Life proceeds. We work at Denny’s, keeping the graveyard shift anchored while all the insanity rages around us. Luckily, Easter Sunday happened to be a day we were off – and we were craven enough to not drive up to check our messages either (LOL) but when we checked yesterday there were no urgent calls for us to come in, so they must have survived it without us. Good. I hope it was an excellent day for them.

The chickens are growing like crazy. There is one particular tall fellow, blue to begin with now getting feathers in a lovely buff, white, gray combo that reminds me of the Bobwhite Quail at home, whom I rather suspect is either a rooster – or at least will be the lead hen. Do flocks of chickens have a dominant hen?

The goats are cute as ever, and as attached to us. We were going to walk up to the mailbox the other day and the goats followed us up to the gate – and then through the closed gate, slick as you please. Oops. I’d just about let them walk up with us (Mary had a little lamb…) but people tend to fly down this road at 90 mph like there were not cows (and goats) out meandering around. So we turned and glared and they zipped right through the barbed wire fence back into the ranch. Sigh. We made them “go to their room” – their nice secure pen in the back. So, apparently Sweet Pea just hangs around as a courtesy – LOL.

When I re-fence the yard I’ll have another secure pen for them – I hope. Preferably before I bring home the buckling I plan on buying this year.

The kittens are growing and getting fuzzy. The two pale kittens have developed darker points and are clearly going to be blue and/or lilac lynx pointed Siamese colored! The lighter will have a white face and the darker has a white paw. Can you believe I haven’t really bothered to sex them all yet? They all have non-gender specific names, so other than counting up how much our group neutering will cost in a few months, it doesn’t really matter.

Char, the black, is truly, completely black. This is actually a bit unusual because for so many years black cats were killed unless they had at least one white hair. Thus, most black cats have at least one white hair. If Char has one, I haven’t found it yet. Smokey is a deep blue like mom Hani, with just traces of tabby stripes. Sterling is a paler blue with a white background to many of his stripes and a white face. The Siamese Twins (I couldn’t help it) are Mist (the darker) and Puff (the lighter) – as in puffy clouds, a puff of fog, Puff the magic dragon… And the tortie has been renamed Clarice.

To understand where Clarice came from you have to be aware of our long history with calico cats. Which, really, this tortie is calico – those light markings over her eyes have finally turned white. She’s got quite a little face. Besides, she hissed at me for waking her up the other day.

Several new wild birds have visited for just a day, and White Crowned Sparrows have taken up residence.

The wildflowers are blooming like crazy. Every few days a new batch appears that I’ve never seen. There is an area on the north side of the house that is so perfectly arranged for color and height that a professional gardener could not have done better – and would certainly have both charged me more and created something that required more water than the Lady is willing to dispense here.

It rained yesterday – I can’t wait to get out and see if there are any new additions!

Long as it was raining at the ranch, we finally got in our little road trip yesterday. We took New Mexico State Highway 52 out west to Cuchillo, Winston, and Dusty. Yes, Dusty, New Mexico. Ron is looking at another ranch out that way, although it really is no competition. Less deeded land (although more development on it) and a lot of U.S. Forest bits that I guess works like the BLM leases. We took photos, had a nice drive, explored a neat little country General Store, and concluded we like Jornada Lake Ranch better.

We’re already planning our next day trip – to the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

Somewhere in the last week, we got handed a “Wheres George” dollar in our change. I’m going to run post for it today and try to pass it somewhere that it will get to travel. Since tourist season is really getting going here in T or C, almost anywhere would probably do. It also gave me an idea. Sometime later this year I’ll pay a park fee or two in all one dollar – Where’s George registered – bills. It should be a blast to see where they wind up.

Bad news. Sigh. Pip is dead. She refuses to boot, even in safe mode. Poor little thing was never meant to do all she did, and I appreciate that she lasted this long, really. She gulped a few photos down that I had gathered for some artwork, but I think otherwise nothing is totally lost.

However, that does mean that limited Internet access just dropped to next to nothing. I used to at least be able to get wireless at work with Pip. Now I’m down to just the 4th St. Computer Lab and the Library computers. The Library will not let me use my zip drive, so I have to write off the top of my head – which means I always forget something, and I can’t upload photos or art at all, of course. On top of that – the Orbis game sites are all blocked.

The lab is more generous and allows me to use my zip drive, but often my time is limited to one hour (you get two hours if it is work related – but the last time I told the volunteer mine was work related she rolled her eyes and sighed – guess being a webmaster isn’t work), and regardless, at 3 pm a drove of children descend to play – shouting, cussing, and dashing from one side to the other of the room as they play together online. I don’t mind, except that it is too distracting for me to be able to do any writing or webdesign – and it quickly gets on the hubby’s nerves so that he wants to leave.
(More crappy news - as I post this - I was unfortunate enough to get a computer at the lab that will not run javascript, thus I cannot use my start page with my bookmarks - so I now have to run around my asshole to get to my elbow - making things much slower - in the ol' limited time. Half their computers look to be down, and we have the volunteer who always sneers at me, so I'm really on a roll - I haven't linked or italicized much as I really doubt I'll get a fucking thing done. Life is good)

I’m still lovin’ the truck, Frank-n-truck. Even though we found she had a fuel leak. Turns out she needed a new fuel pump, but her buddies Ron and Patrick fixed her up and didn’t charge me an arm and a leg. We got a real mileage figure for her now (which shocked James, I’m afraid) and the trip to Oklahoma is gonna cost. However, I think it will still cost less than renting a Uhaul one-way to bring our things back. With the truck, we can take our time and probably stop and camp at a park or two. Which reminds me, I’ve got to check out the route for parks – we’re going “the fast way” this time – I-40 to I-35 to Tulsa and back. Boring, but faster, and it’s going to be kinda rough to get them to let us off work for that long (although the District Manager has already told us he’ll do so – we let him know a month ago that it would be happening in May).

Now, I’ve italicized some things and linked others. If they are italicized, there will be another entry (I hope) today with more details, art, photos, something. If they are linked – well, I know where the other entry is already!
(This was a hopeful paragraph - I doubt I get much done today at all - check the updates at the top of the page...that is, if I can get into my webspace at all and work on that)

It’s back to work tonight. The townies make us crazy, so we’ll most likely only be in about once a week to check email and blog and so on. I hope to write at home and then just upload from the zip drive at the lab. Next week I hope to do some real drawings, yeah, in my sketchbook, to record each of the wildflowers, and the kittens and chickens before they are out of the cute stage.

The sketchbook I have now, I’ve decided, will not be taken apart and sold, but preserved as it is. Something of a personal diary of our trip to the west and then the first months (maybe it will make it a year) at the ranch. Not saying I won’t scan them and put them up at Deviant Art and for ecards and such, of course. The lab does have a scanner – but be aware that this will be – scan it in, put it on the zip drive, take it home, tweak it on Voch, put it back on the zip, bring it back in (the next week) and THEN get it uploaded. On top of that, of course, is the fact I do now work full time and care for a batch of critters.

I’m lovin’ it. Life is good.

Blessedbe