Tuesday Twitterdeedropletsanddropletsand droplets

My friend Susan sent me a speech given by a keynoter at a forestry gathering in Coeur d'Alene last December.  The very eloquent piece, which must have had its audience riveted, touched on the 1910 conflagration in North Idaho/Montana---one huge fire resulting from the wind blowing several small fires together.

It was scorched earth in epic proportions, and this year's centennial has ignited lots of talk about the fire and questions of if it can happen again.  

Well, based on our 100-percenter day of rain, I have a hard time thinking of scorched earth this morning.  They say we'll get washed-down all day and all night this time and that maybe---maybe by Sunday we'll start drying out.  

Surprisingly, yesterday turned out okay.  After experiencing dry times for ten minutes during the late morning, I decided to jump on the lawnmower and see if I could mow down at least part of the water-soaked, growing lawn.  I put the blade up higher than usual to avoid getting too much grass gummed up under the deck.

Clouds with wet stuff dropping were coming over Schweitzer, so I hurried.  Apparently those clouds were in a holding pattern because I mowed and mowed and mowed and eventually finished the whole lawn.  The sun even came out, and the rest of the day was nothing short of magnificent.

With the lilac bushes at their height and other shrubs starting to bloom, this is the prime time for loving the yard.  And, to view its brilliance after a thorough scrubbing heightened both my senses and my mood. 

We're back at it this morning, and I know that one section of garden will be completely submerged before this storm passes.  Tom Sherry assured us that today's chapter will not be record-breaking like what we experienced Memorial Day, so that's a good thought.

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In other news of note, I'm now a veteran of Sandpoint's first-ever roundabout.  I drove through it Monday morning and came out on North Boyer from the other side unscathed.  My driving ability, however, suffered a failing grade later in the day.

Bill was craving a brick-oven pizza from the Loading Dock downtown, and since I was doing some errands, I drove on toward town from Wal-Mart to get it.  Looking down at my speedometer, between Yoke's and Co-Op, I noticed 50 mph and immediately slowed down but not before the Ponderay cop saw me too.

She wheeled around in the highway and proceeded to follow me with no light.  She didn't really need to flash it cuz I knew I'd been had.  I pulled into the nearest wide spot just past the Y and on went the lights.  

It's been a long time since I've been stopped, so I did okay with the driver's license but stress set in when she asked for the registration and proof of insurance.  I hadn't opened that glove compartment for months, and I remember the last cop stop when I kept handing the officer my Les Schwab envelopes.  

Eventually we found the needed documents.  This time, however, guardian angel Bill had been to the glove compartment since I had.  Everything was there, in order.   She, the cop, seemed pleased.

She told me they were working on seat-belt awareness.  I passed that test, and she seemed to know that my instant of speeding was a temporary lapse.  So, no ticket.  Thank goodness.

Moral of the story:  wear your seatbelt, know where the documents are and slow down all through Ponderay.  They're vigilant, as they should be.

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Today is gonna present a challenge on the "maintain-the-good-mood" front.  I'm trying to think of things that will help me forget the rain.  The mind is blank.

Maybe organizing things in the barn, maybe sweeping the shop, maybe cleaning the cat room aka shop next to the garage.  All fun things, for sure.  And, then there's always "America's Got Talent" with its second segment of the season tonight.  

Okay, I'm happy.  And to all my faithful readers, drive slowly through roundabouts and near all grocery stores, buckle up, and stay dry.