Its water broke!

Early this morning Big Blue's water broke.  I looked out the window about 5 a.m. just in time to see a waterfall seeping over the spot where water had seeped out of Big Blue the other day.

Thought I had that situation solved, but not!

I raced out the door toward the pool as fast as my 64-year-old legs could carry me.  By the time I reached Big Blue,  the waterfall had begun gushing.  

I pushed the limp blow-up rim back toward the inside of the pool,  raced to the other side and turned on the air compressor.

I discovered quickly that it's extremely difficult---well, actually impossible--to hold on to an air hose and stop Niagra Falls on the other side of the pool at the same time.

So, I dropped the hose and ran back to the waterfall, holding the rim up and entertaining a quick, awful thought that I could be standing there doing this all day if I wanted water to stay in the pool. 

With one hand, I held back the flood; with the other, I motioned, "Get the Hell out here!" to Bill, who I knew was watching the action from the sliding glass door of the house.  

Sure enough he was.  He just trotted to the pool; after all, I was holding the water back.

"Go plug in that hose and blow up this rim!" I ordered.  He reached the blow-up hole and announced that the cap was open, figuring maybe that was why the rim had gone limp.

"I opened the cap to air it up," I yelled.

"Oh," he said, inserting the compressor hose.  

Here's the deal with Big Blue.  I thought after that first disaster of the year with Big Blue earlier this week and after a night's sleep to dream about it, that a true miracle had happened at the Lovestead.

The second day after my frustration with the pump that didn't work, all the sudden the pump was working fine.  I even added more water and blew up the rim.

A few hours later, I realized that we hadn't quite reached miracle status, so my chances for sainthood are still a long ways off. As if!

Turns out that leak in the rim continues to let most of the air escape after a few hours. Having a rim full of air is crucial to water staying INSIDE the pool. 

So, I've been airing it up every few hours.  Yesterday I did another all-out search for where the heck that leak could be.  

Even wore my glasses and used a bottle of dish soap, as suggested by Bill.

"If you find a place where you think it's leaking, squirt some soap on it," he had explained to me a day earlier. "If that's the place, the soap will bubble."  

Well, you can imagine how great that would be for me to see suds on Big Blue and know where to patch the leak.

I spent nearly half an hour caressing the rim, listening for escaping air, bending over and searching up close and personal----to no avail.

So, I figured if I let the compressor work a little longer, maybe the air inside the rim would stay there a little longer.  This morning I'm sure there's a good scientific reason why that's faulty logic,  cuz the air did not last the night.

The pool still has about 3,500 gallons of water inside, and the grass on the southwest side should turn really green today. 

While he was working the air-compressor controls, Bill said, "We'll just buy a new pool."

"It's not gonna be another one like this," I said.

"Yeah, it will be one of those with frames," he said. 

Now, of course, I'm thinking about the economic wisdom of letting those 3,500 gallons of Oden water go, buying a new pool and filling it again with 4,000 more gallons of Oden water and maybe-----if we're lucky----having about three hot days this summer.

There's a lot to ponder.  In the meantime, I've turned off the pump and will offer a reward for the eagle eye who can find the leak in our Big Blue rim.  

The reward:  a free swim in the pool when I patch the leak and the pool stays full overnight without help from the air compressor.

As if Big Blue's water breaking was not enough to bring a groggy head to a full alert, we had more drama while walking back to the house from the pool.

Horses' heads were in the air.  Horses were snorting.  Kea was barking.  Suddenly we hard a loud, piercing----EEEEEEEEAh in the woods. 

"What is that?" I said, then answering my own question.  "That's a baby deer." 

Sure enough, we saw Mom a few minutes later.  A few minutes after that, she decided her baby needed to go elsewhere, so I heard it protesting all through the woods while I was leading horses to pasture. 

The horses were still upset, racing around and snorting.

I think Mom and fawn are far enough away by now to allow things to settle down a bit.

All that stuff had happened by 6 a.m.!

My friend Diane commented the other day on Facebook:  never a dull moment at the Lovestead.

On this morning, I'd take a few moments of dull.

The Aussies are coming! The Aussies are coming!

On this day two weeks from now, we'll have a trio of Australian visitors here at the Lovestead.  And, my mind is swirling with thoughts of all that they need to see and experience.  

I've never met these people, although I have interviewed one.  In 2000 when the Summer Olympics were held in Australia, Polly was involved in a mounted Search and Rescue team who had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch. I'll post the full story below.

Eleven years later, Polly, her daughter and her friend, all horse lovers,  are excited about their first visit to North America, and Bill and I are just equally excited to host them for a few days. 

As their visit grows closer, I keep thinking of what we take for granted about our daily lives and what they will find fascinating about our culture and our country.  

Yesterday I made plans for them to go on a trail ride at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, and they want to visit the Appaloosa Horse Club headquarters in Moscow.  We'll also take them on a scenic geocaching tour and make sure they cross into Montana. 

I decided, after hearing more details from Polly, to drive up to the Canadian border to meet them.  They're flying in to Calgary and planning to attend the Calgary Stampede before heading to Idaho.

It will be neat to experience firsthand someone's introduction to the United States and to witness what makes them go "Wow."  Having just had that experience in Ireland and several years ago in New Zealand and Mexico, I have no doubt that these ladies will be all eyes and ears. 

While here, they'll be staying in the new-old motor home. Polly told me in a letter last night they'll plan to be here three days and then taking off on their own---just in case we don't like them. 

Now, that definitely is a factor when you've got a bunch of almost perfect strangers coming to stay with perfect strangers.  Of course, after reading Polly's comment, my immediate thoughts were:  maybe they won't like us.!  Guess we'll all know in two weeks.

