Being busy

Why is there always so much to do?

While I was in Colorado last week, I had nothing to do. Except drive and wait on people. Absolutely nothing to do. We did a lot of shopping and driving and eating there. But nothing like what I do here.

I have such a long list of things that HAVE got to get done. Or started. And yesterday we went and got this load of hay. 70 bales. Well, 4 must of fell off somewhere along the way. It was way up on Sand Mt. where we went to get the hay. On a very hilly field. They could of fallen off there. Anyway, so this is priority this morning. I was going to butcher 25 Freedom Ranger meat birds. But that will have to wait til tomorrow.

And I have at least 5 batches of soap to make. I'm running low for the market. And it's supposed to be nice and sunny this week, so was going to get out in the garden to til some rows for fall crops. Plus Wednesday market, which takes me about all day to pack up and pick veggies and get to market by 3.So Wed. is only about market. Tuesdays I run errands and pay bills and go to the bread store and go have lunch with my mother. I need to take my youngest grand daughter school clothes shopping. She starts school tomorrow.

And here I sit. I don't want to do a single thing. But I have to. I had to unload that trailer so we could get the truck over to the barn. And the top bales are still wet with dew. So they need to dry first. At least I don't have to haul all this hay across the yard like I usually have to do. That wears me out. Now the truck is backed right up to the porch, so all I have to do is walk onto the truck and take it inside. And those bales on the truck weigh at least 80 pounds each. Really heavy hay.

This is some of the veggies I picked yesterday for dinner. We had the whole family here for a home cooked, fresh from the garden dinner. I had roasted one of my chickens with some kale and garlic and rosemary. Also roasted some red potatoes with garlic, rosemary and lots of butter. Then had fresh green beans, field peas, fried okra, rice and tomatoes. And I made a blueberry cobbler from berries I picked up the road at my friend's place. A very good meal for sure. And filling. It lasted til we got home last night with this load of hay at 9:30.

So, I need to go and unload hay. Or make soap. Or til some rows.... Happy Monday, y'all!

Mornings. Smells and sounds.

I love mornings. I love the freshness, the clearness. Everything is cleaner in the morning. Like everything has had a good night's sleep and is ready for a brand new day. I can hear the happy birds chirping. The goats are ready to be milked and are calling for me. The cats are at the door waiting for their breakfast. The chickens are scrambling to be the first out the door to catch all the juiciest bugs. The sheep are out in their pasture, munching on the nice juicy grasses. I can hear them munching too. They see me and baaaa and come running to say good morning to me and I get some sheep love.Then a little later, I hear the hens singing their egg laying songs, one after another. I love that sound!

Then I come inside, after doing all my morning chores. I make coffee for my husband and it smells so good. I don't drink much coffee anymore, but still love the smell. I love how it makes my house smell in the mornings. Then I start on breakfast. Bacon, eggs, apples from the tree earlier this spring, fresh tomatoes from the garden, toast in the toaster. I love breakfast smells. Makes the house smell even better now!

I like to wash a load of clothes or towels and sheets and hang them out to dry in the sun all day. That's one of the best smells. Then fall into bed at night from a long day of work, onto fresh smelling sheets. Ah, that is pure bliss right there!

There is a hint of fall in the morning air now. Days are getting a little shorter. Leaves are starting to get a bit of color and are starting to litter the yards and roads, fluttering all around as we drive by. Such a pretty sight. It doesn't seem so hot anymore. Fall is fast approaching.

I'll be going this afternoon to get a few loads of fresh cut and baled hay for the sheep and goats this winter. That's another wonderful smell. Although I hate going to the fields and loading truck load after truck load, then unloading and hauling and stacking it, I do love that hay smell. And I love the satisfaction knowing the barn is full of hay for my animals this winter.

And the smells of canning and putting fresh home grown food away for a nice long winter of good eating! That's a great smell. And the sound of the "pings" that happen almost as soon as the jars come out of the canner! I love it.

These are just a few of my favorite smells and sounds of mornings around here. Another nice sound is my husband, outside in his garage. Getting the weed eater ready to cut down all those tall grasses and weeds around the electric fence out back around the goat pasture. The goats have been getting out into the hay field next door because the fence is not charging right now.

I hope you all have a great day. And enjoy all the smells and sounds in your neck of the woods today!

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

I am back home!!!! I missed all my animals so much. I never saw the first sheep and only a few goats. And NO home gardens. My brother and sister live in Colorado Springs. There is nothing but wall to wall houses there. And freeways and traffic like I have never seen. Everywhere we went, waiting, waiting and more waiting.

BUT, they have some of the best thrift stores! We went to every one of them I think. There was Goodwill of course. But they have an Arc, which is HUGE, and there are a lot of them, all over. And we went to every one of them, I do believe. Such fun!

My brother and his girl friend took me to the Garden of the Gods. I had been there back in 2001, but things seemed different. It was amazing and so beautiful. The day was perfect. Blue sky with big billowing white clouds. The mountains were beautiful. Every turn, there was a more awesome view than the one before.

This is the Kissing Camels rock. There is a gated community named after this rock.

And the colors! Oh my goodness. So many different colors and contrasts.

This is my brother Mark and his girlfriend Susan. Look at that view!

This is a beautiful scene here. These 2 huge rocks with the peaks in the back ground.

And there were several rock climbers too. Something I am glad I have no interest in.

And I saw faces in all the rocks there. These are so plain to see. Like they were giants frozen in stone, looking up at the sky.

 
On the way back to the parking lot, I saw these silhouettes on the top of these rocks. I thought they looked like some kind of animals. The closer we got, we could see their horns. It was a small flock of Bighorn sheep! There are 6 here that were visible. Then we saw a 7th over to the right a little lower. They were all just looking at all the people looking at them! It was so amazing to see them way up there. There was also a huge buck up at the welcome center. Not but a few feet from all the people watching him. And he just laid down under a bush. Then we also saw a pretty doe under one of the rocks.

These are just a few shots from my trip. I'll post more later. I took over 300. Not hard to do out there. But I am SO glad to be back home. In my very quiet little peaceful valley.

I hope you all have had a great week too.