Author: montanaclarks

Last week I had so much to tell you and this week I was late starting this post leaving me to think, “what did we do this week.” The flood recovery efforts continue in Montana–it will be a long, difficult road. We’ve had near perfect spring/summer weather–warm days, clear blue skies and the occasional thunderstorm bringing a little moisture.

Monday and Wednesday we were in Billings–I had two appointments which should have been done on the same day but that didn’t happen.

So, Monday I had my knee injected and on Wednesday I had my hip injected under fluoroscopy by a skilled PA at Billings Clinic. Today I told the Cowboy that I felt like crying happy tears–for the first time in almost two years I don’t have hip pain. It’s a life changer to have pain relief!

We have an older Cadillac SRX and while in Billings on Wednesday we kept hearing and feeling a grinding noise. Once we made it home, the Cowboy ran the car up onto blocks and took it apart finding the problem–we needed a new drive shaft carrier bearing. Who knew Amazon sold such items??? The part was delivered Thursday and installed–success–it’s nice to have a mechanic in the house!

Our lilac tree had more blossoms than usual–the backyard smelled so good!

Saturday was a busy day. It was the annual rodeo weekend Sweet Grass Fest in our small town. Vendors, car show, parade and a picnic in the park with friends Sarge and Sarah. It was a fun filled, great day.

A parade isn’t a parade without horses!

And a certain friend and her class were having their 50th class reunion this weekend–she is on this float and they were having a good time!

Saturday evening we had a fabulous evening at the home of friends Lesley and Ken. Good food, good friends and great conversation.

Lawn mowing, weed whacking, working on the flatbed, grading the driveway–all the other chores that were done this week.

Life is good!

 

 

 

Mother Nature is cranky–first we get 6.5 inches of rain over Memorial Day weekend, then this Yellowstone flood which is being called a 500 year event, then we have a wind storm that would rival any windstorm in Montana. And we took a trip–lots to talk about!! And lots of photos. (You can click on any of the smaller photos to make them larger)

Let’s talk about this 500 year flood event–it’s horrific–there is no other word. Sunday night, June 12 into the early hours of June 13 Yellowstone Park and surrounding areas received 4-5 inches of rain. It was warm enough that rain fell on the mountain snowpack causing rapid melting. All that moisture swelled the Yellowstone River and its tributaries to epic levels never seen before. Another recorded flood happened in 1918 and the Yellowstone was flowing at 38,000 CFS. Monday the Yellowstone was flowing at 51,000 CFS! Our home sits about one half mile above a river and we have no flood issues–our neighbors and the neighboring communities were not so fortunate!

On Thursday June 9th we left home heading to the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area to camp with friends and ride ATVs up the mountains into the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. Friends Geri and Larry came from Rapid City to join us and friends Ken and Leslie from our neck of the woods came along. On Saturday another gang from Big Timber joined us for a day ride.

The weather while we were camping was unsettled–rain/sun/high winds/downpours–but nothing that would indicate the extent of the flooding we would see on Monday.

The above photo is of our amazing Stafford Animal Shelter in Livingston, Montana. Staff and volunteers were in the process of calmly evacuating all the animals when the water suddenly rose to waist level and the power went out. Can you imagine???–and that water had to be so cold. All the animals were evacuated safely, all staff were OK but the shelter is a total loss.

The above three photos were taken inside Yellowstone Park which is devastated. The gateway communities of Gardiner and Cooke City were totally isolated for several days–no potable water, no way in or out. The lower loop of Yellowstone Park is re-opening June 22 but a system to limit the number of visitors is being put in place. License plates ending with odd numbers will be allowed into the Park on odd numbered days, etc. There is no way the lower loop could handle the number of visitors normally in the Park on a summer day–just sheer volume, or lodging or dining. The poor wildlife probably couldn’t handle the number of tourists!!

The north/upper entrance to Yellowstone is not expected to open this summer–the devastation is that great. Red Lodge Montana is located on Rock Creek and that normally shallow, rocky creek became a raging torrent leaving the street in Red Lodge covered in large rocks.

