Between Rain Clouds and Sunshine

Almost two-tenths of an inch of rain fell overnight and I never heard a thing. What a welcome surprise to wake up to. Unfortunately, it also brought a headache. Even after two cups of coffee I still needed a Tylenol to try and kick it. S spent his morning coffee time sourcing more parts for the infamous swather leaks.

The sun finally popped out around 11:30. S climbed into the skid steer to grade down the weeds along the road edges while I hand-watered the pots on the east side that had missed the rain. I also transplanted some marigolds that had gone wild in other containers.

While out there, I confirmed the culprit behind my disappearing strawberries. The darn magpies have been helping themselves to the ripe ones, leaving half-eaten berries behind. GRRRRR. I found some parging wire under the storage trailer and am going to try covering the plants. Cheeky little thieves.

I pruned the tomatoes just as the dark clouds rolled back in and sent me indoors. That gave me time to finish Thursday's blog post that I had started earlier in the morning. Before long the sun returned, and that pretty much summed up the entire day—sunshine, clouds, sunshine again.

As I was making lunch, I spotted B out in Roo's pen picking poop while S had moved on to mowing the yard. With a 100 percent chance of rain in tomorrow's forecast, he wanted everything tidied up beforehand.

fish from the garden scallions and dill!!

My afternoon included indoor plant care, a quick floor scratch repair, followed by more weed pulling outside. It truly is a never-ending job. B filled salt buckets, raked around the shelters, and eventually relaxed on the deck before heading out for a ride. S grabbed some lunch and continued puttering in the shop.

B out raking

A quick basement tidy was next so I could finally map the basement for the robot vacuum. Once it completed the map, I set it loose to clean while I returned outside.

While the robot worked away downstairs, I updated my flower bed maps and made a few notes on what was planted where. B wrapped up feeding and horse chores and, after nearly three hours of horse-related tasks, she and Cooper headed home.

grounding my Barbie pink toes while weeding

Back inside, I moved around the castle so the robot could vacuum properly, then rewarded myself with a cold beverage and some time grounding my feet in the grass. S came in for a cold beer and more online searching.

I was enjoying a hot tub soak when B returned after 6 to put Roo's boots back on. I had texted her earlier because Roo seemed a little sore on her front right leg. As B and Cooper headed home again, S was finishing the last of the mowing.

The evening sunshine was too nice to waste, so I settled in to watch The Idea of You. It happened to be the same book I had recently returned to the library unfinished. The ninety-minute movie version proved much easier to get through than the book.

This young lass provides all kinds of services!

After finishing his mowing, S enjoyed a hot tub soak of his own before settling in to watch some FIFA.

Later, he joined me for the second documentary in the soil trilogy, Common Ground. Like the first one, it focused on regenerative agriculture and healthier farming practices. It certainly gives a person plenty to think about and makes a strong case that some changes are needed in how we care for the land.