Story to the Picture

 

We were sitting in the hanger with the wide door opened having dinner.  I had cut up a sirloin tri tip roast, marinated it in olive oil and tamari, threw it on the grill with some thick zucchini slices.  

We were in the hanger because we are not living in the house.  Cleaning the house is a bunch of work and our house cleaner - that would be ME! - deemed it necessary to keep us and the dogs exterior while our home was "open for business" to the short term rental world.  We did well this summer.  People were nice, took good care of the house, and keeping it clean has been easier than it is when we live in it.   

We sleep in a hunting tent set up on the south east corner outside the hanger.  This location offers good protection from wind.  Thanks to the metal shed, it also carries sound right down the side of it from our neighbor's horses squalling at each other, the kicking of their metal horse tanks, giant packs of coyotes howling their discordant choruses, the screeching of a barn owl, the bugling of bull elk, Canada geese clamoring as they lift to flight above the barley fields, and sandhill cranes garbling their throaty cry.  Sometimes it is hard to sleep out there - and there is also the sound of snoring from my partner on the other side of the (free) king size mattress perched atop a  pallet-turned-into-bedframe pedestal.  There are often earwigs hanging out under our pillows - we check each time before we get into bed.  

Although it may not sound as such, I have loved staying in the tent this summer.  Cool nights, fresh air.  Waking up to the bright sun shining through the white canvas as it peaks over the mountain range to the east.  

Even the act of cooking - somewhat compromised with gas camping stove top, water in a 5 gallon container with spout, two mini-refrigerators stuffed to the brink, a very small space to prep much of anything, dull knives, and a lack of condiments - has been delightful.  The other night I took the wheel barrel to the garden and came back to the hanger to make a vegetable dish with sautéed onions and garlic, carrots, kale, and sweet peas. This nice little healthy dish went well with the sirloin and zucchini.  

And then, we look up and see this lovely scene.  How could one want for more?  Sitting on a farm, next to a hay field that produced well for us during a drought year, filling our bellies with delicious food, drinking a tall gin and tonic, and getting ready to crawl into the king size bed. 

Life is good.  Life is good!  Even if there is an earwig or two under the pillow!