Posts Tagged ‘nap’
Like That
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Sometimes, between the choice of a soft, comfy bed and a hard floor…
…I’ve been known to choose the floor.
Bathed in warm sunshine, either location may prove to be a good choice for a little daytime snooze.
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No Nap
A nap did not materialize yesterday because our rain storms came in waves of two and we decided to try getting a little work done between each. Somewhat randomly, I decided to get out the chainsaw (with its dull blade) and knock down a small dead pine in the back yard before heading down to clear stumps along the wooded portion of fence line on the south side of the back pasture.
When rain drove us back inside, I headed to the garage and pulled the mower deck from beneath the lawn tractor. I had figured out why I was having such a difficult time leveling things. Bent blades.
We decided to make a run to buy blades, and while we were in town on a rainy day, catch the “Jason Bourne” movie in Hudson. That series is always a guarantee for dizzying violent action, and didn’t disappoint.
Chatting up the knowledgeable source at the hardware store in River Falls, I learned what I need to do to get our old Craftsman mower to work as designed. I need to treat it better. He strongly recommended that any engine smaller than a car should exclusively be fed premium gasoline. He said I should avoid the risk of striking sticks, roots, stumps, rock, gravel, and protruding dirt mounds, by not driving over them.
Obvious, really. It’s funny though, because I had just the opposite perspective and was trying to find out if there was a different type of mower I should get that would allow me to mow the grass here and not worry about the sticks, roots, stumps… You know, everything around this property.
For one thing, I need to stop trying to use the lawn tractor on the trail through the woods. That will need to be the trimmer, or, if we have neglected it too long, the brush cutter behind the diesel tractor.
When we got home in the afternoon, I put a new chain on the chainsaw while Cyndie gave Delilah some attention and then together they went down and did the same for the horses. I cut down the other most obvious dead pine tree that was along the trail around the pasture on the north side of the driveway.
When I returned from that project, I found Cyndie pulling weeds near the round pen, lamenting the myriad growth sprouting from the sand within. The tenacious unwanted growth of weeds and grasses seems to be the theme of our summer this year.
I loitered along the fence, talking with her for a long enough time that the horses finally joined us. For some unknown reason, they have been choosing to stay up in the dusty lime screenings by the barn for the majority of their days lately, even though we have been offering them more open access to green pastures.
That’s not all bad, because they are still overweight, but to me, it looks like a lot less pleasant existence.
Cyndie stopped pulling weeds and offered to groom some of the grime off Legacy. The horses had obviously rolled in the mud after the rain earlier in the day.
It was a moment that went a long way to counter-balance the angst of tending to all the challenges we face in taking care of this place.
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Laying Low
After enjoying a perfect afternoon of lake activity weather on Wednesday when we arrived, things shifted a bit yesterday. The morning was mostly cloudy and there was a steady breeze out of the south, but it was pretty obvious that rain would eventually develop. Planned activities had appropriately been adjusted, and Marco and his sons went to a local golf course with Cyndie’s dad, while Dunia and Cyndie plotted a course of shopping in the surrounding area.
That left me free to spend time putting together a playlist of background music for our summer celebration event tomorrow, before eventually succumbing to a nap that came calling in the quiet of the empty house.
When the golfers returned, the boys headed down to the water, even though it was just starting to rain. Older brother, Marco, managed to lose his GoPro camera in the lake, which led to some creative effort toward retrieving it. The weather hampered their success, so the recovery plan is now hinging on hopes for better conditions to prevail this morning.
We settled on some darts before dinner and then played cards after the meal. For me, the day mostly amounted to a relaxing rest from needing to do any particular activity. I was laying low in preparation for the final push of effort to be ready for our party tomorrow.
We will drive home sometime today, and I will begin the process of mowing grass as soon as possible after we arrive. I’m looking forward to the end of getting ready for the party, and finally enjoying the actual event.
There is just one day left in the count down.
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Perfect Day
I’m going to assume that you all guessed we are up at our lake place. We were able to secure coverage in caring for our home and animals for a few days, so we scampered up to our favorite getaway to spend the weekend with Cyndie’s parents and some of her brother’s family, in addition to the many other wonderful members and friends of our unique community up here.
We enjoyed an absolutely perfect summer day yesterday. Spent the majority of it on the beach of our lake, with friends and family, plenty of rambunctious kids frolicking on floating devices in the water, warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and an opportunity for a nap on a lounge chair during a lull in the activity.
The lake temperature was ideal for summer refreshment, without being too cold to get used to easily. I flirted with getting too much sun, choosing to forgo the sensible solution of applying sun screen, by limiting my time of exposure out in the water. I was able to enjoy the day without feeling greasy, but probably put myself at a bit of a risk. I could feel it on my skin last night, but it was short of actually being painful.
I put in a fair amount of effort to not perseverate over the work that was not getting done at home, but found myself unable to avoid fretting over the need to get home early today to mow the grass. I will be up against the challenge of somehow getting the job done in the short time left in the day after we arrive home, and despite a threat of likely showers and thunderstorms.
Time runs out when evening comes, because I have to return to work tomorrow.
It’s a problem that I am willing to accept, given the pleasure we enjoyed in being up at the lake for a couple of perfect days at the beach.
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Sweet Home
When you get home from a hospital stay, the allure of your own bed can be too much to resist. Cyndie said she just wanted to test her ability to hoist herself up onto our tall mattress. I think she probably also wanted to test out taking a little afternoon nap.
Sure, the hospital has professional nurses providing care, but we have our cat, Pequenita. She settled right in at Cyndie’s feet as soon as it looked like a nap was about to happen. Nurses can’t offer that kind of support.
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Relative Something 