A Rainy Ranch Day

The night skies sure had something to say. I was awoken around 1 a.m. to the sound of thunder rolling across the hills and a lightning show that lit up the sky for hours. The downpour followed shortly after, and by morning we’d already tallied 1.5 inches in the rain gauge — and it was still coming.

We opted for a slow and cozy start with coffees in bed. I dove into some marketing and started catching up on blog posts while S stepped out to toss Roo some hay. He spent the morning sorting out his volunteer sheet for the upcoming Running with the Bulls event — though it seems this year’s numbers are a little low.

Once I was up and moving, I focused on finishing the tea cart tray. I finally got the paper cut and affixed neatly to the bottom, happy to see that project coming together.

With the rain still falling (we hit 1.65" by then!), I made us fresh spinach and fruit salads for lunch — a bright spot in an otherwise grey day. After lunch, we made a quick run to town to pick up Cooper, as B had requested. We also hauled off the stinky garbage and a mound of cardboard recycling that had been piling up.

Look at how full the pit is!

the OCD in me needed all matching cards for Spite & Malice, and some new fly swatters!

After dropping everything off, we grabbed a few groceries and dollar store finds, then scooped up Cooper. S was dropped at the shop to bring the tractor home — the A/C was finally fixed — while I headed back to the ranch. Cooper got settled in with a snack and a bathroom break while I unpacked groceries.

The afternoon was a productive one — I finished up a Hometalk post on that art deco cabinet from a while back and moved on to some bookkeeping. S rolled in with the tractor and got his invoice written up for Matt.

By early evening the sun peeked out just enough to lift the gloom. We cooked up supper and took the dogs for a much-needed walk. The mozzies were thick in the grass but we braved it anyway — it’s the price you pay after nearly 2" of rain in a day. And 3 1/2" in the week!

water remains

Roo got her herd time while we wrapped things up with a golden-hour hot tub soak. I noticed the broccoli had exploded with growth — one head was almost going to seed! I cut it along with another, and also spotted a new sinkhole forming near the raised beds, no doubt thanks to all that rain.

sink hole and over ripe broccoli

and a better head ready too

the water in the grass looked like sparkling lights or rolling water

Later, I signed us up for Paramount+ so we could dive into the second season of 1923. B popped out after 8 to feed her horses, then she and Coop headed home. We ended our very full day binge-watching episode after episode — finally shutting the TV off at 1 a.m.