Let there be egg!

One perfect, little, magnificent egg.

Today Lucy was behaving very oddly. She wasn't hanging around with the Carmens. She kept climbing on top of things (like the barbeque next to the window) and clucking and talking loudly. She had a lot to say too. I just wish I had known what she was talking about. Despite Lucy's obvious need to chat, Jill and I went off running errands and came back to find Lucy missing. The Carmens came to meet me but Lucy was no where to be found. I looked under the bushes. I called for her. I was beginning to panic. I looked in the night house and still no Lucy.

I called for Jill to come and help me look. My mind was racing, my imagination working overtime. .. something had come into the yard and killed her. She flew the coop and was wandering around the neighborhood. Any number of things could have happened to my beloved Lucy! The horrors my mind was concocting!

I was very worried and getting worrieder by the second!

Jill finally spied her nestled down in a box full of rocks in the pergola. She did not appear inclined to budge any time soon. We stood there staring at her, wondering what her problem was. She stared back. Then, as if to show us what she had done, she slowly stood up, and there, underneath her, nestled upon the rocks was an ever-so-lovely perfect little brown egg.

I'm so very excited. I can't bear to eat this first miraculous egg. It just seems wrong. I think, instead, I shall blow out the stuff inside and keep it. For posterity. Is that weird?

If today is Sunday, I must be sad.

Peter's gone. But what a weekend it's been. Peter got here Wednesday night and, as always, time has just flown by. Over the last 4 days:

• We've made raspberry, blackberry and raspberry/blackberry liquor. It needs 4 months to ferment and form properly but early taste tests already indicate it will be delicious! I think I shall need to do tastings every few days to make sure nothing goes wrong! The good news is we seemed to have figured out the "work together" part because this time there were no hard feelings during the liquor making process.
• We witnessed a terrifying accident on I-5 Friday morning. A white utility van in front of us blew a tire, lost control, hit the median, flipped about 6 times while miraculously crossing 3 lanes of traffic and not hitting any other vehicles. Of course we stopped and Peter ran to offer assistance. I stayed on our side of the freeway, well out of the way and attempted calling 911 (I was not the only one and the line was full) Good news - the 17 year old driver, although shook up and bruised, battered and bashed should be just fine.

• We went rock hunting. It was Peter's birthday weekend and it was my gift to him. We went to "The Lucky Strike Mine", located in the middle of nowhere, on the top of a mountain somewhere between Prineville & Mitchell Oregon. It was the most interesting

  

  place with the most interesting people. Kop is the owner of the mine and he LOVES his rocks. We found about 50 pounds of thundereggs. Kop is 92 years old and he had to examine each thunderegg before he would let us have it. With each one he looked at it, ran his hands over it lovingly and then would exclaim at the red vein in it or the kind of gems or what beautiful mysteries we would see when we cut it open and looked inside. Then he would grudgingly let us have it.

• Yesterday we worked on to-do's around here, including researching paint colors for the house, and giving the chickens a proper roof.

• Today was Peter's birthday and he was King for a day. We went grape picking and then grape plucking - and I'm sure we did more than that because it was time for him to go far too soon.

This evening 284 days seems way too far away. I am sad and I am melancholy. Harumph.

A moment of silence please.

Today Sir Larry "The Pig" Whittington passed away.

He was a good pig. He will be missed.

Larry was old for a pig. He was 7. I think that's about 150 in guinea pig years. He lived with us for the last 6. He greeted me every morning and insisted on daily treats of carrots and apples (and occasionally grapes, watermelon, broccoli and cantaloupe).

R.I.P Pig.

I am the older woman.

This was it. This was the weekend I turned a year older. It's not so bad really. Except now, for the next two weeks, Peter is younger than I am. That's unfortunate.

Jill and I headed up to his house Friday night. When we visit Peter, he gives up his house to Jill and I and he sleeps in the "big house." He came into his house early and noisily on Saturday morning (my birthday) singing happy birthday and tossing things about all willy-nilly. He came into my room (technically his) and continued tossing stuff about. It was confetti. How fun! But I must confess I was sleepy enough I just didn't get it. I think I might have even been a little cranky at the rude interruption to my dreams. It didn't take long for me to appreciate the fun of it.

There was also a present waiting for me. A smallish box. I laughed and said "well, I'm guessing it's not a bicycle!" Inside was a pair of trekking poles, to ensure my safety on our treacherous hikes. As I commented on the loveliness of the carbon-fiber, lightweight poles, Peter explained that they were very special poles indeed and I should examine them closely. I rolled my eyes. Men! Men and their tools! What is it with them anyway!??! But I humored him and I carefdully examined the poles from one end to the other. As I approached the pointy end of the second pole something sparkled. It sparkled big! But I couldn't get to the sparkly thing! I didn't want to damage the very special lightweight, carbon-fiber pole but I also wanted to tear it apart - but perseverance and patience paid off and I was finally able to get to it. It was a beautiful, custom-made sapphire and diamond birthstone ring. ooooh. I haven't been able to get a good photo of it or I would show you. Sorry.

Later Saturday we were out in the white shed/workshop gathering items for making chicken coops. What should I stumble upon? A bicycle! Not just one bicycle but TWO. Peter and I now have matching rides. Do you suppose I was experiencing some esp earlier?

This morning I took my new ride out for a spin, while Peter took a shower. It was raining so I didn't go far. As I came back to the house I stopped the bike, put my left foot on the pavement and swung my right foot over the bike. The hem on my boot-cut jeans caught on the bicycle seat. I balanced on one foot, the other foot in the air, stuck. I hopped a bit. I wiggled my leg trying to get it loose. Leg wiggling caused my balance to falter. Bike and I started to list to the left, then to the right. I started hopping some more, with one leg still up in the air. It was like slow motion as the two of us fell to the ground, intertwined like lovers - I tried to throw myself under the bike to protect it, but I also needed to protect my newly aged body. I think the bike survived quite well. I, however, have two bruised and scraped knees, two bashed elbows and my right shoulder is quite stiff and uncomfortable. Sigh..

Man it's rough getting old!