Lisa worked yesterday, so I had a list of chores to see to .
There had been a leak in the roof of the back of the stall area of the barn, so I took care of that first.
Then I had to clean out the front trough, which requires first removing enough of the dirty water out in buckets until it is low enough that you can tip out the rest. I used that bucket water to water the trees out front. Since the trough is under the large tree I call “Old Man” he gets the last of the trough water when I tip it. Waste not, want not.
Then you have to scrub the algae off the sides and bottom of the metal trough and then refill it with a hose. That last part takes a while so I spent that time cuddling Claire,
who had come up front to see what I was up to. I posted a few of those videos on FB yesterday. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091444194790
Claire rewarded me by posing for a photo in my hat.
I also jerry-rigged a wall of plastic mesh along the trough walls so that if any smaller critters fall in when the level gets too low they can grab hold and pull themselves out. I learned this from the trough in the barn. The mice liked to drink from the rim of the trough but when the level dipped too low, they fell in and drowned. So, I started tying rope above the trough, which hung into the trough, which allowed any mice that fell into the water to grab hold and pull themselves out. No more drowned mice.
I found a drowned bird in the front trough recently so I knew I needed to create a way for them to grab onto something with their claws and either pull themselves out or hang on until I can help them. What I came up with was something akin to the rope nets they used to hang over the sides of sailing ships so people could climb aboard. The edges of one long and wide sheet of the plastic netting (used for garden fencing) are tied over the long top sides of the trough. a couple of heavy stones then pins the middle of the sheet to the bottom of the trough. So the sides rise up at a slight curve towards the top. Hope it works. I forgot to snap a photo but will do soon.
I also mended a spot in the front area by the gate where Jeter had recently learned he could squeeze through and go for a walk about. I was looking for him and saw him happily meandering back down my driveway, so I watched to see where he let himself back in. Then I grabbed some wood and sealed it off. Sneaky bastard.
Then I had to wrap up Lisa’s new deck chairs on the back deck in a tarp so they wouldn’t get bleached in this searing Colorado sun. While I was up there, I snapped a nice photo of the mules taking their siesta out back.
It was that kind of siesta day, as I found Blue catching thirty winks. She loves her couch.
Before I knew it, Lisa was home and the fur family needed their dinner.
It also seems that I have a new member of the feral cat society. We call her mittens after an identical cat owned by Spaghetti’s wife, Posey.
She arrived at about dinner time, so she enjoyed an evening meal as well. Casa Claire accommodates strays. I may call it Claire’s Cat Hostel.
There was a thunder storm in the evening so the mules retreated into their now completely dry barn.
With the fur family all taken care of, all was right at Casa Claire.
And now, back to reality.
Let us not let Monday wipe away the magic from the weekend. It too answers to Father Time and will be gone soon enough.
We have a Blue Super Moon August 30th (actually starts tomorrow the 29th and goes through the 31st). So I’ll definitely have my candles ready.
Hope to have the final draft of WTLLM to send out to BRW by the end of the full moon, the perfect time to conclude projects.
I spent the earlier hours this morning going through notes from Eileen Cotto, who is one of my inner circle of readers. I’m getting to the point where I need these other eyes to help me pick the fly shit out of the pepper. Not only typos but tiny inconsistencies. The kind that drive one mad. When a story and universe gets as large as The Claire Saga, it is almost impossible to keep everything straight. I don’t know how God does it?
No matter how many times you go through a transcript, you always miss something.
I would be lost without the inner circle. Thank you one and all. You’ll all be immortalized in the acknowledgment.
