Album: Butterflies and Remembering

 

I spent a few minutes at the Monarch Butterfly Festival yesterday. 

It took a while to find a parking spot near the Granary District, so I knew before walking into the exhibit area that it was well attended. 

The booths offered lots of informative information and handouts.  The article below is informative also as it summarizes some basic information that would be helpful to anyone who wants to enhance the environment for butterflies and other pollinators. 

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2026/aug/30/sandpoint-embraces-its-monarch-moment-at-festival/

I also attended the Miller Brothers Celebration of Life gathering on Sunnyside Road. 

All educators and inspired by a mom "Grandma Miller," who was an educator, Larry, Ray and Bill collectively compiled more than 90 years of educating local students as teachers, coaches and administrators. 

All three have passed away in the past few years.  The family has established a scholarship fund in their honor. 

For more information about the scholarship and how to donate, check out the following link and pass it on to their former students who may want to support the fund. 

https://themillerbrothers.org/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUBCn5wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5LSmBPddcN8cvnFrsVHE8hKyYllYYAXmQsIlJvAwjyH_nxgTMihfQG2YTFtQ_aem_-YDzg44qkW4KnveyMDitsg

Miller Brothers Celebration of Life
💙💚💛💜💙💚💛💜

Randy Miller, also a Washington educator and coach and son of Larry, said a few words as did his cousin Steve, second left. 

It was a day filled with lots of memories, reconnections with old friends and former students and gratitude to have simply been there. 

Enjoy the photos and the music.  

Saturday Slight

 

Slowly but surely, we're moving toward admiring dead or dying leaves rather than flowers.  

Flowers are still putting out some stunning color and will continue to do so until it freezes or turns beastly hot again. 

Meanwhile, dry weather and more than enough wind has caused leaves to drop earlier than usual, and in this process, some turn to amazing colors. 

We just have to look down more often to see the beauty. 

As August rolls on, it's becoming turtleneck weather.  This morning I shut off ceiling fans, closed windows and found a black turtleneck to wear during the morning hours. 

I don't mind layering to keep warm and can report that the turtleneck added some comfort to a somewhat brisk, cool morning. 

Today Bill has to help set up a booth at the Monarch and Friends Festival (from noon-4 p.m.) in the downtown granary district. 

https://sandpointreader.com/celebrate-local-pollinators-at-the-monarch-and-friends-festival/

It appears to be another busy weekend in Sandpoint. 

When I read the first sentence of today's New York Times Morning Newsletter, I felt like there's plenty to say in response to the question.  

From the Times:  

Good morning. 

How do we balance our desire for modern conveniences with our nostalgia for the uncomplicated felicity of our pre-internet past?

My thoughts: 

I've felt a lot of nostalgia lately for writing checks to pay all my bills AFTER I have received those bills in the mail and opened them to find with information, like how much I owe, written on a piece of paper rather than trying to track down a vague something floating around in cyberspace. Most often this process needs a password which I usually can't remember.  

I have also often repeated my desire to go back to the old-style parking meters where you insert a penny, nickel or dime and the arrow shows you how much time you have before having to drive away from the parking spot or to put in more coins. 

These are tangible methods for seeing exactly what is needed and responding with a pen, a check and a stamped envelope or a penny, nickel or dime. 

These transactions are made without any outside wonderment with bills actually sent in the mail (which is a damn sight slower than a pony these day) or several moments of standing in public and feeling self conscious that you're might be the dumbest person on earth cuz you can't figure out how to use the kiosk.

Oh for the good ol' days!  

Much slower, yes, but then again, maybe not when you consider these days, using the phone to call up a menu and then have to listen to nauseating music for 45 minutes before someone answers and when they do, you often can't understand a word they're saying.  

I really do wonder in these times if computers save us time.  

I especially wonder about that when some sleazy, mean-spirited slimeball pulls a fast one by scamming, phishing or hacking your phone or your computer.

  Then you, the victim, who did nothing other than exist in cyberspace,  spend hours and maybe days (sick to your stomach) as you try to rectify the problem that said hacker/scammer inflicted upon you. 

