May 21, 2018 Rain & GREEN

Dinga guarding the homestead.

Friday 5/18. Put a fire in the wood stove this morning.  Then after some coffee, I got outside to clean out the drainage channels.  Still playing in the mud at 71.

The rain continued in fits and starts until around 3:00 pm when either the fog moved up or the clouds settled down and ensconced us in a heavy mist for a couple hours.

I had to make more humming bird syrup, which fortunately is quite easy.  I usually make a gallon - 16 cups water to 4 cups sugar - and heat it just to a boil.

With all this rain, it was a very slow and lazy day.  Our high was just 50.

Saturday 5/19. It was 48 and overcast this morning with some valley fog.  JB went to sleep last night feeling fine, then woke up this morning with his bad knee swollen and hurting.  So it was a very slow day for him.

I have taken two ticks off Jesse in the past week.  Last Fall I bought a "tick twister" that works much better than tweezers or such.  It slips under the tick and pulls the whole thing off without leaving the head.

The nine bark and lilac bushes are leafing out, and the lilac is budding.  The rain really battered the flowers I had planted, and the service berry bush lost all its blooms.  Everything was green before the rain, but now it is GREEN!  Looks like a scene from the other side of the mountains.

The propane generator wouldn't start today; it just kept backfiring.  JB limped up to check it out and we changed the air filter.  Still wouldn't start.  He will call the company on Monday to see if they have any suggestions.

I picked up most of the fir cones that had dropped on the stones on the south side of the house.  Will dump them over the south ridge.  We need more trees over there anyway.

Larry used his tractor to pick up the culverts by his place and dump out all the gravel that had washed down in Thursday night's deluge.  A bit tricky since they were so heavy.

Patches of blue sky appeared mid afternoon and our high for the day was 57.

I roasted a chicken on the "beer can roaster" for dinner with beer and apple juice in the roaster and a rub of salt, pepper and smoked paprika.  It was very good, and juicy.

Sunday 5/20. It was 50 and mostly cloudy this morning.  A bit of rain fell overnight, but all we got during the day was a two-minute light shower.  A large, dark cloud drifted just to the north of us and dumped its load in town.

JB's knee is still hurting and swollen.  We iced it several times.  I woke up with an upset stomach, so between my stomach and his knee, it was a very quiet day with lots of napping.

Large clouds moved overhead all day, but the sun managed to shine most of the time.  Our high for the day was 65.

Monday 5/21. It is 47 and clear with a breeze this morning, and I have already put a fire in the wood stove to take the chill out.  Larry and Elsie plan to bring their youngest grandson up today for a four-wheeler ride and visit.

Thought for the day: Faith is about what you do.  It is about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are.  It's about making sacrifices for the good of others - even when there is not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are.  Jim Butcher, Changes: A Novel of the Dresden Files, page 252.