Aleaha's Spring Concert

We were back at the school for a hot evening in the gym, enjoying the musical skills of the second through fifth graders. Aleaha's third-grade class played a special song  on their xylophones and drums, and they did a very nice job.

They had been practicing for a long time. It really showed!

Smokey, the Hunted and the Hunter

One afternoon recently, Mommy was sitting on the back deck with a couple of kitties, enjoying the quiet. All of the sudden, Smokey bolted up to the top of a tree, quick as a flash!

Turns out that there were two coyotes chasing him! They had come out of the nearby grass seed fields, thinking they'd get a little tasty cat for a snack. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted! Not cool!

I chased the offensive little buggers off into the field with some choice words. They were so brazen! One had his front feet up the tree, ready to follow Smokey right up it! Smokey spent about 15 minutes in the tree, assessing whether or not it was safe to come down.

A few days later, he was recovered and bringing in the kills. This is a weasel! It's only a baby (my foot for comparison), but where there's baby weasels there are mommy weasels, and we don't like that. We have chickens, and they don't take kindly to chicken-killers!

Way to go, Smokey! 

Friends from Germany

Mommy's friends Gunter and Angelika came to the States for a visit, and brought their darling daughters Ellen and Nadja. We were fortunate to have a couple of opportunities to visit while they were in Oregon. Nadja and Aleaha are the same age -- and very similar in many way! (camera shy, for example)

They had a chance for a sleepover one night, which was very special. Fast friends!

We quickly snapped a few shots before our girls had to go to school the next day. It was so much fun to see them!

Pickup Work

It was time to start up Ol' Yeller (the pickup we use to haul horse water to the upper pasture). This usually just entails pulling off the tarp, chasing out the yellow jackets, and hooking up the battery (which we pull out for the winter). But this year was a little different, because a nasty rat chose to take up residence and chew through nearly every critical wire in the engine!

After cleaning up the mess of the nest with the shop vac (via generator), then we could see the extent of the damage. Doggone rodents!

We must have climbed in and out of that pickup 20 times that day.

Good thing Daddy has a the know-how and supplies to build a full, new set of sparkplug wires!

Special crimpy tools and all!

He hat to hot-wire it to get it started, and then Mommy had to drive it down the hill to finish the repairs before we could fill the water tank and hook up the plumbing for the horses. And in the process of getting it off the hill, something in the glove compartment tried to catch on fire! So the cab filled with smoke and Mommy bailed out. That was exciting!

But we were able to recover and it's doing its job. Next winter, it might need some other form of protection from the rats!

Firepit Fun

Mommy wanted to create a little family area to enjoy the spring evenings. It would be lovely to build a permanent fire pit someday, but we aren't really sure where we want to have it, so for now a portable version is just right. We have a nice spot for it.

The girls usually can't sit still for very long, but one night they preferred to snuggle up.

The cats can't sit still either. Smokey was really into some antics one night, climbing the trees and getting a better view (for reasons that will be explained in a future posting).

Ever the guardian!

And a little later, as the sun went down, in swooped an owl!

It was really something, and it came really close! 

Visiting school for lunch

One week recently Mommy & Daddy took turns going to the school for a lunchtime visit. First we met with Miri...

...and then 20 mins later we dined with Aleaha.

Very fun to see their routine and hear all the sounds of a very busy gradeschool lunchroom!

First Race of the Season

Daddy took One Hot Chili Pepper to the track for it's first weekend of racing. (We missed a weekend earlier in the year). Things were not working out well last year, but this year is off to a great start!

Aleaha was especially thrilled, because she was able to spend 2 nights there with Daddy and his crew chief, Gary, and Gary's lovely girlfriend, Diane. Aleaha *loves* to camp at the track! 

Miri and Mommy drove up for the day on Saturday to watch the qualifying passes. It was a thunderous time! Daddy is lucky to have a great set of people for support!

The Chili Pepper was in the left lane in the photo above. It was very exciting, as he was testing everything and getting information for how to dial in on Sunday, for the eliminations.

It is always a bit more than Miss Miri can handle. On the way home, after much fussing and fit-throwing and whining, Mommy was about at the end of her patience. I had a flashback to what it's like with a small baby or toddler -- that it's often the very worst right before they completely cave and fall asleep. And that's exactly what happened. I talked her into breathing deeply to calm down (she was really worked up because she didn't want to leave), and then suddenly, it was sweetly silent. 

Aaaahhhhh.

And the other great news was that Daddy and the OCHP crew got runner-up that weekend! They went 199 mph and quicker than ever. They were all thrilled and can't wait for the next race in a few weeks.

Miri, on the other hand, still needs to catch up on her sleep before then!