Another gorgeous day

It’s the last Monday of June, and we slept in until after 9—not surprising since I finally took a sleeping pill around 1:30 a.m. seeing I was still wide awake. Unfortunately, at that time there was a weird sewer-like smell in the house. S noticed it too and ended up running water through all the tubs as perhaps the traps have dried. Once that was settled, we crawled back into bed to get some sleep.

Once awake, coffee was made, breakfast was had by S, and the usual round of pet care taken care of. No magpies in the trap this morning, and oddly, they weren’t even carrying on at 5:30 like they usually do.

After calling Canada Post, I found out they don’t print third-party postage labels—so I reached out to the Paetz's to see if I could print it at their place instead. We loaded up Harley and headed into town just after 11, dropping off Britt's tire to be repaired on the way.

S picked up oil at Canadian Tire and had a quick visit with a friend, while Harley and I waited in the air conditioning—thankfully, since it was already 23°C and climbing. An Ice Cap stop was next, followed by a quick run into Walmart for a few things while S stayed in the car with Har.

After that, we picked up Cooper and stopped at the Paetz’s—literally just a 30-second stop to pop in, print the label, and go. They were on their way home from a week-long campout in Okotoks, and funny enough, we actually passed them coming into town just as we were heading to grab B’s tire.

That whole tire ordeal has been ridiculous—the other tire shop refused to fix it, which caused a cascade of stress, hassle, and the headache of borrowing vehicles after B had to drive on the donut tire far too long. Tonight after work, B and S plan to put the repaired tire back on her car and rotate the rest while they're at it.

Back at the ranch, S cooked up some hot dogs—he’d been craving them ever since spotting a gal selling them roadside at Walmart. While he relaxed with a nap in Big Brown, I got to work on some accounting, blog posts, and a bit of marketing.

I made us iced coffees to enjoy out on the deck—such a nice little pause. It is 25 out now feeling hotter with no wind. After that, I watered the pots and set the soaker hoses on both gardens while S gave the Fireball a good wash. Harley had a pedicure and her cartrophen shot. Once the pups were fed, I tackled the pet dishes and scrubbed everything up.

That led me back to working on the antique table, while S mowed the weedy patches in the house paddock. Later, the two of us moved the patio couch over to the deck, and S finished off the afternoon by washing the Ranger and the mower.

I have Mom save me old Echo's for my drop cloths, crazy whose little face popped up when I opened ones to use.. Ina's granddaughter from 4 years ago!

porky pig right in his element of dust flying

all sanded and ready to stain

Supper was leftovers—which honestly felt like a gift since it meant no cooking for me. I was working on my Spanish lessons afterward when B called around 6:30. She’d made it home early after catching a ride with a coworker and leaving Shaina’s Jeep at Moore’s for her to pick up when they land tomorrow afternoon.

I hopped in the car and headed to town to pick her up. As thanks for the ride, she treated me to an iced vanilla latte from Starbucks—definitely not complaining! We made our way back to the ranch, where she fed the horses, and then she and Sheldon rotated the three existing tires plus the newly repaired one on her car.

While they were at it, I applied the first coat of walnut stain to the Haines’ table. S then took the truck to go check out Matt’s swath and cool off a bit. I turned on the A/C since the house had hit 27°C and with a heat wave on the horizon, it seemed wise to get ahead of it.

Once things cooled down outside, the three of us caught the horses and went for an amazing evening ride. All the horses were brushed and turned out again, and B and Cooper headed home after 10 in her now fully functional Taos.

S settled into Big Brown to watch rodeo, and I took some time to catch up the blog before we called it a night.

Pit grass growing

A sunny Sunday brought the usual routine—coffee in bed. But today, S was running late and headed off to church without breakfast, just as I was starting Roo duties. Once he pulled out, I harvested a big mound of radishes and cleaned them up, then shifted into marketing and tutorial work mode, iced coffee in hand.

Deep in bubble reflection

And don't be alarmed about the bandaids - she just likes to wear them. I asked :)

S returned before noon with a few treasures: a sewing table and a tea cart someone had posted for free, plus a jug of milk—which he goes through in no time.

I made myself a spinach salad and prepped a jumbo plate of salad for him, then got back to work on the antique dining table, alternating between power and hand sanding then wiping down with mineral spirits.

After his reset in Big Brown, S headed out for a gopher tour, bagging three, and hauled the quad wagon down to the pit.

Can you find the gun slinging gopher sniper?

Awe XOXOXO my heart

I totally forgot this dancing baby video from Friday's post but you can now see it here and there since so cute!

Around 3, S headed over to a friend’s place to check out his magpie trap, taking out a couple more gophers along the way. B arrived a bit later, and she and I saddled up for a lovely ride—it was another absolutely beautiful day.

S got home just after 5, right as B was finishing up feeding and I was deep into weeding. They took a look at her car tires and might have come up with a new plan. She and Cooper set off for home shortly after, while I popped a pork roast into the Instant Pot. I also ordered more food for Harley to last another couple of weeks.

S set up the new magpie trap, then did another gopher loop in the Ranger, switching between watching baseball and rodeo on TV.

