Oldschool: One Hard Working Mother

Oldschool: One Hard Working Mother: "There are many things I could say about myself, but there is one thing I know for sure (to quote the great Oprah Winfrey): When I am done ..."

One Hard Working Mother

There are many things I could say about myself, but there is one thing I know for sure (to quote the great Oprah Winfrey):   When I am done with something I am done.  That's it.  Finished!  Over and out!  Done!!  So our recent move has not brought on feelings of longing for our past home or life.  I'm quite enjoying a new adventure in a new place even if it is only 22 miles away from our current dwelling.  But something I do feel a pang for very often, and that is animal time.  The past 2 years have been spent for the most part working alone (minus humanoids).  That averages around 11 hours a day just hanging out with me.  WOW!  I must really like myself, or I'm a HUGE glutton for punishment.  So my companions were the 4 legged and 2 legged (non humanoids) that roamed the ranch.



The black blob in the back of this ride is Rufus the Lab

 Because our new place was not at all hospitable for pups used to living life on a ranch in the wild west, we made the difficult decision to let them move east to live with a wonderful couple that I will forever owe my gratitude.  Rufus (the 4 legged lab) now has a pond that spans approximately 20 acres for his swimming pleasure!  But that is another tail tale.  My days were spent hanging out with 4 dogs, 3 cats, 13 horses, 1 peacock, 1 peahen, 2 calves and a gaggle of wild turkeys.  They rode with me everywhere and basically joined the workforce when it was time to start the day!  To clarify, the dogs went with me.  On occasion a cat joined me in the skid steer for a ride, and the peacock tried to take a leisurely ride with us in my 73 International Travelall Harvester.  I drew the line with the peacock riding along.  They were my company, my protection from the wild wanderers of the west and they brought an extreme amount of happiness into my life.
So now it's strange not to share my days with these furry/feathery creatures that were so intricately woven into my daily existence.  While sitting at the computer on and off over the course of a day I kept noticing this bird chirping.  Excitedly, calling over and over and then stopping for 20 minutes or so and then repeating the same pattern.  I became so used to the singing I had to find this bird, and I didn't have to look far.  In our new backyard a feathery friend and her family had taken up residence.  So I began to watch her and noticed there was also a HIM in the mix.  I knew birds were busy creatures but never had I noticed the skill and down right hard work that a female bird took on while feeding her young!  And talk about bossy.  She chirped and male partner listened!  She flew nonstop back and forth delivery wiggling worms and beautiful bugs to her family for their dining pleasure.  Yes, ole' papa bird was in the game too, but nothing like this hard working little momma.  It became my habit in the morning to listen for them and to watch them when time allowed!  I once again had my animal interaction (even if they ignored me), and I was loving it!!!


This is actually Papa Bird! Little Mama was too fast for me to photograph.

 So after being away for a long weekend visiting with the working man I'm married to I came home to find that the hard working mother had completed her task.  Her babies were released from their nest, and her hard work paid off.  I don't know if birds ever ponder breaks or vacations from the monotony of everyday life, but I hope that little hard working mother is resting in a penthouse of a nest somewhere while someone serves up the juiciest grubs you could imagine and she soaks her dainty feet in a dazzling bird bath.

If It Makes You Happy

 This weekend I've been fortunate enough to visit my husband while he is working to to help with fire/flood control in New Mexico.  I know this sounds like an odd combination, but this year the west has been dryer than dry.Fires have become a daily part of life, and now it is time for monsoon season.  So, with all of the vegetation destroyed by fire there is nothing to absorb the rain, slow down the rain or serve as a barrier for the rain.  For some reason, I feel an extreme amount of happiness when he is enjoying his work.  And even though the hours have been long and the work critical he is enjoying his time here.  He's learning something new, and that excites him!  I think my happiness comes from the fact that I know he's not spending his days just passing the time for a dollar.  He's getting a reward from his hard work that money can't buy!  When man has good day, woman has good evening!!  

