Be damned if the magpies didn’t return at 6 a.m.—right on cue now that the trap’s been removed. I’ve read they’re smart like parrots, and honestly, it’s showing. They seemed to know what happened to four of their buddies, and were bold enough to be back at the cat food after I’d just put it out. I tried to get back to sleep, but no luck—so I made myself a coffee and curled up with my book instead.
B dropped Cooper off before 8 a.m.—he was absolutely petrified of the roofers working on her place. Poor guy jumped on the bed a few times, and his little hip puncture left blood spots on the comforter. Into the laundry it went, and I headed out to feed the dogs (Cooper’s new fancy $10-a-pack food is a hit) and touch up the custom dining table.
That “touch up” quickly became a full strip job. I’d spotted piggy tails from the sander and a few sticky spots still lingering. Sometimes you’ve got to go backwards to go forward—so I stripped it bare to do it right.
Meanwhile, S was hauling and stacking bales all morning. I finally got the Ottawa Tour Day blog finished and published (at long last!) and also published the Natural Wood Nightstand tutorial—submitted to the paint company and shared on my usual sites.
S grabbed a quick hot dog and headed to town for his 1 p.m. tent moving at the rodeo grounds. I enjoyed a spinach salad while watching bareback riding, then went out to weed and water. The weeds are wild this year now that we’ve stopped using Roundup.
S returned just after 2:30 as I was still weeding, he then wrapped up his part repairs. We flopped down to catch the saddle bronc while doing laundry swaps, then I went out to start hand-sanding the stripped table again until the bulls came on. It was a long performance, with the winner taking home a whopping $23,250 after riding four bulls—including three re-rides.
I commissioned this cutie to paint me some strawberry rocks and she seems to be rocking it!! XOXO
S ran the repaired part over for testing while I finished sanding and wiped the top down with mineral spirits to check for marks. The dogs got their supper, and S jumped on the mower to tackle the paddock grass. I prepped a fresh garden salad and sweet corn to go with the BBQ steaks—and even pulled a few radishes. Growing them directly in the ground makes a huge difference!
On the way home, we took a drive through Speargrass to admire the homes and landscaping, eventually running into a former Oyenite who lives there playing with his dog in the central park. We had a quick catch-up before continuing to the ranch, making a final stop to meet our new winery neighbors. Turns out they’re overwhelmed with a bumper raspberry crop and would love our help harvesting—yes please!
Back at the ranch just after 9, B pulled in right behind us after an after work rest. She got busy feeding horses while S jumped back on the mower. I put fresh sheets and the clean comforter back on the bed, then held Cooper as B shaved and flushed out his puncture wound.
Once they headed home, I wrapped up both yesterday’s and today’s blog posts. And what pairs best with clean sheets? A warm shower of course. I was just finishing my shower when S came in from mowing to have his. We started 1923 now on Netflix (I have watched season 1) but both got dozy part way thru first episode so lights out. Another full, lively day—complete with wildlife, weeds, rodeo, and raspberries.
Raspberries go with anything! Charmain has offered that I can go pick in her yard. She says takes 20 minutes to fill an ice cream pail.
ReplyDeleteYes they do, 20 minutes for a gallon is crazy good!
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