Saturday Slight

The heat is gone and we have an overcast morning.  All is calm except for a few birds chirping away in the front yard.  

I don't mind this kind of day at all, and I'm thankful that we did not have frost last night.  

About 1:30 this morning, in one of my usual wide-awake periods, I suddenly remembered that I'd forgotten to cover the tomatoes.

My mind must have been somewhere else as I put on a fleece (which did not seem quite warm enough) to put the horses earlier in the evening.  Dah, when it's cold, it might get colder.

At 1:30, while thinking more about those naked tomatoes in my sleeplessness, I figured what's done is done.  Running out there to throw on some cover wasn't going to do a lot of good.

Besides, there might be a bear out there.  We have a confirmed pile of bear droppings in the front yard, deposited a couple of nights ago.

I asked Bill to inspect it yesterday, and he said, sure enough, because of its color and content, the pile came from a bear.

So, that's two incidents within a week reminding me that bears are out and about in the night and plenty close enough to scare the beejeebies out of me.

Mother Nature took care of the tomatoes with the cloud cover, so my neglect and fraidy-cat syndrome passed without dire consequences.

Besides the bear visits, we have some Love doves that feel very much at home here these days.  

I can hear them cooing right now.  Sometimes when I walk outside, they'll fly off quickly from whatever they're doing just outside the garage door.

One has a particular fascination for my garden, and, of course, they love the bird feeder.  The bird pictured above sat patiently while I came to the living room window with my camera one evening this week.

Yesterday I took my camera to town, and upon learning that Mother had taken Ron's mystery trip to Schweitzer, a trip to downtown to see signs of Lost in the '50s activities seemed appropriate.

A few classic cars were rolling down the streets, and the sidewalks were bustling with folks walking and shopping.  I drove to the jetty and snapped a few photos along the way.

That was enough for my Lost in the '50s fix.  Somehow crowds are not my thing anymore, so it was nice to get a preview and nice to drive home to the quiet of the country.

I did pick up a  Sandpoint Magazine summer edition on my way home and have begun to read some of the stories.  

Erica Curless has written a feature about early agriculture in the area, and Cate Huisman has a very informative piece, laying out some unfolding for Sandpoint after the byway opens.

Looks like lots of thought and planning have gone into the transformation of the community resulting from less highway traffic.   I think even the naysayers will appreciate the effect of the byway.

I particularly enjoyed a short feature about the urban chickens.  Our tax consultant Bev Wright Kee seems to be the person in the know about having a few egg layers in residential back yards.  

The story notes how Bev used to let her hens Buffy and Della run free range while she was at work but, after neighbor complaints, decided to pen 'em up.  

I'm glad the town people have their chickens.  Here on the farm, I still deal with deafening silence any time I suggest that we need to have a hen or two. 

At this point, I figure we've got enough animals here at the Lovestead.  So, I'll go through life without ever having "chicken farmer" on my resume.

Happy Saturday.