Tearing It Up!!!

On a not so cool morning, I sat on the patio listening to the sounds of the night.  It was the countryside waking up.  There were a few chirps from birds, but not many.  The orchards around here provide much better roosting branches than the back of my patio chairs, although that does seem to be a favorite spot, evidenced by the multitude of bird poop on the patio.  I can't blame them, at least they are in the shade.

I have a new friend that comes every morning to say hello.  It's a nice fat lizard that I hope is cleaning up on the ant buffet.  He doesn't stay long, as Cooper refuses to let any house guests stay long in HIS domain.

All the while, I was gearing up.  I identify with those house remodeling guys on TV that thrive on the demo part of the work.  It's somehow satisfying to see something you don't want, GONE from the scene.  Take this fence for example.  If you don't think these vinyl fences are tough, I can attest to their tenacity!  This six foot section and that center post are what need to be removed.  I began tearing it up!!!

Though the rails look easy enough to remove as they slide back and forth, they are designed to stay forever.  The design is a good one.  I've been trying to get these out for the last year.  They have two clips on one side and one on the other that keep them from being removed.  Easy to stick IN to the hole, they do not come out without three screwdrivers and two big men to bend the board.

I finally used the handy dandy hacksaw to cut one end off.  It was then easy-ER to get the two prongs out while pushing the rail sideways until it broke loose.  I'm sure there was a better way that might have saved the "boards", but what will I ever use them for?  

EUREKA!!  SUCCESS!!  There's a gate on the right that I just tied open.  No use throwing that away.  All this led me to a great discovery.  Using a flashlight, I looked inside the post ... and what to my amazement did I see?  NOT a T-post but a steel U post from bottom to top.  UGH ... this is going to be a lot harder than I thought.  
 

By this time, the heat had arrived and I was done with the tearing.  Destruction only goes so far.  I'll be going down my contractor phone list, begging for assistance.

On a completely different subject, here's one of the best things I've ever purchased.  It's a cheap Hamilton Beach single serve blender.  Or it could be a double serve Margarita blender!  

Once a year on the ranch we were blessed with the best treat ever.  We had a cow-calf operation which brought about babies every year.  When they grow up and learn how to skinny through the fences to the neighbors property (because the grass is always greener), you need something to identify them as yours.  Branding was a yearly event.  It bothers me now, but back then everyone had a job to do.

Occasionally I roped the calves, but I admit, I wasn't very good at it as a little kid of six or seven.  That meant my job was to throw my rope to the ground crew to secure the calf's hind legs.  I took a dally and waited until they were done.  My second and most important job was to make the pink lemonade and serve it up to our most grateful crew of neighbors.  You can imagine working cattle in the heat and dust wasn't the nicest of jobs.  

So here it is ..... my version of STRAWBERRY pink lemonade whipped up with ice cubes in my handy dandy blender.  In the old days we served it in those beautifully colored metal (unbreakable) glasses.  It was pretty cool because everyone knew which color was theirs.  It gave us just enough energy to finish the job for the day.  Where was my mom all that time?  She was the chief cook and bottle washer.  

While we worked, she roasted a huge chunk of meat, along with mashed potatoes, gravy and something from the garden.  No one went away hungry, except us the next day or two because we really couldn't afford that kind of feast.  Oh the memories of pink lemonade.

With the fence post on the back burner, I set up for the second day of the Calgary Stampede.  This is not a sport for sissies.  There are three guys out already, for a broken leg and pulled muscles.  This competition is all about the money, so they ride regardless, except for the leg of course.  It's also the grand event for stock contractors, who put forth their best and meanest bucking stock.  I've seen lots of horses buck in my life, but these guys are flying higher than I have ever seen.

I finally finished up this quilt top and cut the backing.  It's all ready for a trip to Arizona for quilting.  I think this makes six now ready for the needle.

Temperatures have been creeping back up, along with my thermostat control.  I just received an email from PG&E letting me know my bill is now up to $350.  EEERRRRRRRK!!  That's me putting the kibosh on air conditioning for the next week.  I must say it's been nice at 80 degrees, but I hate digging into my savings accounts to pay for electricity.  It's not "how low can you go" around here any more.  It's "you'll be fine, just drink another bottle of water"!