The Beartooth Pass, one of the most scenic drives in the US is closed for repairs. This flood will most likely significantly harm the tourist industry in Montana this summer and our hearts go out to all those business owners which rely on the tourist trade for much of their earnings for the year. Our hearts go out to the so many people who have lost their homes, land, outbuildings and perhaps their livelihood.

Our trip to the wild horse range was awesome as usual. Warm in the campground, very chilly on top of the mountains. On Friday we rode in an area we had not seen before, lead by Ken–beautiful country!

Saturday morning we met the gang coming from Big Timber at our usual meeting spot–the corrals and headed up the mountains with 11 rigs and I think 20 people. More snow than usual on this previous date–ice caves weren’t accessible due to snow, we saw fewer horses and no sheep. The weather was awful on top of the mountain, cold and dumping rain. We took shelter in Penn’s cabin originally built in 1911 as a shelter for men cutting railroad ties. In 1921 a man named Penn filed a homestead claim on the lands surrounding the cabin, thus the name Penn’s cabin. The cabin kept us all dry while we had lunch and waited out the rain.

Friday evening we took shelter in Larry and Geri’s motorhome to enjoy our dinner–the weather was cranky–high winds making the motorhome rock and sheets of rain. In the neighboring site young people had erected two tents and they were having one heck of a time keeping those tents anchored! Then when walking Emmi I find out one of the young people had tied his boat to the pier and came back 20 minutes later to find the waves caused by the extremely high winds had sunk his boat!!! I felt so sorry for those kids–they took down their tents, loaded everything into the ruined boat and left!

Ken and Leslie departed Sunday morning and the four of us took a tour of the Bighorn Canyon. It was a gray, rainy morning so photos do not do justice to the colors in the Canyon–but here are the ones I snapped.

We spent the rest of the rainy Sunday visiting, reading, napping, walking the dog and enjoying doing absolutely nothing with ice cream for supper–a very good day!

Monday we were loaded up and moving early! There was absolutely no cell service in the campground. As we traveled along and found cell service I began to see reports of the flooding on social media. We wondered in what condition we would find our home–as I said, no damage–our little creek is high due to that Memorial Day weekend rain but no higher than when we left on Thursday.

And then we had the wind storm–good grief Mother Nature!!! Saturday, I went to Livingston to have lunch with our friend Sarah–an outstanding lunch at Rice Fine Thai! Shortly after I left home the wind started to blow and it blew for an hour or more the Cowboy said–making a circle, coming from all directions. We lost multiple aspen trees in our little valley but no damage to house or outbuildings. Our neighbors up the road were not so lucky with damage to outbuildings, equipment, and vehicles. Power was out for about 10 hours.

So, that’s is what has been happening in the last week and a half–let’s hope the next week is a little more dull!!

 

Clouds, rain, wind, sun, clouds, rain, etc.–it’s spring in Montana–what else can I say! My newly planted petunias are doing well in the cooler more moist air. This time of year we live in a jungle of aspen trees and the grass grows an inch by the day!–

Our little Emmi girl turned 13 on Tuesday. She is at present doing better than she has in the last couple years. We seem to have hit upon a medication regime that keeps her issues under control. We are so fortunate to have excellent veterinarians that listen to us both in Arizona and in Montana.

We are busy getting ready for a trip–moved the little travel trailer closer to the house so loading is easier and turned on the refrigerator. RV refrigerators are such fickle creatures plus expensive to replace–I always hold my breath until we are sure the dang things are cooling! Here’s a funny story–in all the RVs we’ve owned over the years–many, many–we’ve replaced one refrigerator which was in our third RV and third 5th wheel.

