We walked the dike

Pardon me for getting carried away with snow shoeing shots, but we enjoyed another outing yesterday, filled with imagery and reminders of how insignificant we humans are in the grand design of nature.One always gets that feeling when visiting the Kootenai Valley, near Bonners Ferry.

Its magnificence is indescribable. Its rich soil produces premium grains, rich alfalfa and hops.The Kootenai Wildlife Refuge, the Ball Creek Nature Conservancy and a plot of Fish and Game preserves provide ample opportunities for recreationalists to just plain get lost in it all in one of the most beautiful places on earth, any season.

We drove there yesterday in hopes of catching some of the brilliant sunshine which dominated a very cold day. By mid-afternoon, however, the Selkirk Mountains, west of the valley block out a large portion of the sun's rays. Nonetheless, we made a brave but in vain attempt to chase it during the first portion of our trek from west to east across the valley and along a dike which once kept flood waters out of the farmland----before the construction of Libby Dam.

The trip was filled with a myriad of artistic but frigid sights, including the cold, cold waters of the Kootenai River rippling from the wind. And the

We've been so fortunate this winter to actually enjoy some benefits of this season rather than working all the time and wishing it would go away.

Thank you, God, and Mother Nature. You've been good to us!