Not A Gully Washer

Morning brought rain to the desert.  There's nothing like that smell of wet mesquite trees while drinking my coffee.  Add to that an occasional bird tweet from the bushes and it's a perfect morning.  

It didn't stay that way however, as boredom quickly set in.  I sewed, cleaned, puppy played and sewed some more.  Time to get out!!  Cooper was making me crazy.

As you know, he rarely (if ever) goes more than a quarter mile.  Although a little slow on my gravel road, he hit his pace on the pavement with me barely able to keep up.  Apparently there are LOTS of good smells because we stopped probably one hundred times.  

I'm pretty leery of that since there could be snakes and bad critters lurking in the bushes that he demands be smelled and of course marked.  SO many good smells.

Surprisingly, we walked all the way to the Chance house without me becoming a taxi.  

Yes I've contemplated that water valve replacement every other minute but haven't gotten up the nerve to try it.  Mr. Chance volunteered his plumbing expertise, which he asserts is not his forte.  This should be good, right?  Not one but TWO unexperienced plumbers trying to change one little valve.  At least I can hold my hand over the hose to keep water from coming out while Dan runs to the store, or vice versa.

This is his latest project with his handy dandy backhoe.  Concrete will be poured sometime next week to keep the driveway from washing out with those gully washers.  Surprisingly, it's cheaper than asphalt.

As you can see the sky above, it was getting blacker and blacker.  I didn't want to get caught on the walk home, not being able to run because I would be carrying Cooper who hates getting wet.  I made it just in time.  It wasn't a really big rain, but steady enough for long enough to give the desert a nice drink.  Luckily the temperature stayed in the 40's so there was no snow.

Dinnertime came quickly as I prepared the latest recipe from Every Plate.  Moo Shu Beef.  The picture looked fabulous and my mouth was watering.  Sadly, it did not meet my expectations in the flavor department.  The Thai chili disappeared completely into rice and hamburger. 

This looks like a tiny amount, but only because the bowl is huge.  I was trying to make it look like I didn't really use paper plates and bowls every single day, even though I do.  Maybe the next recipe for parmesan chicken will be better.

There were 22 images on the critter cam, including lots of rain.  Mostly it was the pack of coyotes that come by around 7:30 every night and again at 5:30 every morning.  Watch closely for the eyes in the bushes.  It's fun how I can recognize them by their behavior now.  I'm not sure why they are so skittish since they have no predators here.  But then again, there's MAN who probably chases them off.  Maybe I'll let them try leftover Moo Shu Beef!!

Time to clean the house before Mr. Chance and my Quilting Guru arrive so they don't think I live like a hoarder.