Thursday, July 06, 2017

Home



Twas one of those homecomings yesterday afternoon when we noticed immediately that things had changed dramatically around here during our absence.  

Nothing bad.  Just shocking to see what had been a lush green, vibrant lawn is now filled with big expanses of dried-out, brown grass. 


Seems that while we were bundling up with two or three layers pretty much every day and occasionally walking in the rain many miles away in Ireland, the summer switch suddenly flipped to a high setting in North Idaho, and the continuous water spout from the sky, which we've cussed for so many months, shut down.

Summer has arrived with a healthy dose of intense heat to go along with it.  BIG transition for Bill and me as we were wiping away sweat within minutes of pulling into the driveway and getting out of the car.  

Re-entry after a trip like ours takes time for the body, the mind and the routine, but I knew before ever arriving back home from this trip that the luxury of time for gradually getting back to normal is not in the cards.  


I don't know if I'll get to read through that big stack of newspapers on the kitchen island. I do know for sure, however, I need to waste no time getting to all those weeds and grass that shot up all over the garden. 


My question this morning, while pulling some weeds in the front yard where the deer love to roam and steal at night, is, "Why don't they like weeds?"  

Seems they could fend off some of the disgust we feel toward them by stealing a few weeds as side dishes to all the prime stuff like flowers, apples, berries and veggies. 

Speaking of which, I can report that my raspberries and blueberries (protected with netting) have not yet ripened, all the more reason the deer could feed on the weeds. 

Besides the need to weed and to restock the grocery supply, this evening there's a 4-H horse meeting, and, after a two week lay-off for Terra, Lefty and me, we need to get back into immediate motion.  So, Bill will hook up the trailer, and off we'll go to the fairgrounds tonight. 

My mail pile on the kitchen island included a manilla envelope with writing entries for a contest which I'm judging. Thankfully, there's a bit of time to complete that job. 


Bill and I managed to keep ourselves active and awake long enough last night to join several family members at dinner in town, but eyelids were heavy and minds, weary.  

Soon after that, it was home and off to bed in hopes of reclaiming some sense of normalcy for today.

I must have slept pretty soundly because I had no sense of the earthquake in Montana late last evening which rattled lots of folks hundreds of miles away in  Washington. Hope all is okay over there in Lincoln where the quake struck.

Anyway, it's a new day with a long list of "to do's." And, it's good to be back home to our animals and to a nice sense of relative solitude and the usual chores, allowing us to process all the great moments we've experienced in the past couple of weeks.

Home is always where the heart is.  My heart is beating with excitement this morning. 

Happy Thursday. 


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