I tried to visit Melinda last summer when we were RVing in the west. It didn't work out due to Covid, fires, and smoke. The last time I was at her house was back in 2013 (I could figure that out by using google photos map view to see all the photos taken at her location, the most recent were from 2013.)
1 cat: milkshake
The Llama, Joey, is such a character! He comes right over and sniffs my hair. I wonder if he remembers me from 9 years ago?
She's done a lot of remodeling to the house since then as well as added a lot of people and animals. So much to catch up on. The stars aligned last week when I had free time, she had free time and a free bedroom, and I could get a 'free' flight using American Airlines points. Off I went to visit my cosmic sister.
She picked me up at Reno airport. It was about 7pm so we went straight to a bar/restaurant.
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| Celebrating over 40 years of friendship |
This is the view out her window. Notice the horses in the distance. Those are wild horses in the Washoe Valley. Melinda has always had a thing for horses. With these wild ones, she has learned how to mingle with them. How to be passive and unthreatening so that they will get close to her. She feels a bond.
This is not something that has ever been a part of my life, but I'm always up for something different. So, when she suggested we take a walk out amongst the wild ones, I jumped at the chance.
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| They are so beautiful |
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| Melinda sits down on the ground, hoping to entice the horses to come closer |
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| It worked. Especially with the youngest horse. He came up and nibbled on her hat! |
The next day I met Fran and Barb who also live on the property and help Melinda with her EquusInsight herd:
2 dogs: Boo and Stella
1 pony: Douglas
3 horses: Buttercup, Sweet Pea, Dancer
4 goats: Shirley, mama, summer, little shit
1 Llama: Joey
4 chickens: Frances, glitch, crystal
1 rooster: Bruce
1 donkey: Gus
1 pig: Millie
I was especially delighted to get to meet her grandkids. They came over the next day and we all had some fun in the paddock.
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| Melinda's granddaughters riding Buttercup |
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| This is Boo Radley - an Anatolian Shephard. A gentle giant. |
I spent most of my time chatting with Melinda. If conversation flowed like water, we were flooding every place we went! I wish I could remember everything we talked about. From where is the best place to live, to the responsibility of animals, to how much we like traveling in our Roadtreks (she actually got one before I did!) to parties we both attended 40 years ago, I'd remember some pieces, she'd remember others. I denied some of her memories of my activities. We figured that, between the 2 of us, we had half a brain! I helped her with some issues on her website, and her Google Photos - too many accounts! And, she showed me a great time.
On the last day we went up the mountain to Lake Tahoe. This is where she and I lived together back in 1980. We drove by the old house, then went to the lakeshore.
OMG what a beautiful place. As gorgeous as it is however, I was not tempted to live there. It was COLD and DRY. I'll take Florida as my place to live - but I sure enjoyed the visit.
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| View of Lake Tahoe, up high, and Washoe Lake on this side. So cool to see it from the air. |