Anyway, it's fun planning for their visit, which I hope to document.  Could make a good story.  Speaking of which, you can read the 2000 Appaloosa Journal story, featuring Polly,  below.

~~~~ 

By the time it had  reached  Australia’s Olympic Stadium,  the fiery symbol of the Summer Games had created a kaleidoscope of memories and inspiring stories for its bearers, support staff and onlookers.   

Traveling more than 18,000 miles  via boats, trains, ferries, a race car,   horses and humans  through 1,000 Australian towns, the Olympic Torch passed over the Land Down Under for 100 days (June 8—Sept. 15)  on its journey to Sydney. 

One of those days, July 13,  proved very special for a nine-member mounted search and rescue  group, which included seven Appaloosa horses.  On Day 36  the State Emergency Service Horse Search Team aka Kapunda Mounted Unit, led by Harvey Zbierski on Diamond Z Spook,  helped escort the torch through the small communities of  Clare and Kapunda in  South Australia’s wine country.

“It was an experience that could only happen once in a lifetime,” says group organizer and Appaloosa owner Pauline Morran of Kapunda.  “We patrolled the streets and provided support to police as well as the foot patrols.

“We started off so serious but ended up interacting with the crowd on a personal level,” Morran explained. “The kids loved the horses and I reckon that nearly every child in the street patted or clapped when the horses came near.

“Finally we received notification that the torch had hit the town and we swung into action maintaining the crowd as  it started to bottleneck into the street when  they tried to grab a glance of the torch,” she continued. “We were going so well until we saw the torch,  and everyone in the team was over-awed and as Joyce [Atkinson]  put it, her heart skipped a beat.  All too soon it was over . . . .”

The group worked for two hours during a lunch-time visit in Clare and later that afternoon during the torch’s half-hour pass through the historic copper-mining town of Kapunda. 

Training officer Paul Kearney, a former mounted policeman and past member of the Australian Light Horse Association,  considered the busy 12-hour day a great success.  Besides getting up at the crack of dawn to prepare their horses, the group had to load up in floats (trailers) several times to get from one venue to another.   Clare is about 50 miles from Kapunda.

“The primary task was to keep people off the road,” he explained.  “The secondary task was public relations. The kids and old folks loved the horses.  The police were grateful for our assistance and my riders enjoyed themselves.  It was superb and a privilege to work with the other riders.  All turned up.  None complained and uniforms and horses looked magnificent.”

The spotted horses made a splash in both community events, according to ambulance driver and spectator  Jacqui Bridge.

“They were very colorful and well behaved and a good ambassador for the breed,” she said.

Pauline’s daughter Hayley rode her 15-year-old Appaloosa gelding Belron Friendly R. (Friendly).

“I was very nervous about how my horse would  react to the size of the crowd and the flags,” she said. “but I need not have worried as he was fine with everything. The torch arrived (in Clare) at 12:15 p.m.  As the crowd went mad with excitement, I also was thrilled with excitement.  Friendly took everything in his stride.”

     As the only one of its kind in South Australia, the mounted unit has forged a successful uphill battle for support since 1995 when Morran, a tenacious visionary and State Emergency Service volunteer,  conceived the idea.

“I had queried why, in our vast state of varied conditions, did we not have a mounted search and rescue team,” she recalls. “I have to admit it was not warmly received but with many a nagging, I had my wish granted on the fourth of November in 1997.

“We did not have access to funding so everything had to be begged, borrowed or acquired,” she adds.   “To start with, we had three full volunteer members and one cadet.   This has since increased to nine.”

Members include men and women ranging in age from 15 to 60.   Hayley Morran, a gymkhana, barrel racing and jumping enthusiast,  serves as a cadet.   She generally receives the same training as other members but would not search for a body because of her age, according to Kearney, a South Australia highway patrol officer.

Kearney says the only membership requirement for riders to have access to a horse, preferably their own. Training involves mounted cavalry drill movements for parade work or crowd control and land search exercises.

“This will involve work amongst traffic and people on foot just walking around, lots of cheering, etc.,” Kearney explained, adding that the only requirement for riders is to come with an open mind, willing to learn and with plenty of enthusiasm.

Training occurs twice monthly for practical exercises and weekly in riding theory. Some sessions, lasting for entire weekends,  focus on different styles of land searches, practice with evacuation procedures for fallen riders and lecture sessions.
 
The group appeared  in its first public event, the Celtic Parade Festival,  in March, 1998.   Since that time, thousands of onlookers have  seen the mounted unit in three Celtic parades, a Barossa  Valley Vintage Wine Parade, and a parade through central Adelaide, a city of 1.5 million about 65 miles south of Kapunda.

    The Kapunda Mounted Unit has been put on standby for several searches.  One search involved 130 personnel, helicopters and several hundred man hours.  Morran said the horses were unfazed by the helicopters.

    While searching for missing persons, riders observe a few  basic rules. They must maintain a line when working in a sweep pattern and search from only one side of the horse---left or right--as designated.  They are also expected to maintain the welfare of their horses before their own, follow orders to the letter, and maintain professionalism at all times.

   Kearney explains that  mounted search and rescue units can be helpful because, seated two meters above  the ground, riders have a greater view of open land,  and the horse can travel four times faster than a person on foot.

   “We can go in more hostile terrain quicker than a person on foot and perform reconnaissance more efficiently and more quickly,” he explained. “Also, when a foot searcher is starting to tire and needing a rest, the horse has just warmed up and is ready for the real work.”

Through their public appearances and  continued training, the Kapunda riders are gaining both visibility and credibility from the skeptical hierarchy of the State Emergency Service and the South Australia Police Department.

“As the police have their own mounted unit, we had to show them that we were not a threat to their existence as budgeting is always an issue in public service,”  Morran explained. “Now that they see the publicity and raised profile that we have achieved especially at the government level, we have a budget.”  

The group now operates on a government allocation of  $7,500 per year.  In addition, the state has supplied two new 3-horse floats or horse trailers.  More vehicles are  expected.

Besides her passionate efforts to see that the Kapunda Mounted Unit continues to gain stature through its public service, Morran, owner of four Appaloosas,  wants to keep the breed in the spotlight as much as possible.   Her efforts are working.

