It's a Wrap

 

We thought we were going to have a blank slate for the 2026 trick or treaters' report. 

Then, at 7:58 p.m., the doorbell rang.

Bill went to the door and welcomed in the Taylor family, minus three older boys. 

The first time Peter and Jen and the five boys came on Halloween was a few years ago on a warm late October evening. 

The boys had a great time, climbing trees and heckling each other around the yard while Bill and I became acquainted with Jen and did some major catching up with Peter. 

 Peter had been one of Bill's Boy Scouts before he joined the Navy after high school.   When his Navy career ended, Peter and his family returned to his roots at the Taylor farm across the road from us.

Since then, he's purchased a fleet of farm machinery and spends most of his days farming around the Selle Valley.  

The young Taylors live just up the road from us and not far from their parents. 

Since his return to Sandpoint, the Taylor trick-or-treating contingency has decreased with just the two younger boys showing up for Twix or Butterfinger bars. 

The other three have graduated from high school, and two of them have joined the Navy, just like Mom and Dad. Another is working with concrete while he waits for his 18th birthday, which allows him to train for wildland fire fighting. 

Along with candy gathering, the boys generally sit patiently on their Halloween stop while Dad catches us up on some of his experiences on farms around the valley. 

Our visit last evening lasted long enough for Jen to eventually poke Peter and tell him that his mom over across the road was about to go to bed.  

So, team Taylor left,  with a few extra candy bars, enroute for the parents/grandparents home for their annual Halloween visit. 

At least, after their visit,  we have some data for our Halloween 2026 slate:  4 trick-or-treaters, i.e. a family of neighbors. 

That's pretty much how it goes here at the Lovestead on Oct. 31, and the best part about those dismal numbers:  Bill has half a bowl of Halloween candy bars to enjoy. 

  

Our Kubota is just like new after its trip to the Boundary Tractor shop for a complete maintenance update. 

I spent a couple of hours at the wheel yesterday doing what I love to do:  brush hogging/grooming our pastures. 

Two down and two thirds of the hay field yet to go. 

It was bitter cold, but when you're out in a farm field enjoying the late autumn beauty, there's nothing better.  

Plus, the fields look so much better, minus the dead grass and occasional weeds, once the job is done. 

I'll be wrapping up this post fairly quickly today because we're watching some college basketball on this Sunday morning. 

Notre Dame is playing Pope Leo's alma mater Villanova in Rome today. The game is being telecast on Fox 28. 

One of Notre Dame's starting five played for Gonzaga last year, and he even came to the neighborhood one day to meet our friend Tricia's pigs. 

That would be Braeden Smith.  So far, he's done very well for the Irish. 

They say the Pope was not expected to be at the game, but then they added that miracles can happen. 

Anyway, it's a fun matchup and the players have been pretty hot with their shots so far. 

So, Happy All Saints Day, and enjoy your Sunday.

I'm off to watch some Catholic teams, and Bill is wondering if we get credit for going to church if we watch the game.