Heat Waves, Hockey & Hobbling Around the Ranch

The morning disappeared quickly with all the usual little tasks and routines filling the hours before I even realized it.

My knee was so unbearably itchy during the night that I finally gave up around 1 a.m. and took a sleeping pill, which thankfully seemed to calm things down enough to let me sleep. Meanwhile, Harley had her own problems going on and yelped three separate times throughout the morning while sleeping on the floor. I checked both front legs carefully for any obvious injury and gently stretched them, but couldn’t seem to pinpoint what was bothering her.

So apparently everyone in this house is falling apart this week.

After lunch, the three of us hobbled our way down to the gate and back to leave out items for two different pickups. Since temperatures were climbing toward 27 degrees, I cut across the winter pasture on the way back to remove Jimmy’s fly sheet before he roasted in it.

While crossing the pasture, I spotted more gophers and alerted S immediately. Naturally, that sent him off in the Ranger to take a few shots while also pulling more henbane plants from the pit area.

A parcel arrived, and I recruited him to help wrestle a duvet into its cover.  Never much help deciding as “It looks OK,” was, of course, his response.

By 3, S headed into town for his doctor’s appointment hoping for some answers about his knee along with an MRI requisition. While he was gone, I tackled accounting finding a pile of receipts S had apparently been “collecting.” I also sorted birthday presents and managed to squeeze in a little online shopping too.

This bird cage would be cute with a baby tears for small vining plant

I was in the middle of repotting another plant when S arrived home with Cooper. He immediately settled into cold beer and laptop mode while also lighting the fire pit to burn the henbane plants he had pulled earlier.

Unfortunately, with the north wind blowing directly toward the house, the burning weeds quickly smoked out the west side of the house, forcing me to close windows despite the heatwave temperatures.

While the fire burned, S took a few more shots at gophers and I headed out to hand water pots and garden seeds.

The garden is finally starting to feel alive now.

The potatoes are up, peas have already been going strong since last week, onions are growing, beets are beginning to peek through, and the transplanted peonies actually seem to be surviving their move surprisingly well.

There is a trending idea to use the last of your jam jar to make a gin and jam, so I tried it!

and it was very tasty!

Supper was easy but delicious — leftovers paired with a fresh homemade salad — before S settled in to watch hockey with only four teams left now.

our ball girl

they incorporate all kinds of sports and movement

Their special after sports tradition

Even balloons need baths

I gave Harley some Metacam for her sore leg and finished writing today’s blog before heading back outside for evening garden chores. Compost got buried, weeds got pulled, the west flower beds got watered, and the fire pit got shuffled around before I finally admitted defeat to the incoming heatwave and turned on the A/C for the first time this year.

It definitely feels like summer has officially arrived. But not for long.

Later, I curled up in bed reading more of One Golden Summer when B stopped in after feeding. She asked if she could borrow the book once I finish since it’s already on her reading list too.

After she headed home, I kept reading long after S came in, scrolled his phone for awhile, and promptly nodded off.

Outside, dark clouds rolled through along with thunder and a little lightning, but once again absolutely no meaningful rain came from it.

BOO.