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July 13, 2022: Tough to Swallow

I knew that the barn swallows couldn’t stay in the bird box forever. They’d spent the last few days hanging out in the bird house. There were three of them. The parents most likely decided that today was the day, what with one of the humans, a dog, and horse finally being out of sight.

I have to admit, I am a little disappointed. I wanted to see the birds launch. I also wanted for the birds to somehow thank us for cheering them on. I’ll miss Fred and Ethel and Slacker and Co. Odd, to have no clue as to where their parents took them.

They all took off in the rain, so they are probably hanging out under some trees. And most likely the parents are still feeding the little birds. I would not be surprised to find out this is so.


Ryder


Rain. The question is, how much are we going to get? I hope some but not a whole lot. As long as it rains just some – I don’t want the hay we purchased to go moldy. Must be doing something right – Tinni is with his two mares tonight.

This morning, Pete finished packing and then loaded his gear into his shiny red Ford 350. He had put Raudi in the trailer. I was of course sad to see him go. The horses didn’t seem to mind, Raudi’s being gone.

There was some question as to whether or not Pete should take Shadow with him since she’s been running home when we take her out onto our neighborhood trails. He did finally take her. Pete will of course keep a close eye on her – and he’s right, it may take a while before she’s the wild and steadfast dog that we purchased from our veterinarian, now, two years ago.

So I will fret until Pete pulls into the driveway, with animals in the trailer and car

In Pete’s absence, I am to water the hoop house and the greenhouse, plus all the outside garden plots.

The rain has (no pun intended) picked up, so I don’t have to water the plants. This is good because the process would take a while, and I have no extra time.

In fact, right now, as I write this, I am falling asleep. The best part of bedtime is the first few hours, when one is in the heavy sleep state. It’s quite interesting, I’m so tired that I can’t make it to the end of a sentence without the sentence becoming non-sensical.

I read that if you see something, and that something is destroyed, that the image of it will remain in the mind. I am seeing Raudi and Shadow, and oh yes, Pete.

I have been left with Ryder, who all afternoon, has been sleeping. This is the way she would have been, if we hadn’t gotten Shadow. Yes, I miss her, even though her tendency to run back home when out on the trails has created considerable angst on my part.

So now it really is time to call it a day.

Next: 191. 7/14/22: Brussel Sprouts

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