Turning Off the Sewing Machine

Yep. Its that time of the year. We're working cattle here and there and if I'm not in the kitchen cooking,

                                       

 I'm washing dishes, or syringes

Or hauling some of the boys to one end of the ranch or another

Or watching the weather

And the good Lord has been incredibly gracious to us this year. We've been rained out and no one is complaining. We're very excited...and thankful... for pastures covered in tall grass:

                                        

Even mowing has been a challenge because we had about 2 weeks where it was just too wet. Praise God! We've got lots of little surprises popping up in the yard:

Its rare to see mushrooms in the desert and these little fuzzy fellas are everywhere as well.

Its been a joy to actually have mud in my mud room. And look at these sweet boys:

                           

They shucked their boots instead of tracking in mud. I have never asked them to do that. I don't mind sweeping and mopping. I was in the dining room when they padded in in their stocking-ed feet and I smiled at their thoughtfulness. I don't expect them to do that, but its very sweet. They're practically family already.

The other evening, they were hauling calves down the road and a wild storm rolled in at dusk. The boys said they drove through intense rain and hail. The wind was wild here and we got a good rain here at the house, but no hail. They tromped in, unexpectedly, about 8, in the dark, wet and bedraggled looking, their calf hauling temporarily interrupted. I pulled out and heated up leftovers from dinner in a hurry and we settled in for a hot meal and a good visit while the storm raged outside.

Home-cooked  meal. Good friends. Rain blessings. Life is good.