Kidz and Horses and Learning

It was a clinic for Gold n' Grouse 4-H Horse kids who wanted to learn more about basic strategies for competing in trail classes at a horse show. 

The kids got to work in the same arena where a national champion trail horse had learned his basics. 

Parents came.  Horses came.  And, resident horses had a good time serving as part of the audience. 

My sisters, Barbara and Laurie hosted and taught the clinic yesterday morning at their Tibbs Arabian Ranch in Colburn north of Sandpoint. 

From start to finish, the program proved productive as kids unloaded their horses, groomed and saddled them up before heading to the indoor arena.

Inside the arena, several trail obstacles were set up, and, one by one, Barbara and Laurie presented the basics of how to approach and complete each obstacle. 

Three hours later, the students had tried and succeeded at most of the obstacles, individually.  With time, they'll be learning how to approach each test within the realm of an entire trail course. 

It was fun to watch and especially fun to see the progress with each horse and rider. 

And, as usual, I think a good time was had by all, including the audience standing at the doorway wondering why they got left out of the fun. 

The Gold n' Grouse horse members are impressive on their horses and as just plain great kids with great parents. 

Good job on the part of all---instructors, leaders, kids, parents and, of course, the horses. 

Happy Sunday. 

Saturday Slight

Lots going on today, so this will be the slightest of slights.  If you're local, go get a copy of the newest edition of Sandpoint Magazine while checking out all the vintage cars in town for Lost in the '50s. 

As usual, the publication is filled with a variety of great reads and some wonderful photography.   Great job, Trish.  

I'm headed off to my sisters' this morning with Lefty and Terra.  She'll be participating in a trail class clinic for the Gold n' Grouse 4-H Club.

Meanwhile, Annie, my niece Laura and her daughter Justine will take to the hills via the Mickinnick Trail as part of Annie's and Justine's training for their upcoming Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Portugal next month. 

And, the royal wedding has once again given us a taste of magnificent British pageantry, while the second leg of the Triple Crown comes this afternoon. Will Justify earn the second jewel in the crown?

Lots to do, so little time. 

Happy Saturday to all. Hope you enjoy the photos, especially the update on Little CB, who's growing up. 

Rainy Day Moments

What to do on a rainy day in May!  

A good day for the travel trailer to get de-winterized.

A good day to pull weeds from wet soil. 

A good day to stop by the nursery at Naples and pick up another batch of blooming annuals.

A good day to shop for munchies and such at a grocery store up north where NOBODY knows your name.  

Shopping is much more efficient that way.

A good day----as is just about any day---to take the bucolic Deep Creek (old highway) back home.  

Can't lose when you go the Deep Creek route, seeking eye candy. 

An especially good day for admiring the lilac show up north.  It's a day or two ahead of here. 

A good day for making a pit stop at McArthur Lake where folks thought it was a good day for fishing. 

A good day for sticking those new colorful annuals into the soil.

A good day to do the towel count---enough for regular inhabitants, wet dogs, visiting daughter and some Laumatia's. 

A good day to sample those first asparagus spears of the spring and to share the extras with the neighbors. 

A good day to do some catching up with a friend, in between the spam calls on the landline. 

A good day to read a poignant short story written by a former student about tulips and church casseroles.  A very good story, indeed. 

A good day to sit in the straw brushing little CB who's resting in the box stall after his supper grain. 

A great day, as is any, to be alive and to enjoy all the nuances that made this rainy day in May all its own. 

It's a new day in May today with dark clouds billowing over the mountains.  

What will come?

Happy Friday.  Enjoy your unique day in May. 

A Bit of This; A bit of That

Down that road, just past those furthest trees on the left, my friends and neighbors, Mark and Janice, were monitoring the storm which came along with those dramatic clouds.

Shortly after I took this photo and a few others, I headed for the house.  Bill remained outside a few minutes longer, watching for lightning and listening to the thunder from the sky northeast of us. 

He eventually came inside and when I could hear rain hammering the roof, I remembered the dogs might still be outside.  

Turns out they avoided the sudden downpour. Liam and Kiwi were just inside the garage, while Foster was hanging out on the deck. 

Liam and Foster came inside and we continued to sit back and relax while the sky unloaded. 

Soon, I received a text from Janice who asked if one of our shrubs had caught on fire from the lightning strike.  Their weatherbug app had shown that the most recent lightning strike had hit the ground right in the middle of our row of cedars across the front lawn. 

Had it been mid-August, we may have had a fire, but if anything thought it was gonna burn, Mother Nature took care of that with all that rain. 

The storm last night was welcomed after several hot days and that usual North Idaho concern that after two or three days without rain, things may dry up. 

We can put that concern to bed for a while.  And, speaking of bed, the storm created such a calm afterward that I slept like a baby last night.  

My ability to totally relax probably has a lot to do with the fact that I finished off the entire lawn in my mowing adventures yesterday. Always a great satisfaction.

Cooler weather could keep the dandelions under control for at least a couple of days.  So, that makes me happy. 

Plus, this morning I won't have to drag the hose around watering the garden or the potato patch on the west side of the barn. 

It is a time of year where pretty gets even prettier.  The blooming of lilacs not only adds fragrance to the air and a variety of color, but this phase of spring also heightens our sense of nostalgia. 

After all, we often use the lilacs to decorate the graves of loved ones, so it's always a sweet time where their memories are often most profound.

We have a busy weekend ahead with so many events and people involved in those events that I don't have enough fingers and toes to count. 

Highlights include an Annie visit, which will also include a visit from some of the Plummer crowd, possibly some time spent with at least one former teaching friend named Pam, a horse clinic, Lost in the '50s, release of the latest edition of Sandpoint Magazine.  Oh yeah, there's the royal wedding and the Preakness. 


So many things, so little time. Whatever gets squeezed in is sure to be memorable, fun and probably exhausting. 

I guess that storm with its calm afterward provided just the ticket to get rested up for all the action.

Happy Thursday.