Thursday This, That and TBT's

 

This photo appeared on the front page of today's Daily Bee. 

It was taken by Jennifer Taylor, our neighbor who lives up the road. The photo features Taylor's field and the view we have out our driveway.

Always pretty regardless of time of day or season.  

Congrats, Jennifer. 

~~~~~

My pictures this morning will be either Tulsa or TBT's cuz I spent too much time yesterday on the lawnmower to take photos.

A mother lode of leaves fell with the Tuesday's overnight rain so the day was devoted to pickup. 

A mother lode remains on those trees and could do so for the next couple of weeks IF the brisk winds and 100-percent chance of rain today don't send them flying.

The leaf collecting marathon continues. 

I always wish the wind would send the leaves anywhere but the lawn, but neighbors might not approve. 

Speaking of neighbors, the cows next door have gone home to Naples for the winter.  Bill and I are hoping our nightly visitor went with them. 

This cow was uncanny with its precise timing, coming to visit our place soon after dark each night and back to its herd in the morning.

In other news, my sisters are competing again today in Tulsa.  Laurie rides Dusty this afternoon in Western pleasure, while Barbara will be in the saddle for a ranch riding class during the evening schedule.

If they make the cut in each class, they'll compete again in the finals on Saturday. 

Barbara and Dusty in one of the Arabian Nationals earlier classes. 

Laurie and Dusty working out in Tulsa this morning. 

Roxzene and Eddy will ride on one more class, Western pleasure,  tomorrow afternoon. 

FYI:  Roxzene, who lives near Farragut State Park south of Sandpoint,  has been a family friend for a few decades.  

Several years ago, she sold Laurie a big beautiful black bay gelding named Mani.  

Laurie and Mani

Twice, Laurie rode Mani to national championships in dressage at the Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in Nampa.

So, there's a long history of family and equine friendship among this trio of riders.  

Good luck to you three ladies as you round out your experience at the national show. 

BTW:  Barbara, Laurie and Roxzene have a support team with them, helping with all aspects of this show. 

Our brother Kevin Brown from Frenchtown, Mont. and their friend Denise Cummings from the Spokane area help them as grooms, score keeping, stalls and you name it.

~~~

Thursday Throwbacks . . . .

Bill holding Lily at the seed orchard off Grouse Creek Road.  I think we were both there that day looking for a belt buckle that I'd lost the week before.

Eventually, after seeing a note about the lost buckle pinned to a bush at Grouse Creek, nearby resident Chris Biers put me in touch with a lady who had picked it up while biking through the area. 

I ran across this photo of Debbie, our daughter-in-law,  last week and thought it was beautiful. 

Since she's celebrating a birthday in a few days, it seems appropriate. 

Yvonne Smith LeBuhn (on the pinto) posted this photo on Facebook in the "Signs You May Be a Sandpoint Kid" this week.

Seems the horse-show classes back in the good ol' days at the old fairgrounds down by the Pend Oreille River drew the numbers.
 
For some reason, I think that I may be sitting on the horse next to Yvonne.  Can't really tell for sure. 

I once owned a Palomino Half Arabian named Nadje, and this could have been a color class, which included Palominos. 

Two lovely ladies at a Selle Club luncheon a few years back, Nita Schoonover and Geneva Meserve. 

Below:  a fun composite my sister Barbara put together a few years ago. Sisters and their beloveds.
 

I never really knew what to expect over the years on Halloween from the neighborhood Russell siblings.  It was always fun. 

Below:  that little tiger above also rode as a cowboy. 

 My cousin Valerie and her family and their friend Scott (he was working for the Spokesman-Review at the time) came to visit.  

And, of course, in those days when our big two-trunked lodgepole was still standing, we inducted them into the Lodgepole Society. 

The induction ceremony was standard any time someone came to visit the Lovestead for the first time.   We miss that tree and the ceremonies. 

My former student and Cedar Post editor Chad with his daughter Ellie who has turned into quite a soccer player. 

A great and familiar face from the past for anyone associated with fat stock auctions or horse activities. 

Mac McClean represented Washington Water Power (now Avista) as its livestock specialist. 

He was quite an auctioneer too, and always a nice man. 

Larissa and her mom Leslie have been among the regulars each year for Halloween trick or treating. She may be too old to do that now. 

Guess we'll find out Sunday. She needs to know, too, that we now have five Taylor boys in the neighborhood, so treats could be in demand. 
 

What kid who's attended  Sandpoint High School since the 1970s doesn't know Nancy Miller?

After retiring, she went to subbing, so it's looking like close to 50 years at the school for Nancy. 

Barbara on Dusty and me on Lily at pink shirt red hat horse show class a few years ago. 

Some newly installed Lodgepole Society members.  My classmates Janis Puzuhanich (center) and Gary Dunham (right)  brought family members when they came to visit the Lovestead several years ago. 

Twas a fun day. 

Our longtime family friend Jean Martin and her friend Lucille McPherson were some of the original ski instructors at Schweitzer. 

Sandpoint Reader owner and publisher Ben Olson aims for a good photo of Ron Paul at a fairgrounds event where the perennial Presidential candidate spoke. 

Love this photo on our shot put circle of the Laumatia clan plus one. 

This was the equipment for our Lodgepole Society inductions.  We filled two field books with member comments over the years. 

One day several years ago, Bill and I were hiking up in Grouse Creek when we ran across Bill Hawkins coming back from a day of hunting. 

My classmate Karen Arndt Kruse and her hubby Jerry driving the 4-wheeler during a Lovestead visit. 

Laurie and our beloved Kiwi on a beautiful October day in the aspen grove off Rapid Lightning Creek Road. Those were good days when we could still go up every year and admire the beauty. 

Love this photo of Karlen Andersen McBirney and our mother at a horse show. Karlen later, as a nurse, helped Mother through her final days.