“The Appaloosa has been highlighted not only locally but also in Adelaide Central where people just can’t get enough of the spotted horse,” she says. “[Also,] when we attended the Vintage Parade, we had a lovely comment made.  An American couple who came over for the festival said we were the best group of colored Appys they had seen in a long time.”

Big Blue Blues

Life had been moving along much too smoothly.  When that happens for more than two days in North Idaho, you know it's time to start worrying.

Well, I hadn't gotten to the worry mode quite yet.  In fact, yesterday was turning out to be another day of bliss.

No stresses, no deadlines, nothing to drive me into my familiar routine of overcoming the crazy challenges that seem to haunt me most every day of my life.

And, Big Blue's to blame for most of yesterday's bliss demise. 

Actually, there were good things happening.  The sun was shining.  In spite of the obstacles, I also fixed a nice dinner for me and for Bill to enjoy later after his return from fishing.

The menu included slow-baked chicken breasts, swimming in margarine, garlic salt, salt, pepper and topped off during the last few minutes of baking with fresh asparagus.

The meat met with a lovely salad, all picked from the garden----beautiful, crisp, chilled lettuce, fresh celery from my lovely celery patch, onion and a few pieces of red chard.  

Of course, the Mennonite garlic bread provided a tasty mop for the chicken juice and honey mustard dressing.

Yeah, it was a delectable summer dinner, and I deserved it after the stress that blow-up pool had caused me throughout the afternoon.

This winter I decided to leave Big Blue outside rather than trying to fold it up.  I've never folded up an elephant before, but the two times I've put Big Blue away for the winter, I could imagine the feeling.

So, this past winter, as an experiment, Big Blue stayed in its spot.

Never again.  

Besides Sunday's many hours of  filling Big Blue with 4,000-plus gallons of Oden water (some seeped out, so I know we went beyond capacity), I had already spent most many hours on earlier days,  scouring out the insides of Big Blue.

See, when those pools sit out all winter, they gather up algae and everything else that comes along to squat within a vinyl enclosure. That meant picking up the elephant--er-pool and trying to drape it between two fence posts.  

I got some of it cleaned that way, but then I dragged the massive vinyl monster up to the pickup bed to finish the rest of the job.  My body had a workout that day, I'll tell you. 

It must have been one of the few warm days we had cuz sweat was dripping so badly I had to go in and take a bath after the scrub session in the swimming poo.

I couldn't clean the exterior until Big Blue got filled up with water, and I warned Bill not to get too panicky if he looked out there at that smudged-up  pool.  It was clean inside, I assured him.

Bill didn't seem to care one way or the other----I know he does care when he sees the water bill, but, thankfully, my husband never says a word about such sticker shock when it comes to a pool out behind the barn that offers him moments of summer refreshment on hot days. 

He also liked coming up with the clever thought yesterday:  you just tell people that you're helping with the drawdown of Lake Pend Oreille when you're filling that pool. 

Well, I'm so busy filling the pool, I haven't got time to talk to people, but I'll be sure to remember that quip next time someone asks, "You're on a well, aren't you? . . . No, oooh, that must be pricey!"

Besides his kindness of not complaining about the water bill, Bill also does not volunteer to help when I'm lugging and filling Big Blue.  After yesterday,  I've decided that he needs to join the pool-raising committee next time.

You see these blow-up pools need a lot of nurturing while being filled with water, and if the nurturing is not done just right, you've got 4,000 gallons either threatening to escape or already escaping on a weak side.

Before any water threatened to escape, I went about the duties of getting all the necessities for Big Blue.  Shock and Swim was stirred into the water Sunday night.  Chlorine went into the little floating container yesterday morning.

Then, I brought out the pump with its hoses and hooked them to the pool.  Miles of extension cord was carefully hidden on an indirect path from the barn to the pool.  I don't like mowing extension cords.

I brought out the compressor to fill the rim around the top, which has a leak.  I have checked numerous times but can't find it, but the rim usually stays pumped up for a couple of hours before self-reducing into a limp, wet noodle. 

Everything was ready for swimming by about noon yesterday----or so I thought.

I came out from lunch to discover that the pump had quit working.  

Three years into Big Blue I figured it probably had gone south.  So, my trip to town would include buying a new pump.

They cost $70, but after all the work I'd done to get the pool ready for hot days, I wasn't gonna let one item foul it all up.  I did go to the returns section and ask if I could return it if the pump wasn't the problem.  30 days, they said.

Well, it's going back to Wal-Mart today, 29 days early cuz when I got home the original pump was working.  Turns out the water level was not quite high enough to pour enough water through those hoses to keep it working all the time.

Figuring a simple fix would be to add more water, I put the hose back into Big Blue, turned it on and went to the house to check my email.

There was a note from my editor at the Appaloosa Journal, asking for a photo or two.  Stressor No. 2 had shown up to ruin my deteriorating day.  

It wasn't sending the photo that through me into agitation; it was the fact that no matter what I tried, the photos would NOT send in their original size.  Magazine folks want photos in their original sizes for clarity.

An hour later, the graphic artist had saved me from a total conniption fit by explaining to me the website called "YouSendIt."  All that stress was dissipating as I tried the site and the photo went right through in its full size.

Little did I know, however, that while my stress was dissipating inside, the pool water was dissipating or should I say "disappearing" outside.  

After sending a couple of photos, I told the graphic artist that I needed to take a break to check the pool.  

From a distance I could see one side of Big Blue was pointed and that wet stuff was cascading from the now limp rim. 

Bottom line is that as the pool fills, it fills more on one side than the other, sending water to the ground and lowering the level on the other side where the hoses need that water to make the pump work.

The first band aide I tried was to prop a board up against the weak side.  Worked for a while, but as a person who did not take physics but understands it just a bit, I know I'm doomed.

I turned off the pump, turned off the water, straightened up the pointed side of the pool and gave up for the day. 

There's water enough to swim in it, and Bills says that if we can get the pump to work part of the time, that may be okay.  

Basically I have a Big Blue snafu on my hands, but I also have 4,000 gallons of Oden water inside that snafu, and my lawn does not need watering. 

So, today I'll ponder on this situation some more and hope for better times ahead.  The one thing I do know today is that if anyone wants me to send them a big picture, I'll just bring up YouSendIt, and all will work out fine. 

Guess that's enough from the Lovestead circus. Happy Tuesday.

More camera fun

This is why I love my Lily.  She was happy to give four different people rides on Saturday while we snapped photos.  This rider is Raine Lightner, who works at Groundspeak in Seattle with Annie.

