Beating the Heat with a Paddle

 

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

I don't know that any of us have experienced too many of the above this summer, especially the "lazy" aspect.

Still, time spent last evening on a channel near Johnson Creek leading to Lake Pend Oreille provided a sense of what it's like to sit back, relax, listen to sounds of nature and just float on down the stream.

In fact, we had so much fun floating on down the stream, that the paddle back to the dock upstream sure felt like the trip back was a lot longer than the trip out. 

We survived, though. 

Our paddling adventure included some exquisitely lovely scenes, including one sighting of eagles loudly guarding a nest high up in a tree.  

A variety of bird sounds continually emanated from the wooded areas, and those wooded areas provided some much-needed shade for a late afternoon paddle on another brutally hot day.

My sister Laurie spotted a big buck on the shoreline. The rest of us heard it crashing through the brush.   

An occasional mosquito grabbed a bite or two from human flesh as we moved along in the still water.

And, fish jumped for bugs along the way.  

Motor boats coming in off from the lake adhered to the series of "No wake zone" signs.  

It was obvious the passengers were enjoying the quiet and serenity of the area from their big boats as much as we were in our kayaks.

It was a nice break from the heat and it was beautiful out there. 

More heat today. 

Funny how weather forecasters have this way of  tacking on yet another day to the heat wave. 

Looks like we'll be sizzling again tomorrow. 

The heat goes on! Ugh!

Happy Sunday. 

Saturday Slight

 

It was our first family dinner since enjoying steak/potato cakes at PF McCarthy's in Kenmare, Ireland,  June 26.

Reminiscing about our Ireland trip kept the conversation lively as we first sat on the deck at Old Icehouse Pizzeria at Hope and then moved inside. 

Talk about recapping experiences in a magically beautiful country while enjoying one of the most spectacular views Lake Pend Oreille has to offer----a nice combination, to say the least.  Plus, the pizza was great, as usual.

I also saw a former student for the first time in several years.  

Kent Compton who's moved back to the family homestead in Western Montana, emceed the infamous pie eating contest sponsored by the Ponderette drill team at Sandpoint High back in the 1970s. 

Let's just say he used his persuasive skills and his play-by-play efforts to encourage a few aerial assaults of chocolate cream and lemon meringue filling after pie eating turned into pie flinging. 

Kent claims his total innocence, insisting that he never did such a thing, but I'll stick to my perspective in the story telling.   

Friday-night dinner topped off another beastly hot day where most of the activity took place in the morning. 

Annie worked remotely here at home and then later in a downtown park.  Bill did his usual rounds, and I did my watering and picking. 

On my way back from my sisters' house, I came upon a guy flinging chains on the back of a big truck. I drove past slowly and suddenly put the car in reverse when I realized it was my longtime friend Cliff Irish. 

He was spending his day driving heaving equipment from one venue to another.  

It's always good to see "the Wild Irishman." 

Back home, at separate times and unaware of each other's intentions, Annie and I filled doggie pools---mine near the deck and hers behind the oregano patch out by the barn. 

We now have two different places to dabble our toes in something wet and cold. 

This morning, Bill, Willie, Debbie and Annie are headed out for some stream fishing at Upper Pack River.

In the meantime, I'll do my morning chores, and, later, when they come back, we hope to do some family kayaking. 

We're packing this day with activity in hopes of trying to forget the heat. 

When day is done, we should have only one more day of high 90s and then a cool down, which will be most welcome. 

In spite of the intense heat, these are beautiful times in gorgeous North Idaho.  

When we remember the drought conditions of last year along with the ubiquitous vicious bees waiting to attack the minute we walked out the door AND the smoke, we feel blessed that so far this summer has been very good to us. 

Folks are generally finishing up the haying season and smiling with the abundance.  Beautiful, clear night skies are adding to the delight of evening activities, gardens are starting to produce items for summer meals and life is just plain good. 

Happy Saturday.  Stay cool. 

  

Kent Compton, SHS Class of 1973

Cliff Irish, SHS Class of 1967

Work Ethic

 

Everyone who has ever worked in the hay knows the misery. 

Sweat dripping, often burning as it floods the eyes.

 Piercing chaff navigating its way to every inch of your body, including your eyes and your nose. 