Thinking about all the above, which play havoc with our minds and our pocketbooks, makes me very nostalgic for the good ol' days.  

Bill and I have talked about this very subject several times recently and have come to the really ugly conclusion that there is virtually no way most of us dumb saps can avoid these situations and still exist on the planet. 

We've become wired in to a system where nobody came before and gained knowledge to instruct us of the woes that can happen and how to fix them when they do. 

So, we go through periods of temporary insanity while we work our way through the computer-age quagmires that have come with these technology breakthroughs designed to save time. 

Okay, that's enough because my time before today's deadline for blog posting is coming to an end so I'd better shut up. 

Once more, and every single day, the computer, that was supposed to save time takes up most of my early morning hours creating a computer-generated blog. 

One would think that I'd get it and push a giant delete button to stop all this computer craziness.

Some day, maybe. 

On this Saturday of the week that we lost Dolly, I'll wish everyone a clear new day with no hackers/scammer upsetting your apple cart. 

Happy Saturday. 

Just "Seens" and Mutterings

 

I think I was mildly complaining about my somewhat dismal cucumber output the other day. 

Well, yesterday, as they say in the geocaching world, "I got a find!"

That's the biggest cucumber I've ever seen.  

Years ago, I harvested another big one, which I gave to my friend Cindy. It was about three quarters the size of this one. 

The cuke was hiding mostly under the dirt, which with my garden vixens, that's not such a good idea. 

Except for a few small teeth marks on one end, the cucumber managed to avoid any further injury. 

I almost didn't find it but happened to look down and see something green in the dirt. 

A few swipes with the hand and the garden giant had its coming out party. 

I don't know if a cucumber that large is as tasty as smaller models, but I do know that Bill could be feeding on it for several days. 

So, if all the rest of those yellow blossoms don't yield anything, this cuke has erased my disappointment.

Below:  I harvested carrots again yesterday.  I don't want to appear redundant with carrot pictures, but they are pretty, especially with those occasional yellow models.  

The snowberries are coming on strong.  

I'm sure that huckleberry addicts would have loved to have seen those numbers on their bushes in the mountains. 

I've read and heard that this was a bad huckleberry year.

I have also wondered, with the huckleberry shortage in mind, if snowberries have any edible value for peeps. 

If they did, we'd have a banner year. 

And, since they are snowberries, I wonder if their numbers provide any hint about how bad the upcoming winter is going to be. 

I read an interpretation of the "el nino" predictions yesterday.  It suggested that for the third year in a row, this area may not have much snow.

From an AI summary:   Regional U.S. Effects: The southern U.S. is likely to experience wetter winters, while the northern U.S. may see milder and drier conditions. California and the Desert Southwest could face increased rainfall and flood risks

As an elder North Idaho native, I have a hard time believing that, but we'll see. As always, the ideal in my mind is lots of snow in the mountains and very little in the valleys. 

On the politics front, I have heavy concerns about the future of the name Dollywood. 

Dolly Parton was very much beloved, just like President John F. Kennedy. 

And, since Donald Trump insists that his name be etched on the Kennedy Center, will he continue on and find a way to change Dollywood to Donnywood?

I hope not, but nothing outrageous surprises me these days.

Last night I gave CB a haircut. 

He enjoyed every moment, and he looked so well groomed that I took his picture.

He's a handsome boy. 

 

~Joe~

The grandpuppies came for a visit yesterday with Willie. 

Joe and Bailey made themselves at home. 

Joe covered a lot of territory checking out everything on the Lovestead. 

Bailey is especially sweet and kind to Foster, which I'm sure the little guy appreciates. 

When they left, the doggie dishes in the garage were polished clean. 

It was nice to see them and Willie, of course. 

Sometimes they're so cute and innocent, one just has to take their picture. 

I'm lovin' this cooler weather, as are my flowers. 

Maybe we can enjoy one last hurrah of the floral color show. 

Happy Friday.