Summer Times and Good Livin'

Lily enjoying her new summer shelter.

My beloved:  Miss Kiwi takes a quick glance away from her work, watching those horses. 

Buttercups and the white board fence:  another summer beloved.

Selkirk Ranch south pasture

Some of the Selkirk Ranch barns and Cabinet Mountains in background

If all days of June go like yesterday, I'm looking forward to the month ahead.  Bill and I did exactly what we wanted to do yesterday, only in separate venues.

For Bill, it was a trip to Costco----we're now resupplied with the big bag of M & M peanuts  and the giant Tillamook medium cheddar block.  Those goodies in themselves will make life in June good.

He moved on to the Coeur d'Alene River and then the North Fork for a day of fishing, returning around 10:45.  Yes, I was asleep, so I heard the reports this morning.

He caught a nice fish with two flies tied on.  One fly came loose, as did the fish.  Half an hour later, he caught another nice fish on a different fly.  After reeling it in, he discovered some mighty familiar flies.  

So, he retrieved the lost flies and sent the not-so-savvy trout on its way. 

In my case, it was a day for getting things done around the place----that country tune "All I Wanta Be Is Done" came to mind with gardening and lawn projects. 

Well, there's a little "seed" left over, but, for the most part, and except for the cukes which I'm keeping inside until really warm weather comes, my gardens are complete.  

Lots of marigolds and petunias went out into planters and along manure pile garden.  My neighbors also got their promised tomato plants.  I waited a while for the plants to regenerate after being bitten by a couple of frosts.

Later, I finished the entire lawn-mowing job, so that gives me a day or two to breathe and enjoy the beauty of this time of year. 

The day also involved my own grocery shopping, including some cheap tuna fish for Fuzzy Wuzzy.  We thought she had spent up her ninth life of her 15 years this week, but the ol' gal has bounced back and seems just fine.

I figured she could use a little soft food to help her gain back strength, and she appreciated last night's dinner.

I also did my usual visit to Life Care.  Now, those trips involve two stops, the usual visits with Mother and also with a longtime family friend (especially for Bill) who's recovering from hip replacement surgery.  We've had some good visits and lots of laughs over the past few days.

Throughout the day, some Facebook discussion evolved from yesterday's photos.  The main topic:  the Selkirk Ranch.  I learned from its present owner that it's a lot closer to our farm--via the crow path--than I originally thought.

Our family has longtime roots with the Selkirk Ranch.  Its founders, Howard and Mary Ellen Thomason,  were close friends.  My dad had known Mary Ellen when the two of them grew up in Bonners Ferry.  Harold and Howard both raised Herefords and even took a lot of cattle-related trips together.

My brothers hayed for Howard, and I spent two or three weeks the summer of my junior year of high school, helping with housework and cooking while Mary Ellen recovered from gall bladder surgery.

That was 50 years ago, and I recalled one day riding their Appaloosa horse from the ranch to the Forest Siding Road where my friend Roxane Conrad lives.  

I still can't figure out what route I took, but yesterday's revelation that the ranch is just across the railroad tracks from where I was on Forest Siding explains that I must not have ridden very far. 

Maybe I'll figure that out today.  The discussions yesterday also revealed that my classmate and friend Dale Inman had a lot of connections with the ranch throughout his life because he has lived so close to it.

Selkirk Ranch has a long and fascinating story, not only here but also in Dillon, Mont., where Howard's cattle herd went after he sold the operation.

Forty years ago this month, I was assigned the story to photograph and document the move to Dillon.  The result:  a two-page broad sheet newspaper story in the Sandpoint News Bulletin. 

Several years ago, Jo Rehm, wife of Selkirk Ranch manager Gibbs Rehm in Dillon, sent me a laminated copy of the story.  I had gotten to be good friends with the Rehms and even stopped there on occasion while passing through Dillon. 

Well, when Facebook discussion brought up all the revelations, I decided it was time for Chip, the present Selkirk Ranch owner, to see that story.  

So, last evening for the first time in 40 years, I drove down memory lane for me----the winding, breath-takingly beautiful driveway into the ranch.  Howard and Mary Ellen's home has been replaced by a majestic structure high on a bench above the barns.

Herefords have been replaced by llamas (hope I have that right---if they're alpacas, someone will tell me).   

Chip wasn't home, but his son was, and I felt very proud to hand over the story, written so long ago.  I'm hoping the owners enjoy it as much as I did putting it together and rereading it before delivering it to their home.

The place holds many dear memories, and I'm sure all who've lived there have amassed some wonderful times of their own.  

One never knows about those things called "pictures."  They're truly worth a thousand words and even more sometimes.