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It’s Sunday, and I’m just finishing up mulching around the last shrub from my designated allotment of plants. They now form a natural fence on either side of the large, grassed area that I rolled down a couple of months ago so it could settle into the ground by opening day.
I didn’t realize how therapeutic landscaping could be. It’s a quiet workout that allows my mind to wander about, randomly bouncing from one thought to another about many things. One of them is how I would get Tucker’s leather jacket back to him. I figure on taking a drive over to Peace Café mid-week. Levi and Keanu seem to know him well enough to arrange for Tucker to pick it up from them. I didn’t think to hand it to Shamus when we talked inside Manny, and now I feel bad I have stolen Tucker’s jacket.
Ugh. There I go again.
Pushing my sunglasses up my nose and readjusting my sun hat, I take a moment to clear my head of all things Tucker Royal, looking around while arching my back. It helps to get the kinks out from all the squatting and bending I have been doing.
The landscaping is achieving what I wanted by softening the hard work I have put in over the past six months, completing the look I want for the Fainting Goat Ranch.
The four tiny houses differ in exterior texture, size, and color. I wanted them to feel part of the landscape, so the exteriors are wood paneling in different Temecula wine country colors: deep purple for the grapes, eggshell/gray for the clouds, orange for the California poppies and sunsets and, green for the vineyards.
I didn’t want the four tiny houses to interrupt the picturesque landscape when viewed from the shared area’s wooden decking, so I had their trailers parked on the lower sides of my property.
The view of the vineyards makes a beautiful backdrop while enjoying a coffee. The guests can also enjoy a bottle of wine they may have purchased from the many wineries dotting this area I live in, from the privacy of their tiny house wooden decks, or the shared decking where they can mingle and meet other guests.
Chance flat-out refused to let me do any work on Saturday after I told the two of them about my Friday shenanigans at Peace Café and how Tucker helped me and then managed to get me into the passenger seat of my car as a willing hostage.
While the team laid large stone pavers yesterday, connecting the tiny houses to the main path that reaches the homestead and planting native plants sporadically along the pathway leading down to the accommodation, Aubrey and I spent the day together.
We set about attempting goat yoga with Pixy and the pygmies, which wasthe best funand just what I needed after the previous day’s shenanigans while Team Chance worked hard landscaping.
CJ naturally joined in doing his version of yoga, which was adorable, and we took many candid photos. I’ve already picked out the ones that will make it to my Instagram page.
Pixy and the Mini Ms are naturals at goat yoga. They just want your attention and cuddles, which is so much fun. I had the idea for this activity to offer guests on my list of things couples can do together. I just need to convince a certified teacher I have in mind to take the classes.
While I was kicking arse as a bounty hunter in Melbourne, my best friend, Gwendoline, added a certified yoga instructor to her bucket list of conquests, but she is a freelance graphic artist for her day job. We attended regular weekly classes together for years before she went next level. Yogis come in all shapes and sizes, even certified instructors. Practice and dedication are what it is all about.
Let’s face it, when there are long-haired, cute-as-hell little goats involved, it’s all about the goat distractions while putting smiles on the guests’ faces. And giving them a good time while they exercise. The yoga classes can be as focused or distracting as each guest wants to make them—no judgment here.
Jensen helped me lay down grass in a separate area away from the house for goat yoga. I bought portable white picket fencing that we can temporarily set up, bordering the grass, so the goats can’t run off mid-class and then put away at the end of each class.
Yoga mats with my Fainting Goat Ranch logo have arrived and are part of my merchandise on offer guests can buy and take home as souvenirs. I am covering all bases. I have T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, hats, caps, socks, umbrellas, and much more. Chance gave me a pile of tips on marketing my business when I told them, and straight away, I started working on the merchandise. I should be receiving a shipment this week of more items.
I have corralled Pixy, Pearl, and the Mini-Ms today because I can’t have them tasting the new landscaping, plus they are adorable distractions. None of us would be working if they were out because Pearl loves a good scratch on her back and behind her ears and will follow you around the place to get more, and Pixy is Pixy. Too darn cute for words, and the Mini-Ms are just a busy little bunch.
I’m so grateful my cousin and his six-person team are here. Many hands make light work. Chance’s knowledge about the right plants that can handle the year-round Temecula climate has been a godsend.
Mature shrubs now feature along the front yard fence and will grow around the newly completed thirty-meter lap pool for my personal use.
I had the lap pool customized to roughly one hundred feet in length because one hundred laps gives me three kilometers of exercise. I can’t think in miles. They do my head in after living most of my life in Australia. It is wide enough for two swimming lanes and heated for the cooler months. I want to be able to swim year-round.
Dabbing gently at a bead of sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand, I notice the metal tub close by needs refilling with fresh ice and water bottles. Only one water bottle remains in a pool of water.
Jasmine, one of Chance’s team members, scoops it out of the tub, cracks the lid, and drinks half the bottle down in one go, making a satisfying noise when she looks at me. “Ireallyneeded that.” She’s a bubbly eighteen-year-old African American girl who has a smile for everybody, and it is her second day working for my cousin.
“If you tip the water onto the grass, I’ll go refill it,” I suggest.
“I’ll restock it for you, Ophelia.” Jasmine, I have found, is always happy to offer her assistance and help others out. Nice girl.
“I’ve got it covered, ladies,” Big John calls out in a deep voice. He’s a few years older than Jasmine, but I’ve caught him admiring the dark-skinned beauty.
He gets to his feet, sweat sticks his T-shirt to his chocolate skin, and walks up to Jasmine, plucking the half-drunk water bottle from her hand. He winks at her then drinks the bottle empty.
They share a look.
“Big John, stop flirting with Jazz,” Chance hollers, smiling at the tall, well-built man.
“It’s okay.” Jasmine grins, then turns and goes back to the area she is working on.
