Grama and Papa surprise Shaina

It's shaping up to be another scorcher today. I woke up early because Lexi needed to go outside at 6 to take care of her business, and then she returned to bed. The sunrise was stunning. Harley needed to go out at 7 the wanted back in before 8. I figured it was best to just wake up, feed her, and brew some coffee. Now, it's time to work on a blog post.

This little cutie is beating the heat with her water table and staying hydrated with the hose

The rental property underwent an inspection at 9 AM today. We took Harley out for an early walk to avoid the heat, as it was already 22 degrees. Matt worked from B's room, while Shaina slept in until 11 AM. We enjoyed lunch with the workers, scrambled eggs, beans, and toast.

S went out to shoot gophers while I applied dark wax to the large dresser. Ma and Pa arrived at 2 just as I was finishing the waxing. They caught Shaina by surprise as she worked at the island, eager to see her since they missed her 30th birthday. Now that she was back in town, they seized the opportunity. Meanwhile, Matt and Sheldon were also out shooting gophers. We spent the remainder of the day and evening catching up, feasting on an abundance of fresh tomatoes and peppers (courtesy of Dwayne), and enjoying a meal that included Grama's homemade cheesecake and a delicious steak dinner.

roses are loving this heat

I ventured out into the sweltering heat above 30 degrees to harvest fresh potatoes from our garden for the steak dinner, and they were scrumptious, especially with fresh dill. S and I made a quick trip to town to check the items in question on the inspection list. It appears the initial list wasn't entirely accurate, but we will address the buyer's concerns. We also visited Rona in search of a door self-closing spring but had no success, so it was back to the ranch for us. Sheldon received infield suite tickets for tomorrow's Stampede as a reward for his dedicated volunteer work at the rodeo. Coincidentally, they were for the same day we had already purchased tickets. We attempted unsuccessfully to sell our tickets locally but ended up selling them quickly on the original purchase site.

yummy!

this little girl and her patient dog

The crew was out on the deck, unwinding and enjoying the summer weather, with one of them taking a nap before supper. Meanwhile, Britt and Dave arrived late to join us for supper and then proceeded with their usual evening activities, which involved a lesson and some feeding.

However, Dave received a call that the other foal was ill, so he had to drive to Olds, pick her and the mare up, and take them to Moore's. Matt helped Sheldon load the last bit of mulch into a grain bag and move into shop. This frees up the dump trailer now for the gravel hauling. THANKS Matt!! We lounged on the deck during the beautiful evening until mosquitoes emerged, prompting us to retreat indoors and shortly thereafter, to bed. We started watching The Man with 1000 Kids, WTAH???

adorable footage Shaina took