Adventure

We enjoyed our day on the river- stopping at sandy beaches to walk around, and cool off in the water.

 

We found that because of the unusually long time having high water this Summer, more sand beaches were created than we've ever seen.

We are talking SAND not mud! Perfect for skiing off of, or picnics, or for children to play with buckets and shovels.

This Bald Eagle, tucked back into the tree, kept an eye on us. :)

We enjoyed the scenery, and relaxed...

Finally, it was time to head back- and that's when we spied....

an abnormally large floater, sticking only 10 inches above the water.

It was HUGE! and dangerous, and in the path we normally drove our boat.  We worried, that if they raised the water level of the reservoir, the floater would be barely below the water line- Deadly to boaters.

We decided to try to move it. Bruce tied a loop in our boat rope.

but every time we tried to move forward, the rope just slipped off the log.

We had no choice but to leave it... but we're going to try to go back with flagging material on Sunday.

Stay safe people.

Great Blue Heron

One of the highlights of being on the water, is seeing Great Blue Herons. (again...it's worth it to click on the photo above- Herons are so exotic, and beautiful).

Bruce automatically slows the boat, and approaches slowly, so I can try to get pictures.

I never tire watching these magnificent creatures.

Beating the heat

When the temperature reached 102 on Saturday, the only recourse was to take to the water.

Because mice had chewed up the boat's electrical system over the Winter, and because of the cool, wet early Summer, this would be only the second time we'd put the boat in the water!  

First things first, however. We needed to find out the temp of the water before we considered swimming.

and the verdict is......

 a chilly 65 degrees around Finley Flats-

66 degrees at Vermilion Bay, and

67 degrees at Trout Creek, and Deep Creek bays.

Ok... not great- but bearable (for someone else... you won't catch ME in that water!).

Bruce decided to take the plunge!

He said it wasn't all that bad! but I noticed he didn't stay in for very long. :)

Then, it was time for a boat ride- drinking in the beautiful scenery of NW Montana.

(btw... you really should click on the above photo and view it full size. This is spectacular country).

An interesting story

No photos this time, people.  I rarely do that to you, but I hope this story will stand on it's own. It's actually a bit extraordinary, and 100% true.

Getting home to Thompson Falls, MT. from London, Ontario, Canada took 22 hrs. from start to finish. As you can imagine, I was physically, and emotionally exhausted from dealing with my father's death, funeral, and subsequent legal issues.  By the time I boarded my last flight from Las Vegas to Spokane, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry.  I took a window seat and stared into the black night, hoping no one would want the middle seat so I could brood uninterrupted.  It wasn't long before a nice looking woman took the aisle seat. I turned long enough to give her a smile, but didn't respond when I heard her making little comments to herself about her crazy evening.  At the last minute, another woman rushed down the aisle, and asked if the middle seat was taken.  She was obviously flustered, and I couldn't help but overhear my two seatmates talking about what a crazy night they'd been having!  It seems there was a delay at some airport due to lightening (I just smiled... I had been delayed, too), and someone had driven like a maniac to make it to the airport in time, etc. etc.

I wasn't going to say anything.  I just smiled, and nodded, and suddenly heard myself commenting, "You think that's bad?  I started my day in London, Ontario. And when we reach Spokane, I still have a 3 hr. drive to get home!"  The women were sympathetic, and asked why I'd been in Canada- and I found myself talking to them.... laying out the story with phrases like... "after that..." and "but that's not the worst of it!" and, "wait until you hear THIS part!"  I outlined the entire fiasco.... how I learned my father was in the hospital when I made my routine call to him that morning... how they told us not to fly up because he would rally and be fine... how I learned he'd died just minutes before running out the door to catch my plane... how I was delayed in Denver for HOURS because of lightening... what it felt like to see my daughter, who'd already flown up, meet me at the baggage claim at 3 am... the reunion of the sisters... trying to find a way from Detroit, MI to London, Ont., and finally ending up taking a $300 cab across the border... walking into my Dad's house... meeting the housekeeper, and finding two rooms of the house locked when there were supposedly no keys to them... finding that the housekeeper had made all the funeral arrangements... changing all the funeral arrangements... the funeral (which was lovely, by the way)... the altercation during the reception between the housekeeper's husband and the stepsons... reading the will and finding out Dad had given the house, and one full share of the estate to the housekeeper... discovering evidence of elder abuse and coercion... the housekeeper's husband calling the police to kick my sister and I out of our father's house (and the neighbor charging in to save the day!)... the meeting with the lawyer... and finally, finding out from the neighbors that the housekeeper had thrown a party to celebrate the night my father died!

The women were aghast!  They agreed I had just topped anything they could ever come up with.  We introduced ourselves, and found that our names all started with M's!  :)   Quirky little coincidence!  Then, we found out that Mary and I were BOTH PRESCHOOL TEACHERS!  I mean... what ARE the odds???  And Marian?  She turned out to work in the court system prosecuting elder abuse cases!!!  No... really!  I'm telling you the truth!

