We are just completing what my husband Bill calls the "greenest week of the year." Recently, while we were admiring our series of small pastures west of the house, Bill made that statement based on his years of observations as a forester and as a rural resident here in North Idaho for 33 years. I tend to agree. The grass has grown to knee height, and Bert Wood has moved his herd of beef cattle to Meserves 80-acre field next door field for a summer of eating to their heart's content.

The other day at the forestry contest, while I photographed him flipping hamburgers, my neighbor Jim Taylor asked me if I like to mow lawn. Of course, if I'd been quick on the draw, I would have countered with, "Do you like to haul manure?" This past week, Jim's been hauling a lot of manure from one of his places to spread onto one of his fields north of us. On a goodly number of those trips, he's seen me out riding and mowing my lawn.

"That's what I bring to the neighborhood," I told him while catching a shot of him and his son Terry in the midst of splattering grease and grill smoke. "I mow a lot of lawn, and I love to mow lawn." Besides my love for cruising around the yard admiring the many wonderful views, I 've got a lot of Miracle Grow dandelions and, as Bill says, this is the week of the greenest grass, except for those dandelions, that is.

Well, my mowing passion took a hit last night when the Sears Craftsman rider sputtered after one start and refused to come to life again. We hooked it up to the battery charger, but to no avail. So, the giant Lovestead lawn and its multimillion-count dandelion crop will get a bit of a break cuz my old push mower with its wired together handlebars will have to see extra duty until Tony, the repairman, shows up for his third visit of the young lawn-mowing season.

Enough about grass, it's time for the Saturday Slight:

• Book signing today. I'll be at Vanderford's today from 1-3 or whenever to do a reading and signing for the new book Lessons with Love. Don't tell anyone, but today I'll focus on Dick Sodorff a bit----not only because his daughter owns the bookstore, but also because he hired---and almost fired me. Had it not been for Dick and some of his wise decision-making, I may not be telling the Lessons with Love. I definitely learned a few under his watch.

• Check out Annie's blog at www.nnlove.blogspot.com. She has some nice photos from her trip to Sandpoint and some especially nice shots of Miss Lily.

• Lunch at the old Hope Hotel. That was yesterday. It was a River Journal artistic gathering of sorts. Let's see, three artists and three writers among four people. My younger brother Jim is in town for Mother's Day weekend, so we decided it was time for him to meet the lady that hired him to submit cartoons for The River Journal. And, he's heard enough about Boots. It was time to meet the legendary cowboy cartoonist.

So, Jim, Mother and I drove to Hope and met with Trish Gannon and Boots Reynolds. What do you get in a gathering like that? A few lies, a few "truth is stranger than fiction" stories, noise and plenty of laughter. Plus, we all got a nice lunch too.

• A night to remember. If you want to revisit a lifetime, write a book about your lifetime in your hometown. Then, have a party. A cast of the characters who've helped you travel through that life might just show up. And, they certainly did Tuesday night at the Seasons at Sandpoint. I remember stopping briefly to look up and see three Ponderettes standing together at my autograph table waiting to get their books signed: Jacque Meneely Turner, Patsy Beyer Sletager and Holly Whittaker.

I saw Janel Holm who stood by and ready just in case Dr. Marienau didn't make it in time when Annie was born. I saw Sarah, Dr. Marienau's daughter, whose 4-H years, student years and adult years have always intertwined with most of my later years. For about one whole half second, I saw Helen Melior Labowski, mother of my classmate Robin. Speaking of classmates, I did see Gary Johnson briefly and Dann Hall even more briefly---never even got to say hi to him.

It was fun having Marian Ruyle, my Latin teacher, stand up and receive a standing ovation for her 50 years of service to Sandpoint High School. I kept looking for Billy Meuller (whom I termed in one of my stories as a hero because of the manner in which he accepted responsibility for his actions) and was so disappointed that he wasn't there for the speaking session. I would like to have introduced him, but he came in later with his young wife who's about to become a mother for the first time.

There was much more to report, but, in a nutshell, it was a magical evening filled with so many treasured faces and oodles of good memories.

• New domain. Yesterday, Keokee folks bestowed upon me my very own domain for Slightdetour. So, if you ever want to point folks this direction, just tell 'em to go to www.slightdetour.com. No longer do you have to type in that "blogspot" stuff. Thanks so much, Keokee for domains and good book work.

Well, I guess that's enough for now. Gotta get out there and start pushing that rattletrap Craftsman and decimate yesterday's addition to the dandelion army.

Happy Saturday to all, and Happy Mother's Day to all mommies. Enjoy the green.