Slight Detour: The Pall of It All; Et. Al.

They are talking air advisories.

The accumulation of wildfire smoke has finally caused a situation where the outside air is not safe and there's a 360-degree dullness to the outdoor landscape.

It's a pall, and it's supposed to hang around for a day or two.

from the Bonner County Daily Bee

by Hailey Hill

Staff Writer | September 5, 2025 1:07 AM

COEUR d'ALENE — Most of North Idaho is under an Air Quality Advisory as several wildfires continue to burn throughout the region.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality issued the advisory Thursday morning for Kootenai, Shoshone, Bonner and Benewah counties.

Air quality is expected to worsen into the weekend and is projected to be "unhealthy for sensitive groups," though little risk is posed to the general public, DEQ said in a release.

Open burning is also prohibited under the advisory, which is in effect until Saturday.

Smoke from several massive fires to the northeast of Vancouver is being pushed south into the Inland Northwest by wind conditions, according to the latest forecasts from AirNow.

Over 160 active fires have burned nearly 18 million acres in Canada this year, the latest data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre shows.

The largest active fires in North Idaho, the Lightning Creek Fire in Bonner County and the Ulm Creek Fire at the Idaho/Montana border, are each sitting at over 2,000 acres.

Several active fires in northeastern Washington have burned thousands of acres.

Handsome horse (CB) drawing your attention to an upcoming local Arabian show Sept. 19-21.

If you have a horse (any breed) and wish to enter, you can do that by Sept. 10.

Or, if you just plain love horses and want to watch them perform you can do that too.

Learn more about this show below.

Hey, Everyone!

There are only six more days to avoid paying Post Entry Fees for the September 19-21 September Showcase to be held ad the Bonner County Fairgrounds in Sandpoint, ID.

We have a little bit of everything for everybody! Free exhibitor meals on Friday and Saturday evenings, FREE exhibitor breakfasts each day, lots of Walk/Trot classes for Adults and Youth, low entry fees for rated Arabian & Half-Arabians, Classes for All Breeds, a Special Evening featuring the Arabian Horse, & Lots of Activities for Youth.

Additionally, just bring a non-perishable food item to Saturday Evening's special performance to help stock the shelves of the Bonner Community Food Bank!

Download your Prizelist here: NOTE: you may have to cut and paste the links. https://www.eeahc.org/activities/september-showcase .

If you would like to join our wonderful list of sponsors you can fill out your sponsor form here https://drive.google.com/.../1ruPs9ydujeYzKA6Ljw5z94.../view .

I have realized, since my visit with Jeff yesterday afternoon, that we had probably not seen each other since before the Pandemic.

We do stay in touch, but he's in town this week, so we got together in person and did a little catch-up at Sweet Lou's.

Jeff, who lives in Los Angeles where he works as a box-office analyst, is a former student. He's also good friend and fellow ZAGS lover with whom we've shared artistic collaborations and have often talked endlessly about our mutual passions for writing and telling the stories of life.

Recently, Jeff published a beautifully written and illustrated children's book focusing on children of divorce.

Here's a summary of My House in the Sky, which is available on Amazon.com

A young girl uses her colorful imagination to create a magical world that helps her cope with the emotional challenges of her new family dynamic.

My House in the Sky is a tender, imaginative picture book that gently explores the emotional landscape of children navigating life between two homes.

Told from the heartfelt perspective of an eight-year-old girl, the story follows a child who divides her time between her mommy’s red house and her daddy’s blue house—but also dreams of a third house that belongs entirely to her.

In this magical purple house floating high in the sky, she gathers the best memories from both worlds: wild horses, a vintage van, a beloved kitty, summer tea parties, and a back yard big enough for joy to grow.

It’s a place where everything good is safe, remembered, and waiting.

Blending themes of resilience, memory, and emotional agency, My House in the Sky gives voice to children coping with change—especially those affected by divorce or family separation.

With lyrical prose by Jeff Tedd Bock and dreamlike illustrations by Althea Botha, this book invites readers of all ages to imagine a place where love isn’t divided—it’s multiplied.

It reminds us that home isn’t always a single place. Sometimes, it’s the safe space we create inside ourselves.

My House in the Sky is a story of hope, healing, and the power of choosing what we hold onto.

Of course, as Jeff's friend, his teacher and as an admirer, I'm happy to encourage readers to check this book out and maybe consider it as a Christmas gift idea.

As Jeff's English and journalism teacher, I like to think that I may have taught him some stuff about using the English language.

But more importantly . . . . I introduced him to Chick-o-Sticks.

I know that revelation of this unique candy log meant a lot to him because he brought me a Chick-o-Stick yesterday, just for old-time's sake.

The more I think about it and reflect on my Chick-o-Stick experiences, the more I think Jeff and I ought to collaborate on a Chick-o-Stick book.

Hmmm! Yummm!

I'm sure there are numerous other Chick-o-Stick lovers out there who would love to read our book while chomping on a Chick-o-Stick.

While at Sweet Lou's yesterday, I spotted Susie at another booth. So, after Jeff and I said our good byes, I walked over and said hello to Susie.

She's the one on the left AND I got to meet her daughter Christine.

Susie is a valued and treasured volunteer at the Bonner County Community Food Bank and one neat lady.

Great seeing you, Susie, and meeting you, Christine.

This Struck Me as Awful . . . from the New York Times newsletter:

Many male rescuers aided men but not women after Sunday’s earthquake in Afghanistan.

Cultural norms forbid physical contact between men and women who are not family members.

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This seems so heartlessly cruel and definitely to me like a "There but for the grace of God go I" situation.

It's both important and fascinating to learn about the many cultural traditions of the world, but sad to learn that some follow such inhumane guidelines.