The stretch between the holidays and Memorial Day seems like forever when you are not in a job with frequent breaks like so many of my teacher friends. I have been at the same company for over six years and every year, everyone gets a bit more grumpy the closer that time comes to May. We all very much needed the long weekend to relax and take a much needed break. I packed my bags and headed out to Pima to enjoy a really quiet weekend at mom and dad's homestead. With them gone on their church mission in Kansas, I head out to check in on the homestead on long weekends. I picked up Echo from Alice, the doggy sitter, and watched her become more and more excited the closer we came to "home". Echo misses mom and dad and has been serving her time at the gracious home of her loving dog sitter while mom and dad are gone. At the request of my mother, I gladly will pick up Echo and take her "home" for a long weekend so she gets to spend time at home as well. She seems to really enjoy it. She spent the first five minutes running about the house, checking each room with the vigor of a young pup, though she's and old lady now. The weekend was lovely. I watch movies, write, read and just enjoy the quiet while keeping Echo company while she sleeps.
There are things that you just don't get to experience being in the city and that is having nature come into your back yard. Mom and dad always like to eat breakfast and look out the window watching the birds in the early morning. This little bird area is just outside the kitchen window. I'm a sleepy head and generally do not wake up until long after the birds have come for their morning feed. Mom has had neighbors come put up quail blocks for the birds while they are gone to keep the bird population on their property while they are on their mission. This quail block once was on the ground, but the bunnies and javalina came and disturbed it too much. Mom tried building a small table to get it out of reach of the non-bird visitors. The javalina, like a violent gang would come in the middle of the night and knock the table over and make a mess of things. So mom built this shelf like thing on her fence. This seems to work well. I awoke the first morning and looked out to see if there were any birds and I was surprised to see a rather large squirrel up on the platform eating. I grabbed my camera to snap a photo to show mom her shelf had not deterred all the mammals. Just as I was wondering how he got up there, I watched him leap off the platform onto the rake head and down the shovel handle then scurry away. Mom had placed these old farm tools as decoration, who knew it would come in so handy to the squirrels! I caught this guy in the act. Mom said he was working on it before they left, but he'd been unsuccessful. I guess he grew or got strong enough to succeed.
All in all, it was a very pleasant weekend spent with a favorite doggy friend in a very warm and happy place for me. I look forward to mom and dad's return home though. I won't go in their living room to hang out when I'm there because that is the room full of so many warm memories with them and with them not there. Seems silly, but I can't bring myself to sit there alone, it just makes me miss them. The house is buttoned up upon my departure, Echo is returned to her doggy sitter until my next long weekend in Pima.
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