CHOPPING WOOD & RAIL CAR GRAFITTI

This week, much to Koty's disappointment, was spent mostly working in the forest cleaning up and chopping wood.

ONE LOAD DONE 100 TO GO

I must say, except for all the fallen trees, the forest is particularly beautiful this spring. The grass is more green and lush than in some past springs. Over the years I have noticed that the forest has it's own rhythm. It's hard to put into words what I observe but it's kind of like the forest has a wardrobe and every spring it chooses which costume to put on. The differences are subtle to be sure but they are there.

WHITE DAISIES

One thing is for sure the wildflowers are out in force. When I stop my sawing and chopping and just look and listen I never fail to be amazed at my good fortune. I am completely surrounded by beauty and it touches me everyday.

WILDROSE

The predominant wildflower where I live is the wild rose. I think there is nothing more pleasing to the senses than the aroma of rose. Every June, on one special morning, it seems the majority of roses decide to bloom at once. On this morning, when I go out on my deck it's as though my entire world is engulfed in rose perfume. It is the most amazing experience. I really look forward to this day each year.

COLUMBIAN GROUND SQUIRREL

My old pals the ground squirrels are back with a vengeance. The little buggers reproduce like rabbits and really tear things up. They are much like prairie dogs in that regard. And, to add insult to injury they sit up and chirp (laugh) at me like this one was doing. Looks like I'll have to start up my trapping operation.

TOBACCO RIVER

Where I live there is no such thing as mail delivery so one must go to town to fetch it. This is somewhat of a source of annoyance as the box is mostly full of junk. And, I am a source of annoyance to the post office because I don't clean it out nearly often enough.

Anyway, this week we combined a walk along the Tobacco River with our postal duty. The river is flowing bank to bank, as high as I have ever seen it. The trail starts near the old railhead and goes all the way to Rexford. The trail is called the Kootenai Trail and it's a very lovely walk along the river and through green pastures.

KOOTENAI TRAIL

The trail starts at the end of the railroad line. These days not a lot goes on in the rail yard. Mostly just shipments of Canadian timber headed south. But, every bit of unused track is stuffed with idle rail cars. Several of the cars have now been decorated with grafitti. It always amazes me, the amount of artistic talent that goes to waste. These pictures I thought were quite good/interesting/colorful so I include a few examples.

RAIL CAR GRAFITTI

RAIL CAR GRAFITTI

RAIL CAR GRAFITTI

That pretty much sums up our week. Hope yours was a good one too. And, remember to stop and smell those roses. Many of the best things in life really are free.

©KINSEY BARNARD PHOTOGRAPHY