No-paper blues

Two weekend mornings in a row:  late papers.  Must be the weekend stand-in sleeps in.  Anyway, it boggles up my routine.  I'm as bad as the horses and the Border Collies.  Things must happen in regular sequence or I'm out of my comfort zone.

I'm still flexible though.  Wonder how long that's gonna last.  My cure for the "No Paper Blues" is to walk down the dirt road in front of our place----------------the paper came-------well, now I've had my Sunday morning relaxation session.  

I love taking my time to read the paper any day, but on Sunday mornings it's a staple.  To have that disrupted is disappointing.  So, this day is somewhat out of sequence but getting back to normal.

Yes, I do walk down the road when there's no paper and just enjoy the early morning silence of Taylor's field, Gary's pasture and Meserve's orchard.  Then, I turn around and hope to hear a car starting and stopping on the road to the north.  Both mornings this weekend, that has not happened to suit my need to be in synch.

Still, it has afforded me the opportunity to take some extra time smelling the morning, so to speak.  And, doing that in April and May is truly a pleasure.

In the paper this morning, I read about the lives of folks who work on the offshore oil rigs---lots of money but a separation from home and land make it tough.  And, this past week's tragedy where one of the 11 who died had talked to his wife and told her he'd see her in just a matter of hours was very sad.

I also read about the old loner who lived in the cave homes near Salmon, Idaho.  He died this week at age 94.  He was the last of the Salmon River loners, the article said.  I envied the feature writer who did the piece because those stories are so loaded with color and fascination that they write themselves. 

Not often you can screw up on a story when you're dealing with a salty old codger.  

Now that newspaper reading is finished and the low-hanging clouds have lifted up to show us a gorgeous Sunday morning, I'm thinking about the day ahead.  Willie will be coming sometime today with his third load of firewood to stack in our shed.

He and Debbie are moving this weekend and during the next several days-----not from Sandpoint, I'm happy to say.  They'll probably be just 3.5 miles away from us at one of the Snowgoose condos on North North Boyer.  A family member of the owner of the home where they've been living since December is spending the summer in that house.  

So, their enjoyment of Lake Pend Oreille living will have to be put on hold for at least a while.  Of course, I'm not complaining because that means they'll be closer, within bike riding distance, no less.  

Plus, forested trails near the condos will be nice for the dogs.  If they find the route, they can even walk as far up the mountain as Schweitzer Ski Resort, so it's not a bad location.

On this beautiful Sunday I'm also thinking about the late afternoon when I'll go over to Leonard Wood's home on the V Bar X Ranch.  Turns out Billie Jean was able to coordinate all six of my folks,  profiled for the next issue of Sandpoint Magazine as area horse lovers,  for a group photo or two at the Wood ranch.  

A talented local photographer Marie-Dominique "Do" Verdier will be shooting the pictures.  She has already done some work at the V Bar X Ranch.  It, along with some of her other photos, can be seen at (http://sandpointphoto.blogspot.com/), so check 'em out.

I'm anxious to meet her and to see my group all gathered in one spot.  They're all wonderful, interesting people, and I'm anxious for them to meet each other, especially cuz they'll be doing it on horseback.  Such experiences are what make the job of writing a pure joy.  

Sandpoint Magazine's summer edition will hit the streets in mid-May, by the way.

Looks like I'm running pretty late because of my "no paper blues," so I'll shut up and just wish everyone a wonderful Sunday.