Strange Sleep.

 Strange Sleep.

 

Sneezing myself awake last night around midnight wasn’t too bad until it dawned on me that it was smoke that woke me up. Had to get up and do the rounds and check to see if it was active smoke or residual smoke from all the freaking fires. Finally made it back to bed around 2 a.m. Such fun. At least it was not all that hot outside. Thought that opening the house up sometime later would at least change the smells inside. It did. And the temperature did not get all that bad until around three this afternoon.

 

May have created a little black monster; she does not want off the nest. It has ice in there, don’t you see. She did not attack me, so don’t really think she is broody. She just wants to sit there. Poor critters. May have to put a couple of other nests in the brooder with ice coolers in them. Sister-in-law offered some more ice things to me, but so far, the few around here have been about enough—especially with water frozen in a milk carton in one nest. May just refill some water bottles and freeze those.

 

It actually has not been all that horrible today. This morning, it was almost nice except for feeling so danged dry. My nose would appreciate some extra moisture. May have to spray it with saline solution just to keep it moist enough to breathe comfortably. Think that toward the end of July, we are supposed to get drowned, or at least get a record rain. Figures. Dry us up, wash us away.

 

May have to use a shovel to get all the dog tracks out of my house. Each time we step outside, they go to the pool for a wade in the water. Then rolling in the best spot of dust and dead grass takes precedence over anything like sniffing the spots for wabbits and whatever else it is they like to sniff. Try to brush off the grass and occasionally use the brush on them, but the feet! Oh! Those dirty feet. Have a nice rubber backed rug in the back door that Roger brought over for them. Susan thought it would help keep my floors clean. It should be keeping up with the dirt, but two dogs times too many trips outside to the pool. Well, you get the idea. Maria, the lady who has helped me keep the house presentable or at least livable, says that having dogs and trying to clean house is like having small children and trying to keep house—impossible!

 

Ordered some stuff from Market Street that included one head of cabbage. Guess who that was for! Only a few sprigs of green even exist on the entire place—and that is mostly what is called Heavenly Bamboo or Nandinas. They don’t eat that stuff. But they truly love cabbage. AnnaBeth will be sitting there shaking her head at the thoughts of feeding hens cabbage. Sorry, Beth, but they are my babies.

 

Jennifer’s family went back to work wearing masks, but it will be next week before she can return. She is still testing positive. Hate this vicious virus! It’s no wonder so many folks have not recovered. She is a healthy person and just can’t shake it. But at least she can work online from home even though Gary does not want her out of the bedroom. Pretty impossible.

 

Because my sleep pattern was off, and because a silly ol’ woman was hurting just a bit and took a muscle relaxer, the hens were not let out of the coop until seven this morning. They were so thirsty, so this afternoon a water jar got cleaned up, filled and put inside the coop for them. Chickens definitely do not tolerate lack of water. Sterling said that his water went out on one of his big houses one summer—the fans have a mist stuff that keeps the chickens cool—and he lost four thousand chickens that day. They were due to go out that night! Now that is rough!

 

Did you know that Pepsi has a mango flavored drink? We will see tomorrow whether or not it tastes good enough to go back for more. One of those videos showed up on my email that showed how those things grow and are harvested. It is much harder to harvest them that it would be peaches or strawberries. Who knew! But it tickles me that raspberry has become more popular as a flavor in different products.

 

Sylvia brought me a treat ball to fill. Love to watch her roll that thing around and try to get the treats out. Sometimes she gets a little aggressive with it and drops it hard. Her alligator is MUCH easier to dump on the floor. But she sticks her tongue in it and bites the edges. It used to be a squeak toy. Now it is a treat toy. Thompson just patiently waits until someone notices that he has not had his handful of treats. Sweet ol’ boy!

 

Really don’t know doodly. Have not looked at the headlines today and have just stayed out of trouble—mostly. Have a slight headache that comes from the stuff in the air. Can’t imagine how the firefighters must feel today. Worked in that blazing fire all day yesterday and still have to keep at it today. Wish my finances were as good as someone like the guy who is trying to back out of the Twitter purchase. He could afford to buy more tanker trucks, some planes to dump retardant or water, the tires for all the trucks that will get damaged, the ATVs to get to the places the trucks can’t go, and the helicopters to use to get men and equipment where it is needed. Our friend Henry used to live in Santo, down in Palo Pinto County. He said it was easy to get lost in those mountains even if they were not as tall as those in the Rockies. They are thick with trees and scrub. It would take thousands of head of goats to clean that mess out enough to create less of a fire hazard. And just one lightning bolt would do the trick of setting another fire. Guess that is about the same anywhere.

 

Have a feeling that the cougars and bobcats will be heading this way from Archer and Palo Pinto counties since their cover and game animals have either been burned or driven out by the fires. Folks don’t stop to think about what happens to big cats when they can’t stay in the hills. Around here, people are pretty careless about letting their cats and little dogs out. Coyotes appreciate that kind of carelessness. Shaking my head.

 

God will provide for the birds and beasts. He loves them, too. Let us care for our fellow men in whatever way we can. Even a bottle of water given to someone can make a difference. Please take good care of yourselves. Let yourselves look for the positive in whatever situation you are. YOU are loved.