There's a new member among the extended family's dogs. His name is Fred.
He's an English Labrador, and he's a sweetie.
My brother Kevin from Frenchtown, Mont., is here for this weekend's horse show. He is serving as show manager, and, Fred will be alongside him throughout the show.
Fred, who's named after one of Kevin's best friends who recently passed away, came to the Lovestead for a visit yesterday morning.
Bridie was a bit jealous, and she knows how to snarl so she spent that time in the crate, but Foster didn't mind Fred one bit.
He's a good little puppy, and I have a feeling he'll get lots of attention while helping out at the horse show.
Lilacs are pretty in the spring, and their leaves are stunning in the fall.
It's Stink Bug Season.
They suddenly seem ubiquitous.
I found them on some saddle blankets. They love occupying the screens, and they'll show up pretty much anywhere.
It's looking like a banner stink bug year, so plug your nose.
Below: A neat story in this week's Sandpoint Reader by my friend Marcia.
I'll actually pick these apples in October for jelly.
They're much too small to go through the tedium of peeling and quartering and cooked into applesauce.
Gala apples will be acquired for that purpose. Applesauce is good for colitis, so I intend to cook up a good supply for the winter.
The other neat aspect of Marcia's story is our common admiration for our mothers and our desire to carry on what we watched them do in the kitchen.
https://sandpointreader.com/the-sandpoint-eater-apples-and-autumn/
Horse activity was beginning at the fairgrounds last night as horse trailers and their accompanying fleets rolled in for three days of horse show fun.
The Emerald Empire Arabian Horse Club September Showcase starts this morning and runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds indoor arena.
There will be lots of serious Western, English and costume classes for young and old as well as a few designed for good ol' fashioned fun.
The weather promises to be perfect, and there will be a food truck on the grounds.
Come any time to pet a horse or watch a horse in action.
It's all free.
See ya there. I'll be taking candid photos.
Denise Cummings, horse show secretary with her granddaughter who will be riding my sister Barbara's horse Dusty.
My sisters Barbara and Laurie in the middle, visiting with two of this weekend's horse-show exhibitors.
Todd Mitchell, president of the Emerald Empire Arabian Horse Club and my brother Kevin, this year's September Showcase manager.
This lady on the right is something else. I've known her since her childhood when her dad Harold Anderson was the Forest Service Supervisor.
Karlen Andersen and I have shared and even listened in on the old party lines. We've known each other through horses when her daughter Margo participated.
She also took wonderful care of my mother both as a friend and a nurse in Mother's later years.
These days she cycles and stayed involved in local issues.
I always enjoy seeing Karlen and her friend attorney Paul Vogel when they're out riding the roads.
Indeed, a special lady.
We read in the paper several days ago that this house will either be removed or torn down.
It's located at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, and it has nostalgic meaning for me.
Sandra Shaffer lived in that house. She and I started first grade together. If I remember correctly, her cousin Don (a good friend to the family) also lived there years later.
My friend in the above photo, Karlen, also lived in that house.
Most importantly in my personal history book is the five-year span when my longtime friend Susie "Sky" Baldwin lived in the home while her dad Dick Baldwin worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Sandpoint.
The Baldwin's move there when I was in the seventh grade spawned a friendship that has lasted a lifetime.
During those five years, we were basically inseparable, and I spent a lot of time in that house. Susie spent time in our home, which was just half a mile or so down the road.
She kept her horse Major there, which meant that I had a horseback riding buddy. Susie's parents didn't know much about horses, so she did not live under the same restrictions with horses that I did.
So, we sneaked a lot, and I don't think my parents ever knew until Susie had moved away to Missoula how much time we spent racing the back roads in the evenings.
My mother's mare Largo usually won because Largo was competitive.
Anyway, it's sad to see the house go because it holds so many neighborhood memories.
I hope they move it rather than tearing it down.
When I sent the newspaper article to Susie, who now lives in Colorado, still fully devoted to horses, she wrote back and said, "I liked that house."
