*but not this one.

I woke up this morning listening to the sounds of life on a farm. Does it really get much better than hearing chickens and horses say ‘good morning’ as you’re waking up? I don’t think so. And, I can tell you, I’ve never had a bad day when I’ve been woken up by chickens. 🙂

Sandee and Roger went to work well before I was vertical, but kindly left me with the run of the place. I took my time waking up this morning, enjoying the utter contentment I felt as I snuggled in the cabin. There’s something about being out in the country that makes my heart feel at peace. If I hadn’t been (mildly) concerned their guard dog, Ben, would eat me, then I might have also enjoyed a cup of coffee in the hot tub as Sandee had suggested. (Doesn’t that sound amazing?!) But, alas, he did a really good job protecting their turf. So, instead, I visited with the horses, hung out in my cabin, and generally took it easy.

I was kind of excited to have a day without a lot of driving. Midmorning, I made a run to the Walmart in Lancaster for some groceries and supplies. I came out of the store to find the back end of the rooftop carrier open about 3 inches. The contents of the back of the rooftop carrier had been pulled partially through the opening. Apparently there’s a shady character in Lancaster. Well, joke’s on them! Not only is there nothing worth stealing in the rooftop carrier, but the item at the very back that they got their sneaky little hands on was…a package of toilet paper! HA! Suckers.

Back at the ranch, I spent the afternoon working on pictures from the trip thus far until Roger came home. While he was taking care of the chickens, he traded me a chicken (Angel) for Charlie’s leash. I had never held a chicken before! Angel is one of the chickens they hatched themselves, so she doesn’t automatically run from people. She was so soft and sweet! If I can teach Charlie not to chase chickens, maybe we can have some one day. Maybe.

I spent the evening again in the great company of Sandee and Roger. A Few Good Men was playing in the background which prompted a discussion about the greatest movie ever (Top Gun) and Roger reciting some of the best lines. I feel like I know Top Gun in and out, backwards and forwards…I can place all the songs from the soundtrack…the monkey is named Penny Benjamin…but I don’t have all of the lines memorized. I guess I know what I’ll be working on before I visit the ranch next time. 😉

~malama pono~