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May Day

May 1. Happy May Day!

We don’t do much about May Day here in the U.S. but when I first moved to Montana, I happened to be in a local book shop on May Day morning when the husband of Heidi brought her a cup of coffee, gave her a May Day kiss and went happily away to deliver May Day baskets. Heidi, who is also the potter that made my “word” dishes, related that her husband, Leif, LOVED May Day and that he made gorgeous baskets of goodies to give to friends and family. I hope he still does.

My Grandpa Jim declared that May Day was the day to shuck your shoes and go barefoot for the summer.

May 1 is also the traditional day to plant sweet peas.

May Day here in Montana, this year, dawned gray and a little foggy but it is to clear and hit 51F this afternoon. Anything above 50 is shorts weather but I might wait just a bit as it is currently only 34F.

The last 2 days of April did a great job of acting like Winter. Monday, Bear and I headed out in the Jeep for a walk at the subdivision up the highway. It was so windy that I was a bit concerned about walking in the woods as Bear and I do not have helmets. As we got near the highway, it was obvious that a snow squall was approaching. The clouds moving along the mountain range were dark and heavy, obscuring the mountains completely. We turned around, got a quick walk in the most open area of the woods and made it inside before a blizzard-like squall hit with even stronger wind, blowing snow and temperatures that plummeted 10 degrees in short order.

Yesterday, we tried again. It was gray, but calm.

As we drove into the subdivision, it started graupeling. I parked. It usually doesn’t graupel for long.

Typically, when it graupels, like when it hails, it is a quick squall.

We waited.

I had a good book on my phone Kindle app.

Ten minutes and the graupel changed to snow.

We had a snowy walk on the last day of April.

And then we returned to Winter.

Today, though, today is May 1.

I’ll kick off my shoes and put on my shorts.

This afternoon.

I hope.

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Simple Delight

Sunday was gray with a few sun breaks here and there.

Bear and I walked, took a Jeep ride and another walk, and we all enjoyed some time outside.

I was warming up the grill to cook burgers, sitting on the front porch with a cup of tea, enjoying the sounds of the woods and the company of Bear and Bob.

The gentle happiness of this simple, quiet time with Bear and Bob bubbled up inside me and especially as I thought about the early days with Bear when all was so new that he was not comfortable relaxing in the yard. And much less comfortable, relaxing with Bob!

The word that came to my mind as I sat was delight. I love things that delight. It is more than “happy”. It is joy from the heart that brings a smile and an inside laugh at the wonderful-ness.

Simple Delight.

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A change in the weather

The forecast from NOAA late this morning indicates we are in for a bit of everything.

The verbage for this afternoon, evening and tomorrow states that in addition to the sunshine giving way to clouds, two cold fronts will whoosh through…emphasis on the whooshing as high winds are forecast.

On the way back from town this morning, I could see the change happening: Blue sky and sunshine to the east was starting to give way to dark clouds.

The clouds were smoothing out with the promised wind.

Spots of sunshine dotted the peaks of the peaks that border the southern end of the Flathead Valley. A bit of lake occasionally reflected bright from some sun.

Now, early evening, it is dark and windy. It is hours until sunset but the black clouds and gusty wind signal a change in the weather.

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Earlier this week, I took some quick video of Bear walking in the woods to show Dr. Clark when we go for our 8 week xray this coming Friday. It is a short, no frills video with a snippet of Bob at the end. It is very jumpy. I took it with my phone, walking behind Bear…in the woods. Still, it shows Bear walking comfortably and normally at a good pace over uneven ground. It is hard to believe that here we are – end of week 7 and starting week 8. Hurrah! And Bob’s ear has not puffed up so hopefully we are done with the Yoda ear part. I expect it will take some time to fully eradicate the yeast infection, though.

BearAndBobWalking0424 from Liz Summers on Vimeo.

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From the front porch

It was so beautiful this morning…quiet and 38F but it did not feel cold. There was a softness to the air that signaled another warm day.

After Bear and I had our property perimeter walk he laid down in front of the front porch to have his treat. I let Bob out with us and got myself a cup of coffee. It was a classic Spring morning with the birds singing, a soft breeze and blue sky. I took a little extra time to just sit quietly and enjoy.

I stopped working for the day about 5:30. Bear and I went out for our before supper stroll and then we repeated the morning routine:

Bear with a treat.

Bob with us.

From the front porch.

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A better day

Bob’s ear is looking much better. The infection is a yeast infection and I can’t really tell how that is going except that he is not fussing with his ears so am guessing that is better. The hematoma – broken blood vessel under the skin – caused by him rubbing or scratching looks better. I’ve been able to keep the slit clean and open so it is draining and not filling. I don’t really think that drain was going to drain well. Bob and I are both happier with the current scenario. He doesn’t seem to mind the warm compress routine or the ointment.

There was frost on the rhubarb this morning…

…but the sun came out and it got to a very warm 61F this afternoon.

Bob is maybe looking grumpy because I moved his bed away from the dryer vent. Right now it is inside with a fresh washed cover. I got to thinking that maybe lying with his head under the dryer vent…warm, moist, air – the cause of the yeast? I don’t know but it doesn’t seem like a good idea to continue.

Oh, well…eat some grass and enjoy a nice day.

Bear and I enjoyed the side yard a bit later as it has stayed warm this evening with a wonderful breeze blowing all kinds of good smells his way.