Birthday bliss:   buttercups, pretty horses and a wonderful dog on a lovely day!  Life is good when summer comes to North Idaho.

The sign of a well-broke horse is that she'll put up with all those folks riding her and maintain a laid-back attitude.  This is my sister Laurie on Lily. 

Pretty lupine, pretty Lily and pretty Annie

My new camera got quite a workout over the weekend, between my daughter Annie and me. 
She has quite an eye for capturing images that many of us take for granted.  The rest of us were so busy observing objects on the ground that we did not take time to look toward the skies.  

Annie did, and caught this magnificent cloud show.

And, while we're at it, Annie's former photography teacher and aunt, Barbara, has a nice collection from the weekend on her Flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misstshs/ 



 

Let the pictures do the talking . . . .

I took more than 400 photos yesterday with my new camera. I've also discovered they take a lot longer to download.  So, here is a small sample.  Will post more tomorrow. 

Special thanks to my family for the camera and for a truly wonderful birthday weekend. One of the highlights was blowing out the birthday candles on my Hostess cupcake during our "picnic" at Bloom Lake.

Saturday Slightly Different Perspective . . . .

Well, my family saw that I'd have a new means of looking at the world around me.

And, this is one of the first seizes of the day.

That was yesterday, by the way, and I've been out seizing the day again this morning.

A wonderful new camera!

For all the photo techies, it's a Canon EOS Rebel T3.

As for me, it's a new camera with a lot of stuff for me to learn.

I've been told several times: put it in the bag!

That might be because I dropped my other camera in Ireland, and some of the features (like looking at what you've got) haven't worked since.

I cannot believe the difference in sharpness that this lens allows.

Now, if I can learn all the secrets and practice capturing good pictures, there's a world of fun to be had.

We have a busy day ahead.  Annie and Raine have to be at a wedding later this afternoon, so we're going to make the best of the nice weather.

I'm hoping Annie and I can go for a little horseback ride, with her aboard Lily and me aboard Heather.

Heather was a good little gal yesterday when I took her to my sisters' arena.  

She aims to please, and I rode her for at least half an hour, during which she improved on many aspects---adequately enough for me to feel pretty safe and confident on her. 

Lefty needs to lose weight, my sister Laurie says.  He's so round the saddle doesn't fit him quite right, and he's so round that he's a bit on the lazy side.

So, we'll put him on a reduction plan and hope for better times ahead.

I'll post a couple of additional photos---one of which makes me upscale in one of my daily duties----dog poopie pickup.  

That came from my husband, who appreciates a place where one can walk freely without worrying about squishy land mines.

Beautiful Saturday today.  Best wishes to all for a wonderful day.

Off to take pictures, ride horses and pick up poops. 

Family Love

Romain would always address letters from his home in France to "Family Love."  If all works out for Annie, maybe she can see Romain and his "Family Ollivier" in August when she travels to Europe.

We all miss seeing Romain who spent a month with us over each of three summers back in the 1990s.  

Romain is now a cardiologist in Luxembourg, and he has a family of his own.  Annie hopes to connect with him when she does some traveling through several European countries.

For today, she will come home to spend some time with Family Love.  As will Willie.

He's been gone for the past week, fully engaged in a multicultural journalism seminar at the University of Idaho, where one of their speakers was the first Native American astronaut.  They also spent a day visiting  Coeur d'Alene Tribal grounds.

Two of Willie's students spent part of the week there, and yesterday Willie sent a phone photo to Debbie of "Bill" interviewing Idaho Vandal football coach Coach Rob Akey.

Debbie and I latched on to "Bill" as one of our favorite JV basketball players.  Bill is built like a football fullback, and during games he always wore a head band over his red hair. 

Bill's brother just graduated from West Point, and Willie has high hopes for Bill's work this next school year as the Cedar Post sports editor.

Anyway, Willie's seminar ends today, so he'll be driving home from Moscow this afternoon.  This morning Annie is driving from Seattle with RAINE, one of her colleagues at Groundspeak.  

Raine felt slighted when I didn't mention his name in the blog the other day.  I told him that if I had told readers "Raine" was coming later this week, they would start booing because they like the sunshine.  

Unfortunately, "rain" did come yesterday, but this beautiful Friday morning sets the tone for a lovely, memorable family day ahead.  

Bill plans to come home early today from work.  He's been diligent in making sure the new old motorhome is fully equipped and ready for Raine. 

Maybe this afternoon we can go do something along some trail and maybe even find a geocache or two.  This evening we plan to enjoy what Annie calls our anniversary, Bill's Father's Day and my birthday dinner.  And, for sure, Family Love will all be together.

This morning I'm hoping to complete a plan which had to go on the shelf with all the rain yesterday.  The horse trailer is ready, and later the two young horses will be loaded up and hauled to the Colburn farm.

I figured out that if I go via Selle Road to my sisters' house, the route will be all right turns.  So, having a left turn signal that doesn't work will not be a factor.

Once there, we'll saddle up Lefty and Heather.  Laurie will check out Lefty's retention of what he learned in training last fall, and I'll give Heather some more under-saddle experience.  I rode her last week in the round pen with no incidents.  She's a very willing little horse AND still for sale. 

If she does not sell, Debbie will start riding her along with me when I take Lily out.  I'm fairly sure she'll be just fine for Debbie, although we'll take extra care in the beginning to make ensure safe rides. 

In the meantime, a great day lies ahead, and the best part is that the whole Family Love with RAINE will share in all the action on this sunny summer day.  

Happy Friday to all.  Enjoy the sunshine.

Major Outage at the Beta Center

I'm back on line after more than two hours this morning.  During that separation from the rest of the World and its web, I penned a whiny blog posting.  

Also got some other indoor projects started and continued to look for the possible places our newest onslaught of garage mice have decided to squat and pee a lot.

So far, the collateral damage is Marianne's mousetraps 4---Mice left hiding in the unknown---unknown.

And, I just learned from my provider that that Internet problem was not exclusive to the Lovestead.  The lady at the provider office said they just learned of a major outage at the beta center.

Seems like Internet is getting less foolproof with every day.  Seems like the gods need to call a conference and find a way to keep it working more consistently. Maybe we're slipping back into the dark ages.

Anyway, my rants on this rainy morning are below.  Now, back to the mice.  The rain has let up for a few minutes so maybe I can accomplish some of my plans for the day.

