Slight Detour: Happy Earth Day

from yesterday's Bonner County Daily Bee

Dear Earth,

I’m writing to you today to express my gratitude toward you.

How you're always changing, adapting, demanding. Thank you for the sunshine; it’s been needed. Thank you for the breeze and rain and mud. You’ve brought the birds and fresh air back, too.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow and the cold and cozy we create to combat the ice but what comes after is your most beautiful creation.

There’s still snow in the hills but there's flowers and dirt and grass in the valleys. Your nights are cold but you always warm us back up in the mid-morning sun. You always know right when to change too.

Right as we start to feel tired and worn down, we feel you shift. Now we can eat, gather and dance in the daylight. Just as you change, we also must change.

We go from bundling ourselves in layers to shedding; We cut our hair, clean our homes, swap our skis for bikes, our knee-high boots for trail shoes.

Thank you for teaching us change. You bloom and breathe and flow. Your change signifies life. We watch as fish move up from lakes to streams, as bugs hatch and fly, as your plants bud and grow and bloom.

This season marks a season of abundance. Thank you for providing everything we need, I know we take too much from you, but I promise we’ll try harder to give back.

I grew up loving you, like most other people do. To be honest, you raised me in your wild lands. I hiked your trails, climbed your rocks, floated your streams, explored deep into the untouched wilderness of your mountains, looked across your vast deserts, canoed your lakes and played in the mud and the water and in the rain.

Sometimes cursing you and your temperamental changes but always grateful for the adventure and classroom you provided.

Thank you for being our solace, excitement and reverie. We still have so much more of you to see and explore, and love. Hopefully we can take care of you the way you take care of us.

Happy Earth Day!

SAVANNAH WILLISON

Sandpoint

I love our daffodil show this spring, but the periwinkles are making a run for favored spring flower.

They are out in significant numbers this week.

What a thrill but also what a concern it is to see plum blossoms bursting out on all the trees around the yard so early.

Nice to see them but worrisome that we have a couple of days of freezing temps ahead.

I hope the trees are hardy enough to withstand the cold.

The one below is special as it was given to me this time last year by my daughter when I lost a friend.

She still speaks through the beautiful blossoms.

Bill proudly donned his Flamingo Jim's T-shirt yesterday when he knew Debbie was coming over for a visit.

After all, it's nice to please the benefactor of fine shirts.

I'm still getting used to the fact that my friend Cliff aka the Wild Irishman has a daughter.

I met her yesterday at The Flower Farm.

I have no idea why I never knew, but it was a pleasant experience meeting her for the first time. I must say to both Cliff and his wife Patty: you've done well by Rebecca.

What a delightful young lady!

Cliff and Patty's son Rusty met Willie when the two were going to daycare together, and then they played baseball together and then they graduated together.

Apparently, Rebecca was far enough behind in years that I missed her at every turn---until yesterday.

What a nice surprise!

That's grandpuppy Bailey with Debbie.

Debbie and the grandpuppies came over for a visit last night, and during our conversation.

While grandpuppies and Bridie happily raced around the place, we did a little Irish reminiscing from our family trips there.

This morning I saw the following interesting statistic about our favorite place to visit as often as possible.

American applications for Irish citizenship jump 63 percent last year.

--Financial Times

☘☘☘☘☘☘

I think I may know a few reasons why.

The swallows have been shopping for homes.

I could not help but notice yesterday while walking down the lane with Foster.

Suddenly, I felt and heard the swoop of a swallow pair whose ascent had probably been the 7B bird house behind me.

They did a few aerial acrobats and then checked out the brown bird house at the beginning of the lane.

While one sat on the fence, the other inspected the house both inside and out.

A little later, as I walked by the garden, I saw another swallow checking out the blue bird house which hangs from the garden fence.

I really don't know how many swallows were checking out real estate, but I know their presence was emphatic, both in the air and wherever they decided to land.

It will be interesting to see if more than one pair will take up residence here at the Lovestead to raise their little ones.

And, if they do, that's gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

For now, it think it's simply a matter of swallow speculation.