Lady Butler

May 21, 2023

Hello again,

Well, it's official, I'm now working for the boss full time and have become a Lady Butler.  I've always tried to be very discreet regarding the boss, on account of privacy, of course, and have always said 'they' or 'their'.  There was no implied intention to the inclusion of pronouns, as if so common these days, just a desire to, again, not reveal too much about the person who lets us live on their amazing and wonderful ranch.  So, she is a she and I've now earned the dubious distinction of being a lady butler, a term of my own creation, which has not once stopped the boss from smirking at the mere mention of it.  It's funny, Erin was auditioned, knowingly or unknowingly, for this very job, with everyone assuming that it was the female job out here on the ranch, as opposed to the ranch work itself.  But, in a very mother-daughter way, Erin and the boss at times had some tensions, or, if they weren't exactly tensions, I guess you could say undue stress caused by the situation.  Somehow, I seem to fit the bill and have no problems whatsoever working for a woman and actually think that my boss loves the fact that she gets to boss a man around all day, not wanting to do that to another woman.  Whatever the underlying psychology, so far, so good, and I've done everything from making a slow cooker meal for the whole week that she could munch on at any time, to making coffee on the spot, cleaning inside, landscaping outside, buying and downloading manuals for all of the big equipment and ordering various other things online for the ranch, now that we're finally able to get UPS and FedEx beyond our gated entrance and can get regular delivery.  She didn't believe us at first when I said that Erin was the one with all the power tools and the one who fixed everything at our apartment building that we owned for ten years.  I'm quite handy myself, but in a the-plane-just-crashed-let's-see-what-we-have-to-build-a-shelter kind of way.  I'll keep you warm and dry, next to a fire and with some kind of critter to eat that I just went out and killed, but the finer, finish type work has never been my strong suit.  I've learned a lot now that I've worked construction for two years, of course, but Erin is the true master in this realm and I am the one who is much more domestic.  Having spent thirty years in a family business that had a store and that dealt with the public and the never-ending phone calls every day, quietly doing this and that for someone in their house and getting everything done behind the scenes, hardly ever needing to leave the ranch, is quite simply a dream come true!  I was born to be a Southwestern Lady Butler!

It was a slightly different week weatherwise, ranging from 45-74, a little warmer at night and a little cooler during the day.  And, for once since we've been out here, it rained and rained and rained this week, in a very East Coast kind of way.  It was foggy, with clouds sticking to the mesa and hanging over the river, and so humid, in fact, that it got hazy in the afternoons, which is very unusual for us.  Valentin and I called off our hike a weekend or two ago because we were both too shot from working all week long.  That was originally intended for last weekend, and we never even discussed it about this weekend, so maybe it will work out to do it over Memorial Day weekend.  I don't think I have Monday off, per se, but could probably arrange to do the horses all weekend long in exchange for not coming in on Monday.  It's always nice to have a rest day both before and after a big hike like what we're about to do.  We're tired enough working on the ranch all week long, let alone putting the pedal to the metal like that.  Still, it will be fun and is one of my favorite things to do.  The view from the top at 7800' is simply breath-taking!  Erin still hasn't gone back to exercising with the boss every morning, and actually has found it quite liberating.  While she loves walking and doing yoga, doing it first thing at 7am was just killing her and would quite often result in her throwing herself down on the couch for the rest of the morning.  Now, she's up early when I am(and still at all times because of the nursing kitten), but can go right up to the garden and work herself silly all morning until the sun finally gets high enough to sizzle everything not in the shade.  Then, still energized, she tackles the rest of her day.  The boss is a true exercise fanatic, so Erin hasn't wanted to dampen her spirit, but, still, she might nurse this nursing kitten thing for some time to come!  I suggested a later start, or over lunch, but was promptly told to stay out of it by both of them, so, there you have it!

Now, time for another new batch of pictures from the best little ranch in San Jose, NM!  First up, another couple of digital manipulations that I like to do: first, Daisy, our little turd, in full Technicolor; then, Rosie, barely being able to keep her eyes open while everyone was standing around the water troughs after the morning feeding.  Then, two new shots of Daisy: first, up against my leg on the couch this morning; then, looking like a squirrel as she stretches towards the bottle.  Next, four shots of the boss's old house that we will be moving into finally in a few weeks: first, a frontal shot; then, looking out from the front door; next, the view off of the front patio; and, finally, the picnic table in the fenced-in backyard, complete with pergola!  Then, two shots of the morning sun sparkling on the water of the water trough one bright morning.  Next, two shots of the mesa: first, framed by vegetation in the early morning sun; then, as seen from the fountain at the new house later on in the day.  Then, three delightful Southwestern sunset pictures: the first one looking towards the mesa from the horse pasture; the second two from out at the horse feeders, in different directions, including one with a rainbow.  And, finally, a shot of my favorite restaurant/bar/stationary food truck in the world, the Skillet, in Las Vegas, while I was in town chauffering Erin around and took the time to nurse a few beers, eat a big appetizer and also take home dinner for the boss...all in a day's job of your ordinary, average Lady Butler!

Take care.