Thursday, May 4, 2023
Matt’s in Texas and Ray and I have been busy. The weather was nice, so we moved the plants out of their garage hibernation. I was very cautious doing this because I almost stepped on a snake sunning himself on the deck yesterday. That was terrifying.
We went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. It’s a fabulous frontier show with a meal. The food was delicious and the show included trick riding, aerialists, dog competitions, singing, and dancing. The Native American drum performance costumes were iridescent and featured some small bison.
We went to the Grand Country Music Hall for the first time and were pleasantly surprised. I’d avoided it because the venue and show billboards seemed cheesy to me. Their Old Time Country Show had a few ten-dollar customer appreciation performances, so we took a chance. I’m so glad we went. The performers were talented and funny, and I hadn’t seen a steel guitar played in over thirty years. I recommend this show and the buffet. And we’ll be returning for another show soon since they gave us the customer appreciation schedule!
The Baltimore Orioles (birds) arrived today. They eat grape jelly. Last year they devoured our jelly and all the local stores were sold out. This year we’re prepared since we’ve been waiting and stockpiling jelly all year.
On the curvy road along the ridge to our house, an old, abandoned house sits close to the road. The paint is long gone and the windows are just holes with no glass. The structure is barely standing, in fact, the roof is partially collapsed. Anyway, the other day as we zoomed by, Ray said, “I think I saw a fox sitting in the window of that broken-down house.”
No way, I thought. But it would be a fine animal habitat.
Today, we passed it again and a momma fox and four kits were there playing in the front yard. What a sight! Beautiful fluffy, little red foxes out enjoying the morning. They weren’t concerned when we stopped to look at them momentarily. On our way back home I had my camera ready but they were nowhere to be seen.
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Rain has been predicted for the past three days, but we remain dry. We’ve been cleaning, organizing, and sprucing up the place for visitors this weekend. Usually, when we work this hard our guests fail to show. We’ll see.
Friday, May 19, 2023
The orioles came and went quickly. They were fewer and left quicker than last year.
Abundant spring showers have brought so much moisture that the seeds in my bird feeders are sprouting. The predicted high temp for tomorrow is 71. Nice.
Our visitors have come and gone, and the guest quarters are ready for the next bunch. The last group included a nine-year-old. That’s always interesting. Here are a few of her observations:
Child (following me around as I put away laundry): You organize your sock drawer. And you have your own dresser and nightstand.
Me: Yeah, I’m pretty spoiled.
Matt asked a question and Ray answered louder than necessary. (This happens often in a house with two alpha males.)
Child to Ray: Are you okay?
Ray: I’m getting there.
Child to Matt: Go hug your dad. And be nice about it.
I admire her communication skills, although I’m still trying to understand why the shout-ee got in trouble instead of the shouter.
We haven’t seen the fox family again, but we have a mama groundhog and two babies on our property. A groundhog and a woodchuck are the same thing. They’re part of the squirrel family. We know where their burrow is and we’ve been watching them. We’re easily entertained.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
The weather’s been nice—80s in the day, 50s at night. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and Ray and I are going to a comedy show.
I made a chocolate blackberry cheesecake. Ray likes it, and Matt said to save him a piece. Matt’s visiting Alabama, and he’ll be home Thursday.