~~~~

Here we go again.  

No Internet.

This time the outage occurred right in the middle of my usual morning surfing.  What’s with this satellite stuff anyway?  Yes, we’re having a light rain storm, but that should not have caused the problem.

I thought that overall we were on a track to have a few easy, obstacle-free days with pleasant summer weather ahead, but events over the past 24 hours have proven different.

This morning while it’s raining, the activity that can take the place of outside projects decides to go south.  Lord knows when it will come back, and to have it happen twice in a week makes me wonder what the Internet gods are up to.

The other gods have been creating havoc too.

Yesterday morning, before starting my usual outside routine of watering the gardens, I heard some movement in a slightly congested area near the door leading outside from the garage.

Didn’t take long for me to recognize that telltale sound.  Little critters were running for better cover to avoid being detected by The Human. Well, the noise they made while attempting to hide gave them away.

MICE in the garage!    %#%%&$?#$!!

What the heck are MICE doing in our garage this time of the year ON THE SECOND NICE DAY OF THE YEAR? 

Didn’t take me long to look a little closer and to figure out that the bag of bird seed in the congested pile had lured them inside.  Hundreds of remnants of bird seed were scattered all over the floor and on tops of the few items that had landed in that handy catch-all spot.

After moving a few things, the dreaded odor of that putrid rodent urine gave my nose a workout it hadn’t experienced since the great mouse roundup in the barn a few weeks ago. 

Mouse urine is the worst!

I started moving items from where I’d heard the scampering sounds.  The critters must have escaped cuz  I could see no visible sign of them except for their mess and their smell.

An hour later, the floor had been swept, vacuumed and mopped.  Some items had been moved to other locations.  Others were put back in such a way that places for those nasty little creatures to hide were not an option.

In the midst of my clean-up, however, two bold mice had the audacity to run along the walls of the garage.

The mousetraps were reloaded and placed about three feet apart around the garage and in the cabinet where we’ve learned to store only canned or bottled food. 

We hadn’t had a mouse invasion near our house for almost two years, and so far, this bunch hasn’t made it to the main house.

Overnight, we caught three, which is either good or bad.  Maybe they were the only three causing all that ruckus, but then again, they probably have a lot of friends.

On another front, I hooked up the horse trailer for the first time this year.  This morning I was planning to take the two young horses over to my sisters’ arena----one for Laurie to ride and one for me.

Well, the fact that the left turn-signal light does not work on the horse trailer was not going to stop me.  We’re driving a country road, and I can stick my arm out the door for those two left turns.

Still, that means the pickup and trailer have to have an appointment at the trailer place to get the signal light fixed.

Never mind the plan to take the horses over.  They’re wetter than sops this morning.  If this rain does not stop soon, they’ll never dry off soon enough to meet the morning time frame.

I was going to finish mowing the lawn today.  Could have done it yesterday but figured with a week of nice days, it could wait. 

Silly me.  Seems I’ve used the previous term far too many times this year because of the ASS-U-ME glitch that always seems to get in the way of progress.  To ASS-U-ME that the weather report for the week might just be right this time is a gross error.

To ASS-U-ME in North Idaho that you can put off for next hour what you shoulda been running around doing this hour is insanity. 

I did that yesterday.  Debbie and I actually took some time in the late afternoon to sit on the deck lounge chairs.

Because of our short window of dry weather, I had not yet had enough time to clean off all the crud from the chairs that had built up over the past couple of weeks, but we sat in them anyway.  So what if all the stickers and dried leaves were poking my bare legs. Yes, I wore shorts yesterday.

And never mind if we were experiencing a cottonwood blizzard with a few puffs landing in my cup of coffee.

Okay . . . .  back to the top, which explains why this rant went on so long.  The birds are singing again.  I'm not wearing shorts.  Maybe the horses will dry off.  Who knows?  If I run around fast enough,tending to my new planned projects, maybe the day will turn out okay. 

But then again, for me to think that is to ASS-U-ME, and we all know how far off base that can be.

Happy Thursday. 

Another Lovely Day in the Neighborhood

Yesterday we got together with Mother for a barbecue for the first day of summer.

Good food, good music and good visiting.

That's Laurie, Bill, Mother, Barbara and me.

Looks like lots of good barbecue weather this week, so I'll be pulling out the hamburger for today's version soon.

With summer here and with most of my major projects for summer under control, I'll be tackling one more big one today.

Big Blue.

I see that my friend and classmate Ruthann has her Big Blue up and running down the road a ways.

Haven't seen Claire Hansen's or the Wells or all the others that suddenly appeared last year out here in Selle Valley.

