Bread, Batteries, and Bovines

Started off the day prepping for another dutch oven loaf of my best bread so far. Nothing like grilling up bacon and onions in the cool morning desert air. Got everything ready to go and dropped it in the solar oven at 11AM. Had 20+ longhorns in attendance most of the day. Trying to dissuade all but Beatrice to be allowed up by the house. Problem is she gets it that she is allowed but the rest haven't quite gotten the message that they aren't. Keep having to chase them away.

A couple of guys stopped by as I was leading the herd away from my house with some feed. One of them has a place south of me and turned out to be the brilliant painter and illustrator and also just happens to be the papercrete king of Alpine. Tom Curry http://www.tomcurrystudio.com/ I had heard about him when I first got here and now I finally met him. Next I had Aunts Kathy and Nancy come out this way to go rock hunting along the roads. Aunt Nancy is going to bring out some zucchini and squash her next trip out to experiment with in my solar oven (I love zucchini bread). They arrived just in time to get a chance to hand feed Beatrice. They were both very brave although no one has yet taken me up on my offer of $100 for the first person to jump on a longhorns back so I can get a quick picture before they are

bucked off.

The loaf of bread was done at 1:40PM and I took it out to cool. Cut it and wrapped the two halves and went on a delivery run....one to Julie at the Ranch Supply Store and one to Chuck. Chuck has to share this half with Kathy and Nancy...He ate a third of it right away so he doesn't get any more. Ran over to Betty's to install the new battery house. I think her dogs were jealous. Finished off the afternoon setting blocks for the approximate location of my new containers. I set upright blocks to make sure I wouln't drive over them. The guy I bought mine from is coming out to deliver one for a neighbor and I want to bring him out here to check the logistics of placing mine when they come. Ended the day just like I started it - grilling more bacon and onions for tomorrow's loaf of my new specialty Field Lab bread. I might just keep this one for myself...