I'm not one to sit long, always on the go. But, I do need to stop and rest periodically, and it seems to be more often lately. As you all know, my favorite form of movement is dancing. "When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way." - Wayne Dyer
Babe hanging out in the Mancave with the Maggie.
After finishing and posting last week's blog, it was time to move it. Jean and I wanted to get a ride in before I had to go to work early in the afternoon.
Jean and I have been trying to get the chickens to lay in the nest boxes, but have had no luck. A couple of them really like the corner under the roost, which is kind of a poopy location. I decided to set up a nest box here in their favorite spot, and later in the day Jean sent me this photo. One of them had used it. Now I was wondering, when should we try to move it closer to the other boxes?
Jean and I got our mares and headed down to the barn. Zorro has gotten much better about seeing them leave.
Wanda hanging out by the barn with the 'Cat Whisper.'
Maggie puts up with so much.
We were fairly quick to hit the trail, with Maggie leading the way.
We were out for 1½ hours and went 4.2 miles. 
Maggie loves the puddles, and uses them to cool off in and get a drink from. Robbie is not so much a fan of water. 
Amiga has been doing very well out on our rides. She is mostly very willing to go down the trail, and is also happy to walk along, all relaxed, on a very loose rein. She is content to stand quietly but still has plenty of get-up and go and is always ready to move it. 
Nearing home, before finishing our ride, Jean worked with Robbie for quite some time to get her to walk calmly through this wet spot.
I left the dog with Jean and went to work at the pool.
This is my Ava up-date and below a photo of Joe dining with his siblings and extended family.
I was surprised at how busy it was at the pool, and then things got even busier.
The urinal in the men's room overflowed (didn't stop flushing) and while I was cleaning up that mess, a man fell down out by the pool. He was on blood thinner so getting his badly scraped arm and knee to stop bleeding was a real job. Thankfully his two friends who are nurses took care of all the first aid. His wife filled out the accident report and I made sure to get all the blood cleaned up off the deck.
As planned, Jean came to the pool at 4:45, bringing Maggie, so I wouldn't have to go back out to the ranch. I was way behind on regular closing chores, so did not join Jean for dinner that she got up at the club house.
It was a little after 6pm when Maggie and I headed home. I fed her and the cats, did a quick change, and was off to the Grove to end the day dancing to some pretty good music.
Sunday 8/28 - I had slept in and was in no hurry to get moving, so it was 11:00 when I got out to the ranch. The day had heated up more than I expected, but it was still nice riding, even though our horses got a bit sweaty and Maggie got pretty hot.
We went five miles in just under two hours, so had been taking our time. Maggie disappeared into the woods a few times, but always finds her way back to us. In this photo, we are going down Eli Ford back to our ranch. 
Jean on Robbie just after we turned the corner onto Ava Way. 
And Jean took this photo of Amiga and I at the start of our drive (Ava Way).
Then we had another photo session up where our drive goes through our front gate.
That is Jim's field and houses you see past Jean. 
Almost all of our 15 acres are on the other side of our gate, past me, where you also see our mountain view.
I was hot and hungry, so went up to the house while Jean was still hosing Robbie off. I was just finishing my salad I had packed for lunch when Jean came in. We worked on another jigsaw puzzle for over an hour, and then I headed out to do horse chores and a few other things. 
Karen had donated this silly face to the ranch and Jean came down just as I was finishing hanging it, and helped me get one of the eyes better positioned. It can be seen as you leave through the back gate. 
Wanda is always glad to have visitors in the barnyard area, especially her canine friend Maggie.
I mucked out our loafing shed and had taken the ladder up there to work on 'bug-trap' hangers.
There was more puzzle working, and we were making such good progress it was hard to tear ourselves away. I did go back out to feed the horses, and soon after, Robbie was continuing to work her way farther into the shed with Amiga and Zorro.
When I came back into the house, Jean had started dinner preparation and had invited me to join her. I am not one to pass up a meal, especially if someone else is preparing it. And of course, we had to then do more puzzle work. It was nearly 8pm when I got home and I decided to leave littler boxes and trash collecting until the next morning. But I did feed the cats and take a much needed shower, going to bed with wet hair.
By 10:30, Maggie came in giving me that let's 'move it' look so I got dressed and took her for her second walk of the morning and then headed to the gym. Sceesh can I waste a lot of time here at my computer.
Jean sent this while I was working out - the lumber delivery arrived, a day early. Thankfully she was already off work and could show the guy where to put all of the boards.
My
workout started slow. I just couldn't get energized and into it. Once I
got going and warmed up, I was feeling pretty good, but I ran out of
steam before finishing. The last four (out of 21 stations) I was
exhausted and struggled to complete.
I
had planned to do yard work all afternoon, but never did. Following a
high protein, late lunch, I took a nap on the deck with Rose. Then I
opted to do my weekly in-town shopping because I didn't have the energy
to do yard work, and it seemed too hot out.
I got home after six and the cats and dog were eager for dinner. There was nothing eager about me and I took a pain sleep aid and went to bed early, never hearing Joe get home from Iowa.
Tuesday 8/30 - I hit the yard work right after finishing my computerizing and put in a good three hours of effort. I only got this one bed trimmed up, it took so many trips up and down the ladder as I moved it around the huge pair of holly trees. I also trimmed up the overgrown boxwoods and nandina and hauled away four wheelbarrow loads of brush.
These two photos were taken with my supervisor watching me. The next two sets of photos show the before and after shots of my work.
