Summer Blend

 

All in a day during mid-summer can involve a range of events, sightings or developments. 

Yesterday, we kept track of smoke from a fire, I rode Lily in preparation for a weekend horse show, I harvested the first taters and maters, I saw that have started ripening and will be ready for picking soon AND I figured out my photo uploading problem, which was mentioned in yesterday's post. 

There's always the "drive."  This morning's "drive" photos feature some sights I saw in the Bonners Ferry area on Tuesday.  

The magnificent Kootenai Valley offers a patchwork of color, with some crops being harvested and others on their second growth.  

Speaking of harvest, last night I saw my sisters' hay stack for 2021.  

They, like many around here, have fewer bales than last year, but none of those bales have gotten wet from rainstorms, so there's quality to go along with the lack of quantity. 

While at my sisters' arena last night, Emma from Seattle came out to see the barn cats, and she went for a ride on Lily.  

What's not pictured are dogs and cats and people.  It was a lively group enjoying a relatively comfortable summer evening. 

My sisters handed me a couple of pairs of chaps for Annie to try.  She and I will be riding Lily in the Spots of Fun Show this weekend, so those polished boots,  tack and riding ensembles will soon be ready to take to the show.

I'm really excited about this show because it will serve as CB's maiden experience in the show ring.  Mary will ride him in some basic walk-trot classes, both English and Western. 

As for the smoke from a series of fires in the Cabinets, it seems to have disappeared this morning, so maybe the intense effort from fire fighters and support crews is paying off.  Six different fires ignited by lightning strikes were reported in that area yesterday. 

Usually forest fire concerns are more of an August issue, but this year's record heat with no rain has elevated concerns much earlier.  Hats off to all who work in stifling conditions to stop these blazes AND to all who take extra care to be extremely careful any time they visit the forests. 

With all these goings on, summer flowers keep blooming. I fertilized most of mine the other day, as they took a beating from last week's head.  It was fun to see the first lily of the year. 

Busy, event-filled days, as they usually are during July. 

Happy Thursday.