While We Were Away!

We went to Ft Worth for four days to assist Nate & Sara, Abby and Ben with their move (into a beautiful new old house, by the way!), and when we returned home this evening, here's what greeted us! There was a huge, record-breaking storm here the day we left with 90 mph winds and 1.5 inches of rain in a four hour period. This is a LOT of rain for NM! And an unprecedented wind! Our dear neighbors called to let us know about our sad old piñon tree, and I believe they even did a little clean up for us, bless them. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow!

Improvements!

Recently, we have been doing a lot of heavy lifting! And shoveling and raking. Also, we had some hardscaping done by a fine crew of professionals. Thank heaven for professionals! Our patio is becoming more comfortable by the minute, especially as the view improves with big, flashy summer flowers all abloom, and the mountain view that is graced most afternoons with gorgeous rain clouds. It is feeling like DEEP summer by now. We are beginning to harvest lovely, slender green beans and tomatoes. Soon....cukes and maybe even some green chiles! All meals now include a requisite leafy green salad and absolutely everything is served with fresh herbs and edible flowers! Our garden has spoiled us.

Summertime will be official on Friday...

....but it already feels verrry "Summer"! Record heat & big winds have made the gardens and the gardeners struggle! We are so thankful to have a well to provide water for our drip irrigation in all of our gardens; drought conditions have resulted in big costs for city water! We are ever mindful of our water usage in these crazy dry times! The flowers are all looking terrific suddenly. The vegetables? Not so terrific, but they are hanging on and will eventually yield some good stuff. The wind is just so harsh on their tiny leaves! Captain and I have been doing some rock work to define a new area which used to be the main driveway for the property. No longer a driveway, we are beginning to plant some nice landscape trees and shrubs here. Some hardscaping will soon follow. We have enjoyed a terrific week with Nate's crew here from Ft Worth! Abby and Ben were such fun! Abby planted some ornamental corn which is now 8" tall! And we went out for her first High Tea - Abby, Sara, Granny & I - very special! Grubepop blew up the inflatable pool and we did some cooling off there! Silly splashy times! And Ben ate! Handsome little Ben is a voracious little eater, what with those four (!!) teeth of his! Such a handsome little fella! And we had the whole local crew here for Melli's birthday - green chile cheeseburgers....quintessential NM Summer fare!! Here are a few pictures of this & that.

Yet ANOTHER freeze!

BOOOO! Mr. Weatherman says we will have a light freeze tonight...as a teaser for a hard freeze tomorrow night. This is one of those really frustrating springs. The bearded iris and lilacs are in full bloom; apple, cherry and plum trees are covered in the loveliest blossoms. Even the roses and oriental poppies are starting to bud out. Given this rather dismal scenario of potential loss, Captain and I have just come in from the cold, having strung more blue Christmas lights in the trees, covering all that we can with Agribon, sheets, and buckets. It's a good thing we don't depend on our gardening success for a living! On nights like these, I worry about those who do! It's a rough deal!

It's HUSTLE TIME!

Time to "pull a hustle out of our pocket and get moving"! That was a favorite saying of my old friend, Leslie! And, boy...it really is time! Our spring was cold and windy, cold and windy. Now it is suddenly warm and the ground is begging to be planted. The Snap peas are up and the sweet peas too. Still, we have had no rain. DRY as an old bone! While the wind blew, I had such FUN, sewing Very Special Bunnies for our precious Grandgirls! The bunny pattern was beautifully designed by Alicia Paulsen. Every tiny step of the way, I was immersed in thought about how special our girls are and how much we love them, Abby & Piper! With each stitch I whispered a prayer for these precious girls! The bunnies are made of lovely thick wool felt; I stuffed them with locally procured (from our neighbor who raises sheep!), raw wool, which I washed 12 times over two days and dried in the sun. Their peasant dresses are of Liberty of London Lawn fabric. Oh! How I would love a dress made of this! Their shawls are knitted of soft wool. And their lace-up boots are made of wool felt. Mostly though, they are made of LOVE! Through and through. Captain and I grew awfully fond of these bunnies as they sat atop our dining room table! But the best part came when our little girls received them, and so quickly gave them sweet names and big hugs! I was amazed that Piper Gaye immediately christened her bunny "Sophie" and Abby pronounced her bunny "Pickles"! Kids are so amazing! I also had a blast sewing up two spring dresses, one especially for each of our girls. I always worry that the dresses I make will not fit properly - but by some miracle, these did! Please don't think that Little Ben was left out. We got Ben the sweetest little Steiff bunny for his first Easter. And he seemed perfectly happy!