Intermittent Water

It seems like ever since we switched from our contaminated well to CG's secondary well for our water supply, we've had nothing but problems. Along with an intermittent water supply. CG's secondary well was never used before in the winter, so it's not well-equipped to handle the freezing temperatures we've been having. Luckily it hasn't been something we've had to wait days to get fixed; usually the problems are resolved in a matter of hours.

As a result, more often than not, we wake up to not having water in the morning. The pressure switch sometimes doesn't function as it should, which results in no water. The cellar door got opened somehow, and the water pipes in there froze. Luckily they didn't break, and after Number One put a small heater in there for a few hours, we had water again. The pipes have now been freezing up near the well, where they are housed in some kind of hole along with the pressure switch, accessible from above and topped with a wood-framed piece of tin, but not insulated. Number One put a heater in there, and that helps on that end, but he can't leave it running without fear of catching wood parts on fire.

Oh, and if CG unplugs a cord in her laundry room attached to her sprinkler system? Guess what. It is attached to "our" well somehow, and we have no water. Isn't this fun?

We've taken to filling a gallon jug at night, before we go to bed, so we can have coffee in the morning before Number One has to face the freezing cold and figure out which part of the pipeline needs fixing. Last night, we forgot to fill the gallon jug. This morning when we awoke to no water, it also meant no coffee. This is a tragedy.

But as I type, I can hear the toilet refilling, which is the signal that Number One has figured everything out and got water flowing again. For the time being. We need to make a trip to the building supply store and get some proper insulation to stuff down in the pressure switch hole.

Number One reports that one of the problems is that the hole in the ground was enlarged this fall, to roughly five feet square, instead of a 2 1/2 feet hole (which possibly wouldn't need to be insulated because the surrounding ground would keep it warmer). As it is now, the ground isn't close enough to provide any insulation, plus it's a huge hole to try to fill with anything, and a huge heavy wood and tin cover. Number One needs to do some work on this set-up.

And now I need to make some coffee...

Christmas Eve Hike

Here is the last picture I have of Jessie. She and Woody accompanied us on our Christmas Eve hike with the boys, along with Mia and Donut. They would have happily joined us in the house for hot chocolate afterwards, but that would have been going a bit far. We took just a short hike on Christmas Eve, because it was cold and the boys wanted to be pulled in the sled. Woody got bored when we stopped and I was trying to keep him away from the boys and their snowball fight (sometimes he likes to butt them with his head), so he decided to pick a fight with me. Not too fun. I called Adam to help me, and we just started hiking again and he was fine.

Jessie was and Woody is a good hiker, and they both love(d) to get out into the desert with us. They were very loyal and dedicated, and would come when I called them. Woody still does, of course.

We do miss little Jess.

R.I.P. Coffee

27 December 2008

A good mom and a sweet, hard-working girl,
but too blood-thirsty and obsessive for the rest of the livestock.
Sorry you made that choice, Coffee.

Sometimes the Natural Order of Things Sucks.

Man what a season. You remember that Coffee had puppies? Or perhaps I haven't even gotten around to telling you...anyway, Coffee had some puppies right before Halloween. We ended up with five or six of them, and had given all but one away. Last Sunday was the last time we saw the fat little guy. We looked for him for days, but couldn't find him. Here are our best guesses:

- He tried to follow Donut (the 10-mile+ adventure dog) and got lost.
- The bald eagle Number One's been seeing around finally caught him alone and out in the open.
- He just wandered off and got lost.

My bet is on number two, but we will never know. The cute little pup is just gone. It's difficult and sad, but these sorts of things happen on ranches sometimes.

Now that Coffee doesn't have any puppies left, she apparently was wont for something to do. And the something she chose to occupy her time was horrible. You may recall that some time ago Coffee turned into a sheep-killer. And convinced some of the other dogs to join her, until we were forced to give the remaining sheep away (or bury them one by one).

Today, Coffee became a goat-killer. The goats, we thought, were safe in the orchard. Somehow, either Coffee got in or poor Jessie got out, or both. Woody came to the front door this morning, freaking out, trying to get our attention. Knocking on the door with his horns and hooves. Jumping up like a dog to peer in the window. Climbing on the grill.

Number One went out to put Woody back in the orchard, where he realized Jessie was missing. He took Woody around the ranch, looking for Jessie. Finally, after an exhaustive search, he found her, dead.

Jessie, top, with Woody

We are very sad and will miss this sweet little goat. Woody is distraught and lonely. He keeps trying to come in the house.

Number One isn't sure what to do about Coffee, who is currently locked in a kennel indefinitely. And I'm not sure what to do about Woody...there is a possibility we could find him a couple goat friends (I saw a sign at the grocery store a while back) or we may give him to the same lady who took our sheep. I'll let you know. You can be sure that no other goat will be as sweet as our little Jessie.

This Cowgirl Needs More Elves.

