We are still here, although we both seem to be moving slower these days. Hubby pretty much stays indoors most days and watches the news and baseball. I stay in and work on journals. I did get outdoors in July and start my porch side garden, then we all got hit with watering restrictions, so half of my plants died. I AM recycling kitchen sink water and even shower water, however, so the rest of the plants are struggling to stay alive. Everything pretty much dies in August each year. I did buy some vegetable seeds which I want to put into containers this fall and crops are exempt from water restrictions.
The birds are happy here and we have 3 feral cats who come into the yard, mostly to check out the gopher holes and leap up into the air to try to catch a bird (they don't...). The gophers out front are pretty much OUT OF CONTROL. I gave up for about a month and just let them run and dig wildly, but now I'm back on them.
Speaking of gopher holes, I looked out back 2 days ago and...a big, fat GROUND SQUIRREL was sitting up next to its hole, surveying the back yard. Now, Bodie, our dog, has caught 3 gophers, but I'd never seen this VARMIT before. I absolutely HATE ground squirrels. The horse ranch is full of them and their holes are EVERYWHERE! So, I'm going to borrow a trap from the ranch owner and hopefully catch this one. And, this is in spite of the fact that Bodie goes out back about 4x a day and I've even seen one of the feral cats in the #RIGGING back yard!!!!! THIS MEANS WAR!
We joined our daughter and her family over Memorial Day, up in Idyllwild. Hubby, Bodie, and I had a small cabin and they had the big one 2 doors down. The grandkids had a blast. We haven't gone anywhere else (just too expensive), but they've gone up to Crestline a couple of times, and Arrowbear. We are ALL staying home over Labor Day.
Our monsoon season this year is a real dud. We got some sprinkles ONCE. But, we haven't had days of 120+ ALL SUMMER! Yippie! And, it doesn't look like we will this month either. In fact, next weekend, it is supposed to be "down" to 99 degrees here! YAY! Double digits!
Horses are all find except for Gigondas. We think she has Cushings. We all brush and brush her and she's still full of hair. I'm going to have my vet look at her in September when all needs their shots and I'll have to make a decision about her at that time. She's had a good, pampered life. While I would miss her, I DO NOT want her to suffer or be uncomfortable.
So, that's all for now...just taking one day at a time. The arthritis in my knees is so bad some days I can barely walk. Getting up to the horse ranch is difficult, too, because of my lack of energy. Hubby and I are pretty sure we both had COVID back in February of 2020, before it was widely known or suspected, and our energy levels since then haven't been the same. We also BOTH suffer from brain fog some days.
Take care of yourself!
~Cheryl Ann~
