Sunday, August 16, 2026

One Fine Day

 


The fish were biting. 

The sun was shining. 

People were on the move yesterday, including Bill, Annie and I. 

After spending some time with Lenny who came out to see what was causing our TV satellite problems, we loaded up and headed for Grouse Creek. 


Lenny did some testing and tinkering and concluded that we need to remove a tree which is affecting our satellite TV reception. 

******



Our afternoon menu of activities included geocaching along with some fishing. 

Annie found a geocache, and, with help from her dad, she planted another cache. 

The fishing afterward kept announcements of "fish on!) flying. 

Bill and Annie caught more than a dozen little ones and some bigger trout with their fly rods. 

I took pictures. 

Later, we stopped at Samuels Store, had a bite to eat and walked around the beautiful and classy concert venue where people were enjoying a relaxing but fun-filled Saturday evening.

The place is amazing with its stage backdrop including Walsh Lake and some Selkirk Mountains.  The folks who had this vision and followed it through have much to be proud of.  

I enjoyed visiting with family members associated with the Samuels Store, restaurant and concert venue. Their excitement with the success of their concert season is very apparent.

All in all, it was a lovely day filled with outdoor adventures and some neat and memorable experiences. 

Enjoy the photos AND Happy Sunday.  



Manager Jered Heigis told me there would be at least two more Saturday night concerts at the Samuels Store/Blue Heron Restaurant. 

Good food.
  
Great view.
  
Beautifully designed venue.  

Good music.

Fantastic and fun place to be.  





Bill visiting with Mose Dunkel, a local logger and part of the Samuels Store family. 



Jered, Samuels Store/Blue Heron manager and his sister Arla.  




Bubbly and happy Dannette was one of my students at Sandpoint High School back in the 1980s.  

We enjoyed seeing each other for the first time in a few decades. 



Dad and daughter plotting a geocache planting. 
































Saturday, August 15, 2026

Saturday Slight




Yesterday served as a reminder to me of the fragility of the life we know and enjoy. 

Actually, numerous events of the past couple of weeks have all contributed to a heavy dose of that observation. 

I can't count how many times I've heard about sad situations and immediately thought or wondered why bad things have to happen to good people. 

Bad news seems insurmountable at times, and this is one of them.  

It doesn't seem fair.  

This assessment may sound naive, but that's okay. 

As we move along day to day and learn about good folks among our friends or family dealing with hardships or challenges, it's hard not to think about and want to totally reject that oft repeated cliche "life isn't fair." 

Fairness seems to have taken its hits in the general scheme of things in the world of late.  

When we see the ugly sides of life seemingly reigning over virtually everything, we tend to feel even more distressed about bad things happening to good people.

Anyway, yesterday's visits with friends revealed to me that there's been an overabundance of sadness, tough times and distress among the folks I know. 

Such revelations also bring out a sense of gratitude that is so essential in living this life and in still embracing the good things it has to offer, albeit temporarily absent of the heavy burdens others have had to bear. 

We all know our tough times have come before and that they will continue to unfold as we move on day after day. 

So, in dealing with our empathetic frustrations for others and their unfortunate situations, we should keep them in our thoughts and prayers while making the most of each priceless day that we are granted on this earth. 

In the meantime, I keep hoping that the tide will turn and that life will seem a little more fair for the good folks among us. 

Just sayin'. 





Now, here is a good thing that has happened to a good guy. 

Congratulations to Gonzaga Basketball Coach Mark Few for his induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame.  

ZAGS fans are proud of you, Coach Few. 

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

I saw this on Twitter and thought this looked like a pretty ear of corn and wanted to share. 

Pre-colonization Glass Gem Corn, Indigenous to North America, regrown by a Cherokee farmer in Oklahoma. 

This particular corn is a mix of ancient Pawnee, Osage and Cherokee varieties.










Annie's home. 

She arrived in time last night to enjoy dinner with my sisters and our family friend Cindy.  

Willie and Debbie are headed to Seattle to watch the Seahawks tonight.

My former student and tech man Lenny is coming soon to figure out why our television satellite feed has been so erratic the past several days. 

So, it's time to get on with the day and wish everyone a happy Saturday. 

May good things happen in your day. 
 






Friday, August 14, 2026

Clarity

 





I've missed the mountains. 

They reappeared yesterday after the smoke blew away in overnight winds. 

And, they're still there this morning. 

Have we seen the worst of forest fire consequences for 2026?

I sure hope so.

Clarity is nice, not only in conversation but also in vision. 

  








I planted four corn seeds in my mound garden.  

The corn came up fast and grew quickly. 

Now the four stalks have ears on them. 

I am very curious to see if the ears when mature have corn on them. 

Lack of kernels has been a problem with my recent corn harvests. 

So fingers crossed that the ears are loaded when I pull off the husks.