I’m not quite sure how this has happened: Christmas has snuck up on me this year. In early December, I was feeling some pressure. Still exhausted from Thanksgiving preparations, I decided we weren’t going to send out Christmas cards this year. Instead, we’ll be sending out New Year’s cards. I hope. I naively believed this would solve everything.

To make matters worse, I cannot for the life of me decide what to get for Number One. There, I said it. My mind is a blank. Even amazon.com can’t help me with that.

I am usually better prepared. I have gifts stashed away, months in advance. I have lists of cookies we’re going to make. I have cookies made by now! Not this year. I have no idea how this happened. Santa doesn’t even know what he’s bringing H-Bomb, and now Christmas is a mere 8 days away.

I’m not a stranger to last-minute gifts and/or projects. But it’s that 8 days that has me worried. I finally decided what to do for (almost) everyone on our list. Most of the things are homemade. And all of the things Have Yet To Be Made. Yikes. Some of the things have to be mailed across the country. Uhhh. All the rest have to be hand-delivered. And I just told H-Bomb he could take cupcakes or muffins to everyone in his class. Sometime this week.

I am thankful for the internet, and the knowledge that my recent order from Sierra Trading Post qualified for free shipping because I answered the riddle in their catalog! (True, I got the answer off the internet, but how fun!) There are some gifts that still need to be ordered and/or assembled that simply will not be finished in time. No matter how hard I try. I am sorry about that, but I am letting those go. I have to.

I’m hoping that my list of duties is done expanding. (just say NO!) We’ve got Christmas cookies to bake, our tree just went up last night and is only partially decorated, we don’t even have our outdoor Christmas lights up. Granted we just bought them when we finally made it to a City on Saturday, but still. I am trying to cross things off the To-Do list, but which traditional cookies can/do you eliminate?

Things like this keep happening: my brother-in-law left a gift for my sister-in-law in my father-in-law’s car the other day. We saw my father-in-law on Saturday, and he gave us the package to give to my mother-in-law to take back to my brother-in-law on Sunday. Do you think this actually happened? Not a chance. CG crossing the cattleguard Sunday morning jarred my sluggish memory. I had to package and mail the gift on Monday. Not a big deal, but it all adds up, doesn’t it.

I realized This Morning that if I don’t send my parents’ gifts TODAY, they likely won’t receive them until after Christmas. They may not receive them before they leave for Florida. For three months. Ack. Of course the gifts aren’t even wrapped yet, and I have to ransack the garage for an appropriate box too.

All this is running through my mind this morning. I got up while it was still dark, hoping I could get some things done. I can’t find a headlamp and Number One hasn’t turned on the generator yet. I thought it would make me feel better to blog about this since it MUST be 4 or 5:00AM, right? Certainly there is extra time in the darkest hour before the dawn.

When I turned on the computer, it was 6:45AM. I am doomed, not to mention freaking out, and I need to wake up Number One because I’m sure not walking outside to turn on the generator-there’s snow on the ground!

If you see any elves looking for [unpaid] work, send them my way please. Oh, and just so I don’t forget, Happy Valentine’s Day.

Lost & Found

Jack

Sweet little Jack is missing. She and her brother, Donut, went missing before Thanksgiving. The other day, H-Bomb started crying about them on the way to school. He was getting mad and said "We need to go to the people's house who has our dogs and take them back!" And when we got to town, instead of eating his little lunch plate before school, he was all depressed and just lay there on the couch because he was so sad.

I made some calls. The nearest towns to the ranch are 35 miles in one direction and 60 miles in the other direction. In the farthest town are two rock climbing shops. We happen to live in a world-class climbing area. Unfortunately. I called one of the shops, told them about our missing dogs, asked them if they'd heard anything about any climbers picking up some new dogs in the creek. ("the creek" is what those climbers call our ranch. our home.) They hadn't heard anything, but were empathetic.

I made some more calls, to more people in both towns. Finally, a call to the Humane Society. They said they had a dog that matched Donut's description, and emailed me a picture. (but said, "he did not respond to that name.") Since we don't have the internet in town, I ran to the visitor center to use their computer for a minute. And there was our Donut, in a foster home, 60 miles from home. Sawed Off saw the picture and said "ON'T" (pronounced like "don't" but without the "d")

They also said they had a black and white dog, that may or may not be Jack, but who had been found earlier than we thought our dogs had gone missing. "But know that she's been adopted already," the Humane Society said. I wondered what this meant...if it was Jack, we couldn't have her back? Because someone found her and took her and then someone else took her and even though she's really our dog??? I didn't want to think about it.

A mixed blessing, but the black and white dog wasn't our Jack. I emailed back some pictures of Jack, and also a picture of Sawed Off hugging Donut.

I made arrangements to pick up Donut the very next day. That meant Number One had to take the boys to school, while I drove 120 miles round trip to pick up the dog.

