Slight Detour: Just Country Mutterings . . . .

My sister Barbara's colleagues at Sandpoint High School gave her this windmill as a retirement gift. It took her a while to assemble it, but once complete, it moved to this spot on a hill above their lower driveway.

The windmill is not only an eye catcher but it can also provide eerie sounds in the dark evening air----for anyone who's not familiar with the noise of metal rotating in the wind, that is.

Our daughter Annie and friend Nancy now know that when they go outside my sisters' house at night, there's nothing to fear from the noise of the windmill. It had them going a bit last Saturday night as they walked to the house for the game.

Anyway, the windmill is a pretty sight, and I couldn't resist snapping a few photos yesterday as I drove toward the barn to play with CB.

Speaking of driving toward barns, I endured a moment of large anxiety yesterday morning when I pulled up to our barn with a load of shavings. The dogs had gone with me to Woods Feeds and then on to town where I purchased seeds.

As is routine, when I parked in front of the barn to unload the shavings, I first let the dogs out of the pickup.

Then, I walked around toward the barn to be stunned by the sight of a horse standing in the somewhat darkened aisle looking back at me.

No horses in the barnyard. Oops! Someone left the gate unhooked. Lily and Lefty had escaped.

As soon as Lefty saw me and I realized he was the intruder, he began to trot directly toward me out of the barn. Then, I saw Lily standing in Lefty's stall.

Then, Lily emerged into the aisle and, within a split second, launched off on a dead run past me, quickly catching up with Lefty.

I saw potential horror in front of the two as they raced toward the main driveway. Little Foster was scampering for his life about two feet in front of Lily.

Dogs had scattered every which way to avoid the galloping horses. I knew Liam would think he needed to herd, but for a few seconds, my concern focused on Foster and his ability to outrun Lily.

He did. Thank God. Then, it was time to round up Liam and put him where he could not herd horses. So, he went in the shop.

Then, it was time to run to the barn and grab the grain. By the time I came back out, the horses were standing out on the road at the end of the driveway---heads and tails in the air with a bit of arrogance at what they had just pulled off.

Horses, however, are herd animals, and generally when horses do get loose, their enjoyment of all that freedom is short-lived-----generally long enough to put holes in the soggy lawn and sniff out a few other areas which are usually off limits.

With the rattle of the grain can, Lily and Lefty immediately figured out what they were gonna do next: get to that grain.

So, as I stood just inside the barnyard gate, they raced toward me. The instant they entered to grab those free bites, I slammed the gate shut, resolving not to make that mistake again for a few years.

After the excitement, I unloaded the shavings bags along with a bag of pancake flour I'd seen while waiting for Dana to finish a phone call at Wood's Feed.

Dana told me all about the folks who provide the product AND that Jim and Virginia Wood like it so much that they never let their supply run out.

If they like it, maybe we'll like it. And, sure enough, we did. I couldn't wait to try it, so we had breakfast for dinner last night.

After scooping up three pancakes from the frying pan and some bacon, I handed the plate to Bill and said, "I don't know how this is. So, try it."

By the time Bill had sat down and taken a bite, I heard and enthusiastic, "It's good" from the living room.

And, now that I've had one of those pancakes, I think they're gonna have to keep a good supply on hand for Bill and Marianne too.

Great pancakes, even if I didn't use buttermilk.

This morning, I'm including a photo which was sent to me via cell phone yesterday. My cousin Brendan Short from Chicago sent it to me along with a letter written in 1912 by our grandmother Lily (yes, my mare is named after her).

The picture shows Lily and her brother Arthur Short. Brendan told me that our Great Uncle Arthur died in 1914.

It's hard to describe the emotions of seeing the letter and photo for the first time. I just wish my mother could have seen it too. Our grandmother, who died in 1924 when my mother was just 3, was, indeed, a beautiful woman.

And, after reading the letter, I'd say she was pretty brilliant too. We have heard that she wrote a couple of manuscripts which never were published. Oh, if we could ever find those, but I'm not holding my breath.

Still, having this little visual reminder of her presence on this earth is beyond priceless.

Finally, we just said "See ya later," to Swiss Miss aka Laura who's on her way to the airport. At 11 she'll begin the long flights back to Switzerland.

We loved having her, and we look forward to "seeing her later" also.

Safe travels, Laura.

Happy Wednesday.