Tuesday This and That

 

My friend and former student Dr. Michelle Ward could hold only three of her four beloveds at a time yesterday when I saw her outside her clinic. 

Still, the scene was worth a photo. 

Michelle is the owner of Family Pet Urgent Care in Ponderay. 

All of her pups have an interesting story about how Dr. Ward took them in as her beloveds. 

Family Pet Urgent Care recently opened just north of Co-Op Country Store in Ponderay.  

Hours are noon to 10 p.m. Friday through Monday. 

Mark down the hours and pass the word for pet owners who now have a place to go for after-hours emergencies. 

Sorry for continued photos of our service-berry bush, but it is so SPECTACULAR this year.  

The birds are going to enjoy an extended feast when those blossoms develop into berries. 

For now, it's a feast for the eyes. 

Below is an exciting "How Cool Is This!" for the hometown crowd. 

I love the choice of grand marshals. 

Those two longtime local ladies are special in so many people's eyes. 

What a wonderful reminder to focus this year on an industry which has through generations and continues to reflect the roots of the community!

When you consider the upcoming "Lost in the '50s" with Green Bay Packer great and Sandpoint High graduate Jerry Kramer appearing at a book signing at Vanderford's May 18 and the Fourth of July's decision to honor the timber industry, we are definitely in for a truly "local" smorgasboard with two of this year's main events.

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Still, the question remains in my mind:  will Cliff, the Wild Irishman, spit shine one of his trucks, drive a load of logs in the parade through town and stop off at the Tam aka Tervan for a beer? 

While giving this some thought, I found this blog post which I wrote about Cliff from 2005 shortly after his father Floyd passed away.

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The big green logging truck had a sign across its front, letting everyone know along the North Idaho back roads and the highways that the Wild Irishman was coming. 

I always waved wildly with my hand. No dinky little truck driver wave with index finger extended above the steering wheel was adequate when Cliff Irish was barreling down the road.

Rough talking, funnier than all get out, boisterous but good-hearted as they come, Cliff has always been bigger than life to his hometown fans like me. 

I still haven't climbed into his truck for that long-promised run to go pick up a load of logs and drop them off at the mill. If I don't hurry, the mills will be all gone and Cliff and I may be too old.

Folks around here know and love Cliff so much that when he used to park his truck in the middle of the Fourth of July Parade on Cedar Street, jump out, head into the Tervan, buy himself a beer and climb back in, the crowd roared with delight. 

He could always generate more applause than any of the local elected officials waving from convertibles.

Cliff and I go back to high school days and the old-time Bonner County fairs when they were held down on the north shore of the Pend Oreille River where the museum now sits. 

I also remember a time just a few years into my career when I was young and silly. Another beginning teacher and I went to the Middle Earth tavern to discuss whatever problems were affecting us at the time. Within minutes, Cliff and Jim Jasman walked in right as John Denver was singing "Rocky Mountain High" on the jukebox.

Our working woes dissipated as Cliff's classic one liners and crazy stories kept Jim, Teri and I giggling for the next couple of hours. If I recall right, he may have even invited us to accompany him and Jim across the street that night to the 219, but we were good girls who taught school so we declined the invitation.

I'll never forget another time when we sat together at our sons' baseball game. Another rough, tough hombre, noted for his problem with rear-end coverups (aka plumber's butt), came driving up to the baseball field in his big truck, got out and headed toward the stands. Keeping his eyes focused on the guy, Cliff announced, "Well, here comes the Bonner County Crack."

One of the best things about Cliff is his wonderful family. When he married Patti, he turned into an instant father to three fine boys. 

Then, came Rusty and his daughter. Our close association continued over the years thanks to the added friendship of my son Willie and Rusty who met at day care as toddlers.

I write about Cliff this morning because I'm thinking about him and his family as they grieve this week for Cliff's father, Floyd, who died a few days ago at his home. Bill told me Floyd, who was a lot more soft-spoken than his son, had suffered from Parkinson's.

Floyd and his wife Leona have lived on their Dufort area farm and contributed much of their time to the agricultural concerns in this community for years. 

 Bill says the neighborhood has benefitted for decades from Floyd's generosity as a good and caring neighbor. Floyd and Leona raised a family of hard workers and good people like Cliff. I have a feeling the funeral will attract a huge crowd from around the county.

Cliff is my Wild Irish friend and a friend to many in this community. So, I take this time to wish him well and extend our condolences to him and his family. 

Stay tuned. 

This year, we are delighted to announce that the theme for our grand 4th of July parade is "Back to our Roots." 

And our 2024 Grand Marshals Shirley Stevens and Norma Laude. 

Sandpoint has a rich history as a timber town, and we would like to take this opportunity to honor our past and present contributions of the logging industry to our community. 

We invite you to join us in this celebration and pay tribute to our heritage.

Thank you, Lions Club. 

When  you live on a farm, stuff doesn't have to look perfect because there's enough room that you don't see everything up close and personal. 

You are seeing something imperfect in the photo above; i.e., the paint job on the pots could use a little help. 

Still, unless you come up for inspection, this flower tower looks neat from a distance. 

I did my best to repaint the pots in the tower earlier this spring, but I couldn't find any way to replace the handle on top which broke off a couple of years ago.  

Even with the flawed painting job, they look nice from a distance. 

 I have to thank my friend Pam from the Flower Farm for helping me find some posies yesterday that would fit in those little pots. 

She did.  

I came home and played in the dirt 15 times until every pot was brimming with young plant life. 

The tower adds a nice touch to the deck. 

I also transplanted some tomatoes to grow and bear on the deck.  If all goes right, we can get up from a chair, go grab a fresh tomato and enjoy a homegrown tasty treat. 

Happy Tuesday.