Friday, June 16, 2017

Back Road to Dump Receives Makeover




I took my maiden walk down our new road surface this morning.  The county crew has done a beautiful job enhancing the surface of South Center Valley Road, which we often call "the back road to the dump."

So, that's nice for all those folks who use our road to take their garbage, etc. to the dump aka transfer station off from Colburn-Culver Road. I hope they keep an eye out in their rear view mirrors and pick up any extras that fly out of their rigs cuz it's pretty likely they may be traveling at a little higher speed.  Enough stuff has been strewn along the road in the past. 

For the latter part of the endless winter/spring, we at the Lovestead had a very effective natural speed bump on the road passing by our north lawn.  Twas so effective we often thought company was coming because we'd hear the various modes of vehicles come to a complete stop.

This was especially true with the many trucks and horse trailers that go by our home. On any given day, just when I'd think I'd better go to the door or put the dogs inside, the vehicles that had come to a stop would move on ever so slowly over the cluster of potholes in that area.

In some cases (even trucks and horse trailers) the drivers never slowed down, and I kinda wondered how soon they'd be visiting repair shops. 

When the potholes got really bad, county workers would come and grade the area.  It would rain and the potholes would return.  

Therefore, all the new gravel which has been hauled in and spread over a newly crowned road should make a dramatic difference next time we have a thaw.  

So, many thanks to the county.  Nice to have some TLC on our road.

In other news, we're experiencing a little rain this morning. I was almost getting to the point of missing the rain, not!

Still, it's nice to have all the plants watered without my efforts, 'cept for those along the deck, and the grass will maintain its lovely lush green color.  July and hot and dry will come soon enough, so a rainy day every so often is okay now that we've been able to enjoy some better weather. 

Lots of little items on the agenda today but the schedule should be fairly relaxed, unlike the last several days.  Yesterday was topped off by a lovely anniversary meal at Baxter's in downtown Sandpoint.  

The restaurant which moved into the former Anthony's, The Bootery, Jalapenos, etc. on Cedar has reached the ranks of one of the many favorites in downtown Sandpoint.  Bill and I enjoyed our dinner and, of course, some visiting with other locals out for a night on the town. 

Before we went to dinner, however, Bill had spent the afternoon fishing at Trail Creek.  I was awaiting his return when the dogs started barking, and then I heard someone walking on the deck toward the front door.  Figuring it was Bill, I continued to watch the news.

Then, the doorbell rang. Hmm, I thought, that's not Bill.  I went to the door and saw a tall man with gray hair standing with his back to the door. Hmmm, must be Kevin (my brother). Why would he ring the door bell?

When I opened the door, the man turned around.  It was Fred Omodt, owner of the phenomenal blueberry farm on Shingle Mill Road and a fellow forester friend of Bill's. 

Fred wanted Bill's phone number so he could ask him to give a presentation about Humbird Lumber Co. to a Selle Valley group which is working to keep Selle Valley as is in planning and zoning guidelines. 

As we stood there, along came the Schwan's man.  Bill had forgotten it was Schwan's man night so we had no prepared order, but Fred knew what goodies the Schwan's man had on his truck and ordered some ice cream treats to take home to the family. 

As he was leaving, Fred told me he would be retiring in three weeks and devoting his time to the blueberry patch. When I mentioned our short row of blueberry bushes and how we harvest more than enough each year, Fred immediately asked me about my pruning techniques.

"I don't prune," I said.

That didn't stop Fred.  While I dealt with the Lovestead order from Schwan's, Fred took a beeline to my blueberries.

"I DON"T PRUNE," I reminded him in the midst of my transaction.

Fred kept on walking, then stood and surveyed the row of about ten bushes.  

After what appeared to be a close scrutiny of my non-pruning techniques, Fred walked toward his pickup and announced, "When I retire, I'll be consulting about raising blueberries.  You'll be my first customer."

And, off he drove, as I stood there in awe that an unforeseen doorbell ring could lead to a bright and shining future for my blueberries which were just out there growing in the north yard and minding their own business!  

Looking forward to learning about pruning those bushes and doubling my "more-than-enough" berry yield. 

Not a whole lot of other stuff on my mind, so I'll simply wish everyone a great Friday. 

Photos below are experiments with my panorama feature on the new cell phone.  I think a thumb may have wanted to photo bomb the top one, but you get the picture. 

Happy Friday. 






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