I got to the Humane Society, and was talking with the lady who runs the shelter. I asked her if the woman who "found" Donut was a climber. The lady said yes, she is a climber. And told me the climber was reluctant to give Donut back. (which explains why he "didn't respond" to his name. Likely story!) This climber had KEPT our dog for a WEEK before she even spoke with the Humane Society. The Humane Society had only known about Donut for THREE DAYS when he'd been missing almost TWO WEEKS! This climber was upset that Donut's rightful owners had showed up to claim him. I understand getting attached to a dog, but Come On. He's Not Your Dog!! The lady who runs the shelter thankfully has a brain in her head. She showed the climber the picture of Sawed Off with Donut, and told her "He's their dog. End of story." The climber argued that the dog had been "so skinny" when she found him. The lady explained that he is a working cattle dog, he's slender and athletic, etc. There was more, but I'm tired of repeating the stupidity.

So anyway. I got Donut back. He was very happy to see me. And then I visited the climbing shops in person. I told them both that a climber had taken one of our dogs. I explained that it's not a "rescue," it is STEALING when you take a dog from their property, no matter how extensive that property may be. Climbers, especially local climbers, ought to know better.

After Donut and I got home, we made the rounds in some of the climber's camps, but it was too early (everyone was still out climbing or whatever) and I didn't get to talk to anyone. I was headed home when I spotted one truck, hidden at the end of a canyon. I talked to that guy, and although he hadn't seen Jack, he is very helpful and is going to take care of some things for us. I won't elaborate on that arrangement, but he feels the same way about climbers these days, and their sense of entitlement and arrogance and lack of common sense.

The whole way home, Donut was on my lap. Snuggling. Sleeping. Occasionally licking my face. Happy. He was excited when we crossed the cattle guards; he knew he was Home. He wagged his tail when the other dogs barked and howled at our return to the ranch. He jumped and pawed at his friend Mia. He climbed on Number One's lap on the couch and licked his face too. He snuggled up to the boys' hugs, more face licks. How anyone could take him and keep him away from his family is beyond me.

Today, I made some more calls, and emailed more people. I have enlisted the help of many more climbers, some of whom I used to know when I lived in town. I am hopeful that Jack might still be found. Honestly, with the tenuous relations between ranchers and climbers, I am still astounded that a "local" climber would STEAL one of the ranch dogs, without thinking to stop at the ranch and inquire. What was she thinking??

Welcome home, Donut!
photo by Jean-Claude Mezieres


We miss you, Jack-Jack. Come home.

Thanksgiving.

homemade chandelier

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I wanted to have it at our house this year, where the only space we have for 10 or more people is in our unfinished addition...no insulation, only exterior walls, roof and windows. When we started clearing it out, it was full of sawdust, nails and extra wood. There is no electricity out there and thus are no light fixtures, so I decided I would haul out our Christmas lights. I strung them around the perimeter of the room.

I collected every clear glass jar I could find, washed them and made candle holders. I wrapped them with steel wire, and suspended them from the rafters with steel chain from the mercantile. I think they turned out beautifully. I am in love with them. A few strategically-placed space heaters and our room was transformed...a hint of what's to come when this dining room is finally completed!

before we lit the candles

the wine bar

We raided the bunk house and our barn loft storage for dining room tables and chairs, as well as a lovely antique dresser to serve as our wine bar. I drug Number One's homemade wine bottle holder (above, left) out of the garage, dusted off the cobwebs and loaded it with several bottles of wine.

I borrowed clear glasses from CG for water glasses for the table, and raided my unused canning jars for our centerpiece. A gorgeous last-minute table runner (thank you,amazon, for free two-day shipping!) and our table was complete.

I also realized we needed some wine glasses, so I used an amazon coupon for this lovely set. (of 12, but we only needed 8 for dinner) It's difficult to see in the picture, but I also used some memory wire and beads that Marlow had given me to fashion wine glass markers. The table runner on the wine bar is one my grandma gave me several years ago.

This is our scrumptious spread of appetizers.
For our complete Thanksgiving menu (pictures and recipes!) please follow this link.
We had contributions from everyone, and everyone was so helpful! (especially my two friends--you know who you are!) Honestly, I couldn't have done it without you both.

Doesn't this look lovely when the candles are lit and the cranberry sauce is illuminated?
Everyone was so busy eating and drinking wine and raving over the food that I neglected to get a picture of all of us eating...let's just say dinner was a success!
(and besides, I don't post many pictures of people here anyway)
Everything was delicious and was finished on time.
It's always nice when it all comes together.

The whole effect was truly magical.

After we had finished our dinner,
three of the kids found out there would be pie,
and came back to finish their turkey!

And I just couldn't stop taking pictures.
I let the candles burn well after everyone had left.
I am still so thankful for our good friends and family
who were able to be with us and share our lovely meal.
Happy Thanksgiving!