Monday Micellany

 

A fun day lies ahead.  

Lunch with my classmates. 

Gonzaga game tonight. 

And, maybe some more yard work. 

It's a crisp, cool and dry morning out there, perfect for yard work. 

Today my focus will be directed toward picking up pine cones that have fallen over the winter from a couple of large trees in the yard.

As a result of my spring painting binge, I now have a bright yellow flying pig in the deck garden. 

Several pots have also received a new coat of paint, as has the metal milk jug and the high chair---both purchased from antique stores.  

The big painting job for spring involves a few hundred feet of board fence.  It's getting pretty weathered, but with a new coat of white paint, the place should look pretty spiffy. 

We have to have warmer temperatures for fence painting so that time-consuming job will come later. 

Meanwhile, Bill, with his Gonzaga bonnet has been cleaning up a big brush pile south of the house. 

Several years of lawn debris and limbs have been thrown on that pile, and it has spread so much that Bill decided it was time for burning. 

The only problem:  a well-shaped and pretty spruce tree right in the middle of the pile. 

So, for the past several days, a little at a time, Bill has been pulling out and stacking parts of the pile into little side piles and then burning them. 

It will take a while for that project, and when it's done, I'll plant grass around the tree and add a little plot to my mowing program. 

Future debris deposits from the yard will go further into the woods.

Anywho, we're excited to see Gonzaga playing again tonight.  

The ZAGS will take on Oregon State, and the game will have some regional nostalgic touches. 

After learning that Oregon State would be letting him go, Wayne Tinkle and his team upset the San Francisco Dons last night.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/wayne-tinkle-s-players-gave-him-an-honor-he-s-never-received-while-at-oregon-state/ar-AA1XNiZj?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Tinkle comes from Spokane where he graduated from Ferris High School, and his daughter Elle played for the ZAGS women. 

BTW:  the ZAGS women also play Oregon State today in the tournament.  Tip-off is at noon, and the game is available on ESPN+

With all those connections, I'm sure there will be an extra layer of emotions felt at tonight's game. 

Of course, we ZAGS fans are hoping Oregon State won't be TOO fired up. 

Tip-off is at 6 p.m. PDT, and the game will be telecast on ESPN. 

GO, ZAGS!!!

Speaking of classmates, these two are at the West Coast Tournament. 

Rick and Janet Eakin Anthony don't miss much Gonzaga action. 

Also, Terry (who fixed our ceiling damage) and his wife Edna are there.  

Edna reported to me this morning that she has seen a lot of Sandpoint locals at the tournament. 

When I went to my sisters' arena yesterday to talk with Monty Collison about taking CB to his Stateline barn for training, our family friend Sarah was there on her young horse Opal. 

Opal, a 4-year-old,  is an Arabian and Appaloosa cross. 

She's a cute little mare, and Sarah is enjoying her. 

Little daffodil nubbins are becoming more prominent with each new day. 

This clump is reaching out of the ground at my sisters' farm. 

Spring is coming, and it's a lovely morning. 

Happy Monday. 

The Dark before the Light

 

Foster did not want to get up this morning. 

I coaxed him off the couch, and he just stood there shaking his body. 

Then, I tried to encourage him toward the door to go outside and do his duty. 

He balked and soon turned around, walked over to his bed, crawled in and curled up. 

Foster knew it was much too early to go outside into the cold darkness. 

I knew that too, but time in the day's schedule will not stand still, even if it's a different time from the day before. 

This annual happening of one hour less sleep as we spring forward does not come easily, but once we get rolling, we'll move along as usual. 

In deference to Foster, I picked him up from his bed and carried him through the door to the garage. 

He eventually came awake, and we went on our morning potty walk to the hay field and back. 

I promised him that once we returned to the house, he could go back to bed. 

And, who knows, maybe when I finish my blog post, I can grab a few more minutes of sleep. 

Welcome to Daylight Savings Time.  I don't get too excited about it at first because there will once again be several mornings when Bridie and I go out for the second time, I'll have to carry a flashlight.

There is one exciting phenomenon, however. Since I carry a flashlight, and it's generally pointed toward the ground in front of me, I get to see the earth moving via worms that catch the light and immediately slither underground. 

Seeing the worms crawl in is fun, but I still prefer walking in the daylight.  That will come again in a week or so.  

Bill will like that time change because his dog duty is in the evening where, starting today, there will be more light, allowing him to skip one of his flashlight runs. 

 

We marveled at some magnificent and  beautiful skies as the sun set last night.  

Yesterday I took my garbage bag and my poop pick and walked along both sides of the roadway that goes past our property. 

It was quite a collection by the time I had finished retrieving cans and other debris from the ditches on our country road, which ironically is often called the back road to the dump. 

Most prominent of the garbage gremlins:  the Natural Light drinkers.  I noticed they like to throw their cans more on the left (our) side of the road.

I used to do this very activity as a child, and my gathering with a garbage bag extended far beyond where we lived on North Boyer Road. 

That's because pop bottles taken o the recyclers could net up to five cents a bottle while beer bottles (more prevalent than cans back then) were worth a penny. 

A few times each year my parents would drive me and my bags of bottles, which I had kept in the wood shed, to the recycling center near the depot. 

I'd hand over the bags, and whoever was working there would hand me some cash.  It might be just a few dollars, but it was big money for a kid in those days. 

