Little Ben's 1st Birthday!

A party at Little Bird Farm! And 5 FUN-FILLED days!!

Our Texas Kids Move to a New Old House

Here's a handful of Moving Day snapshots. Ben helped Grubepop install the new flag holder. The "Stars & Stripes" fly on the kids' pretty, new front porch. Abby loves her new room! Ben loves his new truck! (Grubepop couldn't help himself; he had to get Ben a BIG truck.) And...Ben loves Grubepop. :) Riley & Fred were hot & tired after all their hard work! Whaaat?? They spent their days at the Doggy Day Care while we all worked! So, that's what "a dog's life" means. Congratulations, Nate & Sara! Here's to a whole week in your new home, sweet home.

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.