One thing about living at the hacienda: there is never a dull moment. No one day is really "normal."
The morning following our return I stepped outside to see what making all the racket in the pecan tree. Imagine my surprise to find Salvador at the very end of one of the highest limbs of the tree.
Absolutely fearless, he was knocking stubborn pecans off the branch for the waiting harvesters below.
The weather was very pleasant in the days leading up to Christmas. Our year-round birds were out exploring the back garden.
I was in no mood for putting up the full complement of Christmas decorations, but we did manage a little Yule Tide Cheer.
We were at odds about how to spend the actual Christmas holiday.
The answer came with an email from Ferdi and Lucy. They insisted we spend the day with them. At first we were reluctant to accept, but I am so glad we finally decided to share the day with them. They have become such good friends, and we enjoyed Lucy's brother and his family who were visiting from El Paso.
Although the weather was near perfect in the days before Christmas, Christmas Night brought freezing temperatures. Surprise!
We traveled back to Parras the day after Christmas for a few days at home before traveling back to the valley to spend New Year's Eve with friends. Then it was back to San Antonio to help with the clearing out of Mom's house. Everyone came to help and it was not nearly as difficult as I had feared. With all the helping hands, we had the job done in one long week-end. Back to the valley.
