The Stuff of Saturday

When I saw Liz Wood at the Pack River Cemetery yesterday, I said, "I wish we wouldn't have to do this."  Twas not meant as a lazy comment but more of a lament regarding those we've lost.  It would be nice to still be able to put flowers in their hands, not on their graves. 

Since that cannot be, however, the act of visiting the cemeteries on Memorial Day with whatever fresh, cut flowers are available has a poignancy about it.  

No lilacs for the graves this year, but, in my case, every selection and every cut flower from around the yard gave me a deep sense of connection with the intended recipients. 

I still remember so clearly the day Mother and I were placing flowers at my younger sister Jean Marie's grave at Pinecrest Cemetery when she said, "I hope you continue doing this when I am gone."  

It's a wish commonly stated between mothers and daughters, signifying an everlasting thread of family remembrance. 

Well, the time that Mother alluded to that day at Pinecrest has come, nearly three years now, and her words are not forgotten, nor is she or Harold or Jean Marie.  I hope they like their bouquets, maybe not the prettiest but definitely arranged with love. 

So, after my cemetery visits, I headed to Spokane to spend some time at the Eastern Washington Arabian Show where Barbara, Laurie, Maryann and the gang are hanging out for the weekend.  To be accurate, Laurie has a horse at the Sport Horse facility where she is doing dressage tests. 

I had not been to that show for some time.  It was fun to reconnect and visit with a few folks. 

I also watched a couple of trail classes which Barbara won with her gelding Dusty.  She has a whole wall of ribbons from two days of showing, and I understand Maryann has done quite well.  Over at the Sport Horse Show, Laurie has taken a second and a fourth competing with her young horse for the first time, 

Besides all the familiar folks, it was fun seeing Lily's "husband."  Yes, Lily went off to Sunshine Acres Arabians in Nine Mile Falls near Spokane a month or so ago and had an affair with a classy looking stallion called SW Ferrari.  He's owned by Sheri Boito Hibbs and her husband. 

And, we found out this week that, if all goes well, the blend of the pretty flower (Lily) and the hot car (Ferrari) will result in a bundle of four-legged joy, which we're hoping has the color and the style of its parents. 

Monty, trainer of both of my horses and pictured below with Ferrari,  and I are partners in this project.  He has also trained Ferrari, pictured below.  We both have some big dreams, and we're very aware that we'll have to be patient to allow time for those dreams to come true. 

For now, we'll just keep dreaming and hoping for something really special. 

Finally, at the horse show, I saw Sigrid and Shiraz, Maryann's in-laws from Ephrata.  When he saw me drive up, Shiraz, who's a fantastic gardener, headed to his travel trailer to bring me the moon flower starts which he had prepared for me. 

He told me to plant them in an area where they'll be handy for us to watch them open when darkness sets in, as illustrated in the video below. 

Thanks to Shiraz for this exciting new dimension to our flower family here at the Lovestead.

Twas a great Saturday in this holiday weekend, and we're looking forward to going on a hike today with Laura, Sefo and the triplets plus one who are up in this area for the weekend.

Now, I've got to get over to Facebook where I see the pilgrim has posted her latest set of photos and the latest posting on her blog: https://adventuregirlannie.com/

Happy Sunday.