. Today, at various times, Sadie was being "shined" with a wet washcloth, her neck wrapped with a white boa, and her body pulled inside the blanket/table and chair fort Clara and I made earlier in the day. She is one good dog.
7. We had ranch-bred, grass-fed beef in our chili for dinner. I was a vegetarian for a long time. I am not having any problem eating this beef. These cows live a good life before they end up at the dinner table.
8. Today, in addition to working on the garden, going to the ranch, taking a walk, and building a fort, we colored, read books, wrote postcards, drove 3 miles to the mailbox, skyped to NC and India, cooked, cleaned, and talked late. It was a good day. Tomorrow, Lord willing, will be another one.
1. I sleep on a single sized pull-out couch in the big room, which is kitchen, eating area, workshop, sewing room, playroom, and general living room. In the morning, Luke wakes early and makes himself a big breakfast. If he doesn't have to be at the ranch so early, he cooks for all of us. He is a breakfast man - coffee, eggs, hash browns, sausage. Clara wakes and comes into the big room. She smiles so big and crawls into the bed and we snuggle, smelling the morning aromas of coffee and sausage, til the breakfast is ready. Pregnant Erin is enjoying being able to sleep a little longer while I am here and she's getting some needed rest while the rest of us sit at the counter and start the day with a hearty ranch breakfast.
2. We are making a little garden just near the house. I.'ve been told that unless you have a tall, electric fence around the garden, the coons and deer will get it. I am hoping that proximity to the house will help. I am also hoping that the coons just won't care that much about the squash seedlings from Aunt Kandyce or the flowers that will grow from the seeds I brought. Today we hauled over some dirt from the trash pit dirt pile mixed with well aged cow pies that Clara helped me find in the pasture by the cabin. She kept calling them cow "hides."
3. I went for a walk this morning. I felt like I was in a national park. The landscape here is so beautiful, the air so fresh, and as I said last post, it's just so quiet. And there were elk tracks on the gravel road. Yea, elk tracks.
4. We went down to the main ranch buildings this afternoon and I got a little "tour." Here are a couple of our conversations:
-when we were walking around to see Bentley, the cow who is being fattened up for you know what, Clara said, "Gramma, his name is Bentley, but we call him Bread."
Erin chuckling, corrected her, "Not Bread. Dinner."
-then in the chicken house, Erin said to the rooster who dashed up a little menacingly, "If you get too feisty, you'll end up in the soup pot."
Clara repeated, "If you get too pasty, you'll end up in the soup pot!"
Feisty - pasty ... what's the dif?
5. Erin and I trade nightly foot massages. The first night, my turn. Last night, her turn. Tonight, my turn. Tomorrow night ... Well, you get the picture.
6. Sadie is the gentlest, most patient, long- suffering dog I have ever seen. Clara loves her immensely, if not always gently. Today, at various times, Sadie was being "shined" with a wet washcloth, her neck wrapped with a white boa, and her body pulled inside the blanket/table and chair fort Clara and I made earlier in the day. She is one good dog.
7. We had ranch-bred, grass-fed beef in our chili for dinner. I was a vegetarian for a long time. I am not having any problem eating this beef. These cows live a good life before they end up at the dinner table.
8. Today, in addition to working on the garden, going to the ranch, taking a walk, and building a fort, we colored, read books, wrote postcards, drove 3 miles to the mailbox, skyped to NC and India, cooked, cleaned, and talked late. It was a good day. Tomorrow, Lord willing, will be another one.
1 comment:
Oh friend, what a wonderful glimpse of your time. I love the granddaughter quotes!
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