Slight Detour

More snow last night.

Bill is out plowing the driveway again.

Once again, it's beautiful this morning, and I'll be out shoveling some more and doing some more plowing.

It's winter, finally.

This morning I keep thinking and yearning about Norman Rockwell's America.

From my experiences traveling there, the Midwest exemplifies many of the images by the great painter of Americana that we have in our respective minds.

And, on this same note, I can't help but think about Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon and the Lutherans and tuna casseroles and jello desserts at the potlucks.

I also can't stop thinking about the wretched event that happened yesterday in this idyllic place in our country.

And, the fear its citizens are now experiencing.

Gretchen, who once owned this beautiful place, where we are so lucky to live, now lives in Minneapolis.

My daughter's best friend and her family live there too.

Annie visits quite often taking her friend's adorable young boys geocaching or joining the family while attending hockey games or soccer matches or even having pizza instead of tuna casserole.

Why does Minneapolis need 2,000 ICE agents coming to disrupt its neighborhoods, homes, schools, churches, etc.?

Imagine the same happenings in our beloved community.

Wonder how Norman Rockwell would paint Americana these days.

So, so sad and, in my mind, such a ridiculously unnecessary and dangerous use of tough-guy force, especially in that setting.

😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

Thursday Throwbacks . . . assorteds from the photo library.

Our neighbor Jack has sold almost all of his herd of polled Herefords, so I probably won't be going to the barn to take baby calf photos this year.

Our neighbor Tricia, second from the left and an ER doctor, traveled the country, tending to Covid patients during the Pandemic.

I love the young man above. He lives just up the road with his grandfather and works in the family law firm.

Twas the surprise of a lifetime when Swiss Miss showed up at our table in Malin Head, County Donegal, Ireland.

She flew to Dublin, took a bus to the northernmost part of the the Republic, checked in to a hostel and then walked about a mile to the Seaview Tavern to have dinner with us.

I happened to be the only one in the restaurant who had no idea.

Nice 75th birthday surprise.

Who's that Adam in the photo?

One way to enjoy world surfing championships.

This is actually one of my daughter Annie's photos.

Geocachers do strange things when they get together for some marathon caching, especially in the Nevada desert.

These kids from Selle Valley Carden School are all grown up now and off to college or engaged in their careers.

I loved it when they'd come to visit, especially with their homemade bird houses.

Borders and their mini Aussie supervisor.

Below: mamas and babies.

Friends Chris and Edna. We three all worked for the U.S. Forest Service as traffic survey aides---about 50 years ago.

Above: a Bostock-Tillberg gathering at Farmers' Market with some siblings among the group.

Below: two authors/writers, known worldwide for their writings meet at Panida Theater. That would be Marilynne Robinson and Cindy Wooden. Their topics are different but they're both pretty good at what they do. Cindy just retired as Vatican Bureau Chief for the Catholic News Service. Marilynne was born in Sandpoint.

I saw this item at the 3-Mile Antique store and thought about all the packs of L and M's I smoked while a student at the University of Idaho.

That stopped cold turkey during the first year of my teaching career when I caught the flu and could not have puffed on a cigarette if I had wanted to.

I enjoyed smoking but am SO glad I quit.

On the right, my friend and former student Suzy who has done so well in her life.

Probably because of that beautiful smile.

YAY!

More ZAGmania tonight, but we have to stay up late.

8:30 p.m. ESPN2

Below: I still say it's the best four-letter word in the world, and we can never get enough of it in this troubled world.

I could hear the snowplows scraping away at Selle-area roads when I took the dogs out this morning and trudged through the lane.

Later, Bridie and I walked past Bill who was on the tractor and again trudged through what was now crusty snow down the lane and across the hay field.

It wasn't easy walking, but the dawn with twinkling stars and that big moon casting light on the snow created a magical scene not to be wasted by a little extra effort.

So, we trudged on.

I had no flashlight this time. Didn't need it because of the early morning light coming from a clear blue sky with an assortment of puffy clouds.

Quite a striking contrast from the day we spent yesterday watching it snow and admiring the beauty as the earth around us quickly became artistically coated with snowman-like snow.

I plowed once in the afternoon after pushing the shovel a few times and feeling sheer weight of each shovelful.

Better get on the tractor and clear some of this out before it gets too deep and too heavy, I thought.

So, I made some runs at the driveway, down the lane and into the hay field. I also cleared out the large flat area in front of the far shed.

If we can't get anywhere else, we like having the lane open and some open space up there for Bill to transport the firewood and for the dogs to have some relatively easy places to walk.

And, so we've had a major snow event, the first really serious one for this winter.

It has quit falling, and this morning it's a glorious sight out there, especially knowing the driveway has been plowed.

There's more clean-up to do out there, but it will be lovely, thanks to the winter beauty.

And, I'm betting the folks at Schweitzer are REALLY happy today.

Enjoy the photos and be sure to read the announcement about a great and grand lady from Clark Fork below.

Happy Wednesday.