"Seens" along Back Roads

During a walk down our south end of South Center Valley Road yesterday, I looked toward the sky and was blown away by the heavenly clouds.  

I figured that since the sun was actually shining and the sky was blue, the many beloved occupants of these clouds and beyond had come for a visit. 

Twas comforting, to say the least. 

Ditches during springtime, especially during wet times like this, offer some lovely blends of color.  As grass spurts upward from all that moisture and whenever the sky turns blue, some spots along the road are downright stunning.  

Come summer we'll never pay much attention to those dry, dusty ditches. For now, they alive with lovely images. 

Gary Finney's impressive gateway offers some nice framing of images for his field and those beyond it. 

I don't know this gentleman's name, but I'm thinking he may have the happiest dog around.  They're often out on our road or over on Center Valley Road putzing along and enjoying the great outdoors.

Pure contentment for both. 

Green grass, white vinyl fence, the Tucker dairy barn converted to stable and a nice horse trailer----this was the view at my sisters' Arabian farm yesterday.

The barn is a magnificent structure with years of history, especially for the Tucker family and now more than three decades for the Tibbs family.

Instead of dairy cows, pretty horses live there now.  It's always easy to tell folks where my sisters live----just past the driveway with Wood's two halves of ceramic beef on HWY 95 North. 

I encountered these two love birds yesterday, enjoying the roof top view from their home at Del Bader's place along South Center Valley Road.

Del has a series of bird houses along his fencelines, and apparently, it's time for occupancy.  This couple was quite happy to stay put as I snapped a few pictures. 

This single box car has been parked for years on the tracks near the intersection of Baldy Road and our old road GREAT NORTHERN.  Maybe it's been left there as a unique street sign.

We'd love to know its personal history and why it remains in this spot. I'm sure railroad buffs could look at the identifying information and provide some clues.

For now and for as long as it sits there, it can remind us all of one of the great railroad systems responsible for the settlement of Sandpoint.

Any additional information will be greatly appreciated and shared. 

Let's go Priest River way, I said as Bill and I prepared to get in the pickup and go for a short afternoon drive.  

Well, we went to Priest River and on to Newport, staying on HWY 2 until we reached Scotia Road where we turned left.

Twas all new for me but not for Bill.  Often when we'd cross through intersections, he'd announce that he had a "client down the road" (for Inland Forest Management).

We ended up in the little village of Elk before taking a loop back toward Newport.  I had never been to Elk, so that was a treat in itself.

By then,the rain had started, but along those back roads, we did stop a couple of times so I could snap some photos.

The trip home was pretty darned wet.  The night was wet, and, surprisingly, as I type, there's no pelting of raindrops on the metal roof.  According to the forecast, that won't last long.

When Bill and I arrived home, it was time to fix dinner and take in the afternoon news.  One of the first stories on KREM last night featured Taylor Vydo reporting from the Cedar Post room at Sandpoint High School, where principal Tom Albertson was reporting to students that Sandpoint High has received a rank of second in the whole State of Idaho for its overall student climate and successes.

Thousands of Sandpoint High School graduates through generations have been extremely proud of our school.  So, this public acknowledgement simply reinforced that pride in a very nice way.

Congratulations to the students and staff at Sandpoint High School for continuing the tradition of a "job well done."

With that, Happy WETnesday.  Enjoy the photos.