Hot Fun, Summer In The Country

I took this picture on my walk this morning which was right here on Old Lloyd Road, down the sidewalk for the mile it spans and then down to the place Mr. Moon and I call El Rancho where big things are happening. A few weeks ago we both saw two men building a...thing?...right out by the road that their mailbox goes in. It took them all day. It's beautiful. 

Look at that masonry. 

And I do believe that's a bronze horse. 

They've got enough heavy equipment doing heavy equipment stuff behind their sturdy fence to make Levon think he'd died and gone to heaven if he got to see it. I do not know what all they're building but it's impressive. 

So anyway, I walked down to El Rancho, turned around and came home. It's a mostly flat walk so no problems. A truck stopped in the middle of the road and the driver was a man I hired years and years ago to do some yard work and we had a little chat. It was good to see him. I also saw Pinot and a woman from down the road walking toward Pinot's house and he was having a hard time keeping up with her. We chatted for a minute too. 

The rest of the day has flown by. I spoke with Jessie on the phone and Levon too. Levon mostly just told me that his mother bought him an orange race car. This was at the CVS. Jessie says that the cousins are having the best time and that it's hard to separate them at night to get them bathed and in their beds. She also told me that August told her the other night that when we come up to visit, they'll probably spend two nights with us or maybe three, or maybe four. 
They're counting on the fact that we'll have a TV in that Airbnb. I could just see August saying that, his little face so serious. 
We shall see. 

Mr. Moon got the axle on Lily's car finished. The reason Lily's car needed a new axle is because she lives on a road which is not county-maintained and is dirt and gravel and sand and extremely rutted. It's a beautiful place to live with trees and shade and her new garden and lots of room for the kids to play but that road is hell on axles. And shocks. But after he got the repair done, we took it on a test drive down to the Wacissa. We enjoyed our dip so much the other day and it had cooled us off so nicely that we decided to do it again.
Unfortunately, everyone else in Jefferson County had seemingly decided to do the same and I have never seen it more crowded. 
Ever.

There were at least two birthday parties going on and the homeschool mothers were there. Some of them belong to the Quiverfull movement and if you don't know what that is, you can read about it HERE. 
As Linda Sue was saying the other day, Big Daddy gods seem to want women to have lots and lots of babies. And lots and lots of those babies were at the Wacissa today. We were not deterred from our mission though and waded through the kids and parents and grandparents and dove into the river to get ourselves right with our particular god (the god of cold rivers) and then came home. 

We feel wonderful. 

Off to make supper but before I do- a few more pictures. 

Darla and her babies again. She brought them much closer to the house today, to the edge of the fallen magnolia leaves, to scratch and root about. I loved watching them from the back porch and for a good while Liberace stood beside them as if taking special care to guard them. I think he was. 

This little one may end up being a barred rock. It strikes me as funny that Darla is so fiercely protective of her babies, even from the hens who may be their actual biological mothers. 
She's a good mama. Unlike some slacker sister-wives I could mention. 

And finally this. 

It looks like an alien but was actually a little anole lizard who is obviously in the process of growing a new tail after something (Maurice?) ripped it off. 

I just love it's little hand-feet. 

Be well, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon