Comings and Goings

This herd of turkeys was on some sort of mission yesterday afternoon when I drove this route to town.  They live near Betty Berger Pass on North Kootenai Road.  

With prominent "No Hunting" signs along the fencelines, turkeys and deer live the good life on the Berger farm.  

So, these birds were not in too much of a hurry to get out of sight cuz they knew the likelihood of their ending up on someone's holiday platter is pretty slim. 

I didn't have time to ask them any questions while taking their photos because I was on a mission of my own----to pick up a bag of Purina Puppy Chow.  

With all the comings and goings today, I figured I'd better have everything ready for Puppy Pick-Up Day, which starts bright and early Friday morning.  

Each day of relative quiet here at the Lovestead makes me all the more aware of how much it's gonna change for a while as Little Liam makes his adjustment and as Kiwi and Foster make their adjustment to Little Liam.  

The nice part about puppies is that plenty of good comes with the deposits and the active teeth. 

Today is a definitely a day of comings and goings. 

Annie is traveling to Kauai for her Thanksgiving break.  She just texted that she's been upgraded to First Class on her flight this morning, so the trip is starting out well.  

Should be fun for all of us to enjoy the island life vicariously as Annie does her exploring of yet another new traveling frontier on her very active docket.  

The locals among the family are staying home for Thanksgiving and two brothers are coming from Montana and Oregon, respectively.  A third brother will come up this weekend after spending turkey day with his daughter in Plummer.  

Bill just had to go to work, and that was painful for him to leave the house this morning because the ZAGS have gone to the Bahamas and their first game of the Atlantis Tournament is coming up soon-----at 9 a.m. PST on ESPN2.

Guess I'll have to yell and scream to make up for all those who have to go to work.   

The ZAGS will be playing the University of Washington Huskies-----a first meeting after many years of not playing each other.  

Both teams are strong (they each scored more than 100 points in their last game), so it should be a nip-and-tuck nail biter. 

When we go to Hunters on Friday to pick up Little Liam, many folks will be headed to the mountain.  Yup, Schweitzer is looking really pretty this morning with its deep pink hue, thanks to a lovely sun and a clear day. 

Skiing will commence Friday and through the weekend.  I've read there's not a LOT of snow up there, but with the snow making machines, the runs are reportedly navigable. 

It's definitely looking like some good days ahead as the snow we received yesterday has ceased and the landscape is mostly white and beautiful.  Cool, crisp weather will keep it that way, and nobody's complaining.

Happy Wednesday.  GO ZAGS!  Safe travels and much holiday cheer to all! 

In the "This Just In" department, Sandpoint's Cindy Wooden won't be home for Thanksgiving.  She has headed off to Africa to cover Pope Francis' latest trip.

And, a few minutes ago, she posted this selfie aboard the Vatican jet while the Pope was visiting with the Vatican Press Corps.

You can read about Cindy's life as the Vatican Bureau Chief for Catholic News Service in the latest Sandpoint Magazine, available around town or you can view the flip version online at http://sandpointmagazine.com/issue/winter-2016/