The day turned beautiful. This afternoon, we went to pay for Maria’s new Ford Focus (she paid for it, I kept her company), and I got many messages from Focus lovers, some of whom swear by the car and have driven it for 300,000 miles or more. It’s a club and experience of its own. We couldn’t get the car today;  it’s getting some new tires.

She is thrilled with it; they want to add new tires.

We expect to get it on Monday afternoon. This weekend, I plan to do nothing but take photos, sleep, read, and blog if the mood strikes. We are tired. When we got back from the car dealership, it was a beautiful day. I sat outside for an hour with Zip, and he fell asleep on my arm.

Maria, who was sitting next to me, took the photo. Zip and I like hanging out together.

Maria also brought hay to the sheep and donkeys, who were tired of the browning grass, which was losing its flavor and vitamins. It was a long, hot summer. It started with endless rain and continued with infinite heat. Since we usually don’t start feeding hay this early, I ordered 15 bales of second-cut hay. We will be guaranteed not to run out. We will have to consider whether the summers are getting hotter or worse.

The mosquitoes are still ferocious, but they were long gone in previous years. It seems like a private, unique world for us here, a special place amid a fractious world. We love it here, every day, rain or shine.

We still open the pasture gates, but it’s clear they need something more than brown grass.