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2020 began simply enough

2020 was not supposed to be a remarkable year. We’d continue to have staycations, working diligently in the gardens. No new pets were planned for the year. Our goals were simple, but meant something to us.

Critters of the gardens

Our anticipation of catching local critters at the dining establishments we have provided is always high. I won’t admit to how many hours we have spent just watching. Nothing more, nothing less.

Some guests surprised us

We have been fortunate to see an occasional owl at night, but this one was sitting on a branch outside of the barn where we have our coffee. At 7:10 am on February 9 we headed out to the barn to see this owl hanging out on a branch. She waited for me to run back in and get the camera and she didn’t even mind when we directed the flashlight her way.

Shortly after the owl

In January the news released snippets of a novel virus which sometime thereafter became a pandemic. On March 21 we were sent home to work remotely. I started with day one on my Facebook page. As of this posting, December 27, it is Day 282.

Since that point in time, all of my days have mushed together.

I took this photo looking out our front window of the EMTs making a routine visit on April 4, 2020.

At some point, we stopped eating in restaurants. We call them tail gate dates now. We do very little retail shopping. Dog food, goat supplies and the occasional stop at the nursery.

We spend a whole lot more time reflecting

Our conversations seem deeper and more meaningful now. We reflect more about how lucky we really are.

Relaxing feels so much more different now that hiding in our gardens is the thing to do.

Bonding

This little one really surprised me. We have created a bond I never saw coming. All of a sudden we’re attached at the hips. I will be the one with separation anxiety when I have to go back to the office.

Photography never let me down

Working from home or working remote has really been a wonderful thing. Some of my favorite photos happened mostly because I never felt any rush to do anything. So I would wait for the perfect moments.

I photographed some of the funnest kittens on the planet.

This pair of beauties hung out in the gardens for a couple of weeks.

We added more garden art when we found pieces we couldn’t live without.

We found great delight in adding solar lights everywhere. When the sun is bright, our gardens light up like Christmas lights. And I’ll add here that I spend hours chasing an elusive photo to do it justice.

Just as we go comfortable

This was taken on September 8 at 4:30 in the afternoon. Wildfires raced through the canyon to the east of us leaving devastation in its path. The eerie darkness that covered the skies was not like anything we had seen before.

And yet there was some hope for peace and renewal. Riots were occurring all around us in support of Black Lives Matter.

Santa Paws looked different

Santa Paws and I went back and forth on whether or not we would be able to host Santa Paws. We did have it, it just looked different.

Election season

Of course, what pandemic would be complete without a batshit crazy presidential election. As of Christmas Day, it’s a done deal… but it’s not.

Some days I feel like the year has been so surreal that it really hasn’t happened. Other days it has dashed by and on others it is merely crawling.