There is So Much to Watch

Shawn and I were just sitting out on the deck.  It was 79 degrees, overcast and still.  We were chatting about his day at pig butchery class and watching the chickens.  Chickens are almost as soothing to watch as fish in an aquarium.  We have a chickquarium.  A couple of male turkeys wandered into the yard and started puffing up because there was a female nearby.  A few minutes later, she walked into the yard and started eating the leftover chicken food.

Across the valley, we could see the clouds and rain rolling in.  The lightning started and the thunder indicated it was about 10 miles away.  Within a few minutes, the wind picked up, the trees were whistling, and the temperature dropped so we headed in.

The weather station indicated the wind gust was 25 mph and the temperature had dropped to 60.  Inside, I heard a loud crash.  Remember that scenic picture a few posts ago with the picnic table and umbrella on the deck?  We had cranked the umbrella down, but obviously, that was not enough.  It snapped in two and went over the deck.  A leg broke off the picnic table.

Last week, Shawn started mowing the lawn.  Well, it’s not really the lawn.  It is the lower section of the parcel that is covered with knapweed.  It looks like the previous owner had let that section go for at least a year.  As Shawn mowed with the bush-hog, the land turned from grayish to green.

I found more flowers to take pictures of.  Sure, some of them are weeds, but they are still pretty.

One morning I was standing on the deck when a large bug flew in and landed on the railing.  Before my eyes, it shed its wings.  It was a huge flying black ant.  They are all over this week.  I hope they are gone soon or at least quit flying.

I’ve been busy painting.  The office and guest room are now a lovely shade of gray with white trim.  We also floored the office.  We have gone through almost 2,000 square feet of flooring and 4 gallons of paint and primer.  I did a bit of research and selected a Graco variable speed paint sprayer.  Shawn built a spray booth in the garage, and I can put two coats of paint on a couple doors each day.  Much easier than painting with a brush!

Saturday we ventured into town for a flyfishing lesson at Cabela’s in Post Falls.  There were four men and five women in the class, ages 8-70ish.  This is a sport for everyone.  I’m just looking for excuses to stand around in scenic rivers.

Going to town is a big deal for us.  CDA is only 20 miles away, but we try to cram as much into one trip as possible.  We left the house at 8:15 AM, had our flyfishing lesson until noon, went to the Post Falls brewery for a beer, went to the White House Grill for lunch, got a car wash, went to the bank, bought a chest freezer at Lowe’s for all the pork and chicken Shawn is processing, and went grocery shopping at Safeway.  We got home about 6:00 PM.

Shawn set up a temporary rig for the HDTV antenna, and I watched the news for the first time in 7 weeks.   The local weatherman told me what I was watching out my windows.  Thunder, lightning, and rain.