By 1:00 Joe was at the ranch and ready to unload the new gate and stock tank he had bought. He also had the trailer with gravel I needed to put down by the feed room where we were going to put the new, longer tank to catch more water coming off the roof. So I had stopped before getting this bed fully cleaned up.
With the boxwood to the left of the sidewalk trimmed, it is now not crowded (like it had been) at this spot.
I ate lunch in the car, and Joe had the trailer parked by the feed room when I arrive at 1:30.
After I unloaded gravel, we moved the tank into place and started filling it.
Tada. I had intentionally slanted the tank so run-off water from it will go behind the shed rather than in front of it, but may have it a little too inclined.
Once done working in the shed area, Jean opened the gate for the horses and they fairly quickly came back in to get a drink. 
Joe had mucked the loafing shed earlier, while waiting for me, so I only needed to touch it up and then remove manure from the 'dry lot.' I also moved lose hay from the floor of the shop and took it up to cover the rest of the dirt we had dug up for the drainage ditch. Then I put a few bales of hay in the barn and in our feed room. 
Just as I was headed into the ranch to sit, rest, cool off, and re-hydrate, Jean came out saying we were invited to ride with Polly. So, spur of the moment, I agreed to go. We had to move it to get our horses down to the barn and ready to join Polly. Maggie and Rio waiting patiently while Wanda was just hangin' out. 
Jean rode Zorro, to give Robbie a break. Here she is in the round pen working at the mounting block.
Lookin' Good!
I took this photo as we were heading out on the trail. You can barely see Maggie, who is leading the way. Polly on Rio were in front of Amiga and I, and Zorro and Jean were behind us. 
This is the last photo I got before my phone died. Jean took the rest.
Rio remembered both Amiga and Zorro and seemed to say hello to each of them... with no antics from any of them.
I did not have on my blue jeans, riding boots, or helmet. This really was a spur of the moment, jump on and go, ride. I wasn't even going to put a saddle on but because Amiga was acting a little perturbed (how dare we ride at dinner time) I had taken time to saddle up. We just went on a short ride, but it was great to be out with Polly and Rio (and Zorro) for a change.
Once back, Jean fed Maggie while I fed the horses.
I came into the ranch house feeling exhausted and decided I deserved a beer for my hard day's work. And why not have a bag of popcorn to go with it?
I was bound and determined to get the sky done on the puzzle, and Jean was nearly done with all the flowers at the bottom. Once my phone was partially recharged, beer, popcorn and puzzle finished, I took this photo.
When I had popped open my can of beer, I remembered I still needed to feed Shirley and Patty's cats. I had intended for Joe to take Maggie home when he had left much earlier.
So, by the time the puzzle was done (7pm) I went to do cat duty. I left Maggie in the car at Shirley's but she came in at Patty's. Elli was happy to see her old friend.
By 8:00, I was finished feeding eight cats, counting my four and Rose.
Wednesday 8/31 - Wow, the last day of August. Summer really is over now.
I had cleaned and filled all my bird feeders yesterday, and the hummingbirds were my first customers this morning. (It is hard to see the one to the bottom left of the feeder.) Other birds started trickling into the other feeders.
It was a slow morning. I really had troubles getting it into gear, but finally went to the gym.
I had a rather rough workout from 10:30 to noon, and dropped by Patty‘s on the way home to feed her two cats. Shirley‘s neighbor was doing her cat today so I didn’t have to go there. Once home, I ate lunch, packed a dinner, changed into my swim suit, and still had time to water house plants before I had to leave.
Jean sent this photo of Zorro with his two mares.
Before long I was off to work at the pool. An hour into my shift I started getting a headache that lingered the whole afternoon and evening.
When I got home at 6:30, I realized I hadn't taken any of my daily pills (most are vitamins and supplements, but also my baby aspirin and allergy pill). So I decided the headache was from sinus congestion due to allergies. This week the pollen count has been high.
I worked 9:15 - 2:00 on a beautiful, blue sky (84°) day.
Once off work, I went straight to the ranch to ride with Jean. I rode Zorro to help get him ready for this weekend when Courtney comes to ride him, and Jean was on Robbie. 
Amiga wasn't too upset about us leaving her back at the ranch, but very happy to see us when we returned. We only went 3.3 miles in just over an hour. 
Fatigue (and the heat) hit me suddenly, and I had no more get-up-and-go to do a few things at the ranch before coming home. And I still had to go to Patty and Shirley's for cat duty. So I left as Jean and Joe were getting started on this gutter/down spout project to collect water in the corral water tank. This is the smaller one we had moved here that had been beside our feed room. Joe took this (video) of Jean testing it out.
Joe and Maggie arrived home just as I was finishing up the last of my cat chores. I fed the dog and then grabbed a beer and chips and headed out onto the deck to hang out with Rose. Monita was watching us from the inside of our big picture window.
For a late dinner I baked (in the toaster oven) summer squash and red onion from our garden (with some mozzarella cheese on top). It sure was tasty. After a little computer time and reading, it was lights out at the usual time.
I was ready to 'jump to it' by 9:30. And it was 2:00 when I returned from my errands and chores (library, gym - workout and shower, Ace Hardware, Dollar Store, Food City, and Patty's). 
Dan sent an Ava up-date, our granddaughter playing goalie.
I did chores and a few other little tasks out at the ranch but then headed home by 5:15 so I could feed the dog and cats and get to the Line Dance Party by 6:00.
I sat with Bonnie and Susan and had fun doing some line dances I knew and trying to figure out some new ones. Although I was tired from the day, it was fun to move it out on the dance floor.
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