We were staying the winter in a RV resort near San Antonio, Texas when the weather turned nasty as it can in the south. An ice storm moved in dumping an incredible amount of freezing rain, closing roads and freeways and effectively isolating our RV resort for five days. The resort was on a lake at the bottom of a ridiculously steep hill–there was no way anyone was coming in or going out of that place with ice on the roads. And our refrigerator died. It was cold enough that I just left stuff sitting on the picnic table outside. Other cold items and frozen food went into a refrigerator in the lodge which the resort owners were kind enough to let us use. Getting up to the lodge to retrieve anything was a touch difficult–I don’t ice skate–and that ice was treacherous!!

The Cowboy had located and purchased a refrigerator and had lined up help for removing the original one. But we had to wait until the ice melted enough for someone in a delivery truck to bring us the new refrigerator. All was well in the end after the ice melted and amazingly the resort did not lose power the entire time.

Here are a few photos of the feathered friends visiting our feeders this time of year–

 

 

 

In last Sunday’s post I briefly mentioned the rain we had. Well, my goodness, did we ever get rain Sunday night and Monday. By the time the rain stopped falling we had 6.5 inches in our rain gauge!!! Highly unusual for Montana but so welcome!

With all that rain falling walks were short and lots of mud was tracked into the basement which is unfinished–thus that’s where we remove muddy boots and rain gear. Emmi was in and out of the laundry room sink getting her paws washed. Much to her dismay a bath and haircut followed. I had to threaten Emmi several times with a trip to the groomer if she didn’t stop wiggling!

The Cowboy has been hard at work on his flatbed and various other things such as changing the oil in one or the other of our vehicles/equipment/lawnmowers.

Wednesday we took a drive to town–I wanted flowers this year and friends Kelli and Bonnie own a greenhouse. Our deck is in the sun for most of the day so whatever I plant must be sun tolerant. Some years I branch out and try different plants–always without much success. This year I decided to stick to the old tried and true–petunias–they love my deck and always do well. So, petunias it is in a red/white/blue color scheme. We did purchase a couple perennials for the back yard flower bed.

We keep having very cool nights so our leaves aren’t fully developed but our summer time jungle is forming. The birds are eating us out of house and home–lazuli buntings, rosy red finches, western tanagers, a black headed grosbeak pair, yellow warblers, woodpeckers and chickadees visit the feeders. And we have a host of hummingbirds.

Saturday we traveled to Livingston to watch the grands play T-ball. Want to smile and laugh–go watch a group of 4 to 7 year old children play ball. We had the best time–they are so cute! Brooks can really whack that ball! Those two ladies/coaches were awesome with the kiddos and had to be exhausted by the end of the “game.” Saturday afternoon we had some wicked lightening and a bit more rain.

On Facebook recently I noticed a post by our friend Pam–a slice of delicious appearing strawberry/rhubarb pie and Pam was kind enough to provide this link to the pie. We have tons of rhubarb this time of year and a shortage of ways to use it that don’t require buckets of sugar–oh well–rhubarb pie it is. And my goodness is that pie ever delicious!!

As you all have read, Louanne is our pie baker extraordinaire and has tried to teach me to make crusts. While in AZ we had a refresher conversation and by george I think I can make a pie crust! One thing I had forgotten was the little cheesecloth sleeve that goes over the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. That little problem was always one of my BIG problems no matter what rolling pin I used. Well, in Montana I don’t have a cheesecloth sleeve. Nursing resourcefulness to the rescue.

While searching for cheesecloth in the basement pantry and not finding any I stumbled across this package of Kling–a stretchy bandage wrap. Worked like a charm–no issues rolling out the pie crust!

Emmi and I went for an afternoon stroll about 2:30 Sunday afternoon and it turned into a race to the house before we were drenched! I could see the storm coming and told Emmi to pick up the pace–we reached the house just as the first drops started falling.

The construction work continues–the young men who were at our house digging the trenches for the fiber optic cable would make you have faith in the younger generation. They probably weren’t even 30 years old, brothers and such entrepreneurs! They own the mini excavator and lease the vac truck.  They arrived before 8am each morning and left after 5pm. And, they didn’t cut any electrical, phone or water lines–that’s a good thing!

