Rural "Seens" in Selle

A hint of Star Wars in the harvesting. 

Hardly a day goes by that I don't count my blessings for living the idyllic life here in Selle. On many levels, this rural community serves as a sanctuary in the midst of a troubled world.  

Oh, we do have our problems out here from time to time with someone driving the country roads like a maniac or the folks who think the ditches make a lot easier garbage depository than the local landfill. 

We pick up after them and we grumble a few bad words when someone goes flying down the dirt road like a bat out of Hell. 

For the most part, however, pretty much everyone who lives out here really appreciates their good fortune of spending a good part of their day in a relative Shangri-la. With the constant opportunities for enjoying (most of the time) abundant and varied wildlife, lovely pastoral scenery and day-to-day farm stuff that goes on around here, life is never dull and almost always fulfilling. 

Yesterday, as temperatures dipped enough to continue wearing a long-sleeved second top, my travels took me to the garden to finish digging potatoes, to a fruit tree to pick the latest round of ripe red plums, to the netted apple tree to gather its fruit and to the kitchen to preserve some of those plums into bright red, tangy jelly.

And, to add to the "life is never dull" claim, after finishing the jelly project, I loaded up the dogs with thoughts of capturing a few pictures.  I did not have to go far because, as I was pulling out of the driveway, the dust of a combine moving through a farm field across the way took my eye. 

"Brian Johnson is harvesting his grain," I announced to the dogs, "and I'm gonna go take pictures."  The dogs seemed just fine with that.  After all, any time they get to ride in the car or the pickup, they really don't care what the humans are doing.  They're stoked. 

So, that's what I did.  Just down Selle Road past Taylor's place and the Clyde's rental acreage that's been pretty much cleared out of horses, people and dogs (probably because of a sale), Brian and his John Deere combine were putting up cloud of dust in the far end of his field on the old Lichter place. 

I left the car and walked along the fence line until the harvesting machine came closer where Brian dumped a load of grain into the big truck parked near the fence. 

Since there's not a lot of grain harvested around our area these days, watching the process was a real treat for me, even with a little dust in the eyes. Brian waved as he passed by, continued his work and was soon heading north again for another round. 

As I walked back to my car, another car was coming out of the driveway where a relatively new mailbox says "Jacobson."  For months I've been wondering which Jacobson's that could be.  

Turns out they've recently moved to Selle from their former longtime home up Gold Creek. 

Last fall, my sisters and I met Ken Jacobson while we were out walking our dogs in an area up at Grouse Creek.  

Yesterday was the first time I've formally met Ken's wife Mickie, although I've seen her around the area for years and knew her kids at Sandpoint High School. 

Like pretty much everyone else, Mickie beamed when I asked her how she liked living in Selle.  She does and has even joined the Selle Club, which reminded me that I need to get to a meeting once in a while. 

To say that yesterday turned out to be a fully rural day for me would be an understatement, just like my oft-repeated claim that I love living out here. 

It's truly a place with more than its share of powerful natural therapy for dealing with the disturbing woes that seem to be increasing in the outside world.  

Hope Selle stays that way. 

Happy Friday, and welcome to the neighborhood Mickie and Ken!