New neighbors!

Albino Pronghorn Antelope 

Good morning all you wonderful people! Wow, can you believe it’s Thursday, already? Another week is flying by and I’m getting really excited because we’re leaving for vacation a week from today! If I’m not careful it’s going to creep up on me and I’m not going to be ready!

Yesterday, I had to get moving earlier than usual to take Rob to get his windshield fixed.  I dropped him off at the office after we delivered his truck to Ed’s Auto Body and stopped in to see my girlfriend, Gin.  I had told her the night before at the Moose that I would be dropping by and that I’d take her out to breakfast and we’d go for a walk. It was a beautiful day yesterday and we decided after a small breakfast to walk by Clear Creek.  It was really nice because that’s the first time I’ve walked anywhere without Ms Thistle. So, we were actually able to talk without a million interruptions of me reprimanding the puppy. 

It’s just amazing to me how much foliage and little flowers are already coming up along the trail out along the river.  So far, the water level in the river seems to be nice and high, as well.  It was so nice out there, we sat for quite some time on the benches and just talked. The birds were chirping and the wind was hardly blowing.  Gin has a real fear of snakes and is already worried that they are coming out so, of course, at some point on our walk, I had to tease her and pretend I saw a snake. When I had a little garter snake in my flower garden last summer, she went totally ballistic and would not go near my flowers for the rest of the summer.  I kept trying to tell her yesterday that there weren’t any snakes in town that were anything to worry about but she is convinced otherwise.

Glad she’s not going down to Arizona with us next week because my other friend, Sanna, who’s been down there all winter, has been posting photos on facebook of snake tracks she’s seeing on her hikes.  She just posted pictures the other day of Sidewinder tracks she came across on her horseback ride down there.  Having grown up with all kinds of snakes in Texas myself, I have a healthy respect for them, but they don’t scare me.  I’ve got a nice hiking stick I carry that has a pretty deadly point on the end of it, just for scaring off snakes. Sanna also recounted a story of getting off her horse to try to get a rattler off the trail down there last week, said rattler did not want to back down and was actually chasing her until she got back on her horse!

Tensleep Creek

Anyway,  Gin and I had a great time and my arm’s not too bruised from her punching me for scaring the bejesus out of her.  I had a nice lunch out with Rob and then I was feeling really bad about Thistle not getting to go on a walk so after lunch I took her for one, as well.  We had a nice walk around our neighborhood and visited once again with some of the retired folks that were out working in their flower beds.  We also visited with our new neighbors a couple of doors up who just moved in to the rental house on the block.  I had heard that the new tenants included Jesse B., a young woman I’ve known since she was a teenager.  Jesse had moved to Georgia with her husband about 5 years ago and they are now back in town.  She now has two beautiful little daughters and is expecting another in June.  It’s going to be awesome having her as a neighbor! I’ve known her since she was about 17 years old.

We also have new neighbors settling on the house next door today. Jesse was telling me all about them, as she’s friends with them.  They, too, have a little daughter, I think about a year old.  It’s going to be nice to have some little girls running around the neighborhood again. Jesse and I are already planning backyard bbq’s and playdates for the dogs.  She has two really adorable chocolate labs that Thistle was dying to meet.  It’s funny how the neighborhood dynamics change over the years.  When we first moved in, we were surrounded by neighbors with young teens and they’ve all grown and moved away and it’s been pretty quiet for about 8 years around here and now all of a sudden we’ve had about six families move in within the last two years with young children and the cycle is starting all over! I just love it, myself, as I adore children.  Jesse’s oldest daughter already wants to come help me in my garden this summer. I was telling her where all the little kids are in the neighborhood and promised to introduce her to all the parents so her girls will have playmates. 

Well, today is tanning day and I’ve got to get my butt in gear and start packing for the trip. Time to haul out all the suitcases and pull out Rob’s marvelous lists so I don’t miss anything.

Hope you have a wonderful day today, too!!