We had a couple beautiful days this week and then much welcomed rain. The rain has made a muddy mess of our driveway where the construction crews dug and Emmi has to have her paws washed each time she comes in. It’s a good thing she is tiny–into the mud room sink she goes. As you can tell from my attire, it is not warm–I’m wearing gloves and a hat under that hood. Cute foot wear–right!!

We’ve stayed home all week except for a quick trip to town to pick up a medication refill for Emmi girl. My orthopedic surgeon called to go over the findings of the MRI I had on my hip which saved us a trip to Billings. I have bursitis which is what the surgeon suspected and there really isn’t any treatment for it other than physical therapy which hasn’t helped or injecting it. I have an appointment to have the hip injected under fluoroscopy later in June.

The Cowboy has been busy, really busy! He wants to replace the box on our truck with a flatbed and decided to build the flatbed instead of purchasing one. He’s built many a flatbed so he knows what he is doing but he’s never built one on a truck with a back up camera–we shall see how this goes! Steel for flatbeds is heavy and he comes in the house each evening mighty weary. Today he installed air bags on the truck and changed the oil–he’s a busy man!

I have a quilt on the longarm–imagine that–it’s been a while! Thirty plus years ago Louanne started a cross stitch bedspread, found it while packing for their move this past summer and finished the cross stitching this winter. I’m in the process of quilting the piece.

This is a very short little clip of Emmi playing with a “stick”–something she loves to do.

The above photo was taken by a member of our community, John Novotny. This is the tree covered, beautiful, peaceful cemetery in our community. On this Memorial Day weekend we thank all those who died in service to this country, those who served and are still serving. It’s a sad Memorial Day weekend–the war in Ukraine rages on and the death of those innocent children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas makes my heart break.

The lazuli buntings came back. In our first house on this ranch, the one down by the road, we had dozens of the little colorful buntings. When we moved to this house we didn’t have as many–maybe the birds liked the open space around the feeders at the other house. The buntings arrived about May 6th last year, usually they hit our feeders about May 13th–this year they were late and making me worry I had offended them or they didn’t like our seed!

If you have to clean ditches it helps to have a view such as this–

Can you spot the Cowboy in the excavator? He was cleaning a section of our irrigation ditch that runs through the neighbor’s property.

Monday the wheels turned again–I joined Jill and Jeane for coffee in town then the Cowboy and I made a wild goose chase to the small Montana community of Amsterdam. We went to look at a Country Coach motorhome. We’ve missed our Country Coach motorhome and on one hand wish we had never sold it. This Country Coach was white (John Brown) and four feet shorter than our original one. It was in reasonable shape for its age and was classic Country Coach–real wood cabinets, good carpet, all the bells and whistles. But we talked ourselves out of owning another motorhome that large and came home without the RV.

Tuesday it was the Cowboy’s turn to socialize and he had lunch with a gang of guys from high school days. He didn’t get home until almost 4pm–I thought maybe someone had absconded with him but no, he was enjoying himself. I worked myself to the bone on Tuesday with him gone–I weeded the backyard flower bed, sprayed weeds, mowed the grass, blew the leaves off the decks, and did laundry. I was exhausted!

Our telephone and internet is provided by a local co-op, Triangle Telephone. We live remote and have the best internet–and it’s about to get even better! They are installing fiber optic lines in our neck of the woods!! Lots of huge equipment and people! Lots of activity!

Thursday was another Billings day. We shopped for a washer and dryer finding a washer in stock at Lowe’s and the dryer should be delivered in 10 days or less–fingers crossed. We enjoyed a good lunch and made a small Costco run. Late in the afternoon found us in the medical center area where I endured a MRI on my cranky hip. No results until next Thursday when I see the surgeon again. I’m claustrophobic and unlike when I had the knee MRI, this time my head was almost all the way inside the machine. I had to talk to myself to remain calm–that was a long, long 20 minutes!

Friday was a weather day–a patch of sun at times, rain/sleet/snow/wind and stinking cold temps. Saturday we woke to a temperature of 25 degrees but at least the sun was shining–for a while.

