Rainy Day Forest Walk

Consider today's thoughts as a mild continuation of yesterday's post, especially if, like ours, it's still dark and dreary at your house. 

In spite of the rain and in spite of the gloom which lasted all day, I found sunshine in my Sunday, and it sure as heck wasn't in the sky. 

Three major accomplishments helped me keep a smile on my face and an upbeat attitude on a day that promised much, much less. 

Heck, we didn't even have a Seahawks game to help us forget that it sure was ugly outside!

Dang it all, anyway. 

So, rather than lamenting what wasn't gonna be, I decided to defy the dismal day full speed ahead. 

First, after chores, came the area in the lean-to area next to the shop where, since July,  broken bales of hay had sat on boards beneath a tarp. 

Each day for the past couple of weeks, with pitchfork and cart, I had hauled hay out to the front pasture for the horses to eat during the days. 

With the last pile of hay leaving its resting spot, I could do some cleaning and return the training cart, which had been moved for the hay, back to its proper protected spot. 

So, boards were picked up and stacked, and a good raking job led to much more room and a tidy spot at that. 

That led to the promise of satisfaction for the next few times of walking past the spot with a sense of pride that the area was no longer an eyesore. 

That job accomplished, I returned to the house, which has actually stayed clean and neat the past couple of days. Bill was gone and would not be home for at least an hour, so, by golly, I could sit down and read my book which has been sitting next to the couch for the past couple of months, waiting for me to finish. 

In the silence and enjoying the warmth of the wood stove, within seconds I was fully immersed in the mystery of what was gonna happen to Kya in her murder trial. 

Kya had started that murder trial a couple of months ago, at least through Marianne's eyes, so it took a few pages for me to work the cobwebs out of my brain and to zero in on who was whom and who had said what or done what. 

My hour of silence ended just as I heard Bill walk through the door at the very moment I had shut the book---done!

What a feeling!  And, with that Crawdad book a lot to think about.  I really do want to read the last few pages again because the author has such a way with words, thoughts and images.

The rain was still falling and the gloom still hanging when I came up for air from that fictional marsh area. 

My cell phone, however, said the rain was supposed to end.  So, I suggested to Bill that we go for a drive.  

After all, with no Seahawks game to watch, a drive, even in the gloom, would sure beat looking out the windows and complaining. 

"Where do you want to go?" he said. 

"I don't want to go where people are hunting," I responded. 

"Do you want to go to the Priest River Experimental Forest?" he asked. 

"Aren't people hunting there?" I asked. 

"Well, they probably won't shoot you," he said. 

Okay, the Priest River Experimental Forest it would be, a place I had never gone before.  That seemed like a good idea, again no matter how ugly it was outside. 

As you can see from the photo of the sign, the place was established as a research facility 108 years ago.  I think it's been around for a lot longer.

Hard to believe in my 72 years and all the times I've driven to Priest River and Priest Lake that I'd never visited the area. 

Well, check that off the bucket list. The gloom never lifted.  Rain kept falling, except, happily, not while we were out walking. 

The place was definitely clean, fresh and impressive. 

Bill, the forester, certainly has spent time there as have countless other foresters and outdoorsman over the years, including Bob Marshall aka Bob Marshall Wilderness. 

There's a lot of history in that place, and, of course, those trees.  They could tell stories, I'm sure, of the peeps who have shown up, walked the grounds, studied the species and learned about how a forest works and how best to see that a forest works. 

We did encounter hunters on our walk, nice hunters too.

They did not shoot me.

  In fact, they wanted to turn around and head another direction so we could enjoy our hike.  We said that wasn't necessary. 

So, they drove on, and we walked on up the road until low-hanging fog began to obstruct visibility to the point that Bill walking ahead of me looked almost like a ghost. 

We turned around and enjoyed the walk back, which included a few stories from Bill, including the fact that grade school children from Priest River get to come up and do some learning at the neatly kept grounds.  

As we drove back to Sandpoint, the outside scenes seemed even darker and gloomier, but that was okay. 

The day was over.  It was time for dark, time for animals to be fed and for us to grab some dinner, doze off occasionally while watching the news and "60 Minutes."  

I ran across an article yesterday that appeared just in time for my re-entry into another long winter.  It suggests working with the mindset.

https://kottke.org/19/11/the-secret-to-enjoying-a-long-winter?utm_source=pocket-newtab

I kinda think that's a wise idea, especially for those of us who live in this area of long winters, those of us who don't spend those months up on the mountain skiing or snowboarding and those of us where enjoying the outdoors is so important. 

We can't change what Mother Nature's gonna dish out. 

So, maybe we can work on mindset and on engaging in new and different approaches to winter, especially when we can enjoy a sense of accomplishment. 

I made it through the gloom yesterday, so that's one day down and we just won't count how many more to go. 

"One day at a time," they say, which reminds me of the approach often taken by coaches in athletic events---divide up the game and do your best to win each segment.

Off to start a "to do" list on making the most of this day.  By golly, I do see a little blue sky.

Happy Monday.