Too Many Irons ...

Let me tell you ... I love my house.  As much work as it is ... I love the spot I'm in.  The pair of hawks across the street keep me quite entertained, and then to see pelicans flying by, or snow geese, or blue heron, etc., it's awesome!  My living room is made up mostly of windows, and Mitch loaned me his binocs until I find mine, so I spend quite a bit of time wishing I had a bazillion dollars for some good glass for my camera.  My little lens isn't cuttin' it anymore. 

Didn't knock myself out this weekend working on the place, but spent some time with the dogs and puppies.  Kathy, Brent and the kids came and picked up Maggie (previously Floss), and we went over Janie's and worked Echo a bit.  She's kinda naughty, so I need to put the screws to her a bit, but she's working nicely. 

Started putting some fence up so I can bring some sheep back in.  I hate fencing.

On Sunday, I used Echo and helped Janie pick up sheep and drop them off in other places.  Echo doesn't believe me.  She believes Janie.  Janie throws shit at her.  I'd believe Janie, too.

Came home and baked a cake.  Yes, me.  I baked a cake.  Mitch and I were trying to figure out the occasion, and it was the "Jodi's Avoiding Doing Fencing" cake. 

The backyard between the kennel and the duck area is cleaning up nicely.  I got rid of a huge pile of junk that I piled there when I first bought the house.  I burned for several hours ... branches, sticks, leaves, etc.  Raked and mowed, and raked and mowed some more.  Then watered.  It's getting there.  Feels much better anyway.

I still need to clean out the nightmare that is my storage building.  That's going to be a project and a half, but I sure would love to have that area functional, which would make doing everything else easier.

From what I understand, Whiskey is doing well down in Utah.  Tracy is really enjoying her.  I miss her adorableness around my place.  I've never met a dog with such a cool smile. 

Echo's puppies are doing well.  Reese reminds me more and more of her mother all the time.

Oh her mother ... last night ... after all the work was done and I fed myself, I needed to go out and clean up tools and close up shop, so to speak.  The music was still blaring in the garage, too.  I walk out into the backyard where I see Jag and Zip loose where I left them, and the puppies in the kennel.  Where's Echo?  No worries.  She's around.  I go into the garage and see that I left the lid off the trash can that contains the pig food.  I pick up the lid and go to put it on the trash can, and what do I see inside the trash can but a black butt with a small white spot.  She doesn't hear me because of the music.  After I paused to watch her for a few seconds, and finally deciding how to handle this, I reach in the trash can, and it one fell swoop, grab her by the scruff and lift her out of the trash can.  If dogs could turn white, she did.  Completely busted.  I didn't need to say much to her.

Trace Adkins is coming to Jackpot, NV.  I am really wanting to go down there and see him. 

So ... at work ... we've got a furlough day pretty much every other Friday.  There's a few extras thrown in for good measure.  As you can imagine, my finances are a mess.  And one of my favorite attorneys is retiring at the end of the month.  It is going to be so weird around here without him.

Change.  I am realizing that the older I get, the less I like change.  Above all, it's kinda scary.  I'm getting used to it, though.  There's been quite a few changes in my life since last summer, and there's plenty more to come.  I have a feeling, though, that I am going to start pissing a few people off ... not deliberately, of course ... it's just par for the course, as they say ... whoever "they" are. 

There are a couple of things I need to come to terms with.  The first one is my mother's death.  It's probably the hardest one.  I miss her and think of her every day.  I do not have one photo of her hanging up anywhere because .... I don't know why ... I guess I feel like it would just make it all real.  Perhaps it's time for it to be real. 

The other major hurdle I am dealing with now is learning to express my feelings ... those feelings that make a person vulnerable.  My medium is writing.  I have put more personal information in this blog than I have said face to face with most people.  Stupid?  Probably.  But easy.  Take away my "pen" and I become a stuttering idiot.  I'm learning, though.  Slowly.  Very slowly. 

Well, I'm outta here ... got lots to do.  I'll hopefully post some puppy pictures soon. 

Jodi