Well, Finally A Blog Post!

Hello, it's me.
I was wondering if after all these months you'd like to meet
To go over everything.

Thanks, Adele.

Yep, it's been awhile, and I am sorry, but also not sorry because I've been concentrating on being healthy, visiting doctors and wondering what the heck was wrong with me. It started this past summer, a weak, shambling, dizzy, heart pounding, hurting-in-every-joint, mentally confused and depressed kind of summer. I was very scared and had many blood tests to figure it out. All was negative except for a slightly low normal B12 number which my local physician's assistant pronounced as normal. After a little reading, though, I learned that low normal B12 for people over 55 may signal a deficiency. Hmm.

After all that I can say I am well and what might have been Lyme disease/something autoimmune/rheumatic/hemochromatosis or what ever else I've been Googling on the internet has boiled itself down to a plain old Vitamin B12 deficiency and osteoarthritis. So after taking the B12 in megadoses and beginning a keep-the body-moving regimen, I'm much better and ready to forget all this nonsense.

So let's catch up and go over everything so far this winter:

We've had snow, more than ever since we moved here. Z came for a visit around Christmas time and we did a little hiking. Isn't it just like Californians to go for a hike while it's snowing?

Then it snowed some more and melted. Then it snowed some more and that one lasted for a couple of weeks because it was cold. Last night it snowed again and it's absolutely gorgeous. Tom went walking around this morning before the sun came up and then decided to plow the driveway. Ms. Pearl likes to ride in the Polaris Ranger, but doesn't like the whirring sound when the plow goes up and down and bails out of the vehicle.

That's it for today. Hope you like the pics.

For my quilty buddies: I have one top finished and another one almost there. This will be the Year of Finishes. Yep, it will.

Tom shot all the photos.

Z and B hiking in the snow-That chubby person is wearing lots of layers, just so you know.

Snowy Beaver Dam

Cabin Before Sunrise

Front Gate of Nickel and Dime Ranch

A Sleeping Garden

Snowy Rimrock

Sheepherder's Wagon-The Sheepherder is Out

Growing Dome and Rimrock

Looking West

A Snowy Woodpile

Ms. Pearl is Plowing

The Ranch Has Snow!

We haven't seen this much snow since mid-March five years ago when we moved in. This past couple of weeks have seen waves of snowstorms, not like back east, but substantial enough for it to stay on the ground for longer than a day or so. Everyone says, "Thank God for the moisture!" 

Tom took some photos while he and I hiked around the ranch, so, Trudy, here you go. It really is a Winter Wonderland.

We were glad the propane truck was able to get in since we were running a bit low.

 That's Earl, the delivery driver, braving the elements to deliver our propane. I gratefully sent him on his way with a mug of Raspberry Zinger tea and a bag of Trader Joe's trail mix.

Here's the view, looking north toward the beaver dam along the creek.

 Ms. Pearl decided she didn't want to wade across the creek.

I miss our steers. Tom doesn't, though, because they tended to destroy his targets and knock over the park benches scattered around the ranch.

Ms. Pearl wants you to know that she didn't need a coat because she just keeps moving and that generates heat. Besides, there's nothing quite so invigorating as rolling around in the snow for a snow bath.

We have a few more days of snow and that's just fine. This is the trade-off for mild, low-80's summers, and for that, we are glad.

Looking south. That's me and Ms. P walking across the front pasture.

Cheers!

A Summer Walk to the Beaver Pond

It's trying to be monsoon season here at the Nickel and Dime, and in areas nearby they've even had some flash flooding with puddles, actual puddles (!) alongside the roads. Since most of the yearly moisture  comes during this July and August rainy season, everyone has been hoping and praying that the rain will keep falling, but not so much that we get flooded out.

There was rain last week here at the ranch, so the grass is growing a bit and the steers think it's candy. Sadly, our creek isn't running, though, so bring on more rain!

Yesterday Ms. Pearl and I took a walk through The Enchanted Forest to see how the beavers are doing.

Here's our empty creek bed.

If you look closely at the photo below, you might be able to see Ms. Pearl exploring an area just above what Tom calls "Bridget's Bottom." 

 Yeah, there she is! C'mon, you goofball!

Sometimes when we're walking around I can't find her. So I'm calling, a little worried, and she just appears, usually right behind me, looking like, "Didn't you know I was here the whole time?"

You've seen the pine trees all around here, but watch where you're going because these grow here and there on the forest floor:

Prickly Pear Cactus

Nylon Hedgehog Cactus

Don't the spines on this Nylon Hedgehog cactus look like embroidery?

So here we are at the beaver dam. Not much water left, so I wonder what happens to the beavers? Do they pack up their bags and find a better place? Research is necessary.

Come on and rain some more. We want the beavers back!

What is cool, though, is a chance to see how they built the dam. That's a lot of earth moved, don't you think?

You can see that even though I have been providing fresh water in a civilized water trough for the steers, their hoof marks are visible in the mud. Don't drink that stuff, you guys!

So we have green grass, pine trees, pretty cacti, rain, an empty creek bed, missing beavers, and a chance to experience both the beauty and the sadness of nature right in our back yard.

It will sort itself out eventually. It always does.

They Call It God's Country

 Ms. Pearl and I went for a little walk yesterday and while watching MP trot around and then freeze, sniffing the air and wondering just what was that interesting scent, I took a look around. I mean, really looked around at this gorgeous place we now call home.

It makes a big dog look small.

 The rimrock topped by the mesa looms over this part of the ranch.

When someone in northern New Mexico asks where I live and I tell them, they either don't know where the heck that place is, or they say immediately, "That's God's Country!"

I just call it "Home."

Sometimes I Wish I Were Spiderman

Wouldn't it be fun to be Spiderman out here?

Ms. Pearl is a Big Baby Wuss

Pearlie Mae is an intrepid hiker, but along the way she often picks up a sticker in her paw. When this happens, she limps along until someone says, "Aww, do you have a sticker?"

She stops in her tracks, lifts up the offending paw and waits patiently until someone pulls it out.