It was 85 degrees yesterday and promises to be close to that today. Less than a month ago we were in the midst of a record winter with a years rain coming in just seven days. I had 22 inches in the span of one week. The creeks filled up, the ducks and frogs got busy and now with this warm weather the hills are turning green and I saw my first California Poppy bloom this morning. Wow!

My property is on Highway 74 in a little community called Meadowbrook. The area consists of mostly nurseries, small horse ranches and other agricultural oriented properties. The last couple days it has been in the triple didgets and it is almost always a very dry heat. Hard to work in and generally just miserable.

I picked up a horse today. She is a Arab, Quarter mix- affectionately known as a Quarab. Shes a golden buckskin and seems like a real sweet horse. She will be shared by my boys and I and even my wife likes her. She is about 15 hh, move off leg commands and is 10 years old. She was given to us by a real nice lady who just didn't have time to ride her. She has 3 others she rides regulalarly.

For a year or so I have been trying to sell an old garden tractor. It didn't run and I raided it for parts a couple times. Anyway, i sold it today to a neighbor I didn't know before and it turns out he runs a little equipment repair shop. I like doing business locally and especially with my neighbors.

I touched my horse for the first time today. Thats not exactly true. I have slapped her when she wasn't watching and fed her from my hand a time or two. But today she let me reach out and touch her. She is a 3 yo Mustang Mare I adopted a year or so ago. By the time I was finished with her I was rubbing and brushing her face, belly and hind quarters. What a rush.

I used to be a beaurocrat. I didn't see myself as one at the time, but looking back I really was. I used to spend much of my day in meetings where we planned our next meetings. Then tax revenue disappeared and so did the funding for my job. Thats right the government decided they didn't need me anymore. The truth is they didn't. and I realized they didnt.