Monday Miscellany

A Filipowski mother cow took time out from grazing in Eva Whitehead's pasture to stare back at me as I stopped to take some pictures of the herd yesterday morning.  

At the time, we were enjoying sunshine aplenty, but clouds soon rolled in over the Selkirks providing us with a fairly major rain and thunder event. 

By early afternoon, the Emergency Broadcast System broke in to regular programming with a forecast of damaging hail and high winds along with thunder and lightning. 

So, Bill put the cars inside the barn and shop, and we hunkered down inside.  The series of devastating storms of a couple of summers ago made believers out of most folks living around here.

When the storm had ended a couple of hours later and we both had enjoyed a good dose of nodding off during some of the Olympic action, the sun came out, and all was clean and lovely. 

We were soon back outside attending to projects we had started earlier.  Bill needs to find a bolt for part of the metal flower which came off its stand during the morning breezes.  I picked plums and finished tidying up the barn for the crew to come and stack hay today. 

Earlier in the day, I had gone to visit my sister Barbara who wanted some advice on which photos from her collection to enter in this year's Bonner County Fair. She has a nice assortment, and my sister Laurie will enter a few of hers too. 

With our being in Chicago for a portion of this year's fair, I decided to keep it simple and not take anything to exhibit.  Seems weird but I'm not missing all the preparation needed for selecting and prepping and filling out those exhibit tickets in triplicate. 

Both Barbara and I, however, are judging in today's first full day of fair activity.  So, at least, I'll get in on some of the action. 

We'll probably miss some major amounts of Olympic activity too.  So far, we logged several hours and have been delighted to watch former ZAG Domantis Sabonis play a key role on his Lithuanian men's basketball team.  

He scored in double figures and dropped a key basket for the Lithuanians toward the end of the game yesterday as the Brazilians almost made up a 30-point deficit. 

Last night after tuning in to yet another segment of the Olympics, I suddenly got off the couch, went outside and enjoyed a brisk walk in the hay field.  

That spontaneous decision came after figuring that those millions of viewers who take the time to watch all inspiring Olympic action should not turn into total couch potatoes. 

So, I guess you'd say I went out to get in shape for more sitting.  Seems like there's something wrong with that picture, but then again, spectators are important when the network has spent all that money to televise the events.

All that said, I need to get out of this chair and do my morning watering.  After all, if the Fitbit sez I've walked 20,000-plus steps again today, I can watch tonight's Olympic action with a clear conscience.

Happy Monday.  

I've never grown butterfly flowers before.  This year they're starting to pop out in several beds around the place.  Having no information on them other than they're perennials, I've enjoyed the gradual unveiling of their summer show.