Fun Fotos on a Rainy Day

Twas wet yesterday, and there’s just so much one can do around the place when it’s pouring rain.  I’m good for a while with housework, but then I need to go see some different scenery.

So, when Bill came home, from his morning spent at Box Canyon, grabbed a container of homemade potato soup and headed back to work in town, I left shortly thereafter.

I had not been up Baldy Road for quite some time, so that was my destination, after picking up a cup of convenience store French roast coffee and a candy bar (my afternoon staples).

I decided to go through the old neighborhood and briefly entertained the notion to park in one of the roads leading into our childhood woods off from North Boyer.

 

“Maybe another day,” I thought, figuring the walk through places, where we romped while reining our stick horses or where one of us (name withheld)  sorted through stolen mail, might be just a little wet.

So, I moved on, driving through the Upper Place, which is now a subdivision with just a few homes,  overlooking Metal Buildingville and the airport.  

It always makes me feel good to know that some of those trees I transplanted, when Bill and I were first married 40 years ago and living in the little rental house, are still there.

I hope they stay for a long time.  After all, they’re pretty much the sole reminder of our existence there in the 1970s.

After turning on to what we neighborhood locals always called Robinson Road, I took a side trip down Crooked Lane, a lovely rural subdivision formed from the farm where Lloyd and Betty Robinson lived.

Later, while driving down the hill toward Gooby Road, I took another side trip and caught some deer feeling very at home in someone’s yard.  They hung around long enough for me to take their pictures.

Then, on to Baldy, which has certainly added to its residential areas over the years.  Used to be just a few families we knew lived up there, but now, all sorts of side roads and houses of all ilks.

After leaving the pavement, I couldn’t help but notice all the signs, reminding of “private property,” “no hunting,” “road closed,” “parked vehicles will be impounded,” along with the usual real estate offerings.

The rain intensified as I drove further, suggesting to me that my chances of finding any more good photos were diminishing with the increasing droplets on the wind shield and blustery wind, blowing leaves all over the place.

Then, suddenly, I came upon a wonderful possibility---almost driving past but quickly realizing that this scene was worth backing up on that mountain road.

A big, shiny red logging truck with nose pointed toward the road sat parked.  My eye caught the owner’s name:  CLIFF IRISH.

Cliff Irish is one of my favorite all-time characters and a longtime friend.  Cliff’s son Rusty and my son Willie spent their early formative years as buddies at Patty’s Day Care.  They graduated together and remain good friends.

Ahhh, to catch Cliff without his knowing I’m here, the imp within was working feverishly to outwit the imp behind the truck dragging a chain toward another piece of heavy equipment.

I succeeded.

 

Cliff had no idea I was there as I continued to snap photos of him working in the drenching rain and walking through the mud and, no doubt, silently cussing this day when he had to move equipment from a job up Baldy to a job near Usk, WA.

Cliff dragged the chain to the big logging rig, which I’m guessing is called a skidder.  Once he was out of sight behind the rig, I moved closer, praying he would not see me.

Good fortune allowed me to snap a couple more shots before he looked over, smiled and asked what I was doing there.

We visited briefly as it sure was wet and Cliff was predicting that he probably would not get home for dinner until at least 6:30 p.m.

What a find that was for a lady out driving around looking for some good photos on a rainy day!  

It’s always great to see Cliff, and I especially enjoyed seeing him out in his element-----a reminder that while most of us are enjoying our creature comforts, hard-working folks like Cliff are dealing with the not-so-rosy elements.

Later, I took some more photos on a walk through the neighborhood.  The rain did not let up, but it created some different perspectives on rose hips and pastures. 

My outings, despite the rain, were productive yesterday, reminding me that if we go looking, we can always find something positive to brighten those dark and gloomy days.