Doing nothing, outside, in the middle of the day.

We are having our first heat wave. Summer is finally here and ,with it, limited activity. I water and do projects in the morning and go for walks after the sun goes down. I loose all my energy on hot summer days, so I stay inside with my precious air-conditioning. I have no shame. I would be living in Alaska, or at the ocean, if I didn't have air conditioning. I'm not a hot, summer in the city, type person. Summer is something I suffer through. Its redeeming value is summer vegetables, wild blackberries and the fragrance of the Butterfly Bush blooming in the front yard.
One project I did this week was to paint a folding, metal chair that badly needed help. This was done early in the morning after Farmlady's second cup of coffee... in a cool, shady spot under the oak trees.
This was what it looked like "before".

 A pretty chair that you couldn't sit in. The paint had oxidized and if you sat on it you got up with dusty white stuff all over your rear end.  The cushion helped, but you still got powdered if you leaned back.
For a while, I just put a plant on it.

This worked and no one accidentally sat on it. But, it was a chair, after all, and things should be used for what they were intended.
 So... last week I washed the chair with soap and a wire brush, let the sun dry it, checked for loose paint and the next morning I spray painted it.
Here is the new spiffed up chair with all the intention in the world... waiting for someone to sit on it.

I love the color. It's Krylon indoor/outdoor spray gloss. The color is "ivy leaf". It dries in less than 10 minutes. I only used one spray can. I wanted the darker finish to show through, so I didn't cover it with a second coat. I like the effect. Now, there are no embarrassing moments when friends want to sit on the porch and talk.
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Last night I went for a late walk up to the top of the property. It was still warm and it smelled like summer in the foothills... a mixture of heat, grasses, oak trees, manzanita and toyon. It's a good fragrance.

Annie followed me and then decided I had gone too far, so she waited for me below the well house. Always, at some point on our walks, she stops. It's as if she knows not to go further. Interesting.
Maybe she smells something or senses danger. I'm not sure, but she always stops and waits until I come back. Then she runs ahead of me and we walk back to the house.

She leads me home. It's a very important job for her. If I stop to take a picture she runs up to me, circles my legs and starts walking again. It's a little ritual we both enjoy.
I stopped once more before we reached the house because I saw a burst of blue in the dry grass. It was one of the last spring wildflowers standing.

It was Brodiaea elegans (the Elegant Brodiaca). This wildflower blooms from April to July in our grassy hillsides. It begins to flower when the fields dry out in early summer.
I took some pictures and then, as the evening darkened, walked back down the trail toward home.
When we reached the house I put Annie in the garage, gave her a treat and a quick back scratch, closed the door and walked across the concrete to the back door. I heard Brownie acknowledge me from the goat house.
The dogs were at the door and greeted me like I had been gone for years. Carl looked annoyed. He forgot that he and Cutter go with me every other night. It's a different walk with them on a leash. Not so peaceful. Lots of stopping and going. I guess Annie feels the same way about me.
The Prospector was reading in the living room.
He looked up and said, "Did you put the cat in?"
I said, "Yep.".
He said, "Thanks".
I looked outside and it seemed dark already.

Tonight I went a little earlier... and took the dogs.
We watched for Rattlers and stayed in the middle of the main road coming up to the house. With this heat we have to be very careful.  No walking in the grass.The Rattlesnakes will be coming soon. Another reason to love summer. (That was sarcasm!)

Storm's a Comin'

There is a storm moving in on us this afternoon. It's suppose to be a big one. The weather people say it's unusual for a storm of this size to hit us in October. I agree. We don't usually get the big storms until after Christmas.
So, yesterday I decided, at the last minute, to sand and paint the wood slats on our bench seat out front. The finish on it had disappeared from being in the hot sun for a couple of summers. It was a clear wood finish with a thin factory coat of varnish on it. The varnish was almost gone and the wood was crying for help. So I spent almost the whole day sanding and painting to make this pretty little bench proud. I love the dark green. It will be nice for the holidays and matches the trim on the house.

Last week, when the Prospector was gone, Annibel decided to play her.., "I'm stuck on the roof and I can't get down." act. She does this every once in a while, for whatever reasons, and no amount of "Here kitty kitty." makes any difference. She meows and acts like she wants to be saved but when I get the extension ladder and try to coax her down , she backs away. CATS!! This time she spent 3 days up there. The Prospector built her a ramp from the back porch to the fence the last time she did this. Do you think she used it? NO. It must not be to her liking. CATS!
Finally, feeling somewhat sorry for her and wondering which gutter she was using for a cat box, I climbed the ladder, with a bowl of kibble and got her to come over to me.
Try being 64 yrs old, twelve feet off the ground, bowl of cat food in one hand and grabbing for a cat that doesn't like to be held, on an extension ladder. Try carrying that cat back down the ladder while she is fighting to get away. Three days on that roof, sleeping under an eave near the back porch, she finally jumped from my arms about half way down the ladder and landed ON HER FEET. Maybe something scared her up there. I don't know. She's got a big garage to hide in at night. I don't know why she does this. She's a tough cat. She plays with Rattlesnakes for crying out loud.
I didn't fall off the ladder..., Annibel is OK..., but this cat is on my @#%&* list. If she does this again, during the storm that's commin', she's on her own.
The prospector goes up the ladder next time.

Just a final shot..., of the front steps and porch.
The sun is getting some cloud cover today. The wind is picking up. Anticipation is in the air. The humidity builds. The storm is coming. The goats are being restless and the chickens are already inside their house. I've cleaned the oil lamps and cleared the porch of chairs and things that could blow away. We are ready. I'm ready..., for a rebirth of season.