The Last Day of June Has Arrived

So much happened this month. Hot weather and thunderstorms. Work and play. And, best of all,

no catastrophes. I'm always a little sad when June becomes part of the past tense world. 

A princess visited our library

Dear friends came to see us

Our daughter made a new friend

And got to ride a train

The boys at the ranch were glad to see us

He was really happy when his cousin showed up

The Best of Intentions

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions".  That seems like a pretty harsh proverb to apply to being unable to write a blog post on a regular basis. But because of my good intentions, I'll try to do better.

She refused to be my muse.

Hacking: How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Word

Hacking used to mean going out on the trails with a horse. I think it's a British term. But my email was hacked by someone knowledgable in hacking, thus ruining another perfectly good word.

Me with the hacker's arm.

This graphic is just because.

Swamped

It's been a rough couple of weeks but it was nothing in particular. Probably no more than the convergence of small threads of problems and activities until the strands made up a rope around my scrawny little neck. Child care duties, company, heat, broken vacuum, two clogged sinks, a computer problem still unresolved, etc. But it was nice to have a visitor, and this weekend was a pleasant one. I attended a local writing club's workshop and had a good time. Celebrated Father's Day by making him cook all day. Had a fun time with the local family and ate lots of good food.

The porch is so nice during the summer. Mocha, a Strawberry Daiquiri, and a book. All mine.

I hope to get back to my book this week, beginning today. Writing is what centers and revitalizes me. Sadly, I cannot write in the evening. The story settles into my brain. I dream about the characters, as well as the writing of the story, and it's not restful sleep. God knows I need my sleep.

We also celebrated our youngest daughter's birthday this weekend. As the photo shows, she's got style and is definitely my child.

May you have a pleasant day, y'all.

Moderation in All Things (especially weather)

Spring is crazy busy around Colorado this year. The state is  verdant and I've never seen so many flowers so early in the year. I'm so happy that I simply must use words like verdant to express myself. Water in the form of rain, snowmelt, flooding, snow, and even hail graces our water table. Throw in the strong sun at our altitude, and you've got a toasty garden of eden. As I type, the rain has started to fall. It would be nice to have enough rainfall to soak the yard, but not enough of a storm to have to go to the cellar. Moderation in all things.

A big storm moving in.

There are a lot of Sphinx Moths this year.

They look like little hummingbirds.

Cabin Season in Colorado

Our cabin was in the High Park Fire, then it was hit by two flash floods so it's been a couple of weird years. We tried, with the help of friends, family, and neighbors, to dig out the cabin. But we soon realized there are rocks and boulders that were carried down with the flooding that are buried in the dirt. They make digging with a shovel almost impossible. Now it's time to hire someone so that's what we're in the process of doing right now. It would be wonderful to go up there again someday, and not have to think about all the work that needs to be done.

Having said all that, it was beautiful in the canyon. The Poudre River is raging. The power and the noise is hard to describe. The land is slowly healing itself, and the sky above was oblivious to everything below as we watched clouds, stars, and blue come and go.

No fishing until things calm down.

Lots of hummingbirds.

Still beautiful behind the cabin.