Occupation of Independence

 The bike ride wasn't too far below the snowline .  But how long would our luck last?  Nice, smooth, moderately steep gravel roads in an Idaho forest.  So many bicyclists miss out on this type of riding, probably because the industry doesn't promote it.  Maybe it is a good thing that gravel bikes were invented, although strictly speaking, a mountain bike is perfect for this kind of riding unless you are racing. It has been my memory that the 'snowline' is a bit of a misnomer.  Actually, it is more of a transition zone, rather than a 'line.'  You expect to flip back and forth between wet gravel and barely passable snow bank.  It makes for a good simile with the idiotic back-and-forth behavior of Trumpanyahu's negotiations with Iran. Thus it was surprising to hit an 'end of the road' snowbank all at once at about 5900 feet. Back in ranch country ( sagebrush , grass, and cows) we saw a remarkably green patch.  It looked like a golf course,...

  Western Idaho .  Bears , mountain lions , and turkeys .  That's what the guy said they were hunting.  It seemed like an odd combination.  But that was the reason for the higher traffic on my new road. With all the distressing news these days, it is important to focus on things that might cheer you up a little.  Years ago I joked that, if motorsports-morons ever switched to electric side-by-sides , they would mount sub-woofers the size of a bale of hay in the cargo bed of their vehicle, and then use 250 Watts of power to pour out electrically-generated engine noise from the speakers. Well, I never miss a chance to ridicule the motorsports industry , even though I usually have friendly conversations with individual motorsports people. Recently I learned that Polaris , the biggest side-by-side producer in North America, now sells the " Kinetic " model, a real electric side-by-side.  It's about $30,000.  There are several You Tube videos on it....

There are times when a person shouldn't over-think the situation.  Nobody needs me to say something profound. There's a time for just wallowing in the satisfaction of water, vegetation, food, and cool breezes.  And no rubble. No thorns. Southeastern Oregon hills, early summer  

 I can't quite explain why meadowlarks are so enjoyable to listen to.  They are difficult to see because they run around on the ground or perch on low branches of sagebrush .  But I finally caught one of them, singing an operatic aria to the mountains of western Idaho . My little dog runs merrily through the grass, looking for critters: I think you can expand the photo with your fingers to find the little cutie in the center of the photo. A local ranch hand stopped by and chatted.  I love to soak up information, and hope that I don't overdo it and scare people off.  He said the yellow flower that grows all over the place in the spring provides a lot of protein to the cows.   Things like that are so important to somebody whose interests have shifted from scenery to Life.  Life needs Food and Water.  The grass around here is lushly green and has big seedheads.  You'd think seedheads would wait until late summer. At any rate, with such thi...