The Ranchsitter Report, September 10, 2013

Wish I could tell you I was home on the range writing this, but I can't. The infection at the scene of the crime 

is not yet under control. The docs will be visiting early Wednesday morning for another look. 

I'm feeling fine, though, all things considered.

If I do get released today, I'm not entirely optimistic that I'll make it home. Here's why:

Wouldn't you know the next changing of the ranchsitters is scheduled to occur this morning. 

Danni spent a big chunk of her Tuesday hatching and coordinating an elaborate plan and rearranging her life 

so that the animals and the ranch will not be left unattended for one second while this miserable weather

turns the road to the highway into a muddy river. The plan doesn't involve an ark,
but it does involve the very best friends a girl could ask for. I am blessed.
So there may an interim stop between hospital and home, but I'll get there eventually.

I'm not sure where she found the time, but Danni sent me these pictures and her daily report.
Take it away, Danni!

***

Today was the day we’d heard was coming. A storm with the potential for widespread flooding had arrived. 

Everyone seemed a little less enthusiastic than usual under the wet skies, and with Carson still being gone, 

we needed to lighten things up a bit. Hank made the first move in the mood-lightening effort, 

by covering himself with mud and then falling promptly to sleep: 

The chickens said they were up for a bit of fun and let me experiment with their palates. 

I already knew they had a fondness for corn on the cob, so that’s what they got first: 

but they got pretty excited over the cherry tomatoes, too: 

But the winner today? Pasta! Wow, you should have heard the collective chattering over the noodles I gave them: 

Smooch humored me by posing for a photo shoot: 

She gave me all her best looks. 

Intrigued: 

Pensive: 

Dreamy: 

Coy: 

Bored... 

Back outside, I found that Johnny Cash Cat had relocated himself from the hay barn to the feed room.

Somehow, he knows this storm is going to be here a while: 

While visiting with Johnny Cash, there was a knock at the feed room door behind me. 

Being the only human currently at the ranch, this was of some concern to me, 

but when I turned to look, this is what I saw: 

The sky was growing ever darker as the day progressed: 

I was startled to find that the 7MSN has a new water feature running through it: 

And how fun for me, the native Oregonian, where mud reigns at least 7 months of the year, 

to come to the desert of New Mexico and walk in....mud. 

At last check, 1.21 inches of rain have fallen today, with more on the way: 

Johnny Cash Cat decided to have dinner in bed. Good call on his part. It’s very cozy in that feed room.