Dress Up, Dine In

The Ranch had its first burial this weekend.  Thankfully it wasn't any of our furry friends but it was still sad. One of the semi-feral cats that's been around since we moved in (and who recently became a mama too) passed away under the Christmas tree in the front yard. Seth, being the stellar man that he is, buried her in our easement because that's where they spent most of their time. We put some markers on the spot, food on the porch for the two babies, and had a discussion about whether cats understood death.  I'd like to think that the connection between family, even in the animal world, is there forever.  I'm definitely one of those nerds who believes in the Rainbow Bridge and those that have loved you being a presence in your life.  I believe because every now and then you see evidence of it. At night we see the kittens lying next to their mama.

I'm not sure what most disturbs me about the picture you're about to see: the fact that this is only half of the ones that we trapped in a single night or that this pad was in the most trafficked part of the basement (our laundry room/puff playroom/only bathroom left standing). I know renovations are supposed to stir up ghosts but apparently the Ranch has more spiders than spirits.  (If you're like me and only enjoy spiders at Halloween and in jewelry form, don't even bother looking at what comes next.) (Oh, and pay no attention to the dingy baseboards or floral wallpaper. Wallpaper is scarier than our eight-legged basement friends.) (See...I'm giving you time to back out of looking at this picture...) Gah! Obviously, whether these are examples of Utah's poisonous (and ridiculously named) Hobo spider or not, they cannot continue sharing the Ranch with us. Even though I know they're here because they're eating other insects, love ba

When I was little we used to do Fourth of July at Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee. It was quite the event because you got bussed in with your blankets/kids/coolers and once you arrived you were there until the fireworks. I absolutely loved it, but now as a parent, I can only imagine what a production it was for Mama and Chungs.  That's why whenever I get frustrated with the Ranch, I think about the 4th. Our street is super close to Murray Park and on the Fourth of July it makes for an easy celebration. There's a morning parade and fireworks well before the city sponsored show (though the neighborhood ones made us more nervous this year because of the wild fires), lawn chairs, family all over the place, and it takes us 40 minutes just to get up to our house because we're stopping to catch up with everyone. Our street has a perfect view of the city fireworks to end the evening. You don't have to go any further than your yard. It's fantastic.    This year we wer