Yesterday was 102! Later in the day there was some wind but it didn’t help – the breeze was as hot as the temperature. This morning I awoke to discover a light rain had fallen, cooler temperatures and no need for the AC. It’s the little things….
Phoebe and I enjoyed my cappuccino and “our” English muffin on the front porch. A Monarch butterfly landed next to me and sat for me to appreciate its beauty for several minutes. There are many butterflies out here, along with dragonflies and then the less desirable bug critters. And crickets – the evening songs are sometimes deafening. While we luxuriated in our front yard, the Sunday church bells began. Amazing Grace came through at its best while we communed with nature. Sundays are particularly peaceful here as there’s little traffic and all is quiet. Not that it’s a booming metropolis during the week, but the clinic and other businesses, such as there are, are closed on week-ends. Of course, the casino is always open.
Speaking of crickets, last week-end when I went to Pierre, their relation, grasshoppers, were so thick you had to watch where you walked. Some were fried on the sidewalks, others jumping around you. Oddly, this wasn’t so when I returned home to Ft. T. Of course, most of them were smooshed on the front of my car.
One of the little things I found was Simple Green – a grease cutter (they told me it’s great for the grill racks) which does a good job of removing the multitude of bugs my car has been wearing since summer set in. Call me compulsive, but wearing bugs on my beautiful convertible is just not tolerable.
Another of these little things is the recent discovery of another dry cleaning pick up point right by the high school where I work two days a week, when school is in that is. This point is “Mac’s Corner” which is just what you might imagine…a tiny little “everything” store with a few gas pumps. Even tinier than the store in “downtown” Ft. T! And it even has a little counter with chairs for newspaper reading and eating – the only food is the premade-prewrapped options you’d find in a convenience store, but it does have a microwave if you want to heat something. It is also on my route to Pierre, so this was a great find. Of course pick up is only once a week, so it still can take as much as two weeks depending on when you drop off your clothes. But in my adjustment to life on the res…that goes without saying.
Speaking of culture shock, Phoebe, my Westie, went to her new groomer for the first time. Now I didn’t have really high expectations since I figured they rarely, maybe even never, get call to groom a Westie…but poor Phoebe. She had nicked toes, was “naked” and most embarrassed. Well, at least it’s summer so if she has to be short, it’s a good time for that. Hopefully I can guide our groomer over the next couple of grooms so we can get to a better place before winter settles in.
I will say it’s lovely not to be in and out of a car like we usually are in the cities. My car rarely leaves the garage but usually only once a week when I drive in to Pierre for shopping for the week. The rest of the time, I walk – to work, to the post office, to the little store. Of course, when winter and cold comes that will change, as the freezing winds and ice will have Phoebe and I driving to the post office, fair weather walkers that we are. Excepting her walks for the “necessaries”.
After much frustration, and lots of help from my IT neighbor, my blog has a new look. It was the only way to resolve the problem that was occurring (i.e. no type except the title was showing up). When these techie gliches occur, I get very upset and assume it is me and my lack of techie skills. Almost inevitably my problem is a challenge for the experts and I am vindicated, but this seems never to roll over in my confidence, or lack there of, for the next frustrating event. Anyway, this is why you see a new look to my blog.
In a couple of weeks my friend from Madison is arriving and we’re trekking out to the Black Hills, monument and Badlands. I eagerly await experiencing this part of my new state.
For now, this is the update from…my little house on the res….
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