Out and About

This is our mountain. This photo was taken from our upper place--the place where Bill and I lived during our first three years of marriage.  It is now a subdivision.  Some open land still exists.

I drove this route from the grocery store yesterday afternoon and was struck with the unusual cloud pattern.  

With few places to stop for a photo, I drove on and turned off at the "street," which would have once been called the "road" which runs through the old farm.  

Before we owned it, the farm was known for many years as the Harney Dairy, and that mountain was simply known to us as Greenhorn.  

Since those times, the mountain has turned into a popular hiking area with its Mickinnick Trail providing both a rigorous hike upward and some stunning views of Sandpoint and the lake. 

I was glad to have a quiet place to park with no cars on my tail so I could take this picture.  If we've ever had a cloud pattern like that over the mountain in my past 69 years, I never noticed it.

So, it was worth the stop---even with ice cream in the grocery bags---to capture the phenomenon. 

I also stopped a couple of times and took photos along Granite Ridge Road, the mountain that backed up the old Bill Neu place where Harold pastured his cattle when he and Mother were first married.

In later years, we called it Smith Hill when we rode our horses up the makeshift road.  I don't think we even had a name for it when, as junior high students, we neighborhood kids hiked trails up the mountainside in the spring time where to visit a series of caves.

Now, the area is accented with real estate signs, locked gates and high-end homes BUT there's one view of Lake Pend Oreille for free, thanks to a short open stretch on the road. 

The other photos this morning were taken during last night's evening magic hour, which I noted to Bill is getting shorter and ending earlier as daylight gives up its annual prominence in favor of more darkness. 

By day's end, Bill and I had made more progress on the box stall in the barn with gravel hauled in and spread and stall mats ready to go in their permanent spots.  Bill is now picking out boards to use along each end of the stall. 

After dinner, the dogs and I simply walked around their legal pasture playground for a while.  The area includes the barnyard manure pile, which has transformed into patches of tomatoes, marigolds, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkins.  

And, the deer have left it alone!

Liam, Foster and I also took a brief drive along some neighborhood roads.  As you can see, Foster prefers to ride shotgun while Liam sits nervously in the back seat, whimpering whenever I stop to take a photo. 

Once again, some settings came to life with the late evening sun rays.  Hard to find them these days with everything drying up and getting dirtier by the day. 

Thank goodness for sunlight.  It can cover up the blemishes and enhance an otherwise dull view. 

Another hot one scheduled today after they told us yesterday would be the last hot one. Who's to believe anything we hear on TV these days????  

Happy Tuesday.