Meanwhile, I had another Etsy sale come through—this one for a rustic chalkboard. Since it's an odd shape, I had to build a custom box for it. After finally getting it all packed up... my printer decided to stop cooperating. Several printer head cleanings later, still nothing. Fingers crossed that Canada Post can print the label for me tomorrow.

We had a late supper just after 7, then I took Harley and Stella for a walk. The evening was absolutely perfect—no bugs, golden sunlight spilling over everything, and the landscape lush and green. I wandered down to check on the new grass coming up in the pit and crossed paths with S on another gopher loop as we headed back.

There was no way I was going inside with a night like that, so I tackled a task I’ve been putting off: trimming the spent lilac pods. I managed to fill an entire wheelbarrow and still didn’t get halfway through. Meanwhile, S was tending to a smoky campfire after welding a crack in the hitch mover.

I moved on to garden weeding with Stella as my little sidekick. She’s really coming out of her shell lately—seeking out pets and enjoying human company more and more. This kind of weather makes even the most mundane chores feel almost enjoyable.

Instead of sitting by the smoky fire, I opted for a soak in the hot tub to catch the tail end of the sunset. S joined me about 10 minutes later to rinse off the campfire smoke. I finished off the day with a quick shower and some quiet time in bed catching up on the blog from my iPad before reading. Heh, did you see our Montreal blog post I published last night?

Rain socked in

By the crack of 7:30, I was awake and dove back into my book for a quiet start. Once S got up, I made us coffees while he took care of feeding the cats and dog. After a bit of a relaxed morning and our daily Spanish practice, I headed out for some morning marketing, then shifted into nurse-and-feeder mode for Roo.

While S tackled the lawn mowing, I focused on catching up with blog work—got two more posts finished and published (one on our vacation bowling day and one on our first day back home). I even managed to prep a couple more for publishing soon. As he made his loop down the laneway, the Hains's pulled in around 11, dropping off a table they’d like me to refinish. We sat out on the deck enjoying a lovely mid-morning visit before they headed off around 12:30.

After a quick lunch, S was back at it—mowing and grading the yard and road, which also helps keep weeds in check. I spent time in the garden picking more spinach and radishes, moving a few plants, and harvesting a big bunch of dill for a gal who came by around 1:30.

To the west, the skies had turned dark with distant thunder, but it seemed to be circling around us. Just in case, I gave my potted plants and the two tomato boxes a good watering.

This is another of Britt's peonies.. I need some of this stock!!

The forecast called for rain at 2:30, and sure enough, it started almost right on cue. S had just wrapped up grading, and I was in the middle of cleaning and sanding the table. He headed into Big Brown to relax just as B and Cooper arrived, hoping to get some hoof trimming done.

I finished sanding half the tabletop and came inside. B grabbed a quick bite, then she and I headed out to catch the horses and bring them into the barn. Thankfully, I could borrow S’s giant raincoat—it made the wet task a lot more manageable. The rain let up a bit around 3:30 but still lingered ominously in the sky.

Back inside, I curled up with my book while S chatted on the phone and surfed the internet. Just before 4:30, the rain started up again as B called me out to finish Switch’s back feet. Now, the raincoat had me sweating like I wore a tarp in 100 degrees. By the time I made it back inside and fed the dogs, a tenth of an inch had already fallen.

I published Asher's ball game day, the sun poked thru and the rain let up after 5 having dropped almost 2/10ths. Now to get supper on the go, taco Saturday! Now the sun was out S went about welding a pipe onto a hitch to create a mover [hitch[ for all the 4th wheel trailers. B was in after 6 and with S busy at his task we went ahead and ate. I then walked out to get his attention as he was finishing up and he came in to eat.

B fed the horses and finished up tasks before she headed home after 7. S went out after his cake and ice cream to test out the new hitch and it worked great. He then bladed the trailer spots clear of weeds and put them back. I was back to reading on the bed when he called me out to help him unhitch the travel trailer.

Once he got them back in place he was in and ready for a hot tub. I was nearly finished this 700 page regular print book but took a break to soak in the hot tub and enjoy the back to green grass freshly cut and the neatly graded damp gravel spots. Back inside I finished the 700 regular size print book then todays blog as S surfed the web before calling it a day.

Movie date night

As we began our usual day, B texted S early about tire pricing. This included Roo care, pet breakfasts, coffee served in bed by S today, and Spanish lessons. I then moved on to marketing and blog writing while S called places to source tire prices and availability for B.

that hair :)

Before I knew it, it was 11:30, so I wrapped up my blogging and we headed out into the sunshine for a soak in the hot tub. Afterward, we took a shower and got ready for the day.

We went to pick up our vegetable box after 1, but as we reached our gate, we saw something heartbreaking—a little fawn had been hit on the highway. S gently and humanely moved it off the road. 🥺

After loading up the veggie box, we swung through town to grab Cooper and pick up a sub for lunch on the way home. We ate quickly once we got to the ranch, then I fed Cooper before we were headed to the city—Sheldon driving Shaina's Jeep, following behind me.

