Watering break

I don't have to drag hoses around the yard this morning.

We got a good dousing yesterday afternoon and overnight.

And, no matter how often I cleaned them off, the water droplets hit my camera lens last night while I snapped several photos of Western Pleasure horses grazing in their pasture.


It was too wet to do much of anything outside around the place, so I let Kiwi and Kea into the car, and we went for an after-dinner drive.

Our route took us through Pack River Cemetery where I checked on my dad's flower pot. The pansies needed watering, and I'd planned to take some water over there today. After last night's storm, however, I think their thirst has been quenched.

Then, we moved on to Rapid Lightning Creek Road. I almost pulled into the Ginter Game Preserve, but I had the Upper Gold Creek crossover on my mind.

The rain seemed to be following me as I proceeded east and then north along the road leading over into Gold Creek.

Lots of pretty sights along the way but too gloomy and dark for photos until we came over a hill near Western Pleasure.

There seemed to be enough light and more than enough rain to capture this peaceful shot.

This is a prime time for prime time drives anywhere here in North Idaho, even with the rain.

Contrasts of newly sprouted lilac blooms, bright tulips, and other shrubbery against the greenest of green make for unforgettable images, even if the camera and its limitations don't quite capture the entire mood.

I've thought a lot about Upper Gold Creek lately because I'm writing a speech for the Delta Kappa Gamma teaching sorority's state convention.

The speech begins in Gold Creek where a young lady walked or skied a mile to her one-room school house every day.

For four years, her one-room school-house teacher was my dad's mother Iva Tibbs.

The speech ends a few miles away in West Sandpoint where another teacher has a room of his own among many.

Most of his students don't walk or ski to school.

It should be fun, and I think it would have been fun to be among those who did walk or ski to school way back when.


Now, the sun is shining, all my newly planted veggies and flowers have already had their morning beverage, and a beautiful day looms ahead.

I might go for another drive tonight and take a few more photos cuz we all know the beauty of this time of year comes and goes all too quickly.

Finally, I must express my sadness at the loss of another classmate, one who grew up in this beautiful Selle Valley on a farm just a few miles away.

I can still see Duane Battien walking through the halls of Sandpoint High School in his FFA jacket, with his Elvis-style hairdo and always a smile on his face.

He was a good person, and it was always nice to see him at the class reunions. Just a few weeks ago when Willie and Debbie were looking for a new rental home, we visited Duane's childhood home.

Another classmate, Lee Burnett, had purchased the property and remodeled the old farm home. When we went upstairs where Duane's bedroom was, Lee told us that it got so hot up there in the summer, he moved to the barn and slept there every night.

We of the SHS Class of 1965 will definitely miss Duane and his warm, friendly smile.