The Prepared Traveler was a stripper in a former life


Our visiting time is limited to a couple of hours in the evening and a quick breakfast in the morning.  Once he's off to save the world, I'm checking out the scenery!  I am addicted to traveling and new places.  Who knows what you'll find when you walk into another town, city or backcountry.  Yesterday was spent drifting around the streets of Santa Fe.  I've been there before but needed to do a little shopping since the act of shopping is a limited activity where we currently live.  This is my opinion of Santa Fe (note I said "My Opinion"):  You should at least visit once.  However, if you're not a shopper and you don't enjoy crowds, then you will not mind viewing this bustling town in your rear view mirror as you drive away.  IF you like to eat, then go hungry and restaurant hop while the other members of your party shop until they drop!  It's a beautiful town with great architecture.  That alone makes it worth a peak into this city!
 But anyway, back to the work thing.  What type of work do you do that brings you extreme amounts of pleasure?  OR what have you done that has literally made you question every decision in your life up to that point?  I'll share with you one of my favorite pictures.  I always think about it when I'm having a bad day at whatever job I'm doing.  You see, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, and I'm learning to be okay with that!  I wish you much learning and happiness in your work and travels this weekend. 

And you thought you had a crappy job!
Dung beatles hard at work



Oldschool: Let's Play Catch!

Oldschool: Let's Play Catch!: "Really?! THIS IS IT??!!??!! *A Nice House *Pool out back *Awesome Man Cave (for the husband) *2.5 dogs (Yep, not 3 but 2.5) *My own b..."

Let's Play Catch!

Really?!  THIS IS IT??!!??!!
*A Nice House
*Pool out back
*Awesome Man Cave (for the husband)
*2.5 dogs (Yep, not 3 but 2.5)
*My own business
*Husband gainfully employed
*Living in a quaint little Southern Town
I think a great majority of people run into that brick wall in life.  You know.  The one that says, "It stops here my friend!  This is it.  No need to go any further now.  It is what it is!"  What is the "it" on this wall?  For most people, the feeling passes.  And for some, well, you fill in the blank.  For some reason the song "The Pretender" by Jackson Browne echoed off of this wall at me like an enemy tactic trying to drive me out of my life.  It became pretty much the theme song of my life for a while, and it haunted me!  So over and over and over again I kept throwing it out there to The Universe, "Really, come on now.  This can't be it!"  It's not that my life was bad.  It's just that it just was, and that's it.
So finally The Universe said, "I'm tired of catching all of your throws.  IT'S YOUR TURN TO CATCH!"  And boy did I.  Actually, the first throw in my direction almost laid me out cold.  Well, this was the second throw.  The first was about as bad as the second, but we'll talk about it later.  And to boot, I didn't realize I had entered The World Series. So this is how it went down:  Husband shows up at wife's business, and it's very busy.  Husband says, "I have something to tell you."  Wife is trying to listen attentively, but business is wide open.  Husband says, "I lost my job!"  (Okay, wife misses that ball, and it hits her right square between the eyes!!)  At this point in time, there is no recession to blame.  No thoughts of this could happen to our family.  Oh no!  COLD COCKED.  And from that point on the balls were coming in from every direction.  I wore out a few gloves playing catch with The Universe.  There's nothing you can throw out there that The Universe can't top!
There were lots of options.  Lay down and die, become a beggar, lay down and die OR do what I really really wanted to do.  Go back to school!  Not the kind of school that's conducted in a classroom or on a college campus.  Heck, I didn't even march at my own college graduation.  I wanted to learn, see and experience new things!  I wanted to live!  So The Universe said, "We are officially enrolling you in the School of Life."  "Um, Okay," I say with a little more than a high level of reservation. "And how do I enroll in this school?"  And The Universe said, "Leave the details to me!"  And wow, what an education I'm getting.  I'm sure at some point I'll fill in the details.  But for now I'm curious about your experience.  Who else out there has been crazy enough to engage The Universe in a "little" game of catch, and what was thrown back at you?  I'd love to know!

*At this point I must interject a known fact.  I realize that I sound like an unappreciative spoiled brat.  And maybe in a way I was.  But I'm being honest, so you'll have to take the farts with the flowers!  Despite all the bruises, bumps and misses, this has turned out to be some more catching contest, and I'd still throw that first ball out there because The Universe has so much more to throw back at you and me than we can possibly imagine.