Weather blows

After yesterday's shot, Buddha appears to be feeling much better today. We drove to my mom's house again today, but only as a day trip.

Here he is, smiling.

How many lap dogs stand this way in a moving car? 

 My son calls this photo the set up

 for this "rock star and accessories" pose. Doesn't it look like they're in an airplane?

It's actually in the back seat of my pick up truck. This is the vehicle with the multi-cracked windshield. Last weekend, Ross and I drove it because we took some wood home after cutting down the trees in her backyard. Today, we delivered a refrigerator to my mom. Her old refrigerator door's seal was wearing out and she was using a wooden spoon to hold the door shut. She has always wanted a bottom freezer and I found a used one for her in ABQ. So, today, we delivered it and took the old one back. My son Ross's girlfriend and her brother came along to help. Moving the refrigerators was so easy with three strong young men that us girls didn't even need to help, other than cleaning the floor area. My mom roasted some chickens and I brought steaks which Trevor grilled. Right as we were getting ready to eat, my daughter came by with her friend, and Sandy the dog, so we all had a wonderful afternoon dinner together. It almost felt like Thanksgiving.

During last week, I bought a new oil pan for my mom's van and today, my son Ross, put it in. Yes, Trevor does work too. This time, he was there to hand tools to his big  older brother. He just likes to ham it up for the camera more and I always seem to catch him on a break while Ross is working away. 

Here's Ross, under the engine. I'm so glad he likes to work on cars. It's such a good skill for him to have.

While they were working on the car, I took a walk down to the river that runs through my mom's property. 

I came across these downed trees. I think the first one is beaver activity.

What about these? Do beavers cut tree limbs off like this?

I saw several logs with the bark stripped off, some laying in a dammed up area of the river. I wondered if there were any beavers around?

Too bad it was so windy and cold. It even sprinkled rain on us a little. Seems like fall is everlasting up at my mom's house.

Afterwards, Trevor, Buddha and I drove up to my cabin, while my daughter, her friend, and Sandy hiked up to it (about 1 mile-up the mountain). We all visited for a while, sitting in the living room, reminiscing about all the great times we've spent there over the years. Too soon, it was time to go back down the mountain to my mom's house. We loaded everybody into the truck (5 adults and Buddha) and decided to bring Sandy back with us too so that my daughter and her friend could go to Santa Fe to watch his dad play in a band there. I drove with the seat pulled all the way up so that the big guys could sit in the back, with Sandy on the seat between them, and the other three of us in the front seat with Buddha. It was crowded but fun, as we played all kinds of games on the way home: the alphabet game, I spy, etc. etc. 

We fought strong winds all day long and, with a refrigerator in back of the truck both ways, struggled to get any speed on the hills coming home. Even the semis were passing us. We finally made it home, only to find the town in a black out. Thankfully, our area still had electricity. As I type this, the wind is still blowing hard outside and the night air is chill, typical early April weather. I wouldn't be surprised if we got snow tomorrow.

Weather Blows - song: Beat of your Drum, artist: Tin Machine, album Tin Machine II