Rub a dub dub

In the almost 8 years we've lived in our house, this is the 3rd time the well has gone out.  No working well means no water for us.  We have some stored water, but it isn't quite the same.  At the end of the day, Ryan wanted to be clean.  So he bought a new garbage can from Ace Hardwear, took it to our neighbor's house, and filled it with water from the hose.  Nice, fresh, very cool water.  

 In the end, we couldn't goad him into taking an actual bath.  The water was too cold for sinking into, even for Ryan.  He decided he would let the garbage can sit in the back of his truck and soak up all the sun rays it could, and then he could take a soaking bath tonight if the well wasn't back up and running by then.

We were able to get someone out to fix the well.  I'm pretty sure the well died because I mentioned to a friend that we never hire people to do projects around our house.  Ryan is pretty handy and we DIY nearly everything to save our pennies.  And thanks to this lovely circumstance, I am thus proved wrong: sometimes we do have to hire things out.

The fellow that came remembered the previous owners and lectured ME about all the reasons why putting the control panel inside of the well was a bad idea.  Cutting corners is the reason why the control panel died and we didn't have water.  And, as he reminded me, a house is almost nothing, barely civilized, without running water.  

Thanks, I'll remember that the next time I'm putting in a well.

But our water is running again, and life is good.

Paradise

After returning from our sweltering visit to southern Utah, it was time to enjoy the beauty of Mt. Rainier.  The girls were not sold on another high altitude hike, so Ryan and I took off on our own adventure for the day.

Oh hello there, beautiful pine trees and wildflowers.  As far up the mountain as we were, there weren't a ton of flowers blooming yet.

The Google reviews said there was still snow on the trail when I was researching where we should hike.  I just didn't realize there would be this much.  So long trail!

 

Hiking in the summer snow was a different experience.  I've walked in the snow plenty of times but I usually avoid a lot of walking in hilly, super slushy conditions.  And obviously, I was not as prepared for as much snow as there was.

Remind me never to wear cotton socks with tennis shoes in the snow ever again.  My feet were damp the whole day.  The good news is these sporty capris were absolutely perfect.  When my feet slipped out from under me and I landed on my behind (in front of some people heading uphill), the snow brushed right off and no wet marks were left to show off my shame.

After our Paradise hike, we headed down the mountain and ended up stopping at Grove of the Patriarchs.  It's been years since we've been there.  Ryan remembered the river and thought it would be nice to visit it, after looping around the big trees.  We peeled off our shoes and socks and listened to the calming sounds of the river.

I admired the great tan lines I was developing while dipping my toes as little as possible.  That snow runoff was too cold for me to stay in long.  

Ryan lasted much longer.

I ended up sitting on the dry rocks out of the water and letting my feet air out.  I didn't reach fully dry, but it didn't matter because I was putting on wet socks and shoes again anyway.  

It was a great day for a mountain adventure, and the company was even better.

Not-so-Little Lambs

Our luck continues to hold.  Of course the year we decide to be "all in" for raising lambs for the Grandview fair would be the year of the COVID pandemic and shut down of all fairs in our state.  But seeing as we already owned the lambs that the girls picked out, we fed them and watched them grow in our pasture.  Our 4-H leader happens to be a personal friend, and their family decided to have a 3 family version of a livestock show so at least our kids could practice their show skills.  Or lack thereof, in our case.  But before the show, we had to tame the sheep in a week's time.  We hadn't done any taming prior to this, due to a lack of motivation from having no show in which to show off.  Ryan's solution was: capture each animal, drag it on the sheep stand, and wash the poor things with cold hose water and Dawn dish soap.

 Ryan had the chance to show off all of his sheep skills he developed from raising his own herd way back in his high school days and further used as a teacher of agriculture.  Evidently, those skills are just like riding a bike- once learned they don't leave you.