So, maybe I'll be ahead of the game.

I left Big Blue out for the winter, so there's some cleaning to do.

Temps are supposed to be in the mid-80s today, making the project pretty inviting.

If all goes well, Big Blue will be just about full by tonight or sometime tomorrow.

There'll definitely be a spike in the water bill.

Besides the sun, this week promises some fun with Annie and a friend coming from Seattle later.

That means house cleaning---both this house and the new old motorhome, which serves as visitors' quarters at the Lovestead.

Bill has the water hooked up, so the RV will be ready for occupancy.

We enjoyed a nice bike ride last night on the same route I followed with Lily the night before.

Stilt Man Dave was walking down the road but not on stilts. He was planning to get back up and do some more practicing.

I also learned from Emily, the master gardener, that there is organic SLUG bait down at the Co-Op.

Since the slugs are feasting happily on everyone's gardens this year, I'm sure the supply will be diminishing quickly.

So, I'll go purchase some today, rather than pulling out the slugs or brewing up pots of coffee to pour around all my plants, as suggested by others.

In short, life this week can be summed up as a summer potpourri, and I'm liking it.

Happy Wednesday. 

Along my way on a lovely day . . . .

Never in my wildest dreams could I conceive a sight like this during an evening horseback ride.

I have the picture to prove it. 

Dave built his stilts.

Lily and I came along about four minutes into Dave's first stilt-walking ever.

He was happy to have me come on in his driveway and snap some photos. 

We both hoped that he'd remain upright on the stilts long enough for me to pull out my camera.

I also hoped that Lily would not get too upset at the sight of a man on stilts.

Didn't bother her a bit. She just didn't like standing around while I visited.

Ten minutes later, Lily and I left, and Dave was feeling quite proud of himself, still on his stilts.

I asked him how he intended to get back down to ground level. He pointed to a car and said he'd lean back on it and escape.

I'm hoping he did.  In the meantime, Lily and I headed north, enjoying the sights and sounds of a pleasant June evening.

Deer stood like statues in fields along the road and stared at us as we plodded by.  Birds chirped happily.

A few dogs came out to bark or to greet us.  Thousands of bugs remained a presence throughout, but they apparently had already satisfied their appetites.

What a wonderful way to end a beautiful day!

Lily and I completed the entire Forest Siding loop last night, including about a mile of Selle Road.

Happily, Selle Road quiets down in the evening, and the few cars that passed us did so slowly and carefully.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day with weather which allowed me to paint a section of barnyard fence, do some weed eating and mow some lawn.

Last Saturday evening while biking down East Shingle Mill Road, I met Michele Murphree. She's a Master Gardener and one of the forces behind the school gardening program here in the area.

She invited me to show up at Northside School on Monday to see what the students there are doing with their garden club project.

So, I took her up on the invitation.

Northside teacher Janet Clark works directly with the students with help from Michele, other Master Gardeners and parents.

Students Ronnie and Katie Korn showed me their garden plots and the scrapbook the group has assembled since the garden project started last year.

These students and their advisers will be working every week throughout the summer on their gardening project, which is pretty impressive.

Before I left, one of the parents handed me a plastic bag with a small selection of seeds---squash, beans and corn.

The information inside the packet explains that they are the "three sisters."

The three apparently take care of each other when planted together in the garden.  

"The beans climb up the corn stalk, and the squash shades the soil,"the explanation reads.

So, I'll plop the assortment into the ground and see what happens.

I believe this school gardening project is one of the most worthwhile enrichment programs we can offer students, especially at the elementary age.   

Nothing better than learning a lifelong skill and a lifelong means of sustenance.

Hats off to those adults and organizations who have provided the vision and support of this project, which I understand is growing around the area, like a good garden. 

By the way, Mr. Stilts Man,  Dave, and his partner Emily are fine gardeners in their own right.  They sell their goods at the Farmer's Market. 

I wonder if Dave will bring his stilts next time they go to market.

Anyway, the long-awaited summer has come in fine style, and if the next few days are anything like yesterday, I'll press the "like" button.

Happy Tuesday.  

It's coming . . . .they promised us

April, May and June showers bring wet flowers.

I remember in Of Mice and Men when George constantly told Lennie how it was gonna be.  They'd have the farm, and Lennie could tend the rabbits.

One scene in Steinbeck's novel portrays a very excited Lennie who can almost see the farm and the rabbits.

Sadly, readers saw a different end to the story.

I'm hoping to report a better end to my story of "almost seeing it."

The sun, that is.

I'm not planning to tend any rabbits, but I'll be downright giddy if we have a couple of days this week reconnecting with the sun.

I'll probably tend my yard, garden, doggies and horses with a little more skip to my gait.

And, maybe, just maybe some of those winter coats can go in the closet for a while.

The elusive sun makes crazy people out of some of us and the hope that we'll see it makes us even worse.

I've noticed on Facebook that some of the photographers have taken on a different attitude:  if you can't beat it, join it. 

Take pictures of wet flowers, and, yes, they are very pretty. 

The flowers have kept their heads up as much as possible during this seemingly never-ending spring of wetness.

It will be fun to see how proud they stand to greet the sun.

As for me, "Bring it on." 

And, as I type, the rays are actually finding their way through the east window.

Ahh!  I like it.

Tomorrow is summer, so the sun had damn well better show up.

Let's call this redemption week for all the weather broadcasters.

Let's call it barbecue week for all the audience members who have gotten really tired of Tom pretending that the past several days of cold, wet weather have been perfect for the grill.

Bill grilled in the rain yesterday, and those short ribs and chicken breast tasted mighty good.

Today, in addition to dryer flowers, will come more barbecuing and a more exercises for my lips and crooked teeth.

Both have missed the smiling workout for some time.

Again, bring on the sun.  Bring on the smiles.

