Father's Day weekend

I asked Mike multiple times what he wanted to do for Father's Day weekend, and multiple times he said "stay home and get some work done." So stay home and get some work done is exactly what we did!

Saturday I spray painted the bathroom curtain rod so it would match the newly spray painted light fixture (which is still off center and still drives me crazy). 

We also spent some time helping Scuffles the hamster acclimate to his new home!

Finally, I revived my old sourdough starter (it had been sitting in the fridge, unfed, for WAY too long) so I could do some baking on Sunday.

Sunday morning I woke bright and early to get my baking done so I could then help Mike with his major project of the day...

The airbnb's solar panel for the well had blown over in a recent storm, so we needed to pour some more concrete. Since we had just poured concrete for our new solar post last weekend, we were hopeful that the two of us could tackle the project ourselves.

You certainly couldn't ask for a more scenic setting to work in!

After discovering the FALSE ADVERTISING, we quickly fell into a groove where Mike lifted the bags and poured them in the mixer, I ran the hose, then he wheelbarrowed the wet concrete 100 steps away (yes, I counted) and I helped smooth it into the hole.

NOT actually "easy to handle" IMHO

We were supervised throughout by Bart. 

We repeated the process about 12 times until we ran out of concrete. Good thing the hole was basically filled by the end!

After the work was all done, Rose came bounding out of her bedroom (where she had been playing legos) in order to decorate the new concrete.

Our lovely artist in residence!

After resting for a bit, the afternoon project was to inspect our hives. It had seemed like 2 of the 3 had made it through the winter, but it had been about 3-4 weeks since we had seen any bee activity whatsoever. So we suited up (just in case) and inspected. Sadly the bees had all died (we have no idea why) so we're going to do lots of reading for the next ~8 months and then regroup next spring :(

There were PILES of dead bees at the bottom,

but at least the honeycomb still looked good

(to my inexpert eyes). 

It was around dinnertime that we realized we hadn't seen the kits ALL DAY. Mike and Rose kept talking about all the different predators that probably ate them, and I just lost it. Too much death in one day!!!!! I didn't realize how strongly attached I had become to little Ivy and Jay.

After crying for about 2 hours straight (and totally ruining Mike's Father's Day dinner in the process, I'm sure), I was trying to read in bed and then I heard Mike yell "they're back!!!!"

We have no idea where they were, but they seem safe and sound.

What an emotional rollercoaster!

Today (Monday) I've been home on PTO. Originally we were supposed to have guests this weekend, but they had to cancel their trip because of the coronavirus. So I kept the day off anyway, just to get a little extra relaxing in. Little did I know that Mike wanted help working on his irrigation line to the gardens! This morning we dug a trench to run the fancy hose under the road.

closely supervised by Doug

Mike did all the really hard labor with the pickax, then I cleaned out the rubble with my little mini pickax.

 

Uffdah that was hard work! Hopefully it works and it makes it easier for him to water the gardens every day.

Happy Father's Day weekend, everyone!!

Happy Mother's Day weekend 2020

Mother's Day weekend this year was filled with excitement! Here are the highlights...

On Thursday night, Rose lost another tooth! She loved that it was her 8th tooth and she had just turned 8 a couple weeks ago.

Saturday morning I caught an incredibly beautiful sunrise off our deck!

After enjoying the sunrise, I baked a Dutch Baby for breakfast, one of my favorite treats. 

Mike had some errands he had to run in Helena, so Rose and I got to spend the morning together. She is the the undefeated Candyland champ. 

After dinner we got to do our "family walk" down to the garden. I love our tradition of a postprandial stroll each night in May-September.

This particular photo (below) was from a few days prior (5/4), but it shows that our two outdoor cats, Bart (on the right) and Stalker (on the left) usually follow us on our walks on our property. Bart moved here to MT with us in 2017, and Stalker was originally a "garden cat" (like a barn cat, but for our gardens). But last year he and Bart ran into each other and totally bonded. We were glad these two boys had each other and seemed to really enjoy each others company. 