I did this collecting so often that when my dad would see a beer bottle, he would say, "There's a Marianne." 

I have noticed this year---and maybe it's because we don't have much snow---that garbage along our highways and roads is worse than ever. 

It may be just another development in our new world disorder, but it would be nice if more emphasis was placed on cleaning up after ourselves----from toddler time to old adulthood. 

We're all living on this Earth together, and it would be nice if the general population could learn to respect our environment. 

I've also thought that it might be a good idea to tack on a tax to beverages and hand over  a penny or two for every can that doesn't get thrown along the roadways OR that gets picked up and taken to a recycler.  

It worked way back when.  No reason why it can't now.  

The Earth was cleaner and some little country kids' pockets were full.  

International Women's Day

A striking observance about great women of history in this morning's New York Times newsletter:  

That pattern appeared throughout the archives. 

Achievements minimized. 

 Talents framed as curiosities. 

Women memorialized first for how they looked, or whom they married, before their own accomplishments.

And yet, the vibrant lives of these women shone through.

I salute all the women of the world who do their best at whatever their mission, their goals or the example they hope to set through their individual efforts.  

We're all in this together, just as are our male counterparts. 

If the two groups simply respect and support each other universally, what a great world this would be. 

It's that simple. 

We have a longer "day" ahead on this Sunday. 

Enjoy

Saturday Slight

It seems this morning that my blog post has a lot of images involving love, and that makes me smile. 

I've never ever taken our last name for granted. 

A deep responsibility goes along with it. 

Live the love. 

I'm enjoying doing just that this week. 

It's not always easy to live the love, but when we do, there's a special feeling and definitely a healthy sense of gratitude.  

Obviously, pretty scenes of a Border Collie and a red barn with newly washed green grass on a Saturday morning turns on my love switch. 

A lady in far off Ireland, whom I'll refer to as Brenda from Belfast, sent me the second photo early this morning.  

The first big smile came to my face when I opened the post and saw a scene of one of the happy places in the happiest place I know. 

It's taken from the window of the Seaview Tavern and Restaurant in Malin Head---northernmost point in the Republic of Ireland. 

Apparently, Brenda, whom we've seen twice on our stays at the place, is there visiting this weekend.

So, she sent the photo.  

I told her to give Caitriona, Maura and Michael and the rest of the Seaview gang a hug. 

Then there's the photo of the group in front of the Kodiak, sometimes called the SUV of the skies and manufactured at the Daher Aircraft Co. off from Great Northern Road. 

The group is from Sandpoint High School.  The photo was taken yesterday and posted on Facebook. If you look at that big guy in the black jacket about 12 people over, that's Willie aka Coach Love. 

When I saw the photo, my first thought was that Willie probably really enjoyed the visit yesterday with his fellow educators.  After all, he spent his childhood a few hundred feet away on our 10-acre farm. 

Our family was moving to Selle the day the very first Kodiak took off and landed.  We watched from our barnyard. 

Lotta love associated with the farm where we lived for 30 years, the plane and the new life we were able to live out here in Selle when the aircraft company, formerly known as Quest, bought our farm. 

The love rolls on as you scroll on. 

Twas Empty Bowl Day yesterday at Marigold Bistro in the downtown Columbia Bank. 

The "village" got together for this wonderful annual event.  

The "village" involved folks from the food bank, including their beloved executive director Debbie Love. 

The food bank and subsequently the folks in need of food assistance in our community would be the beneficiaries of this event. 

Loving hands of students in the Sandpoint High art department, along with their mentor, created colorful and unique bowls for the event. 

Several restaurants and professional entities in Sandpoint generously chimed in with the food and beverages and silent auction items, etc. 

And, the tables in the Bistro's meeting room were filled to the brim twice. 

After Sandpoint High School's faculty and staff enjoyed a bowl of soup, a roll, a cookie, some coffee, lemonade or water, a slew of efficient volunteers went to work clearing the tables and replenishing the food offerings. 

After all, an endless line of community volunteers would soon be forming for the second act of Empty Bowls 2026. 

Among them, a group of my dear friends and one new one named Laurie, showed up, each donating $20 to enjoy the food and each other. 

Again, a lotta love flowing through that room, and maybe even a record turnout, according to Debbie. 

I don't go to too many community events, but I'm guessing this has got to be one of the favorites for those who live here.  

Later in the day, Bill and I had another taste of something we love to do on Friday nights.  It's called Friday Night dinner (often at Sweet Lou's cuz I can eat the barbecued chicken sandwich). 

We never really know how many family members will show up.  Last night it was my sisters, Barbara and Laurie, and we enjoyed a great visit. 

So, yes, it's not even Valentine's Day and there's a rather unpopular war going on, but in the midst of it all LOVE is still in the air, and we are blessed here to witness it in so many forms. 

Could the world please work a little harder to replicate this feeling?  

I think everyone would LOVE that. 

Happy Saturday. 

Enjoy the photos and the music from "The Town I Loved So Well." 

That's our Debbie Love!

I saw Becca for the first time in 23 years yesterday.  She was my student teacher during my last year at Sandpoint High School.  

Becca has had a wonderful career teaching English, etc. at Clark Fork High School, and every time she submits a letter to the local paper, I know it's going to be a good one. 

GREAT seeing you, Becca.  You look spectacular.