The Stuff of Glorious Days

 

It's a breath-taking time of year. 

I find myself stopping in my tracks several times a day,  just to take in the magic moments of these wondrous spring days. 

Every day the grass is a little greener and definitely  taller. 

The morning bird chorus gets louder by the day, making me wonder what "things to do" the birds are up to as the sun rises over the Cabinet Mountains. 

Mud is drying up and standing water is less prevalent. 

At least half a dozen daffodils added splotches of bright yellow around the yard. The best part:  there are dozens more to open. 

Each day I've been able to finish a task to enhance the beauty around the place. 

Yesterday it was painting a section of white board fence and creating carpets of brown and white hair on top of the barnyard mud while grooming Lefty and Lily. 

There's much more hair to come, but they look a bit better each day as their dull winter hair disappears to be replaced by smooth coats with shiny colors. 

It's nothing less than glorious, experiencing these days on the farm when the rain gives us a break so we can fly into action attacking our gazillion spring projects. 

Lovin' it. 

I love this photo of Little Foster. 

Yes, he's got cataracts and his hearing's bad, but his cuteness, his quiet demeanor, resilience and patience  and the fact that he still retains his cool-dude-dog self makes me happy.  

We took both dogs to the vets yesterday.  Foster had a check-up and received two of three needed vaccinations.  

We decided with his age (14) to bring him back to the vets in a month for the third.  Plus, the exam revealed that Foster also has a slight heart murmur. 

It's a new development and the doctor will check again in a month to see if it gets worse. 

It's old dog time, and it's not the most fun aspect with any dog, but we're devoted to giving him the tenderest of loving care. 

As for Bridie, she behaves at the vet hospital, but her nervousness is very apparent.  

All that said, she survived the experience, which ensured that both dogs have the proper vaccinations to cross the border into Canada.   

This old barn (more than 100 years old) creates a pretty sight over at the Meserve Preserve.  

It was especially lovely yesterday with some big black clouds floating in from the east through the blue sky overhead. 

Soon, when all the mud disappears, Lily's spots will turn dark red and stand out against the rest of her pure white hair.  

She is always stunning in May.  Lefty's light brown chestnut color will turn dark, almost like Hershey's chocolate. 

We have a ways to go before they shed their winter coats completely, and rolling in the mud does not enhance their looks. 

Just in case he forgets, Bill has marked the "woodpecker tree" in the woods. 

The birds have been busy lately,  adding more "character" to the tree. 

All in all, it's the little things around the place during springtime that heighten my appreciation for getting to live this lifestyle. 

It costs, it's work and sometimes frustrating or sad, but it's the best, especially with all the uproar in the outside world. 

I love our sanctuary here in Selle along with the day to day unpredictability and natural delights. 

Happy Wednesday. 

It's the only Ponderosa pine on the Lovestead, and it separates itself from other trees by standing out in the hay field. 

The tree offers a magnificent sight when the sun comes up behind it. 

This, That Tuesday

 

Speaking of school and buses and such, once again a Sandpoint High graduate has distinguished herself as the first woman to head the medical school at an Ivy League college. 

Learn more about Dr. Jennifer Hunt by clicking the link for a story about her upcoming new position which appeared on the front page of today's Bonner County Daily Bee. 

During their time here, Jennifer and her family were active contributors to the community, with her dad Tim serving as Festival at Sandpoint director and her mom Judy teaching French classes and organizing exchanges between Sandpoint High and a school in Caen, France. I also taught Jennifer's brother Fred. 

That activity led to our family's introduction to Romain Ollivier who stayed with us for a month during three consecutive summers.  Romain is now a cardiologist in Luxembourg. 

Lots of wonderful memories associated with the Hunt family in the 1990s. 

Congratulations, Jennifer. 

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2026/apr/07/hunt-to-lead-geisel-school-of-medicine/

A couple of favorite photos of my sister Laurie who joined the Medicare Gang today.   Medicare recipients won't have to think too long about how old she is today. 

Laurie is the "baby" sister of the three of us, and, of course, I have memories of when she was a baby. 

Joanne Buhr had invited me to a slumber party at her house.  Well, Laurie arrived the day of the party, so I had to call Joanne and tell her I couldn't come because I had a new little sister. 

Joanne understood because a new little sister had arrived at her home a year or so before. 

Joanne never let me hear the end of it, however, when I had to call her and cancel on another slumber party a couple of years later.  

My excuse:  I had a new little brother. 

The timing for babies in our family and Joanne's slumber parties just didn't seem to work out. 

Anyway, Laurie's a pretty amazing person, teacher and horse woman and we all love our "baby sister." 

Happy Birthday, Laurie.