Latest in car air fresheners :)

Taking a bouquet for Kaylin was challenging as the jar did not fit in the cup holder so had to be held most of the time while driving - then there was the hour detour too :)

As we neared Heritage on Glenmore, we ran into a huge sign warning of delays due to an incident up ahead. Traffic crawled for ages, so we finally detoured onto Deerfoot, thinking it would be quicker. Unfortunately, it led us straight to Memorial Drive, which was completely torn up with construction and bumper-to-bumper traffic. Oh—and while sitting in the traffic, my car started dinging with a low fuel warning. Of course it did. 😅

Eventually, Sheldon and I rerouted via Macleod to Memorial and split off near the 14th Street bridge, each taking different routes. We finally arrived at Kaylin’s—an hour later than expected—but had a lovely time playing with Renn and visiting before heading off to the movie F1 - Sheldon has been dying to see it.

Dr Renn on duty!

and she is a dancer too

The movie was scheduled for 6:30, but of course, with all the previews, it didn’t actually start until 7 and ran for two and a half hours. Since we hadn’t eaten (aside from three nibs during the film!), we hit the A&W drive-thru afterward, then stopped for diesel for the car to make the trip home.

Brittany texted as she had arranged to use Shaina’s Jeep—her spare tire is awful to drive on—so we swung back to Kaylin’s, picked up the Jeep, and started the drive home again. Just when we thought the chaos was over, we hit another detour heading east on Glenmore due to an accident blocking the road. Earlier, we'd passed four police cruisers and a fire truck going westbound, so it seems like accidents were everywhere this pre-long weekend Friday. Back at the ranch we hit the sheets with the usual S perusing X on his phone and me reading till midnight.

Battery, tire and Microsoft troubles

Man, I dislike the sound of magpies, especially between 5:30 and 8. They are just so annoyingly shrill. I was up before 8 and made the coffees to enjoy while doing Spanish. Then, I moved on to marketing and creating/submitting my monthly work sheets. Roo was fed and medicated, and Har fed too. S took care of the cats, which required constant magpie watching because they’re so bold and eat right beside the cats and dog! S also swapped filters in the hot tub.

We had planned to go hiking with Harley and possibly Renn at Elbow Falls, but by the time we told Kaylin, they had taken Renny to school. I had cut her a bouquet of peonies earlier to take, so I went back out and cut me another one too. S had to boost Shaina’s Jeep because it was dead from sitting so long—I think her security system drains it faster.

Matt is renting the swather, so S drove it over. He had me pick him up, taking the Jeep to get the charge increased. We quickly drove to town to grab Cooper, and S automatically shut it off as soon as we pulled up, exclaiming, “Oh no!” Sure enough, it was dead. He wandered around the neighbourhood to find someone to give a boost while I cut a peony bouquet for Britt, who says she never has time to cut herself one. I may have taken a few for myself too. Once S found a neighbour and got the Jeep running, I loaded up Cooper, his food, and the peonies, and we were off.

Back at the ranch it was lunch with an iced coffee refreshment. S had put a charger on the Jeep battery then perused his laptop while I trouble shot yet another Microsoft problem. For the next couple hours I was off and on hold and help with technical support with a glitch on their end. So frustrating as I cannot do any blog work as that is where my photos are as well as the edited and watermarked ones. This really messed with my plans to take the dogs for a walk at the river too,

The weather was spectacular—full sun, a gentle breeze, and a comfortable 23 degrees. I mixed up food buckets and took them out to feed the horses. While they ate, I pulled and hoed weeds in the paddock. The bird wasn’t a fan of her watered-down feed from yesterday’s rain, so I ended up giving half to a couple of volunteers. S ran the quad wagon full of our weeds to the pit and unhooked the Jeep battery, which is now holding a charge better.

Another double rainbow evening

We prepped vegetables to go with steak for supper as the clouds rolled in and a bit of thunder rumbled. We waited a bit to cook, and to our surprise, it started raining while the sun was still out at 6:30 p.m. as S was grilling the deer tenderloin. It was a short-lived little rain shower, but of course, it was yet another delicious supper.

Nathan sent these adorable pictures of Renn's Beetlejuice hair

chillin'

After the rain stopped, the sun came out in full force. After watching the bull riding at the rodeo, we took the dogs for a walk, much to Cooper’s excitement before 8. He loves “walky” time. It was a spectacular evening with no wind or bugs, so I stayed out and pruned the lilacs. I texted S to bring the power saw, and we cut down big branches on the pear, apple, and mystery tree. I then hand-pulled grass from the culvert rocks and replanted hens and chicks around, while S pulled the thistles in the island. It was a great night to do yard work.

While we were outside, B texted that she had a flat tire and had it in the queue at a tire shop. At 8:30, they told her it was too worn out to repair, so she now needs four new tires. Her car is only a year and a half old, but she has already put on 70,000 km. We were in bed reading and perusing X as usual when she made it home on her spare after a supper meeting at 11:30. She also picked up a paint parcel that was at the gate for me. I had ran out at 11 and tossed Roo’s hay, but now B reset her boots, then she and Cooper were off for home at midnight. I closed my book and lights out not long after she left.