Another one of those days

Family drunk acting up today, playing the emotional extortion card. I don't mind when that stuff is deployed against me, because I know it for what it is. I have a hard time understanding how a grown man in his 50's can pull that kind of shit on his own recently widowed Mom though.

I do understand that this is a hard time for everyone, and that grief can be a real hard road for the professional lush. Behaving like a drunken shitbird doesn't make him any less human or any less my brother.

Life doesn't always give you a lot of good options, and the concept of life being somehow fair is pure folly.

Some days can be tough, and that's a fact.

But it's also true that it's in the fire and pressure of pure misery where character is formed.

Thought mine was formed well enough, but I guess I thought wrong! 😬

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Mom and I took a driving tour of the Cederburg section of the ranch this evening. We'll be taking cows there in the morning and I needed to get the water turned on and valves set to deliver good cow drinking to the right stock tanks. It's something Mom has never done, so I showed her where and how.

As I was doing this it occurred to me that should I be out with surgery and the water needs to be addressed I'm the only one who knows where and how. Except for the well service folks, who would be happy to help out in a pinch I know. Still, I need to get the more responsibler family members up to speed on a lot of stuff now that Dad's gone. It's not a huge thing or even a worrying thing but just having one guy in the loop is silly when there's an alternative.

Wonder why I never thought of this before? Too much head trauma over the years? Good bet, that.

Anyway, as Mom and I navigated along a windbreak we came across a big ol' Great Horned Owl sitting on a fence post. He was just getting up for work I'm sure. Only got a poor cell phone image, but you can see his horns. If you squint a bit. Magnificent Bird!

A bit farther to the west we kicked up a Sharp Tailed Grouse hen. She didn't like being under the gaze of the owl so she hunkered down and let me get a snap and a bit of video.

My goodness it was a pretty evening and a lovely 30 minutes to spend with Mom in the middle of the place where her Husband whipped some serious good environmental mojo upon the land.

When it's "one of those days" it's never just one thing or the other. There's a circularity and an ebb and flow in everything.

I also realize that my worst days wold represent an absolute heaven to very many people, near and far, and indeed around the globe.

I must never forget my blessings and remember to be thankful and appreciative.