Spring fling

While scrolling through my February blog postings for 2009, I saw a lot of snow pictures. In one, taken from our back yard, two huge moose stood among the snow piles in the woods to the south. Moose were everywhere last winter and the winter before.

We were always cautious while leaving the house in the darkness for fear of meeting head-on with a moose in the driveway or near the barn.

I can't remember any moose spottings this winter, except for remains of those unfortunates who don't make it across the highway or railroad tracks. They've apparently had life easier this year too.

And, the robins have been around the Lovestead for more than two weeks. They're yapping outside my window right now, in fact.

Our forecast calls for ten nice days with no precipitation. Highs in the high 40s and lows in the 30s or maybe high 20s. Perfecto!

Yesterday when I told Mother we had such a nice ten-day forecast ahead, she started worrying that the good weather in February could cause bad stuff later.

"Quit worrying about it," I said. "Let's just enjoy this. We're so conditioned to look for the dark clouds around here that we don't know how to handle the good stuff." And, I believe that to be true. They've always said resilience is a key component of surviving a lifetime in North Idaho, and after a lot of lifetime, I believe "them."

We just have to shed that ominous feeling that always accompanies good tidings. If this is good, there must be something bad coming.

Anyway, with the wonderful weather, I hitched up my bike to the Jimmy and took off for the bike path to Dover. After two weeks of both Bill and my grinding away at the bolt-opening for the bike rack, the hole finally allowed the bolt clear through the other night. Now, I can take my bike to non-muddy roads.

And, the bike-ride yesterday was exhilarating. I hadn't been down that way for more than three years, after our move out this way. In fact, I hadn't had my bike rack on the car for the same amount of time. So, it was a good feeling to be pedaling along one of my favorite routes when we lived on Great Northern Road.

I met a big change once I reached Dover----big, rust-colored pilings for the new Dover Bridge. No old post office and no remnants left of the fruit stand and salvage area that used to attract a lot of patrons over the years. I'll miss that post office cuz I wrote about it several years ago, and I had the clerk there do the Dover postmark for my second book Postcards from Potato Land.

Later, I saw the new home for the post office. It's in the old residential area east of the new Dover Bay development. And, my, that has developed quickly. I did wonder how many people are occupying all those houses that have gone up so fast. It's an attractive development, and it's a biker's Heaven with all the paved pathways throughout.

Went by Lundblad Lane (that's for you, Karen) and Bergstrom Street. I know there are a lot more named after longtime Doverite families, but those are the ones I noticed while gawking at beautiful homes, drop-dead gorgeous scenery and squawking geese flying overhead.

It's definitely a complete transformation from the old Pack River Mill site. I spent some time there in the early '70s interviewing Bill Woolsey and Gene Saunders when a six-week strike shut down the mill.

Throughout the strike, whenever I went for an update for the next Sandpoint News Bulletin weekly edition, the union folks, led by Gene and Bill O'Donnell, always fed me plenty of information, while Bill, representing management, gave me the same two-word quote: No comment.

Eventually the strike ended and folks went back to work. It had a big impact on a lot of local families at the time. Eventually over the years, the mill shut down, and the area sat for a long time. I must say it's beautiful now, and those street signs serve as a constant reminder of the people who participated in its rich history.

I loved my bike ride yesterday and hope to take some more in other beautiful areas while the mud dries up out our way. One place I can ride is the Selle Road to Woodside Road which takes me through the huge pasture and haylands of the Wood family.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across Naomi Wood who was checking the cow herd cuz it was calving time. Well, Leonard told me last night that calving is in full swing now, and they've had some sets of twins and even one set of triplets.

I mention this cuz it's definitely a sign of spring but also because Leonard and Naomi have their new website up, and it's a nice one. S0, I'll leave you on this lovely spring morning with that link and encourage you to learn more about the beautiful red Angus herd just a few miles from here.

(http://www.woodvbarxranch.com/)

There's also a rich history of how the cow herd developed over the years since Riley Wood registered the V Bar X brand in the 1940s.

Happy Thursday.