The opposite of New Mexico*

*Alternate titles for this post: 

"58 hours on another planet"

"Rainy days in Portland"

"The post with 39 pictures, 14 of which include me. WTF?" 

"Babyllamalettuce" (some people might think that's funny, otherwise please disregard)

All good vacations start at midnight with great friends, a shot of tequila...

...and playtime at the barn.

 Kai the llama is not a hugger and her ears are magnificent.

That's about all I know so far.

Please note the absence of rain in this picture.

It will be the last dry one you see.

Eddie the cat and I were the first ones awake the following morning.

It was raining. I didn't mind a bit.

Eight hours in and my skin was already less flaky.

If the state is looking for a new slogan, I humbly suggest:

"Oregon...where New Mexicans go to rehydrate."

Chet: Who's the chick with the camera?

Beau: Why isn't she wearing boots?

Princess Buttercup: I hear she comes from the land where it does not rain.

Once Danni's donkeys figured out I knew about butt scratches and ear rubs,

we became fast friends, there among the moss-covered everything in the rain.

Kai: You may take my picture but don't even think about touching me.

I didn't take it personally. 

As farm guardian, Kai has better things to do than

succumb to my need to hug every animal I meet.

Why are the chickens waiting at the door?

Because their mom was on the other side.

Here I am, taking pictures of Danni's happy chickens in the rain.

Here is Danni, taking pictures of me taking pictures of her happy chickens in the rain.

Alan the rooster voiced his opinion about getting left out of the pictures in the rain.

Danni knows the names of all 25 of her chickens.

It will take a much longer visit for me to remember them, but Pixie is unforgettable.

Can you tell that Danni loves her chickens? Even in the rain.

A rare sighting of Danni taking a break, eating the lasagna that Tall Paul made for us for lunch

before he went to work and after he iced that chocolate cake on the stand.

Who does that? 

Roxy accompanied us on a trip to the farm store in the rain.

I made Danni stop the truck so that I might take a picture of the sun,

which emerged for about 30 seconds.

Danni said we were going to the farm store to buy feed for the donkeys,

but it was just a ruse to check out all the baby chicks. And get out of the rain.

You know where this is going, right?

No hats were purchased and we didn't get kicked out of the store.

Good thing, because it was raining.

All the way to Portland and where do I find myself? Walmart. The horror.

But Danni had a decorating dilemma, and I suggested tension rods, 

and the next thing I knew, there we were. In the rain. At the Walmart.

But the tension rods were the wrong color so we bought spray paint

and I wasn't up for a spray tan so I wore gloves. 

Bottom line, Danni's decorating dilemma was solved but I didn't

take a picture, so we'll all have to wait for her to show us

on her Instagram.

Here I am wrestling hugging Reggie the goat...in the rain.

Actually, I was holding him so that Danni could trim his hooves.

Wait for it...

Walking up the hill from the house to the barn.

Say it with me...in the rain.

Danni's barn is a very comfortable place to hang out

in the rain during inclement weather. I should note that it isn't easy 

to raise donkeys in this climate, but Danni has it nailed 

and I now understand from whence comes her strength.

Something has grabbed their attention.

Just me, trying to convince Chet that he'll get a treat if he takes one more step

across the scary concrete.

Never having been to Danni's farm, I had no idea of

the amount of work and energy required to keep it running.

The woman is always on the move.

Please note that even though the sun is out in the two photos above, 

it's still raining.

The few rays convinced us to sit down and soak them up.

We didn't sit for long, though.

I was afraid of moss growing on my jacket.

Happy hour in the living room.  

Tall Paul made chicken piccata.

I watched.

Then Danni's mom and two sons and their accompanying other halves 

came over for a big family dinner. 

And I got to be surrounded by all this love and happiness.


Thank you, Danni and Paul, for the best vacation ever.
I loved every bit of it, and every drop of rain.
And thank you, Brigitte, ranchsitter extraordinaire, for allowing this to happen.