Sunday we traveled to Billings again for a graduation party for our youngest granddaughter Kristen who now has her associates degree in nursing, has a job at Billings Clinic and will continue her education to obtain a BSN. The greats were in attendance with their Mom and Dad as was Lonn. It was a very pleasant afternoon with good company and good food.

Saturday evening the Cowboy saw some western art prints for sale on Craigslist located in Billings. We made arrangements to see the prints before the party today. The woman of the house had a distinct accent–

Can you tell me where she was from looking at these two flags?? She has a daughter, son in law and two grandchildren in Ukraine, in Kyiv. They are OK at present and are trying to make their way to the United States. The woman and I were in tears as she was talking about her family. She has other relatives still in Ukraine also.  This woman and her American husband spoke of the strength of the Ukrainian people–may their strength prevail and Putin be sent back to Russia in disgrace!

 

A photo I forgot to insert last week–the Cowboy and Emmi in the Tucson airport after we came through security.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Our weather has been wild this week–temps in the low 20’s at times, snow, rain, sleet, wind that will blow your sunglasses right off the car dash and out into the parking lot (it happened!) and one warm day with glorious sunshine but still windy. We have welcomed an inch of rain this week. The grass is greening but with temps in the low 20’s the leaves are waiting a bit.

We have a very amorous grouse hanging out with us. He has a couple lady friends but spends a lot of time all fluffed up, waiting, hooting his displeasure that the ladies are not more accommodating! And he spends a lot of time avoiding Emmi.

Our wheels have been turning this week. In an effort to cut back on our Billings trips I scheduled several appointments for Monday and Tuesday. We had intended to take the little camper and stay in Billings Monday night but the weather didn’t cooperate. Monday I saw the orthopedic surgeon for my cranky hip and visited the dentist for a cleaning. And added a trip to Billings–a MRI on the cranky hip next week.

On Tuesday we drove back to Billings–the Cowboy saw his dermatologist early Tuesday and she gave him great news after all those MOHS procedures last summer!!! A clean bill of health!–she froze lots of those keratosis things and told him to come back in six months! Very exciting!

The next visit for the Cowboy was not so exciting and in fact it was down right aggravating for both of us. His urologist is retiring and without notifying us the office changed providers. They also sent us a text message to change the appointment time. We declined to see the locum provider and spent some time chatting with the manager for the urology clinic at SCL in Billings. The Cowboy now has an appointment with another urologist in the same clinic. Added another trip to Billings but at least it’s on the same day as my MRI!!

The last appointment on Tuesday was for a much needed haircut for me. We broke the bank at Costco and Walmart stocking the pantry. With grocery prices showing no sign of dropping we purchased a freezer at Costco and it’s now well stocked.

Thank goodness we could stay home on Wednesday and Thursday–not so fast! I had been complaining that the dryer was taking way too long to dry clothes. My handy man discovered why and had to make a quick trip to town for a new dryer hose. Unfortunately that wasn’t the issue, it seems the washing machine is not spinning as it should and the clothes are too wet when they hit the dryer. Our washer and dryer are just over 20 years old and it makes me sad that my outstanding, huge washer has issues that wouldn’t be cost effective to repair.

Friday the wheels were rolling again–this time for Emmi girl. Liver enzymes checked and are much better than when checked in February!! She received her rattlesnake vaccine and another vaccine today.

Life is good! Friday while in town we met friends Jill and Terry at the pizza place and enjoyed a good lunch and a bunch of fabulous gabbing! On Saturday evening the kids came for dinner–and once again we ate too much! Carne asada tacos, queso dip, a salad and one of those divine strawberry cakes. I only made a one layer cake this time so we didn’t have an entire two layer cake to devour! Millie is a bit of a picky eater and will NOT eat fruit of any kind. So we just said, “it’s a cake!” I warned all the adults, “it’s a cake!” Millie devoured her slice! Success in pulling the wool over a child’s eyes! 😍

Heavy frost Sunday morning–are you seeing why I don’t buy flowers this time of year? Too much trouble to take them in and out of the house!

