Summer Scenes and Snippets

 

The lake looked pretty wild and woolly yesterday afternoon, with big waves rocking and emphatically slapping the shore.

And, of course, forest fire smoke added a dull dimension to the overall beauty of the lake and the mountains. 

This morning the air is still pretty hazy, and with no rain forecast for several days, we may not see much improvement of air quality for a while.

In other news, this day has gotten off to a busy start for Miss Bridie.  As we took our early morning walk through the hay field, she unknowingly spooked a critter in the deep grass. 

The coyote leapt to it feet and raced across the field toward the lodgepole pasture.  Bridie took off in hot pursuit.  

Then the coyote turned around and started back her way.  I think I even heard Bridie yelp a time or two as she ran as fast as she could.  Thankfully, the coyote veered off another direction and ran into the Meserve Preserve. 

That incident kept Bridie on a steady watch and a continuous barkfest most of the way back to the house. 

When I took her out the second time to do chores, she immediately assumed her Border Collie position, with eyes intent on something. 

The "something" happened to be two deer standing next to the barn.  One was nipping away at the Virginia Creeper next to the barn door. 

Bridie does not chase deer.  She simply crouches down and slinks slowly toward them until they leave. 

These deer weren't in much of a hurry but eventually made their way to the woods. 

The word is out that the garden produce is coming on strong, so I think Bridie may be busy with her vigilance over the next several days.    

I saw these fine folks yesterday while taking photos at the Trestle Creek Recreation area. 

Retired local veterinarian John Moody and his wife Ginny were out enjoying a drive.  

We had a wonderful but brief visit. 

 

The event above was held for the first time last year, and it was a great success as a fundraiser and a really fun evening.  

With a newly purchased headquarters set to open this fall, the food bank will have more needs than ever as it makes the transition to a larger facility.

Check with the Bonner Community Food Bank for more information. 

https://www.bonnerfoodbank.org/

******* 

Speaking of fundraising for the Bonner Community Food Bank, the article below appeared in today's Daily Bee.  Looks like an entertaining way to help raise funds AND in a beautiful setting.

 

  Camden Morris, a Nashville-based artist, will perform at the Blue Heron Cafe on August 8 to raise money for the Bonner Community Food Bank.

---courtesy of Jerry Morris

https://bonnercountydailybee.com/news/2026/jul/29/musician-seeks-to-raise-money-for-bonner-community-food-bank/

We have reached that point in the summer:  the Festival at Sandpoint opens tomorrow. 

A busy time in Sandpoint, and it looks like great weather ahead for all the concerts. 

Peter, our neighbor, has been working long hours in the fields lately, harvesting and delivering hay. 

Luke and Foster are becoming friends.  

Luke comes over with his mom and sister who work their horses in our round pen. 

I think Foster is quite happy to have a nice new friend. 

Yesterday I liked seeing the window with the hometown and neighborhood familiarity to our attorney's office door. 

Adam, who's acting as our attorney, is the youngest of the three generations of Sandpoint attorneys named Finney.  

Grandpa Gary Finney and I are classmates. 

I taught both members of the second generation, John and Rex. 

Tuesday Mutterings

It did not really sting too much to miss a day of blogging yesterday.  

After the last week of a packed-full schedule of comings and goings, topped off by a computer disaster, I actually enjoyed the break from blogging yesterday morning.

With no computer in the house, 'cept Bill's laptop, blogging was not an option.  I could have done my posting with my phone, but the tedium of working and pecking away with a tiny screen told me it was best to just let it go. 

Anywho, late yesterday afternoon, Bill brought my older laptop back from Staples where it was armed with updated virus and ransomware. So, my online work should be safe. 

Some days I think it would be nice to revert back to the days of No. 2 pencils and ball point ink pens, but my fingers which do most writing via a keyboard would have to go through an entire course of muscle memory. 

So, I let the computer needs drive my life, because, these days our lives are on our computers!😕

 

When you're down, thanks to an outside source  taking over your computer, people like Terri Wunderlich can ease the pain.  

She works at Columbia Bank in Ponderay. 

 Within a minute or so of looking at my checking account, she could tell me that no weird charges had been made since some unknown wretched creature named Ellen Stay took control of my main laptop on Saturday afternoon. 

Terri also pulled out her scissors and cut up my bank card before issuing me a new one.  Then, she told me that any charges coming in on the cut-up card would be denied. 

Whew! What a relief!

 Those two actions by Terri probably reduced my blood pressure considerably, knowing that someone had not absconded with thousands of my dollars. 

People like Terri are true heroes when they can give you comforting information in the midst of a nightmare. 

Slowly but surely, I'm getting all my computer ducks in line with the new card, calling billing departments, changing passwords and looking for the best solution for the computer. 

In the meantime, this older model is serving me well as are all who have shown empathy (due to their own experiences) or who have tried to help guide me through this mess. 

One great lesson I've learned through this debacle is the power of distraction or "refocusing" when we're in the midst of what seems like insurmountable turmoil. 

I was almost sick to my stomach and numb when I realized how severe the computer problem could be.  

After the initial realization and calling a friend for information, my mind felt even more paralyzed.  

After all, it was a Saturday afternoon in July and this was going to have to simmer for the rest of the weekend. 

I was supposed to give a speech to a class reunion group that night and knew that I was in no mental condition with this news to carry on through, so I called a reunion committee member and warned her that I may not be there with this dark cloud weighting down my brain and my mind. 

She understood.  

Go mow some lawn, I then said to myself.  After pondering the situation while mowing, I suddenly came to the realization that these "creeps" might ruin my computer life but NOT my other life. 

