When Foster and I headed out the door yesterday afternoon, I told Bill I was gonna go "get the stink off."
I think that may be a common goal this time of year for many of us when we're so desperately anxious to put winter behind us.
In our area, the best place to maybe get a taste of spring while getting the stink off involves about a 20-minute drive to the Hope area.
With its southern exposure on the hillsides along the north end of Lake Pend Oreille, many areas around Hope turn spring-like long before anything we see in Selle.
In fact, I remember reading on Facebook about some folks out there doing yard work a couple of weeks ago.
For the record, we Love's do live in a snow belt, and, as I type, snow is falling. We received another inch overnight.
I was expecting to see lots of bare ground when I went to Hope, but winter hasn't quite given up there either.
Still, I did feel like I was definitely getting the stink off just by viewing something different. I swear I have every inch of this Lovestead, except the woods, memorized.
The scene stays pretty much the same when snow continues to fall. It's pretty, but it gets old.
And so, gazing at the icy waterfall splashing down the hillside next to the old road heading into Hope, admiring the brightly colored line of small homes near the mercantile and enjoying all the yard art---in waiting--- turned out to be just the stink remover my mind needed.
Foster can't see any of this stuff, but any time he gets to ride shotgun---that's a great time for Foster.
Later, he happily put his sniffer to work when we parked at the very wintry Drift Yard just west of Clark Fork.
Much of the water in the slough along the road is still iced over and I saw no sign of bird life in the ongoing collection of cattails. This seemed a bit strange for March.
As always in that wide open spot across the lake from the majestic Green Monarchs, every view was beautiful in its unique way.
When I parked near the boat ramp, I did see and hear some geese, talking back and forth to each other as they checked for goodies along either side of the channel leading to the lake.
Foster and I walked down a roadway where about a dozen Canada geese were honking away behind a pile of logs. They didn't seem to mind our presence. I took a few pictures and then headed back to the car.
It's really nice to have areas like the drift yard when you're at the point of wanting to jump out of your skin from an overdose of same-o, same-o.
I loved my trip out there, even if I didn't find many hints of spring. I'm sure Foster felt the same.
Surely, there will be more such jaunts in the next few week, and it's pretty guaranteed that a few minutes of enjoying that beautiful area can make all the difference in one's mood.
The mood in front of the TV was pretty good yesterday also. ZAGS men and women earned their way to today's WCC Tournament Championship.
The women will play the Portland Pilots at 1 p.m. PST. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga's men will play St. Mary's at 6 p.m. ESPN.
GO, ZAGS!
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