Also, if you want to see some more smiles, you can visit the Women of Wisdom gala page where I've posted some photos from Saturday's gathering.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.211721412199712 

Happy Monday.

Dad Love

'Twas a while back, and Annie's opinion of hiking has changed considerably since the day this photo was taken.

Willie and his dad walked up to this point a few weeks ago. This day was the last time Willie had seen the falls until their recent walk up the trail.

As he has since the day they were born, Dad Love continues to play an important and loving role in both Annie and Willie's lives.

He's a good dad, quietly and consistently supportive of his kids (now three with daughter-in-law Debbie), always a good example as a role model.

His kids, now adults, reflect that too.

So, today is his day and whatever photos will decide to show up will be in honor of Dad Love. 

Happy Father's Day to all the good dads out there.

Saturday Slight

Lovestead lupine are in the midst of their full show.

I told Bill last night that we've hit the height of our perennial color; the rest is up to the annuals and shrubs which bloom incrementally throughout the rest of the summer.

Every year I keep scattering more lupine seeds along Love Canal.

I was actually hoping for an even more impressive show this year, but some of the plants are young.  They may take a year or two to reach their full blooming potential.

Still, this year's production is not at all hard on the eyes.

The nice aspect of sub-summer temps is that blossoms hang around a little longer.  

So, we're hoping to enjoy a few more days of this color.

~~~~

Bill did come home with a new outdoor grill last night.  We had figured on our usual Friday night dinner out being an "eat-on-your-own" night, which often happens on weekends anyway.

I was helping out with the set-up for today's Women of Wisdom gala and didn't figure on being home until after 7 p.m.

Well, those gals have that set-up down to a science.  We were out of there by 6, and I rolled into the driveway before 6:30.

Bill was still setting up the grill and anxious to try it out.

So, we brought out some Bush beans, 'tater salad and chips.  He pulled out some Schwan's shrimp skewers, a filet of salmon and some bratwurst.

While he grilled, I walked around snapping pictures.  It was a lovely evening----DRY, not too cold, not too hot, no mosquitoes.

Soon we were enjoying the first summer dinner from Bill's new grill.  

Later, Debbie came from her two days away in Washington for Girl Scouts, and we visited for an hour or so.

During that time, my mother called, telling me she had tried on her outfit for today's luncheon and that it sure was WHITE.  

I asked her if she had put on the wine-colored shell I'd left on the hanger with her bling blouse.  

"No," she said. 

"Well, you won't be so white when you're wearing that," I assured her. 

Then, Jeralyn called, frantic because after being chopped/condensed twice, Myrt's Woman of Wisdom speech was taking longer than ever for her to deliver.

"I don't know what else to chop," I told her.  

We kind of agreed to apologize later if anyone complained.

So, I'm hoping all is well for today's luncheon. 

We'll take along an umbrella for the rain showers that will surely conspire to make things difficult.

On another front, I can report two visits with Rick Gehring over the past two days.  He and Ann arrived in the wee hours of the morning Thursday from Florida where they've been for the past four months, due to Rick's stroke.

Rick looks FABULOUS.  

And, his sense of humor is as sharp as ever.  I won't tell you the details, but when I heckled him within the first 60 seconds, he got me back immediately.

So, it's a thrill to see them home and Rick doing so well.  He still has a lot of therapy ahead to regain strength on his right side and his ability to speak.

I will say, however, that he's his typical talkative self---maybe a bit hard to understand but refreshingly ready to join in. 

The weather is supposed to improve so brighter days may lie ahead.

And, the past week's events have all been uplifting and visually beautiful. 

So, happy Saturday to all.

If photos want to show up, there'll be a few more below.  

Shortest Longest Days

Let's see; in five days we begin the downward count.  In four days we'll reach that point, that longest day every year when a lot of folks around these parts are outside doing things until pert'near 10 p.m.

Iz that the correct spelling for "pert'near"?  Have never before used it in print, but it seemed like a good word this morning.

Anyway, yes, this is the outside time of year, and we usually have plenty of time to get our outside stuff done.

In reality, this is the second straight year that we've failed to experience much semblance that the days sure are getting longer. 

I saw my friend Mindy yesterday and told her how often I'd quoted her in the past couple of weeks.  She stood in our driveway one evening about this time last June and lamented that we'd had no real sensation of long days.

Nothing has changed.  I guess we have to move to Alaska where I hear they've seen the sun frequently this year and have enjoyed their usual long hours of midnight rays.

Last night I was ready to submit to my "snooze" button about 6:15.  I was content to sit on the couch long past the national news and happy to watch Tom Sherry fiddle with all those chicken wings on his barbecue grill while fumbling through yet another weather forecast.

Wasn't it last week that Tom's weather report showed a week of suns and 70s, except for possible showers last Saturday?  I could have sworn I saw that graphic several times last week.

Then, like so often this year, the graphics began to change with each new day of unpredicted rain and cold weather.

I am calling for a panel of quality controllers to investigate our weather forecasters.  They don't seem to have to answer to anyone. 

Furthermore, as they tease us with those rosy forecasts while flipping burgers, hotdogs or chicken on the outdoor grill, they display no remorse for their ineptitude in giving even a semi-accurate forecast.

Experts talk about Global Warming all right; the only place I see it is on Tom's sizzling grill. 

And, around this house a new outdoor grill was supposed to come home with Bill last night.  I even pulled out two packages of ground beef---in the morning in anticipation---before the incessant rain began again. 

Well, while Tom was talking "possible sun and 69 degrees" for today and showing how he was marinating those chicken wings, I was frying hamburgers IN the kitchen IN the frying pan.

Bill came home, late as expected, cuz he took the big pickup and had planned to stop by Home Depot to pick up a new grill.  Our old one mysteriously had a part break off over the winter.

By the time Bill arrived home, I'd eaten my hamburger and was watching the CBS Evening news.  He prepared his burger and came to the living room in time for Tom Sherry to start up with the 6 o'clock weather forecast and to begin turning those wings.

