Friday This and That

Every day, there's progress around the Lovestead.  Daffodils are opening.  Bumble bees have returned, and, yes, so have the flies.  

Hope those swallows hurry up and launch an offensive on the flies.  In the meantime, we'll just have to deal with them on the sunny side of the house. 

The second day of no rain meant wearing Crocs in Sandpoint and flipflops in Seattle.  For the record, Annie posted a photo of her first day on the job with flipflops. 

I wore my paintin' Crocs yesterday and added a little more art to the summer footgear by painting a second of barnyard fence along the driveway.  

I did not add paint to Liam's coat, but he found a way. Tis good he's black and white, so folks probably won't notice 'cept the white is in a funny place. 

This morning I can walk out the garage door and admire my newly painted fence.  

There's lots more to do, and it will get done when time allows.  Last year because of our trip to Ireland, my annual painting schedule was delayed until fall.  

That turned out to be pretty much wasted effort and wasted paint, as the snow did a real number on all the board fences.

Today all three horses may spend the day in the barnyard.  It's drying out.  Still lots of mud, but I think it's safe for CB to get acquainted with Lily cuz he can now outrun her if he needs to. 

I'll also probably put away some of the yard tools along the garage door.  That's due to speculation that we might not need some of them again for a few months. 

Hope not!

For now, we're happily enjoying our return to Heaven in North Idaho.  It's a good thing, and, considering the weather report, bound to get better day by day.

Happy Friday.  Also, do note the caption on the photos at the bottom.  Longtime locals will, no doubt, find at least one of them very interesting and definitely a trip back into yesteryear. 
   

Here's a "Guess who?" for local folks of my vintage.

This was sent to me overnight by a family member of one of the two individuals above.  I know the people but not the horse.

A hint to some of the answers can be seen in the photo inscription below. 

Lovin' the Simple Life on a Sunny Day

It was everything we wanted and SO much more:  a dry spring day, inspiring a healthy sense of renewed life.

Yesterday was laid-back in a way----no urgency to rush around, attempting to get hundreds of outdoor "to do's" completed before the next rain cloud started dumping.

Nope, this was a day to putter around at projects while every so often taking a break to take it all in.  

Life changed yesterday here at the Lovestead, and, happily, we're guaranteed more than just a few hours in between rain/snow storms to enjoy beauty and promise of spring. 

Granted, we do have to wait a few days for the ground to dry out, but just knowing that it will finally happen is invigorating and uplifting. 

My day involved a long visit with Mary, our neighbor across the road.  We caught up a bit on family and mutual friends and on our individual visions for the future as "senior status" farm girls. 

The subject of "I can't do all this anymore" did come up in our conversation as did exchanging strategies for graduating in to a different mode for adjusting to and addressing the obvious----that bodies do start falling apart, even those of tough farm girls. 

While Mary and I visited near Love Canal, Bill continued working on his woodsman project in the south woods, along with the constant demand to serve as ball hurler to three beloveds.

Occasionally, Bill would get a break when Liam would finally wear down, albeit short-lived.   

In the afternoon, I went to town and bought a toy for CB and friends. My shopping trip also netted a second small heater for the greenhouse.  

Later, all baby plants made the big move outside, and, thankfully, this morning, it looks as if the heaters did the job of keeping them warm on their first outdoor sleepover. 

My day also included a visit with my sisters and, later, with Willie and Debbie and the grandpuppies.  

Lots of puppy love occurred as I sat in the Young Love's house, including the best-ever hug from Todd, the Wonder Dog. 

Everywhere I traveled throughout my day----except for some stops on Facebook---the air of happy relief that spring had finally come was evident in both the faces and the conversation. 

Thankfully, spring does offer a multitude of opportunities to avoid/escape the mean-spirited attacks that so dominate electronic conversations, especially during political season. 

Which begs the question:  when does political season end?  Seems like "never" these days. 

Nevertheless, Happy Days are here again in the Selle Valley, and I intend to make the most of them.  Yesterday provided an ideal start. 

Enjoy the photos.  Happy Thursday. 

The Sun Speaketh: We Rejoice!

The sun came out late yesterday afternoon.

The rain left.  Mud will start drying up. Grass is green and growing. Lawn mowing will begin soon. Gardening won't be far behind.

We are so grateful to receive this gift of lovely spring weather.  Thank you, Mother Nature.  

Good things happen to those who wait.  Now, it’s onward toward the glories of living in North Idaho.

I must note the passing of Barbara Bush this morning.  

“Like everyone’s grandma,” one person wrote, and I know that individual did not support Barbara Bush’s son as President.