But recently Stalker has been acting weird. Just not himself. He mostly stopped going on walks with us, would meow for lots of attention, and seemed to spend more time just laying in the quonset (where he and Bart have their cozy, insulated house). 

Then, SURPRISE, on Saturday night we found out that Stalker isn't a boy!

Do you see that tiny little kitten?! Stalker is a MOM!

I've had such a mix of emotions over this: shame at being an irresponsible owner who did not neuter her pet and thus contributed to animal overpopulation, embarrassment that I was unable to tell a girl cat from a boy cat (LOL), and a little bit of excitement that we could watch this little kitten grow up.

Rose, meanwhile, is THRILLED. This girl loves cats so much, and she is absolutely in 7th heaven right now. Now she has decided that she may want to be a feline veterinarian (instead of a history teacher or a scientist), and she has been doing tons of research on how to help Stalker take care of her kit. I love seeing her excitement!

Sunday morning we did take a short family hike, per our Mother's Day tradition. 

The rest of Sunday was a blissful day of relaxation for me - I took a bath, read a book, and had a delicious dinner. And, of course, checked on Stalker about 20 more times.

Monday morning it was back to work, after one more quick check on Stalker. 

Lo and behold, there are now TWO kits!!!

Stalker seems to be doing a great job as a new mom, and Bart is usually sleeping with them to keep them all warm. 

Rose has named the kittens Ivy and Jay, after her two favorite characters from the Warriors books that she and Mike have been reading. She and I would both hang out with the "Quonset clan" all day if we could, but Mike sends me to work and her to EFC each day so the cats can have rest and privacy. :)  

I'm starting to feel more excitement than shame about having unplanned kittens. I think this is part of the transition from MN to MT for me. In the past, I was a city girl who followed all the rules for responsible pet ownership. But now I'm a bit of a rural girl who is adjusting to new rules for working farm animals. So as I continue to make this mental shift, I'm choosing to focus on my happiness when I see Rose falling in love and possibly planning her future career as a result. I'm sure there will be plenty more photos yet to come as these kittens grow up!!

52 hike challenge #20

I have a mother's day tradition of going for a hike and having a turkey sandwich. We missed this last year because I bought my new (used) Forester that weekend, so I was eager to get back to the tradition this year! 

I didn't want to go far because of the coronavirus, so we just went to a VERY small state park a few miles away from us. There's a formal trail for about .5 miles, but it ends when the incline gets steep. We've done that first section a handful of times, but yesterday we decided to see where the little unofficial trail leads. After huffing and puffing up the hill/mountain, we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the Missouri River and the Big Belt mountains!

I may not have gotten my turkey sandwich yesterday, but I did enjoy my time with my family!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop

19. 5/3/20 - 1.5 mi - to the neighbors' horse pen and back

20. 5/10/20 - 2 mi? - Tower Rock State Park

Happy Easter / 52 Hike Challenge #12+13

Happy Easter weekend!!!

Friday I left work just a titch early in order to get home to do the new hike that Rose and Mike wanted to take me on. For EFC "recess" each day they've been going on "adventures" and exploring new deer paths in the neighborhood. This one followed an old, dried up stream bed on our firetruck farms property next door. It was fun to see something new so close to home.

Bart followed us for the entire walk!

On Friday night it started snowing and didn't let up until early Sunday morning. Blech. So we mostly stayed inside all day Saturday and I did lots of baking/cooking.

Bluberry/rhubarb/lime pie, parker house rolls,
homemade fettucine primavera, and cran-walnut bread

Sunday morning Rose immediately got hard to work finding her Easter basket (only took about an hour!) and the 32 fake eggs I'd hidden on our main floor. Then she surprised us and told me and Mike she had hid an egg for each of us in her room! She said we worked so hard to make Easter special for her, so she wanted to do something to make Easter special for us. (Isn't she the sweetest kid ever?!)

Can you see Mike plowing the road?

After our "linner" (lunch/dinner) we went for another hike to see how much snow was melting. Thankfully I don't think I need to put chains back on my truck, so now we can relax for the rest of the evening.

Hope you have all had a lovely Easter weekend! And happy Passover to our Jewish friends as well!!


52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back