Easter Morning

Today is Easter.  It is a gorgeous morning and I'm up here on the mountain.  We've already done our walk.  We took a downhill trail out the front of our property and down to the road.  Then we walked back up the road.  It's still a climb, but there's no cactus or brush for Schultz to get around or through.

It's so beautiful up here.  Thank you, God, for this gift.  And thank you for the gift of your Son.

Right now Schultz is laying in the doorway of the garage, gazing out into peacefulness.  Mindy is off doing Mindy stuff.  This will be such a good thing for her... living up here.  If only we had the money to start our house off now.  Patience...  I'm learning patience.

As Les is still in California, I would have been alone on Easter Sunday.  However my friends Joelle and Jim invited me to an early supper at their house.  She's cooking turkey and ham.  Jim wanted turkey, and Joelle's mom, Yolande, wanted ham.  So she's cooking both... for the four of us.  She asked me to bring a salad.  I think I'll make a nice spinach salad with hard boiled egg and strawberries.  Sounds yummy to me.

Then my friend Angela called yesterday.  She and Ken are having a get-together later this evening and invited me up there for dinner.  It's so wonderful to have such good friends so soon after moving here.  It hasn't even been a year.  I don't know if I'll go to Ken and Angela's.  I kind-of played hookie yesterday and I promised Les that I'd work on the kitchen paint this weekend.  I'll write about that later.

I've decided to bring my laptop up to the mountain top.  After all, it was just sitting in a closet gathering dust.  My thoughts were, if I could bring the computer up here -- this is where I'm most inspired -- maybe I'll write more.

I come up here daily, bringing the dogs, walking, thinking.  I have a strong inner dialog going constantly.  Then when I get home it's emails to answer; dishes to be done; a certain little dog wanting to come in and then go out, and then back in, and then back out... you get the picture.

I'm very concerned about Schultz.  I've been at the vets' office 3 out of 5 days this week.  I get medication, then more medication.  I'm so thankful that this vet -- one of only 2 in town -- charges so little for his time and meds.  Talk about a guy who does things for the good of the animal and its human.

Schultz with Oso at Winchester Ranch.  Look at that smile!

I cooked some brown rice and boiled chicken for my Schultzie Boy.  That was his diet this week.  It looked like he was starting to get better so I bought some kibble formulated for a sensitive stomach and fed that to him last night, mixed with the last of the brown rice.

This morning.... OMG!  And there was blood in it.  My heart can't stand the thought of letting this beautiful boy go... but my head knows that it's the best thing for him.  And I know he'll be waiting by the Rainbow Bridge when it's my turn.

I'm giving it one last try... I found a guy who lives in Trinidad.  He's a dog trainer, but he also has an exceptional gift with animals in that he can understand them... individually.  Now I know some people may think that I'm a fool to believe such a thing, but I think those people just don't understand.  I would swear that during Schultz's lifetime, I have heard him say things to me.  Not often, and certainly not much, but I have heard it non-the-less.  Laugh if you want.

This man will come this week and do an acupressure session for Schultz.  If nothing else, I'm sure it will feel good to him.  This is by no means expected to be a cure. I just need to know that I've done everything within reason for him.

 Such a beautiful creature... inside and out.

Dry, Dry, Dry

The title says it all.  It's been so very dry here.  I'm considering buying stock in Chapstick and Ayr Saline Nasal Mist!

Last week I was heading up to the mountain and as I wound my way through town I pulled over for a fire truck. When I pulled back into the street to continue my journey I was a little puzzled that the streets that lead to our little road were also the streets taken by this fire truck.  Then I saw a mass of cars where there shouldn't have been any and realized that the brush on the county road was on fire.  In April... a brush fire.

Where County Road 67.7 meets Atchison in Trinidad is a quiet neighborhood.  Atchison is lined by small, well-kept homes.  Then there's a large apartment building just past the turn-off on CR67.7.  It appears to me that someone from that apartment building threw a lit cigarette.  Of course, I'm just guessing, but my many years of living in Southern California has taught me a thing or two about brush fires.  That was obviously the point of origin, and the fire was spreading fast.

I pulled onto the county road and then off to the side to watch.  Two more fire trucks arrived and all hands were on deck to battle this brute.

