Slight Detour: Oh, Deer! Oh Beautiful! Oh, So Special!

Thanks to this bunch of regular visitors, I enjoyed a pleasant chat with our neighbor Randy Poelstra yesterday afternoon.

I had just arrived home from my sisters and from snapping some photos when I saw this "Kodak Moment" in my north lawn.

Ever so carefully, I stepped out of the car and walked slowly down the driveway to see that old saying "The deer are watching you" in full progress, 'cept maybe for those munching on apples.

A minute or so later, I watched as a green and white pickup rolled past with its driver stretching his neck as far as possible to check out that herd in our yard.

The driver in the pickup continued past, then stopped, backed up, turned into the driveway and turned off the motor.

I knew from that cue that Randy Poelstra had seen the deer, seen me and decided on this bright, sunny fall afternoon that this was a good time to visit.

So, we visited for about 20 minutes.

In that conversation, I learned from Randy, a Selle Valley native, about another party who had owned our farm and some other property long before Dr. Paul King, a veterinarian, raised Herefords here.

Turns out the Engelen family lived over on Selle Road and owned a good-sized acreage around their home, including our place.

Randy remembered haying during summers on our land when not a tree could be found here.

Big change from those days, for sure. Bill, the forester with ten-plus acres of trees, has heard that before and has seen it on old aerial maps.

Still, it's always much more fun to hear such stories coming from the locals in any area.

Besides visiting with Randy, I had a busy day from start to finish, some spent inside, some spent out.

Once again, we were blessed with an abundance of stunning views pretty much everywhere I went. Most of the photos below are taken near Colburn or along our country roads.

Have I said I love it out here?

And, then, there's the "This Just In" at the bottom. This morning, when I opened my Facebook page, a collection of professional photos taken at this past week's U.S. Arabian Nationals greeted me.

Barbara posted them last night, and I thought I'd post one (with family members) for any readers who don't do Facebook.

One thousand words could never come close to conveying the magical moments for Barbara and the family and all her friends from around the world when she earned the National Championship in Western Trail Select while taking the ride of her life.

Today, Team Dusty will reach Missoula on their way home from Tulsa.

Tomorrow, they'll arrive home, with an extra cute, four-legged and youthful passenger from Ronan.

The fun never ends!

Happy Friday to all.