A tree had fallen over one of our walking paths and the Cowboy dealt with it on Sunday. I baked bread, fed us lunch–a garlic shrimp stir fry that we both like very much. After that late lunch we took a drive up the Boulder–not very many people out and about the middle of May.

Happy Birthday little brother–hope you had a great day!

Last Tuesday Louanne drove us to Tucson and we checked into yet another crummy hotel. Wednesday morning we were out the door very early and by about 1pm we were in Montana. Emmi was a trooper, sleeping most of the way. Warm, sunny Montana. Lonn was kind enough to retrieve us from the airport, we had a great lunch and purchased a few groceries then headed for home.

No surprises at the house, all is well. Grass is starting to turn green, no leaves on the trees and lots of weeds popping their ugly heads out of the ground.

Thursday the Cowboy drove to Lonn’s and retrieved the cargo trailer we sent home with him when he visited us in Arizona. I stayed home and tried to bring some order to the house plus I made lunch. We are back in the land of doughy tortillas–about the only thing available in Montana is Mission brand tortillas and neither of us will eat them. So–I made tortillas and they are delicious. We had bean burritos for lunch.

We did have a visitor–judging by the size of his feet he/she was a big visitor! The Cowboy thinks it was a black bear but isn’t totally certain. The game camera went up today–maybe we will catch the bear strolling by again??

Friday we had a treat–an invitation to dinner at Lonn’s. I contributed the cake, the kiddos provided the rest of the delicious meal–

Our little ones are growing–Brooks celebrated his sixth birthday in April and received a great birthday present which he LOVES!

The Cowboy has been doing some leather work, tooling himself a belt as he left in Arizona the one he usually wears everyday.🙃We’ve been walking Emmi, I’ve been feeding us and puttering with a bit of spring cleaning. I was disappointed to not find someone who could spring clean for me this year–everyone is just too busy and booked solid.

The past two days have been chilly with rain/snow. No complaining in this household–we will take very last bit of moisture mother nature sees fit to send our way.

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

 

It’s easier with no RV to load but the loose ends still need tying. And that’s what we’ve been doing.

I love the birds but geez they are such nasty critters! We have these “bump outs” on the outside of all the house windows. The bump outs are pieces of foam covered with wire and stucco is applied in a contrasting color to the rest of the house. Under the porch roofs, the birds like to sit on those bump outs and you can guess what they do. I purchased these owls to hang in the windows under the porches–we will see if that deters the little poopers!! And Wednesday with bucket, brush, water hose and ladder I managed to rid the bump outs of all the “drips” and “piles” if you know what I mean! UGH!

Tuesday morning early before the wind started I sprayed weeds for a while, fed us and drove to Tucson to pick up Louanne at the airport. The traffic was horrendous due I’m sure to the later hour. Louanne had a good time visiting family and friends and is also glad to be back in Arizona.

Speaking of wind–it’s been horrendous all over Arizona. The dust has been so bad we’ve left all our doors and windows closed. At times the mountains disappear behind a cloud of dust.

In the past the Cowboy dabbled in stained glass art. In the weekly free newspaper he noticed an ad for a person’s entire stained glass collection–tools, books, glass saws, and lots of glass. The best part–the collection was located right here in our neighborhood. The Cowboy struck a deal and brought home all of it storing it away for next season’s fun.

The suitcases are out of storage and little piles of stuff to pack are appearing everywhere. I cleaned my closet on Thursday and took two bags of good used clothing/shoes to a friend, Karen, who will take it to the local food bank on Monday for distribution.

Saturday evening we were treated to dinner at Dan and Louanne’s. Oh my!!! The two of them outdid themselves and we waddled home. Rolled flank steak stuffed with all kinds of goodies, butter potatoes (you can figure those out by the name!) and a delicious salad. Louanne had made orange rolls–not exactly a dinner roll but leftovers came home with us for breakfast–those things are so dang good!!! I contributed a lemon meringue pie and my meringue kept its shape–finally!!!