I called the committee member back and said I would be there after all. 

Refocusing on something even more important than the computer problem and the experience of getting together with those former students did wonders for my outlook and enabled me to move forward to follow a methodical plan to get past the situation. 

So, if there's any good advice to come from this, it's to go do something else and clear your mind.  That process is invaluable, and I'll try to remember it the next time something awful comes along and disorders my life. 

Speaking of good folks, I saw Virginia Stark Overland this morning while on my morning paperbox walk. 

Virginia lives on North Center Valley Road with her husband Hal.  Both are former students, and Virginia also served as one of my drill team captains at Sandpoint High School. 

She's probably best known locally as the school district bus lady.  She's now retired and enjoying gardening with her hubby. 

Dick Creed, if you're reading, Virginia is Jim Stark's daughter.  

Dick and Jim both worked for the U.S. Forest Service engineers where they supervised us "girls" way back when we worked summers as survey aides. 

A few days ago I posted a photo of my very first sunflower of the season. 

It stood about four feet high inside my garden fence about 15 inches from the woven wire. 

The next morning the entire sunflower blossom was gone.  

It had been snipped from the stem and hauled off somewhere. 

No signs of a struggle, no petals anywhere around the stem, no tracks, nothing!

So, it's a mystery.  

Bill thought maybe the doe which comes around doing her daily grocery shopping might have contorted her nose enough to reach through the woven wire and snatch it. 

I think not, and we're both also wondering if a turkey could have been the thief. 

Anyway, the blossom above is about to pop open, and we're thinking the only way we can find out what's doing this is to install a game camera. 

Hope we do figure it out before all the upcoming sunflowers have been stolen.

Whatever the case, these gremlins, just like the computer creeps, can certainly disrupt our minds in curious ways. 

All that said, it's good to be back in operating mode again for the blog.  

Thanks for your patience, and have a great Tuesday. 

Fun and Frustration

Laurie Mitchell, Angie Weinand Cordes, Candy Crabb Moon, David Thompson and Roger Cordes. 

It was an honor to speak to the Sandpoint High Class of 1976 last evening.  

It was also an amazing turnout at the Elks Club. 

The reunion committee created a wonderful, well-planned and fun event. 

Of course, always the best part for an old (on both counts as in age and former)  teacher is to reconnect with students who attended the high school 50 years ago. 

I knew many of them as English students, drill team participants or Monticola yearbook staff members. 

Over the years, they have left their individual positive marks on their home community and in other parts of the country and the world.

Well done, Class of 1976. 

Again, thanks for your warm hospitality and friendship.  

Former County Treasurer Cheryl Wooden Piehl and hubby Brent. 

Below:  Cathy Crandell, good friend to some family members at state tournaments. 

A couple of cut-ups:  Laurie and Angie

Below:  Kirsten Thompson and Mark Johnson

Molly Cates and Hazel Vaughn

Above:  Sue Hatch Smith, bestower of gifts for the "most's."

Below:   Paul Tillberg and Patty Brown, emcees.  

          Over the past few days, I have been encountering some security problems with my main laptop.  

The situation escalated yesterday to the point that the computer was compromised enough for some outside source to gain control of it. 

Needless to say, rectifying this situation will be tedious and will take some time.  

Until that frustrating process is complete, I'll most likely miss a few days of publishing my blog.

There are no words to express the emotional toll something this awful and maddening has caused. 

I do have another laptop, but it needs some updates, so my computer use will be limited until I feel that everything is back in order and secure.

So, thank you for your patience.  

  

Saturday Slight

 

It's the week that was, and it ain't over yet.  

One more item on the calendar for the week:  a 50th year reunion tonight for the SHS Class of 1976.

And, then, maybe a breather will come after several days of company, appointments, get togethers with friends, the U of I basketball practice and probably some stuff I've forgotten. 

 

It's been hectic but fun with the many amazing people with whom I've spent time.   

Weeks like this make me really happy that I maintain a daily blog because if I can't remember, I can always check the blog for reminders. 

I'm also hoping we get a breather from the heat.  Even a couple of degrees will be nice. 

 

I dropped off a jar of jelly for Tom and Joanne the other day. 

The stop gave me an excuse to snap some photos of her barn quilts, which are appearing all over their beautiful little farm. 

The place is alive with gorgeous flowers and lots of funky fun stuff. 

Sue Self Scully, Marianne and Lynette Brinker

The two ladies above were in town for a reunion.  

Since Sue, on the left, could not attend tonight's gathering, she contacted me yesterday and asked if we could meet for a short time during the day. 

So we got together at MickDuffs, where I had the pleasure of meeting Sue's friend Lynette from Grangeville. 

Sue, who now lives in Lewiston, went on from SHS, graduated from Idaho State University and became an award-winning educator and principal. 

She and Lynette have known each other through Idaho education and political circles.

And, of course, with educators getting together, there's seldom a loss for words and always a wealth of stories to share. 

So, we did, and we had a wonderful time.  

This week's extra heat has been great for the garden. 

One afternoon, in between all the socializing, I pulled full-grown weeds from my potato patch, and, with several pullings, came an assortment of new spuds. 

If I can pull weeds and net a collection of spuds like those below, I can't wait for when it's time to dig up the potatoes.  Looks like a great potato year at the Lovestead. 

Also, more tomatoes are ripening, and the cukes are growing. 

Sadly, the heat has done a number on the lettuce, but there's still some out there worth picking. 

And, of course, almost every day involves more blueberry picking. 

My first sunflower of the summer has popped open, and it's mighty pretty. 

Happy Saturday.