It Smells Like Christmas!

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It smells like Christmas this morning! I can smell the pinons and the ponderosa pines in the wind. Robin had a cord of firewood delivered yesterday and I have been outside stacking it. I love stacking firewood – it is like putting together a puzzle. The pieces have to lock in place in just the right way or the stack will fall over on you! The process takes on a meditative quality after a while and you get into a flow. The aroma of the pine wood, the sound of the wood grains locking against each other as you stack and the physical energy it takes all put me in a trance-like state. The mind slows and the body finds a rhythm. At some point I noticed that the pieces of firewood seem to find their way to just the right spot in the stack. It was a wonderful way to start the morning.

During one of my water breaks I noticed a large rabbit munching on the grass in the yard. I watched it cautiously sneak up into the yard from the pasture. The screen hanging over the doorway allowed me to sneak a few photos. Take a look.

After I finished with the firewood, I dug a shallow pit for the compost. I suspect that the uncovered compost was the lure for the prairie dogs that moved into the berm in the front yard. I noticed them feeding on the grasses and flowers yesterday. When I went out to chase them away they ran up the berm and dove into their freshly dug den. These guys live about 12 feet down and can certainly tear up an area. The pasture behind the house has been stripped clean by the occupants of numerous dens. The prairie dogs seem to clear the area around their front doors so they can see predators approaching. When there are twenty or so in a small area the result is a yard or pasture that looks like the surface of the moon! I was advised to go out and fill in the hole. I did and a couple of hours later I heard the little guys barking furiously! They were not happy with me at all. This morning the hole was opened slightly but I have not seen the prairie dogs. Hopefully, they went back to the moonscape in the pasture.

We had a nice rain yesterday afternoon. Actually, it started out as pea-sized hail and turned to rain after about ten minutes. It was strange to see hail in the summer. This morning the ground was still damp and that is a very good thing. It has been extremely dry here. I have noticed increased amounts of rain over the last week and it is startling to see the difference it has made in the landscape. The sage is a bit greener and the grasses are finally getting green. Most of the grass was brown when I arrived a few weeks ago.

It is hard to believe that I have been here almost a month. And it is already September which means fall is just around the corner. I can really feel and smell fall in the air here. Aaaahhh! Relief from the heat!

Well, I have to make a trip into town to pick up groceries.

love to all,

Denise

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