Tuesday — Pack, Peel, Pick, Repeat

Cleanup and pack-up day kicked off at 9 a.m. with coffee in hand and the trailer in full “sort and stash” mode. Harley, eager to be home, kept a close eye on me as I vacuumed, washed dishes, and tidied both inside and out. Sheldon had already hooked up the trailer and zipped off to sort panels in the infield and other rodeo tasks.

With the trailer looking halfway decent, I took the “shortcut” route for catching up on the blog—dictating notes to my phone so I could fill in the last two days later. Sheldon returned around 12:30, just as I was walking Harley around the campground, announcing “lunch at 1.” We cracked a cold beer while waiting, drove over to the work crew, ate, then finally hit the road to the ranch after 1:30.

By 2, we rolled into the ranch, drained the water tanks, and unhooked the trailer in front of the house. I immediately turned my attention to the droopy planters and thirsty garden beds—five days without water had left them looking like they’d been through a dust storm.

While I watered, weeded, and swatted mosquitoes (ferocious in the 25°C sun), Sheldon headed back to the ag grounds for more cleanup and teardown. My planters greeted me with the first dahlia blooms, the garden - a bunch of zucchini some the size of a loaf of bread, blushing tomatoes, and pea plants so full they were practically pulling the fence over. S promised he’d help pick them tonight when he returned.

Inside, I revived my parched houseplants, blanched and froze a batch of homegrown broccoli, and gave an Etsy tile its first coat of charcoal gray. B and Cooper swung by to do horse chores, collect their “Grama and Papa goodies,” and head out again by 3:30. Then it was back to accounting, photo uploads, and more blog catch-up—finally publishing last Tuesday’s post.

The custom tile got painted sage-green, the laundry churned away, and by just before 7, Sheldon returned from tractor work with a rotisserie chicken in hand. I sliced up zucchini, he threw together a bagged salad, and we had an easy-peasy supper.

Pea picking followed—tons of them, and plenty still left for tomorrow. The mosquitoes were relentless. Spotting the jungle-like lawn, Sheldon hopped on the mower while I sanded the green tile to reveal its charcoal detail, then clear-coated it.

More laundry. More blogging. Dishwasher emptied. By 9:30, Sheldon was relaxing in the big brown chair, catching up on his missed “X” time. After a shower, he cut his birthday cheesecake in half to share with me and we polished it off before heading to bed after 10.

A long week behind us, and a home—and garden—back in order.