12:22

A.M.  That's what time it was when I opened the deck door to bid my sweet ones good night.  We've been socked in by fog for over a week and then rain for the last two days.  The moisture is welcomed, despite the muddy mess it creates in the dry lot.

The rain sheets the horses had on last night were soaked and so heavy when I traded them out this morning for a dry one.  I debated about taking them off the horses this evening.  My three weather references on my mobile phone all said cloudy to partly cloudy for the night.  My years living in Central Oregon have taught me it's best to look out over those mountains and add my own forecast into the mix, and tonight it told me the rain was not done.  Sure enough, just after dark it started to rain again.  I could see the sky considering a clearing but with the anticipated winds, I have also learned it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to strong gusts.

I didn't anticipate this crystal clear sky we have now.  If I weren't ready for bed, I would go down and take the rain sheets off the horses and let them bask in the stars.  The night air isn't frozen yet so it is fragrant with moist earth and trees and a touch of sweet wet wool.  It's fresh and alive.  I smile.

Yes, I do write about the stars often.  They are so magnificent and abundant it is hard not to be in complete awe.  I realize that for much of my adult life, I have lived in places where the star appearance has been minimal, drowned out by urban lights.  Only on vacations or trips out of town would I see what the night sky really could look like.  So now, every night that I can see stars, I lose track of time just gazing.  I smile.

With a wide open sky completely covered in stars, shooting stars are not uncommon.  Those were things that I would see only if I drove out to "the country" from the city, put down a blanket and waited.  And waited.  And if one happened by, it was truly incredible.  I still find it incredible but the drama is different.  I know that with patience, sometimes just a tiny bit, I will be treated to a fiery tail traveling at a speed I cannot fathom.  I smile.

So it is at this late hour, feeling blessed to have healthy animals, a roof over my head, food for all of us, wood burning in the stove, love of and for friends and family, talents to sustain me, good health and good humor that I look up into the powerful beyond and give my thanks.

And I smile.

Hide and Seek

Bodie is small enough and spry enough to dive under my bed and clear the side rails--if he so desired, which he never does.  Pinkie, who is bigger and taller, has to wiggle to get in under there, yet loves to be there.

So, when they play Hide and Seek in the house, a totally unsanctioned indoor sport, Pinkie does her expertly executed chest crawl to get under the bed in record time and Bodie sits beside her uncovered paws, letting her believe she is hiding, and waiting her out.

Bodie has infinite patience.  Pinkie has ADD.

You know how it ends.

Utterly Foul

My favorite part of coming home a little before 1am from a good night of dancing was to realize that that utterly foul smell that was tracked in by one of the dogs earlier in the evening remained.

I had already cleaned up the spots that ran up the stairs.  What else?  Then I discovered the source.

Even before getting my coat off, I had Bodie between my knees as I brushed, washed and cut out a serious collection of pooh on his furry little butt!  It was some intense mouth breathing.  I wiggled him over to the sink so I could wet another paper towel.  When it became obvious that more serious measures were called for, I wiggled him over to the scissors.

Pinkie would have no part of this circus.  She was tucked in under my bed.

After Febreze room spray and then Febreze fabric spray,  putting the "green" wipes back and pulling out the 409, the malodorous air lingered.  I found some remnants around the carpet and in the kitchen; it was easy to track where he had been over the course of the evening.

He may be fierce when someone approaches the gate but my little Bodie has the most gentle heart.  He's sound asleep beside me--I'm such a good mom--and before passing out, he looked up at me a few times with soft eyes and a titled head as if to say, "I'm sorry I have a smelly butt, mom.  Thanks for cleaning me up."

Pee-ew!