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| The dogs after a critter in the wood cradle. |
Monday 4/21. While I was sitting on the porch this morning, Dinga discovered a little critter in the wood cradle. Jesse soon joined her and they were doing their very best to tear it apart. Dinga gets not just focused, but obsessed, clamping on to the logs and trying to pull them out. I often yell at her not to tear such piles apart, but this could easily be redone so I didn't this time. Jesse, however, kept looking at me and twice ran back to the porch as if asking if it was really okay for them to be doing this. He lost interest after about 20 minutes, but Dinga kept at it for quite a while, never catching whatever squirrel or chipmunk was in there.
Meanwhile, I just sat on the porch, enjoying the show and writing. I feel as though I could sit there and write for hours each day. Too bad I actually have to work in order to live Up Here. . .
Our "resident" butterflies have been here for a few weeks, even before the snow was all gone. They have chestnut brown wings with a light tan outline. I really do need to get a book with which I can identify them and the others that we see Up Here.
Our wildflowers are multiplying each day. On our morning walk, I could see bright yellow bouquets of balsam root dotting the south slope. More such plants are sprouting all along the south ridge and will soon be blooming also. Lupine is sprouting along the north ridge in all the old familiar places, each one a promise of beautiful lavender blooms. As is the case with most wonderful events, anticipation is half the fun.
After doing the laundry and eating lunch, I cooked a pot of chicken stew for the dogs and baked some chicken for myself. Then I took a nap.
The sky had mostly cleared when I woke up 1-1/2 hours later, just in time for the dogs' afternoon walk. Now there are almost as many western spring beauties as there is grass.
I went out again after an early dinner to cut down a couple small trees that were crowding others on both the south and north ridges. I also tossed a lot of the rocks out of the garden that Larry had dug up with the tiller. Then the dogs and I just walked around a bit enjoying the views.
As often on his visits, Larry was talking about some of his boyhood adventures when he was Up Here on Sunday. He has some incredible stories to tell about growing up in the Wenatchee area. He spent most of his free time out in the woods backpacking and camping, and driving the back roads when he was old enough. There are lots of those dirt roads in our area that go on for miles and they are accessible from where we live. Am looking forward to exploring them with Miss Kitty.
I spent a lot of time camping in the summers up through grade school with my parents, then at church camps as I grew older. But there was a big change in my life when I was about twelve years old. Within less than a span of two years I was presented with a baby brother, both my Grandmothers and a Grandfather passed away, my parents were divorced and we moved to a new town. And that was when I decided that I never wanted to be too happy because it would be so much worse when things went wrong, as I knew they would.
It has taken most of the rest of my life to learn that I should give thanks in all things. Which is not to say that I am always, or even often, successful in this, but I am no longer wary of being happy. And upon that note, I realize that my blog is not simply the tale of our adapting to and living off the grid, but has indeed become an autobiography of sorts.
And speaking of living Up Here, since the snow is all gone and the chipmunks are about, it is time to close the gate on the woodshed so Dinga doesn't get in there and start tearing it apart looking for the little critters.
And, of course, I couldn't let a day go by without mentioning Downton Abby. When talking to Sandy on the phone the other day, she commented that on my blog I am beginning to sound like a woman obsessed. I suppose I have been lately, but it is such a refreshing change to the other series we watch that can be so violent and harsh. Which is not to say that I don't like action-packed films, but the historical and verbal action of Downton Abby is just as entertaining for me.
In watching movies and TV series, I am often impressed by the actors' lines and think, "Wouldn't it be nice if someone clever could write mine!" One of my all-time favorite lines is from the HBO series Deadwood. One of the men swears in front of a woman and says, "Pardon my French." To which she replies, "Oh that's okay. I speak French." And, of course, Granny in Downton Abby (played by Maggie Smith) has some of the most incredibly funny, sensitive and clever lines that only she could deliver so effectively.
Back to Up Here, rain began falling as I was getting ready for bed and 9:30 pm. A gentle, fresh rain.
Tuesday 4/22. It was 37 and lightly raining at 6:00 am when the dogs wanted out. After lighting a fire and letting the dogs back in, I was back to bed until 8:30 am. By then the rain had stopped, but the breeze was blowing around a few snowflakes. They soon disappeared but the wind stayed all day. The clouds moved on and we had sunshine, but our high was only 45. Didn't figure out the wind chill factor with that biting wind, but if I had, with the wind speed in the mid teens, I probably would not have gone outside at all.
I washed my delicates in my hand washer, then put them in the big washer for a rinse and spin. Of course with my life Up Here the only delicates I really have are camisoles, some of my long underwear, and a few bras. Then there are a few slips for special events, but never again stockings. I haven't worn them in years.
I cut up a pile of branches and stacked them in the shed, then brought in the firewood. It was really too windy to be outside, but we did take both our daily walks. I did some reading, some sudoku, and baked our favorite banana coffee cake. JB will be home tomorrow, thank goodness.
Wednesday 4/23. It is 35 with a blue sky and clouds around the horizon. JB plans to leave the winery at about 8:30 this morning and take Highway 2 home across Stevens Pass. It snowed there a few days ago, so it may be slow going. It will be so good to have him home again!
Thought for the day: As much of heaven is visible as we have eyes to see. William Winter.
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