AND–drum roll please–I have finally mastered the art of making a pie crust at my advanced age!! In the past I would attempt a pie crust from time to time and give up going back to purchasing my crusts from the frozen section of the grocery store. Then I met Louanne in March of 2018 and that woman can make a pie crust.

Pie crusts are not healthy eating. But we only eat pie occasionally–right?? So using lard and Crisco in a pie crust is not going to kill us! And Louanne’s time honored pie crust recipe using lard and Crisco works producing a delicious, flaky pie crust, every single time! Right before Thanksgiving one year Louanne gave me pie crust making lessons. I tried a crust a couple weeks ago and had a really hard time rolling out the dough. Louanne reminded me about the “sleeve.” It’s a cheese cloth sleeve that slides over your rolling pin and the dough doesn’t stick. She also taught me another trick. Getting the crust into the pie plate was always challenging until Louanne showed me how to roll the pie crust around the rolling pin then roll it off right into the pie plate–works like a charm every time!!

Lucy and Milton invited us for Sunday lunch. We again ate so well and I contributed Pie #2 to the lunch. Dan, Louanne and Linda were there also. We are saying our “see you in the fall” goodbyes. Milton is our caretaker and does such a good job making sure things stay as they should at our Arizona home.

This week our friends Angie and Ralph came over from Tombstone bearing steaks–do you see a pattern here–all we do is eat!! But they are eating healthy so we had steaks and a big salad. No appetizers, no sides and no dessert.

It’s another miserably windy day in Arizona and it’s hot–time to head north we are thinking!

 

 

 

 

The Cowboy needed a new place to sit now that the recliner couch we both found to be so uncomfortable has found a new home. Monday we made a quick trip to Sierra Vista and found a recliner he loves–he’s a happy Cowboy!

Tuesday we received our second booster and had no/nada ill effects from the injection. We enjoyed lunch at a local Mexican restaurant and came home.

Several nights ago the Cowboy and Emmi went out the front door and surprised a deer. Wednesday night I took Emmi for her last outs. As we stepped onto the porch a critter ran across in front of Emmi and she gave chase–a kangaroo rat AND a mouse!! Around the corner onto the grass where I always shine the flashlight up the power poles–an owl was watching us. As Emmi was doing her thing the coyotes started singing and howling all around us. We went back inside and I told the Cowboy–“it was a dang menagerie out there tonight!

Thursday morning I was out of the house early to retrieve Louanne and take her to the airport–she is taking a little getaway trip. I returned an ugly tablecloth and stopped for a few groceries before heading home. Traffic was light but Costco was a zoo as usual!

Friday I invited Dan and our Montana friend Larry to join us for dinner. Brisket was on the menu and danged if I didn’t have another cooking failure!  Brisket was in the guest house oven in time for us to eat at about 5:30pm. Went to check the brisket at 4:30–the oven temp had only reached 270!!! We didn’t eat until 6pm but we had some great conversation!

Friday the wind started blowing just after sunrise and I don’t think we’ve ever had wind this bad. It was horrible! Huge dust clouds everywhere. Poor little Emmi needed an anchor and so did I–it was that bad! The Chiricahua Monument clocked a wind speed of 60mph Friday! A brush fire started south of us a few days ago, burning about 200 acres before our amazing local firefighters extinguished the fire caused by a person towing a trailer with dragging safety chains. There is the 20,000+ acre fire near Flagstaff, AZ probably human caused as there has been no weather events to cause fires. There was a multiple structure fire in Bisbee Friday–we haven’t read any more about this fire. It is so incredibly dry in Arizona.

This afternoon we journeyed into town to have dinner at Linda’s house–Janice was co-host/helper. We always enjoy meals at Linda’s house–she sets a beautiful table, the food is good and the company outstanding. We love our friends in this neighborhood!

It was a beautiful evening and we had such a good time.

Here’s our little cheerleader in the making–