"Didya bring home a new grill?" I asked Bill. 

He shook his head. 

"I looked at them,  but the weather . . . ., " he said.

I agreed.  Who would want to grill soggy hamburgers while standing in wet grass?

This morning I told Bill about my trip around town yesterday,  looking for a long-sleeved top for my mother to wear to tomorrow's WOW luncheon.  

I had already picked up a couple of short-sleeved, wine-colored shell tops for her to wear under her pretty white jacket shirt decorated with bling.  I bought the short-sleeved shells last week when all those suns were appearing on Tom's forecast.

First of all, finding a long-sleeved shell top during June in Sandpoint is about as hard as seeing the sun for more than five minutes.  I finally spotted one hanging in the display window at Eve's Leaves and bought it.

I think all of our local clothing-store owners need to do more consideration of cold, wet summer weather when they plan their inventory for this time of year. 

Anyway, I didn't want my mother to freeze at tomorrow's luncheon, so I was happy to find a warmer top to go under the shirt. 

Only problem was when we tried it on, the neckline was far too revealing for what my mother would want to wear. 

So, we made a pact. 

"You wear your sleeveless shell under your shirt," I told her, "and we'll have one of your winter coats on hand for you to wear to and from the luncheon."

She seemed all right with that. 

Meanwhile, in between Tom's weather forecasts last night, we saw stories of people whose dependence on warm weather for their summer tourism businesses to stay open.  The outlook was dismal, at best. 

Still, we have four more long days before the short days start anew.  Maybe one of those will give us some sunshine and a reason to stay outside our warm houses past the 6 p.m. weather report.  

In the meantime, I'm wondering who gets to eat all those chicken wings.

Can You Hear Me Now? Iz Anybody Out There!

I don’t think anyone is gonna hear me or see what I’ve written this morning.   We have no Internet.

 This time the outage has lasted for more than a few seconds as is customary on rare occasions when the Internet gods have changed servers or tinkered with something,  causing a temporary interruption of service.

I thought this morning was one of those times until I’d tried opening both my Outlook mail and our web server Mozilla Firefox off and on for more than five minutes.

With no luck, I went outside to see if something was wrong with the dish.  The half dozen or so drops of rain certainly would not shut down service. 

After all, our service has continued remarkably this past winter and spring through record amounts of snow, sleet, hail, wind and rain.

I turned off my computer.   I unplugged the cord.  I checked the connections.  Everything seemed to be just fine.

During that time, I took breaks to lead the horses to pasture---earlier than usual, which made them happy----and to read the newspaper.  I flipped on the TV to see if there were any streaming headlines telling of a  major satellite failure somewhere.

At this point, I still have no clue as to what the problem is. 

The break from my usual morning routine has pushed me into some different patterns and has aroused my curiosity as to what life would be like if my Internet were never coming back.

Somewhat work-related concerns for today would include the story I sent to the Appaloosa Journal and a speech I wrote this week.  A few days ago, the Journal editor said she’d get back to me soon after giving the story a quick skim.  If it’s today and I have no Internet, a problem could arise.

I asked Jeralyn (who’s presenting the speech) to send it back to me after she’d added her two cents.  The speech is about Woman of Wisdom Myrt Burnett, and her family would like printed copies to take home with them after Saturday’s gala. 

Hope the Internet returns so I can take care of that request.

Of the unprofessional nature, I will be missing a lot of my morning news from emails, from Facebook, from other blogs I read, from Twitter and the general news headlines. 

Almost every morning after “playing Internet” with my first cup of coffee, I come downstairs with something of significance to report to Bill, who’s still eating his breakfast.

Today I came downstairs with one big headline:  No Internet.

If this were to go on for very long, life would change dramatically for me.  I’d have to go back to using the telephone for my journalistic work.  I’d have to find some other morning wake-up activity to go along with that first cup of coffee.

Throughout the day, rather than those quick checks at the computer,  I’d have to flip on the TV set several times, to keep my nose for news satisfied. 

And, with the few times I do flip on the TV during the day to see what’s hot in the news, the commercials are usually on. 

As an aside:  does anyone else out there ever find that you could pick virtually any moment of the day to turn on the tube, only to find commercials rather than the programming. 

It’s almost like the TV gods know you’re coming, so they yell, “Hurry up . . . start up those commercials cuz this viewer stays on only long enough to lace up her shoes.”

Yup, that’s how much time I usually spend watching TV during the day.  When I change from my barn boots to my lace-up tennis shoes or maybe while chomping on a piece of cheese for lunch, I’ll flip on one of the news channels, only to be greeted by commercials.  And, they always last much longer than my lacing or chomping.

Well, it’s now 7:03 on this Thursday morning.  I have called the local satellite company and left a message about our outage.  Maybe somebody comes to work at 7 a.m., and maybe they can flip a switch and turn us back on to the outside world.

Maybe I’ll have to wait until 8 a.m. for that to happen.  I’m thinking if the Internet has come this far after this many years of operation, and it goes off when someone’s asleep at the wheel, we’ve got a problem. 

I like my Internet.  I’ll admit to being an obsessed “instant gratification news junkie.” 

And I certainly don’t want to go back to the dark ages when morning wake-up time included KSPT radio station announcers stumbling through the local news, which back in those days included obituaries where “entertainment” of the deceased would occur at Pinecrest Cemetery. 

Postscript:  This blog posting  will appear on “Slight Detour” when and if  the Internet ever returns to the Lovestead.  And when that happens, you’ll know I’m back to being a happy computer camper.  Also, maybe I’ll know why we were cut off from the World and its Wide Web for so darned long.

Joel, my Internet technology wizard and owner of Laser Image/Sandpoint Satellite,  told me to pull this cord or pull that cord, let'em sit for ten minutes, then plug 'em back in AND wait for the satellite to beam itself.  As you can see, it worked.  Back online and happy.