Shiverish

Farmers, old and new

Mother's Day was wonderful. Saw all our offspring. Visited mom and dad. Found a few hours to read Becky's new books, which is a favorite Sunday pastime. 

Received some lovely flowers, such esoteric substances as algae killer for my pond, and Off! for my tick repelling efforts. A plastic peacock of much cuteness. A touching card from the world's most adorable grandbaby. An answering machine....no more missed calls. Our boy is safe back in Virginia after a lightning trip home to visit.

Speaking of lightning. A big strike did us a bad a couple weeks ago and toasted our phone along with a bunch of stuff in the barn, including the agitator motor.

 Received kind words from all sorts of places, some all the more poignant for being utterly unexpected. 

Now it's back into the fray. The weather has turned off cold and just plain nasty. Freeze warnings a bit to the north for this morning and the same for here tonight. Hoping the apple trees and lilacs make it. Ours are in riotous bloom and smell wonderful even against the tang of Arctic air. It would be an awful shame to have a late hard frost kill them, and worse still for the orchards all around us. Their livelihood depends on stable weather.

It has been suggested to the boss that he might cut us up some firewood. He keeps us womenfolk permanent hostage to the weather by only bringing wood in some of the time. I can build and tend a mean fire and have since I was maybe eight years old. However, I am not starting to study chainsaw 101 at this stage of my life.

 And to think that last week I was going to suggest that he shut off the pumps that circulate water from the stove to the furnace plenum downstairs. Nope, not yet, too soon, too early, brrr....