Monday, August 26, 2013

Switching Gears after Fun Weekend






I wouldn't say life is totally back to normal this morning, but it's getting there.  We survived a wild and wacky thunder, lightning and rain event overnight, as did all the animals.

The storm followed my sister Barbara and me and her horse Dusty as we drove home from the Arabian show in Yakima last evening. 

We observed the deep dark cloud cover to the south of us while traveling from Yakima to the Tri-Cities.  Then, we thought we'd escaped the storm.

After leaving Jake's Cafe in Ritzville, though, we learned our assumption was dead wrong as we watched lightning strike and felt heavy drops of rain. 

It took about 15 minutes to escape that part of the storm.  Then, as we passed through Spokane, the warnings for the storm went from occasional to about every five minutes.  

Scary parts of the storm were always where we'd been or where we would not be going. 

That changed, though, when we drove north out of Sandpoint, the latest Emergency Broadcast System alert mentioned Schweitzer, Colburn and Bonner County in general. 

We had enough time for Dusty to get into the barn and for Laurie to drive me home before the skies opened with light flashes,  and loud booms filled the air waves.  Then, came the rain. 

All is clean this morning, and thankfully, the pastures got a boost of moisture.  Maybe we won't be feeding hay in September.  

Anyway, it was a great weekend tagging along with Barbara at the horse show.  She did well; her horse looked great and the horse show staff kept us well fed throughout. 

While not tending to my duties with tail and flies and chaps, I fell in love with one horse in particular----a Friesen Arabian performing for its first time ever in a show.  

Though the young horse had its glitches at gaits, the big handsome gelding dazzled the crowd with both trainer and owner showing in different classes. 

Meanwhile, over in France, Annie was dealing with car problems----a brand-new rental which died in busy traffic in a city on her way to the Mega-Event in the French Alps.  

Turned out the car was missing a belt and that a mechanic would not be available until Monday.  Facebook lit up with lots of suggestions for Annie.  Eventually, she found a rental agency about to close for the weekend, rented another car and was on her way.

Sounds like she's had a wonderful time meeting the French geocachers along the way. 

So, her adventure continues, and mine switches from horse shows to folks working in North Dakota.  

I've learned some fascinating information from a variety of people who've gone through or who are currently going through the experience of commuting from Sandpoint to the Williston area.

This week involves reviewing that information and crafting a story, along with a few more interview.  

Plus, there's lawn to mow, dogs to watch, garden to harvest and an all-around busy schedule.  All looks good, thanks to the refreshing rain and the morning sunshine.

Happy Monday. 

1 comment:

Word Tosser said...

What a beautiful picture of a beautiful woman... Barbara looks wonderful... glad she did well at the horse show..but that isn't surprising..
Her photo's at the fair were great...as always.. and I got a third.. yahoo