Mary signaled to the flight attendant, and gave her three drink coupons.  We each took our glass of wine, when Marian reached into her bag, and pulled out the most delicious little cookies ever... When I protested that I had nothing to share, they assured me my contribution was the best story they'd heard in quite awhile.  And then, we lifted our glasses, and saluted my Dad.  They added their fervent wishes for a just outcome.

The flight was short, and it wasn't long before we were descending. Three strangers, meeting on a plane, our lives touching for a brief moment. We did not exchange phone numbers or email addresses. I doubt they will ever think about me again- but I will be forever grateful for their kindness, their listening ear, their presence. Thank you, Angels Mary and Marian.  May you be forever blessed.

SEMI Father's Day

This Friday, our youngest son, Cade, is picking up our daughter, Chelsey, at the Spokane airport, and then, they are driving HOME!!!  We are VERY excited!  We, also, got to thinking.... Maybe we should just postpone Father's Day for a week, and celebrate with the kids!  Actually, I was the one who thought of it- but it makes sense, right?  Holidays are SO much better with the kids around.  While Bruce agreed this was a fine idea- he wasn't quite ready to totally ignore the REAL Father's Day either.  It was Chelsey who dubbed the day "SEMI Father's Day", and I agreed to make whatever Bruce wanted for dinner.

What Bruce wanted was his Mom's special Soy Sauce chicken- chicken marinated for hours in a homemade teriyaki sauce. It truly is delicious!

I made a loaf of my French bread to go with the chicken, and steamed some organic corn.

The only thing "pickable" in the garden right now, is spinach, but BOY! is it ever delicious!  So, I made a fabulous spinach salad with hard boiled eggs (from our chickens, of course), and bacon.

You toss it with a simple oil and vinegar dressing.  It was especially good!  Add a little wine, and we had an exceptional dinner!

Bruce heard from all three kids.  They made sure he knew how special and loved he is- AND they all stressed that today was not really HIS Father's Day!  Gifts are on the way!

For dessert, Bruce opted for Hot Fudge Pudding cake! It was a perfect way to wrap up this meal.  We have to find a way to top this dinner this coming Saturday... when Bruce celebrates HIS Father's Day. I guess he's special enough to warrant two holidays!  He is one of the very best Fathers ever.

Memorial day

While Memorial day was a BIT chilly- it wasn't all that bad. And it stayed fairly dry throughout the day- which meant several things.  I was able to plant the big planters on the patio, Bruce was able to finish planting the garden AND we ate dinner outside for the first time this year!

We barbequed (of course, we barbequed! it was Memorial Day!!) beautiful, meaty spare ribs.

and had macaroni salad (a Sterling Summer staple), fresh bread, and cantaloupe.  For dessert, there was ice cream!  

It was good! and fun, albeit a bit lonely.  But we were able to project forward to later this Summer, when we have the same meal, with all the kids home!

The Great Bunny Escape

I wasn't even really awake yet.
Bruce, very calmly,  very quietly, says, 'the bunnies are out'.
So, at first, it didn't even register. 'What?' 
Over his shoulder, Bruce says, 'The bunnies are out. They are hopping all over the yard'.
and then, he walked out of the bedroom.  You might assume that he was walking outside, to make an attempt to catch the bunnies.  I assumed that.  He wasn't.

I jumped out of bed, threw on a robe, dodged the Shelties, and went running outside. 
There they were.
The bunnies were out of their enclosure feasting on new grass, clover and dandelions.  They weren't particularly happy to see me... and they didn't care one bit about the container of old, stale, dried bunny pellets, either.

They hopped deeper into the shrubbery.

You'll notice I took the time to run back into the house for my camera.  Truthfully, they looked so sweet, and happy, I thought I'd let them have a little fun for awhile.  Plus, I was waiting for Bruce to show up, so we could herd them back into their enclosure together.

Bruce didn't know I was waiting.

Bruce was inside, watching sports. :(

Normally, and by that, I reveal that these two rabbits have escaped before- like just 3 days prior... *sighs*   NORMALLY, I can chase them a bit, and they eventually run back into their pen by themselves.

and that IS what happened with Abra.  But Cadabra was less co-operative this time.  And therein lay the dilemma.  I couldn't leave the pen door open, because Abra would escape again... but, I couldn't chase Cadabra in, because the cage door was closed.

Add to this, that Cadabra FINALLY, unfortunately, realized that while it's easy for little bunnies to hop under shrubbery, it's not so easy for big humans to do so.  He settled down under some particularly prickly bushes, and waited.

and waited...

and waited.  As the time ticked by, my back started to ache, my knee started to throb, and I marveled at how I could ever consider this devious, small, fluffy demon a sweet creature of God.  Finally, he made a break for it- apparently even devils make mistakes. To make a long story shorter, I finally caught him.  

Let's see how long they'll stay inside this time!