Aging legs and a dirt ramp to the rescue

It is birthday month for me – yea!

As I approach my 61st birthday – actually, for the last several years – my legs and hips are a bit slower to warm up and move easily after I’ve been sitting or driving.

As the Bear-boy approaches his twelfth birthday in October, he is having some of the same issues. And coincidentally, we both have some extra weakness on the right side – funny! … or not :(

I have a pet ramp but Bear does not like it and in fact, it is a bit steep for the Jeeper. I have a longer ramp on order but will have to go through some training with Bear when it arrives and so I’ve been thinking about options.

Beardog Hill came to mind. I backed the Jeep up to it and thought if it was flattened a bit and compacted, it could make a handy load/unload area that would be very comfortable for Bear.

Yesterday, I heard neighbor Mike fire up his backhoe. He’s been helping another neighbor so I hotfooted it over to catch him and ask a favor while the ‘hoe was warmed up … it is aging also and does not like impromptu starting!

Beardog Hill is now a handy-dandy dirt ramp perfect for a walk in to the Jeep.

First load was successful.

Happy Bear is ready to roll!

What happened to Beardog hill is a mystery to Bear and Auggie, but there is still stuff to dig in off the ramp area – it is just a bit different shape.

Bear and I say a big “Thank You!” to neighbor Mike and the backhoe.

Summer on the downhill run…hopefully

The last week of July had some heat and we dealt with it accordingly!

Thankfully a nice cool front whooshed through on Saturday evening and the last day of July was warm, but pleasant and things cooled early enough to sleep without A/C or fans.

This week saw the first summer tomatoes – real tomatoes that smell and taste like tomatoes!

We had a bit of smoke from Idaho yesterday, but that has cleared this morning.

August starts significantly cooler and clearer than last year’s smokey 100F – it is 52F this morning with a high forecast of 84F.

We are headed to the peak of the interior west’s fire season, but not as scary dry as last year with the high country still looking quite green. I have high hopes for a much better August this year.

Onward!

Jesters

Bee balm, but I call them “the court jester flowers” because they look like the silly hats that court jesters wore.

I love these flowers – they make me laugh!

They have been missing the last two summers and I was happily surprised this afternoon to see them in the woods.

They are not the only jesters…

Auggie is a big time jester!

Bear likes to tease also.

Jesters.

The benefit of beauty

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever. – His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV

One of the things that helps me most with the above quote is that somewhere I saw (and heard) a video of His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV saying the words. His calm and peaceful spirit shines through those words and I hear his voice speaking them whenever I read the quote to myself. I have the words at the top of the spreadsheet I use for my daily time and task tracking so I see it often through my work days.

And then, to help, when despite those words, worry about something threatens to overwhelm…

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. […] And the God of peace will be with you.” Verse 9