As I sat in my car to watch, Ken and Angela pulled in next to me.  We sat in our cars and talked and watched.  I saw that the smoke was turning from black to white which is a very good sign.  We discussed the fire fighter's movements as we saw a downed tree across the road and across the arroyo start to blaze.  Of course we knew the professionals had it all well in hand.  Steve pulled up behind us and we all visited.  Then Justin and Alicia pulled up.  It was a regular get-together with the gang.

After visiting for 45 minutes or so I decided that I'd go up there tomorrow instead.  Even though the fire was pretty much out, I knew that the fire fighters would be staying around for a while to make sure any hot spots were out.  They were letting people out of the canyon, but not in.  I assumed that was because -- in event of an evacuation that would be one less person they had to deal with.  Of course, that's another assumption.  I didn't have to get up there and I didn't want to be in any one's way.  All in all the fire consumed maybe a couple of acres.  Not much at all by Southern California or Texas standards, but it could have been quite scary if not for the fire department's quick action.

Why I didn't take pictures... I have no idea.

Weather

Flowers springing up in the back yard.

Spring has opened her eyes from her winter's sleep here in Colorado.  Kind of...

The winter was very mild.  Not that much snow.  Cold, but not unbearable.  But the days are getting longer and warmer.  I've had the doors and windows open several days now.  I haven't had the furnace on in our little duplex for well over a month.

Then on Monday, we awoke to 4" of fresh snow.  Surprise!!!  But by Tuesday afternoon, it was 84 degrees.  Today it was a very cool morning, but a warm and comfortable afternoon.  The snow didn't stick around long at all.  It's like the seasons are battling.  Winter doesn't want to let go, but Spring is anxious to show off her flowers.  I'm content whoever wins.

Monday morning after the snow.

When we went up to the mountain on Monday, Mindy was beside herself.  She absolutely loves the snow.  She races around and then jumps face first into the snow.  She comes up with a face full of white, then races around again.  Ah, to be young.

Mindy with her face full of snow.

 My Honey left for California again on Saturday.  I won't see him again until early May.  Then he'll be home until October.  That works for me.  While I don't mind at all being by myself, he's still my best friend and my lover and I miss him.

My gargoyle... the best Mother's Day present ever!

Isn't this pretty?  

Meditation Trails

A "pull-through" spot for a camper.

My wonderful husband has been hard at work lately.  When he's not traveling around visiting or working his business in California, he's hard at work here in Trinidad.

Today, he worked on the refrigerator here in our quaint little house.  Right now it's 5:30 and he's "hard at work" playing solitaire.  (I just had to throw that in.)  But usually he's hard at work up on our property.

He did a beautiful job working on the "circle."  (We have to find a better name for that.)  Last week he had two dump trucks deliver gravel to put down in the circle.  He's cleared all of the scrub oak.  He made a nice little pull-through for his brother, Sonny, when he and Rae will come and visit in late May.  They'll be bringing their little trailer and will probably camp up there.  So Les made a nice little spot for their trailer.

He's made a nice fire-pit and some benches made from rock.  It's really a peaceful, interesting place to sit and think.

Then, he made trails.  Now we have 35 acres.  The majority of it is steep, but still not that bad to navigate.  Les, DJ and I took the better part of 2 hours hiking to the bottom of the canyon, then back up.  We left my Schultzie Boy at home for that one.  He would insist on following, but I think it would have been too much for him.  Mindy, however, enjoyed it thoroughly.

But up on the top part of our land, Les carved what I call, "Meditation Trails."  There are many natural paths that the local critters use.  Deer -- elk -- fox.  So using those trails, he just made them wider and easier to traverse.  He cut out lots of scrub oak and trimmed the trees so they wouldn't be so inclined to reach out and poke us or grab us.  They are more-or-less level and easy to walk.

The reason I call them my Meditation Trails is because I can spend so much time slowly walking them.  I look at the rocks.  I examine the moss on the trees.  I thank God for all of this nearly every day.  I walk and I think and I thank.

Les and the "kids" doing his own meditating.

I can't wait until our lovely little straw bale house is built so that we can live up there.

Look at this amazing tree!

Les marks the path with piles of rocks.

