Glorious Spring in Selle

 

In a pleasant spring morning all men's sins

are forgiven.

----Henry David Thoreau

 

The first pleasant days of spring come out like a squirrel and go in again.

----Henry David Thoreau

 

It is chiefly the spring birds that I hear at this hour, and in each dawn the spring is thus revived.

----Henry David Thoreau

We are most apt to remember and cherish the flowers which appear earliest in the spring. I look with equal affection on those which are the latest to bloom in the fall.

----Henry David Thoreau

---

What poem is this of spring, so often repeated! 

----Henry David Thoreau

Even a little shining bud which lies sleeping behind its twig and dreaming of spring, perhaps half concealed by ice, is object enough.

                                                             ----Henry David Thoreau

To us snow and cold seem a mere delaying of the spring. 

How far we are from understanding the value of these things in the economy of Nature!

  

----Henry David Thoreau

The day is an epitome of the year. 

The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer.

----Henry David Thoreau

On a Monday

 “He who has a why, can bear any how."

I heard this quote repeated two or three times last night while watching a "60 Minutes" segment featuring a mother who had lost her only wonderful son as a result of the Oct. 7 attack.

She had learned from a freed hostage who spent three days with him that her son was following that very mantra while imprisoned after the attacks. 

Learning the anguish this mother suffered while publicly and relentlessly employing every means possible to secure his release, along with other hostages, and later after he was murdered in an underground tunnel was hard to bear. 

We, in America, have no clue what it's like to live entire lives in what seems like constant terror and war. 

Sadly, over the past decades, we have learned through school shootings, church, grocery store, movie theaters and concert massacres, random shootings, etc. that violence, which always seemed so foreign, is making its way into our society. 

And, with it comes anguish, the consequences lead to horrible realities much like Rachel Goldberg-Polin has endured. And, knowing the outcome there's a sad irony in the statement that her son clung to during his imprisonment and subsequent murder. 

Somewhat gratifying to his mother, however, was the moment she learned that her son's "why" was his parents so he did his very best with every moment after his capture to determine the "how."

Knowing this gave her a tangible sense that their connection would be everlasting.  

Hearing the statement left an impact on me.  

I think we have all probably lived by this maxim with any hardship we endure.  It's just that the words for our struggle would not come so simply as they were stated on last night's powerful and heart-wrenching "60 Minutes" segment. 

And, so, with them now etched in my mind, the next time some seemingly formidable situation arises in my life, I will think of Rachel, the mom, and Hersh, son she lost, along with their strength of character and do my best to figure out why and how.

Ironically, sometimes even extreme sadness and tragedies can inspire us to bravely persevere against the forces.   

There's a reason I've been painting the board fence.  

The photo offers a sample. 

What could be prettier than horses with a white fence, green grass and snow-capped mountains and blue sky in the background. 

When CB comes home and the horses are shed off and the barnyard is a muck yard, I'll inspire them to run and buck and rear with that background, and I'll be taking pictures.

All those hours of painting have been worth it when moments like these arise. 

. 

When you see three Heelers in a the back of a pickup truck, ya gotta take a photo. 

This bunch appeared a bit shy about posing too much, but they were cute. 

No apologies for posting so many daffodil photos.  

They're just putting on a show this year, and I'm loving it. 

The next fun color show will be when the columbine pop out. 

Looking forward to that. 

In the meantime, I'll just keep tending to the lawn, the greenhouse garden and anything else that makes the place look "purty." 

Happy Monday. 

All in a Day

 

We're at the other end of the pleasant end of the spectrum for a few days. 

Once again, we're loving the weather.  

By Wednesday, I've read, we'll dip back into the doldrums with another dose of rain. 

For now, no complaints because today looks like it's going to be just as nice or maybe even nicer than yesterday. 

And, yesterday was a winner on several levels. 

Work done. 

A new face. 

A wonderful visit with my niece and her friend Lovina.

First barbecue of the season. 

It was a day that allowed folks to do whatever they wanted to do. 

While I painted fence, Bill went to a Native Plant Society program where he listened to Coeur d'Alene Tribal members talking about their traditional plants and some tribal culture.   

 "As Coeur d'Alene tribal members with strong roots tied to this land and the lake, our approach is respect for all living things, acknowledging our ancestors and the sacrifices they made in order for us to be here, and being open to learning and sharing. 

Teaching about our traditional foods and medicines allows us to communicate the history, the stories, the ways our people lived and especially the traditional teachings."

---from Press Release for the event

It turned out that our niece Laura had driven Lovina to Sandpoint for the presentation.  So, of course, there were some family connections in the audience. 

Later, Lovina and Laura came out for a visit.  We sat outside in the sun for a while and learned that Lovina has become a movie star.  

She and some other members of the Tribe traveled to Ireland last September to appear in a movie called "The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands." 

The group spent a month in the Belfast area, learning how to spin wool and practicing the craft in the movie, a drama/horror film. 

Set in 1860s Pacific Northwest, a Native American governess educated in a Christian mission school is hired to teach two daughters of a British widower.

Lovina told us about the month-long experience, which also involved getting acquainted with Belfast and the surrounding area. 

Why a film in the Northwest produced in Ireland?  It's cheaper, Lovina told us. 

The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands is now being shown on the Film Festival circuit. 

We had a lovely visit, and after they went on their way, Bill stoked up the grill and we had some barbecued chicken. 

Later, he went to town to work on another project, removing some fruit trees at the Presbyterian Church, which will be replaced. 

I felt good about fence painting and cleaning up some lawn, although standing water made me pick and choose where to mow. 

During my painting session at the north end of the barnyard, Lily suddenly whinnied at something out by the road.  I could see someone with a horse at the end of the driveway and wondered if they had come to visit. 

By the time I walked across the barnyard the horse and handler had gone on.  Later, they came back, only this time with the handler riding the horse instead of leading. 

Turns out the nice-looking mare is 28 years old, and she certainly doesn't look or act her age.  Her rider Ashley manages Center Valley Stables up the road from us. 

Of course, while we visited, a traffic uptick ensued as car after car passed by.  Finally, she went on her way with a smile, and I walked to the house, still thinking what a nice looking and youthful horse she was riding.

All in all, Mother Nature bestowed upon us a lovely day for doing things and enjoying whatever came down the pike. 

I'll take a second helping, thank you. 

Happy Sunday.  

Sandpoint Magazine editor Trish Gannon had a hard drive problem and has since retrieved lots of photos, including this one.

Sadly, Paul and Boots (left and sitting) are no longer with us, but Sandy and I are still occasionally up to no good.