The photo below was taken a couple of years ago in Ohio when Laurie and her horse Pache cleaned up on some national championships in Western dressage classes. 

                                                                                                      ----Tricia Dickens Photo

"Hey, haven't I seen you on TV bouncing a ball around with a bunch of other humans?" said the Highlander to the visitor at the Bode/Dickens farm here in Selle this past Saturday. 

"Only you weren't wearing those great big boots," the Highlander added. "Seems like they were fancy sneakers." 

The Highlander got it right. 

Braeden has been bouncing a ball around with a bunch of other ballers called "ZAGS."

And, I'm sure the Highlander, like many other fans, considers him a favorite. 

Sad to say that Braeden, one of Gonzaga's point guards, will be moving on.  Yesterday he announced his decision to enter the transfer portal. 

I'm told by my friend Tricia that Braeden wore his sneakers to the farm but was soon offered a pair of muck boots to go visit with the animal menagerie at the farm on Selle Road. 

Just wish I had been home to meet Braeden.  If he's willing to come to Selle again, I can find him some Western boots so he can visit the Lovestead  and ride a horse. 

My next door neighbors, also diehard ZAGS fans, would love to see that, along with a whole lot of others.  

Braeden, we truly loved you and your leadership, both on and off the court, this past season.  

We are sad. We will miss your big smile, but we also wish you well on your hoops journey. 

Speaking of hoops, did you read that Michigan won last night?  Because Michigan won, our son Willie, the SHS boys bb coach, won too. 

His bracket named "FAB5 4ever" topped the list of Sandpoint High affiliated bracketeers.  

Just checked the final standings and saw that I wasn't too far behind. One of my Lovestead brackets placed sixth in the pool. 

Congratulations, Coach Love.  

Are you buying dinner?

The mud is almost gone, but the horses seem to like rolling in it at this stage.  

Yesterday's sun and warmth seemed like a good time for Lefty to roll after shedding his blanket and then take a nap. 

Doggies are going to the vets this morning for their bordetella vaccinations and for Foster's rabies update.  

So, I'd better get moving.  Looks like another gorgeous spring day. 

Happy Tuesday. 

Easter Weekend Album

A view of the Kootenai River from the Copeland Bridge. 

This past Easter weekend offered a potpourri of scenes, people, food and activities. 

All great, including the weather.   

Whether it was Friday-night family dinner at Sweet Lou's or lunch at Jimmy's Pub in Creston, British Columbia or a Lovestead Easter Sunday brunch or Willie's assortment of home-cooked, flavorful meats and veggies at Boundary Creek, which separates the United States from Canada, our tummies and our minds were filled to the brim with delight. 

And, yes, there were some birthday presents exchanged.  Willie and Debbie had just returned from a week on the Oregon Coast where they stayed in proximity of Flamingo Jim's.  

The place along the highway with all the yard-art items fascinated Annie decades ago when we would  drive to the coast for Spring Break and stay in the "Blue Motel," at Rockaway Beach, not too far down the highway from Flamingo Jim's. 

Decades passed and Willie married another Flamingo Jim's fan from Boise named Debbie. 

When the two compared notes about their childhood adventures in Rockaway, they decided that they probably saw each other way back when they were kids in a motel pool or maybe at Flamingo Jim's.  

Flamingo Jim's has become a family icon, just like Bigfoot, and so, what more appropriate gift for Dad than to give him a Flamingo Jim's bag stuffed with a commemorative T-shirt. 

Fifty years of Flamingo Jim's, and to think that Love family members were fervent fans in its early years. 

Bill will wear the T-shirt proudly.  

 

Our border crossing along the Pend Oreille River north of Newport. 

The agents at both crossings were very friendly and talkative when we passed through on Saturday. 

A big bud about to burst open in Creston, British Columbia.

Our favorite picnic stop is located within the Fish and Game wildlife habitat area in the Kootenai Valley. 

The wetlands were alive with duck and goose activity yesterday. 

I don't think I've ever seen nearly as many ducks on past visits. 

Bill's Easter brunch plate at the Lovestead.

 

Always gotta find a geocache, and Annie did so at the Ione park on Saturday. 

Foster soaking up some sun at the Salmo River just north of the Canadian Border crossing at Nelway. 

 

On Saturday Bill, Annie, the dogs and I stopped at the beautiful municipal park in Ione, Wash., where civic-minded adults were preparing the grounds for the annual Easter egg hunt. 

A few early birds showed up, well-equipped for egg collecting. 

Not quite the usual numbers for our group who go to this picnic area every Easter. 

Annie's flight to back to Seattle left mid afternoon so Bill took her to the airport while the rest of us headed north. 

It was an absolutely fantastic day for picnickers and their pets.  

Dogs outnumbered people 6 to 5.