First day of the rest of . . . .

It was about 6 p.m., and no gargantuan earth rumbles had occurred.

I decided it they were late in coming, it would be fun to go out, riding Lily on a pretty May evening.

The clouds in the sky looked ominous, but the contrast along with sun still peeking through made for some magnificent landscape scenes.

So, I grabbed Lily from the pasture, saddled her up and took off. 

Heather screamed her usual frantic screams and raced the fenceline as we headed south on South Center Valley Road.

This felt good:  a beautiful evening, aboard my big mare quietly plodding down the road, remaining oblivious to the protests of her pasture mates.

It was going to be a good ride, I thought.

My first hint that it might be short-lived occurred as we waited for cars to pass by before turning on to Selle Road.

There's standing water near the intersection, and within seconds, the invaders were taking over.

I'm sure the people in the cars thought that sure was a friendly woman waving her arms off at them as they drove by.

Yeah, I was waving, but there was much more of a motive than friendliness.  It was self preservation.  Poor Lily could not wave. 

She had to just fling her head all over the place.

We had both turned victim to a full-fledged mosquito attack.  

Those cars couldn't pass by fast enough for either of us to want to get on the move and escape the pesky, nasty creatures.  

They stuck with us clear across the road and for quite a ways down North Kootenai Road.

Finally we reached the open fields, and they seemed to have retreated. 

Now, the ride was turning fun again as I admired the beautiful green fields and the snow-capped mountains.  

As we passed through a wooded area, more mosquitoes descended upon us. I put Lily into second gear, just to get a little more movement going.

We again reached an opening and some relief.  I had thought about turning off and going up to visit my friend Edna---if she was home from all the Lost in the '50s hoopla.

As we came closer to their road, I saw someone out mowing lawn at the Schubert/Swenson place.  

We plodded up the road; the person on the lawnmower threw a big wave before putzing behind the big barn. 

We got closer, and as she came back in view, I still couldn't tell who it was.  

Sunglasses do that, ya know. 

Finally, she took off her glasses and I saw it was Karen.  She caretakes the place.  We started a conversation, but it was short-lived.

Again, within seconds, Karen was surrounded by a film of mosquitoes, and those attacking Lily and me were relentless. 

So, I said this would be a short visit, and we went on our way.  

The mosquitoes followed us for quite some time but finally settled down.  The last part of the short ride was not too bad.

And, no earth rumblings, just darker clouds on the horizon.  

We would have known we were approaching home, even if blindfolded.  The screaming from the pasture was notable. 

Lily and I took a ride down the lane, where I took a few photos in the wonderful light.  Then, it was out to pasture for her and into the house for a bowl of ice cream for me.

We may be waiting a while before taking off on any of those spring evening rides again.  I'm guessing Mosquito Heaven will shut down once the water sinks into the ground. 

On another note, a little Darling came out yesterday and met her new friend Lefty.  She's probably going to be working with him this summer.  

I think she likes him, and I know I sure enjoyed visiting with her along with her mom and sister.  

Those black clouds left us with a little moisture over night, and on this first morning of the rest of our lives, I guess we just have to wait and see when the next projected "end" is advertised.  

So far, in my almost 64 years, we've almost reached "the end" three or four times. 

I guess these events help us take stock every once in a while on just what's important to us during this earthly existence. 

Yesterday provided me with ample experience on my priorities, and one is spending time with horses and folks who love them.