A need to keep moving and especially a need to hold up your end of the deal from start to finish without complaining. 

Thirst quenched with gator aid or hose water. 

Hornets dive bombing you as you huff and puff, moving each bale to the next spot. 

It's not a pretty job; it's a dirty job, which almost always needs to be completed at the hottest time of the year. 

Yesterday we had a crew of four young men, three of them cousins; one the grandson of one of my classmates. 

They all arrived by 4:30 a.m.

When they had stacked the last bale in the lean to next to our shop, my Fitbit read 7:27 a.m. 

Ten tons of hay were put away for the winter in less than three hours. 

While keeping bales moving almost constantly, this crew worked meticulously and purposefully with their gloved hands, a hay elevator, a dolly and a wheel barrow, almost always with smiles on their faces and friendly banter coming from their mouths.

When the "knocker downer," as Levi Wood called him, broke three bales, the crew gathered up the loose flakes and tied man-made bales to be stored for easy feeding in the barn aisle.

While the guys worked, the horses, beneficiaries of this project, were happy to supervise. 

When the stack inside our big barn stall had reached a fixture where a lightbulb which had been broken off during last year's hay stacking, Bill handed Wyatt a bulb, and he screwed it in.  

When one mom came to pick up her son and saw the usual layer of chaff which covers the ground from moving hay, she grabbed a rake and began cleaning it up.  The crew pitched in on that project too. 

These young men have learned how to work, thanks to good role models who have come before them. 

They've also been taught to be gentlemen.

And, this is the part I actually like about hay storage day:  connections to the past and reminiscing about the old days. 

While seated around our dining-room table eating sloppy joes, fruit and potato salad for breakfast, the conversation focused on how the grandpa's stacked, stored and later fed their hay from the lofts which were always a part of most barns. 

It was also fun for me to tell stories about their parents and grandparents and how my mother was great friends with Wyatt's great-grandmother Myrt.  

I told Colter that his mom Angie (the rake lady) had graduated from Boise State University the same year as my daughter-in-law.  

That particular graduation weekend, his grandfather Leonard  and grandmother Naomi (Angie's parents) had also traveled to Wyoming for Levi's dad Ben's graduation. 

Colter's dad Jason was literally in the very last English class I taught at Sandpoint High School, and I'd had Trent's mom Melissa as a student a few years earlier.

Three of the crew are playing football for Sandpoint High, so, of course, I told them how their coach Ryan and my son Willie, also an SHS coach played together when they were young boys.  Ryan lived in our neighborhood. 

I'm pretty sure also that both Ryan and Willie could share some of their hayhand stories.  

So many connections and so many good memories associated with these young men's family members. 

Yes, the dirt, the grime, the back-breaking work and all that stuff we oldsters avoid these days does have its good side.  We get to reminisce about our personal experiences bucking bales and we get to see their even bigger smiles while handing over their checks. 

Twas a great crew and we are grateful.

Thanks, guys and special thanks to all the role models who have influenced these amazing young men. 

Happy Thursday.   

 

Hay Day

 

It's a busy morning today. 

It started at 4:30 when pickups started rolling into the driveway. 

Since then, the hay crew of four wonderful young men:  Levi Wood, Colter Cates, Wyatt Burnett and Trent Peck have been out there in the barn moving bales so fast, I had to put my camera on high speed to catch the photos.

These young men are amazing and amazingly nice and polite.  Some parents are doing things right. 

I've included some photos today of another high note about youth from yesterday. 

Terra and CB got together yesterday at my sisters' arena, and I could easily say that a good time was had by all.

My sister Barbara helped guide Terra through the lunging process.  Then, it was time to ride.  And, ride she did, as Barbara and Laurie gave her pointers.

CB loved the experience and so did Terra, and off in the corner of the arena, I was beaming. 

So neat to have these two come together, and it will be even more exciting to see where they go from here. 

Good stuff, from hay hands and a young horse lover. 

That's all for today.  Gotta get some eats ready for this fast-moving, hard-working crew. 

Happy Thursday. 

Longtime friend and neighbor Leonard Wood supplied our hay, and his grandson Levi gathered the crew together to put it in the barn. 

We are SO appreciative.