Bill's advice to Annie before she started the Camino de Santiago on May 25 was to just put one foot in front of the other. Well, she's been at it 22 days, and it would be interesting to see how many steps she's taken since leaving St. Jean in France.
I do know that she has fewer than 200 miles to go now and figures on arriving in Santiago sometime late next week.
She also has posted some reflective thoughts along with really neat photos from today's walk on her blog. www.adventuregirlannie.com
I mention the one foot in front of the other strategy because while Annie's been busy with that project in Spain, projects with a similar theme have been happening at the Lovestead, with a slight bent to the advice----one step at a time.
Well, the day before yesterday, Bill finished up the garden fence, which he has been doing in increments over the past few weeks. And, yesterday, I finished a rather dirty and time-consuming project in the barn.
It has taken the past couple of weeks, working mostly when it's cool and when time allows. Bill's conference call inside the house yesterday lasted from 9:30 to about 4 p.m. with a couple of brief breaks.
So, that gave me a good excuse to stay out of the house and tackle the last step of the clean-up process which will make way for some stall construction.
The first project involved the actual space where the stall will be on the left side of the barn aisle. That involved removing about a foot of built-up old hay chaff and gravel (about 20 cart loads). I transferred my shavings pile and removed garbage and old tin roofing. Later, Bill disassembled a goat feeder.
But more build-up remained in a couple of other areas, including the space shown in the second photo. That build-up had begun before we moved here ten years ago, and the spot served as a catch-all for various items that wouldn't go anywhere else----including about four long hoses.
I discovered after several hours of junk removal that the spot had a floor. First time in ten years, I knew a floor existed there. So, that was quite the reward for all the work.
Anyway, I'm feeling pretty satisfied with my two tedious and very dirty barn projects. Not too exciting for photo value but very exciting that they're completed.
There really is no news in most of the remaining point-and-shoot photos taken this morning during chore time----just that Border Collies follow the same guidelines as humans, keep that eye out on those animals one minute at a time.
Eventually, it adds up to a lot of minutes on the Border Collie Fitbit statistical chart.
Imagine how many minutes Kiwi, who will be 11 next week, has put in on her job. I like to imagine that a whole lot more will come.
And, on the other side of the coin, imagine being watched all those minutes. Lily has now endured nearly nine years of continued Kiwi vigilance, and she seems to take it in her stride.
After all, she's got her own work to do too, especially when that grass looks so much greener on the other side of the pasture fence.
A month or so ago, the dogs were still going racing to the hay field to romp and play.
Well, the hay has been growing one inch at a time for the past few weeks, and now a dog would get lost in the grass. It's looking pretty good, and I'm hoping the weather allows for improved hay crops to be harvested in a reasonable time before it gets too over ripe.
Over the years, the elements have slowly aged both this hydrant and the fence posts, giving them a charming rustic look.
No theme associated with this photo. She just stood there looking back at me as I walked down the road this morning, and she looked pretty in the field of daisies.
In the Throwback Thursday department, I ran across the photo above this morning, reminding me of the news Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's Border Collie Jag created when the governor took him to a fair and got kicked out.
Having had a similar incident a year or two before with Kiwi, whom I actually purchased at a county fair, I wrote a letter of sympathy to the governor and his dog. So, Jag wrote back, as only a Border Collie could do.
Border Collies and horses continually provide entertainment around this place, and when a dark horse like Lefty brushes against wet paint, people laugh. I have a feeling Lefty was pretty oblivious at the time, and the paint probably kept the flies off.
Speaking of that putting one foot in front of the other, it took one year after another---50-something, to be exact----before we ever got a Byway in Sandpoint. I ran across this photo this morning from the dedication ceremony, celebrating the beginning of Byway construction.
Interesting assortment of politicians seated behind then Daily Bee publisher David Keyes, including one of Minneapolis fame.
Anyway, I have a feeling everyone---even those who fought so hard to oppose it for so many years, has been enjoying the Byway for the past several years.
Yup, one step at a time is definitely required for many of the major accomplishments we see in life, and because of the effort put forth, those accomplishments often have greater meaning.
Happy Thursday.
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