Fulfilling . . . .

Hope and part of the peninsula, taken from Schweitzer Road. 

I'd call yesterday a pretty full day, even if I did spend a couple of hours sitting on the couch, watching the World Cup. 

Yesterday's match with the USA vs. Belgium ensured the fact that I won't be spending much more time on the couch watching TV.  

The USA lost, but I was happy for Belgium.  We met a couple of Belgians in Dublin during our trip to Ireland.  And, Koen Swenson has been SO good to Annie that we could all be happy with yesterday's outcome. 

We know Koen was happy.

During my time on the couch, I kept checking water faucets.  Seems a part of the water line for Oden Water District got cut yesterday, so we were running dry for a little over four hours.

Around 4 p.m., though, the welcome sound of drip, drip, drip and the eventual sight of a full stream of water coming from each faucet meant instant relief.

One doesn't appreciate those running faucets and flushing toilets without an occasional outage.  Thanks to the Oden water folks for seeing that our modern convenience returned in a timely fashion.

Nice to have glasses half full and more. 

Before watching the World Cup, I loaded up Lefty and took him over to my sisters where he had his first session with a full-fledged curb bit.  

My sister Laurie helped me put on the bridle without causing Lefty too much discomfort. He immediately began playing with the bit as we walked to the indoor arena.

He was a bit fussy while I got on, so Barbara came over with her horse and stood next to him until I was safely in the saddle. 

Then, they both gave me tips about not pulling back and driving him forward with my leg pressure.  One has a tendency to put on the brakes when the horse's head is flailing in the air trying to figure out that new piece of metal in his mouth, but I learned quickly that putting on the gas makes a lot more sense.

Pushing forward in small circles gives them something to think about.  So, we walked around the arena for about half an hour while other horses worked at different gaits. 

Toward the end of the session both rider and horse had managed to grasp the fine tuned movements that go along with an unfamiliar bit.

I compared yesterday's session to that of the day I first learned to lighten up on my new lawnmower controls.  The lighter the touch, the more smoothly things work.

Anyway, Lefty and I will go back as often as possible to get this portion of his saddle-horse knowledge to become second nature. 

In the evening when Bill and Willie headed for Grouse Creek with their fly rods, my sisters joined me on a trip up to Schweitzer. 

The object was more picture taking, although we didn't have too many subjects in very good light to take a lot of photos.  The view of Lake Pend Oreille was pretty hazy last evening, so the drop-dead stunning views most folks get up there were not available for our cameras. 

Still, we saw some turkeys, a couple of moms and two babies.  They were anxious escape our presence.  We also hiked for a short time on an old road up above the village where bear grass is looking pretty and huckleberry brush is abundant.

We walked around the village, visited with the horses and one friendly mule.  And, in a playful moment posed behind the face boards.  

It was fun enjoying Schweitzer at a quiet time and just moseying along, rather than dodging the hordes of people who recreate at the mountain. 

Yesterday turned out to be a very fulfilling day, even painted a little more fence around the barnyard. 

Looks like today could be just as busy and fun.  

Happy Wednesday.