Relative Something

The first pass through the group stage for each team in the 2026 Men’s World Cup has been completed. Today begins the series of second matches for the groups. For the broadcasters and the fans, there is no rest. I don’t know how a person is supposed to watch each exciting moment and also continue to fulfill their daily responsibilities. Sacrifices need to be made.

I will miss seeing the first game today because I will be driving Cyndie and Elysa to the airport for their flight to Amsterdam, and ultimately, Norway. It’ll be Asher and me managing the ranch for the next 11 days.

We won’t be completely on our own, though. We’ll have the support of our property-guard-snakes keeping watch over the goings on around here.

The bigger of these two knows its way around the shop garage. I spotted it the other day, slithering on the top edge of a stack of cardboard leaning against one wall, about chest height.

That explains the discarded snake skins we frequently find in the vicinity. I sure hope they are controlling the rodent population in the building.

I started scrubbing the wood paneling of the shop/garage yesterday, but had to hold off on sanding it until the rain stops and the wood dries. We have retained the services of a log building expert to repair and reseal areas of both this building and the house, and I will be doing as much of the prep work as possible to reduce the cost of the project.

In addition to that work happening while Cyndie is away, we are expecting a visit from This Old Horse personnel with vaccines for the horses, a farrier appointment, a first-time house-cleaning appointment by a local start-up business out of Ellsworth, and I need to drive Asher to a grooming appointment in Baldwin.

Between all of that, I need to keep up with the usual mowing and, if possible, continue trimming back the vigorous growth encroaching on our grass trail around the north loop and all of the trails through the woods.

The fluttering leaves of the poplar trees down by the road were putting on a show in the breeze between rain showers when I rolled our trash and recycling bins down yesterday evening. There is a pretty healthy expansion of that grove, which we are very happy about.

As I reached the top of the first rise in our driveway and took in the view of the variety of lush trees beyond the barn and hay shed, I felt a deep appreciation for our little forest.

It is always such a striking difference from the months when all the branches are bare after the leaves drop off in the fall. When our trees look happy, it brings me great joy. Despite how muddy it has made the area just beyond the barn overhang, I am grateful that the rain over the last few days appears to be providing the trees with all the hydration they need at this time.

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