Monday Miscellany

~~Back to Lost Belt Buckle Trail --- again. Bill stands in an area where we thought we might find my belt buckle.~~

Call us persistent. Call us crazy.

We've devoted a lot of the past week toward trying to find my lost belt buckle.

We have not succeeded.

Since losing the buckle on a trail ride last Sunday, we've walked nearly 10 miles looking for it.

Add another horseback ride with friends on Thursday.

Yesterday afternoon we went again and came home empty-handed.

Well, we didn't have a belt buckle, but the other gains are pretty neat.

First, we know that trail really well. Bill commented yesterday that he knows exactly which rocks were the best stepping stones across Grouse Creek where we first get on the trail.

We have those mucky areas memorized.

We also discovered yesterday how lucky Lily and I were when we stepped off the trail to go around a big log.

Turns out the entire area where I rode through the bushes for a couple of hundred feet is alive with rusty barbwire, nailed to trees decades ago.

Mighty lucky for us that Lily put her feet in the right places.

I wouldn't trade the experiences of looking for that belt buckle for anything.

Bill and I, along with the dogs, have enjoyed each trip we've taken through that woods.

I also had an opportunity to meet some of the dedicated Forest Service people who work and study at the seed orchard. Sat around with them while they ate their lunch the other day, reminiscing about my own Forest Service experiences in Grouse Creek (1968). I also discovered that one of my students in my last year of English teaching is one of them. Chase Youngdahl is now a full-fledged forester working at the orchard.

And, the ride on Thursday with those other trail ride enthusiasts will always rank high on my list of good memories.

Yup, that belt buckle has a lot of meaning, but maybe, just maybe, it decided to lose itself so that I could enjoy some meaningful personal gains in the quest to find it. If so, it succeeded in its mission.

Still, I'd love to find it some day.

~~~~~~

My life of leisure in the writing assignment department is ending this week. It's back to interviewing interesting people in Idaho's forest industry. Maria (by the way, if folks in the region ever listen to the KPBX pledge drive and hear that lady with the lovely British accent, that's Maria) has given me the rest of my profile assignments.

Today I'll be calling a lady who runs a high-tech lumber mill in Grangeville. I wonder how many women manage lumber mills in Idaho or in the nation. Could be interesting.

~~~~~~

I'm also looking forward this week to a Monte Collison clinic at my sisters' indoor arena Saturday and Sunday. Although a bit reluctant, Monte has agreed to work with Lefty in hopes that we can get him to start pulling the Amish cart.

My biggest challenge is to find a full set of harness that fits him. Lefty's a little guy, and he's just two, so most of the stuff I have for him is a bit too big. My mother has a set of harness that has been used on a couple of small Arabians, so I hope that will work.

In the meantime, I've derived great enjoyment tacking him up with a headstall, bit, circingle and two unmatched driving reins. Lefty has learned to go forward and backward, turn, whoa for more than two seconds and to go down the road with cars passing by.

So far, so good, but the proof is in the pulling----of things behind him. Fingers crossed for good results at this week's clinic.

~~~~
One more item on this Monday morning, I've been meaning to announce that Willie has made it through guiding his first edition of the Sandpoint High School Cedar Post. The paper came out last Wednesday, and it looks pretty impressive for a first edition.

He's worked hard as has his staff, and they've probably overcome the major obstacle of their year----blending together as a team to complete a tangible product.

I think they'll all do just fine, and I know he has high expectations for what they can achieve as they continue to hone their skills and utilize their talents.

Congrats to the Cedar Post staff!

~~~~~

A couple of photos below. Happy Monday.