Fixing the Jeep

Remember an earlier blog when I told you about, "That's Trinidad for you?"  My dear friend Fred and his son, Joseph told me about how they said that about this little town.  At first, I thought it conveyed the resignation about the fact that you call 10 people for work, and maybe -- maybe 1 will call you back.  Then, after living here, that saying came to mean much more.

To me, it also means the sense of wonder about the people and the buildings and the weather and all of the other unique aspects of this place.

Case in point -- we took the Jeep to a local body shop after Les's little incident.  (Of course, I have to stress that this was Les's goof and not my own.  :)  Last Monday we dropped the Jeep off at the body shop.  Les called on it on Thursday and was told that they were a little behind because the whole shop closed to go to a funeral on Wednesday.  No problem there -- these things happen.  I received a call late Thursday telling me to pick up the Jeep on Friday and that it would be done around 11:00.

I had a busy Friday morning, so shortly before noon we set out to walk over to the shop.  We made a quick stop at our bank, then walked the remaining 2 blocks over to the shop arriving at 12:06.  The shop was closed for lunch.  All of the employees leave at 12 sharp to go to lunch.  But our Jeep was sitting out in front nice and clean and dent-free.  Les noticed that it was unlocked so I asked him if the keys were in it and sure enough -- it was sitting there unlocked right off the street with the keys in it.

We laughed and left a stickie note saying we took the Jeep and would be back to pay.

Now can you even imagine doing that in Southern California?  About 45 minutes later the shop owner called me to let me know that they weren't quite done with the Jeep.  They still needed to put the Jeep, Hemi and 4x4 emblems on the back.  Then we laughed as he said that he sure was glad that I left that note.  Otherwise he'd be looking around for the Jeep wondering, "Now where did I leave that big black thing?"

We went back shortly thereafter to settle up and they finished putting the emblems on.  Then we drove up to the mountain and our nice clean Jeep was covered in road dust all over again.  But it's so worth it!

Friends

It's hard to be mad at her when she's just so cute!

Now a couple of weeks ago I wrote about Mindy's battle with me.  And how she fussed and fought with me when I grabbed her collar.

After some in-depth introspection, I've decided that this whole mess was essentially my fault.  Mindy was a Pound Puppy.  Who knows what her past was all about.  And even though I did not raise a hand to her or hurt her in any way, I was very angry that she ran from me and she knew it.

But what I really wanted to blog about was the support I received from some people who have become very important to me.

For some reason, I became very emotional on this day.  Those who know me know that I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve anyway, but this day felt like a betrayal.  It was almost as though I'd had an argument with my kid and he hauled off and punched me.  That's how it felt when Mindy left me punctured and bleeding.  Dumb, I know... but that's the way I am.

Here's what's so cool about it all.  I tried to reach Les immediately and for some very strange reason, my reliable iPhone wouldn't work.  (Les was out of town.) So I sent out an S.O.S. to my friends Jim  and Joelle via email to have them call Les and tell him what happened.  Literally within 10 minutes Jim was at my doorstep to lend any help and comfort he could.  I didn't have any peroxide so he ran to the store to get me some.  While at the store he ran into Jeff and told him the story.  When Jim got back from the store he helped me to cleanse my wounds.  He was only there a few minutes before Joelle showed up.  Jim left and Joelle sat with me.  Just as she was getting ready to leave my friend Angela showed up because Jeff told Angela's husband, Ken about my dilemma.  Angela spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon with me.  She drove me to the doctor for a tetanus shot and medical help.  She ran to the store for Neosporin.  She took me to the store after the doctor's appointment to drop off the prescriptions I was given.

That evening I received a call from Steve and Carol.  They were checking up on me as they had heard about what happened.  I heard from John and Jan -- they heard from someone else.

We have been in this quaint little town less than one year.  We already have wonderful, genuine friends who truly care about us.


I'm amazed and so grateful.  I love this place.

By the way, my wounds have pretty much healed.  I have one puncture that gives me a little trouble now and then, but all-in-all, I'm fine.  And as for Mindy -- we took her to a certified trainer about 80 miles from here.  (There was no one closer.)  The trainer sees Mindy as being exceptionally smart and completely workable.  She gave us a few hints and worked with us for a couple of hours showing us what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong.  Mindy seems like a changed pup.  She's sweet and loving.  I know that "the incident" scared her and I don't believe anything like that will ever happen again.