The First Lady to George Herbert Walker Bush transcended political divisions, exemplifying grace, dignity, a sense of humor, love of family and good ol’ down-to-earth,  treatment of others.

 

What a life and what a fine example to behold, especially in the midst of the world in which we now live!

Thank you, Barbara Bush.  You were and will continue to be an inspiration. 

Now, it's time to go out there and bask in springtime here in the Selle Valley.  

Ahhhhh!

Happy Wednesday.  

Slogging Along in Selle

Every once in a while a picture comes along which I think would make a perfect scene for a jigsaw puzzle. 

The one above is one of those. 

I was visiting with my sisters yesterday afternoon, mainly to pass some more quality time while waiting impatiently for the long-awaited and still promised week of dry, warmer weather.

We can do this, I thought over the past weekend for the umpteenth time during this so-called spring:  just make it through Tuesday and then the slop and outdoor misery will gradually become a memory. 

So, I've been finding productive ways or even having ways fall into my lap which provide distractions while waiting.  After all, when you clean horse stalls twice daily, that takes up time.  

Yesterday's prime time-taker-upper involved removing and coiling up a long stetch of electric wire which has been dangling along a fence line which we never use.  

That was a fun project, especially because the fence line runs through in our south woods along Love Canal, also the part of the woods where the dogs can play. 

Occasionally, I'd stop working with wire to watch Liam and Foster race at high speeds in huge circles around the wooded area in a catch-me-if-you-can mission.  

After about five or six rounds, only when Liam finally needed a breath, he'd collapse to rest, so I'd go back to my wire. 

Anyway, back to the photo above. 

It rained most of the day yesterday.  I'm sure that's not news to all you patient readers, but in the midst of that 70-90-percent all-day rainfall, the sun would suddenly appear, often hanging around for maybe 30 seconds.

Whenever that happened during my visit with Barbara and Laurie, our conversation would cease briefly while we looked out the window to behold the beautiful bright interlude. 

After two or three sun visits and plenty of conversation,the next time it showed up, I quickly stood up, announced I was leaving and raced to the car, hoping fervently that the sunshine would please just stay around until I could drive down Center Valley Road.

By golly, it did, and when I pulled up to the striking scene above, I rolled down the window and commenced to shooting photos. 

How lovely a sight could that be on such a miserable day, and, in my mind, a perfect jigsaw scene. 

It's the "little things . . . ," and that brief moment of rural Heaven truly helped make my day of waiting. 

Later, I enjoyed another entertaining scene after pulling into the driveway. 

When the rain had stopped about 11 a.m., I put the horses outside and decided that this time Lily could go to the water-logged but still not muddy round pen, while Lefty and CB could deal with the barnyard muck. 

It would be a good day for little CB to get acquainted with those surroundings because, when and if it ever dries out, he'll be spending a lot of time in the big pen. 

CB likes to chew on wood, so I plugged in the electric fence after turning him out.  It took him a couple of times to realize that the wood on the fence bites back. 

So, then he just slogged along his way, sniffing virtually every square inch of slop within the enclosure.   

Apparently, it took a while for the little guy to discover the big muddy lake in front of the barnyard shelter (which, by the way, he has already dined on).

Like all young guys, CB found that, at times, it can be great fun playing in the mud, especially when the stuff splashes. 

He spent about ten minutes moving around and checking out the muddy lake, stopping to paw and then watching the water splash in his face.

Meanwhile, Liam, the digger dog, has been playing in the mud for some time---mainly that which he has created from digging along the roots of the big trees in the yard while squirrels torment him from above. 

So, I've posted a photo of him after yesterday's squirrel sessions just to show why we have the doggie bathing session every afternoon before Liam and Foster are allowed back in the house.  

Liam loves his baths enough that I'm wondering if he digs in the mud just to ensure that they keep happening on a daily basis. NOT!

As soon as it dries out, that afternoon ritual will end!

In the evening, the rain stopped long enough for me to walk down the road and catch a few more photos.  I regretted not being closer when a coyote crossed the road in front of me, passing from Gary Finney's farm to the Meserve Preserve.

This morning----no pictures cuz I refuse to take them, it's snowing and I've had to clean off the satellite dish once and may have to again before posting. 

They say we're just hours away from a reward for these many weeks of frustration.  So, go ahead and snow! 

After all, I'm holding the weather folks to their promise----so much so, in fact, that if nothing changes weatherwise tomorrow, this blog will be blank, and it will stay that way until spring really happens for more than an hour here in Selle. 

So there!

Happy Tuesday.