Southern Ferry County Road Trip: Part 1

I live in Ferry County in the state of Washington. Our county covers 2,200 miles of rugged, mountainous terrain in the northeastern part of the state. Lake Roosevelt is along the eastern border.The Colville Confederated Tribe owns the southern portion of the county, while the northern half makes up a portion of the Colville National Forest. The population is about 7400 people.It has often been stated that the only ways in and out of the county are over the highest year-round mountain pass in Washington (Sherman), aboard a ferry(Inchelium/Gifford ferry), or through a foreign country(Canada).

Recently we did a road trip and explored the southern portion of the county. JEJ had logged in this area many years ago. Students and friends live in this part of the county, but I had never taken in the road trip. I discovered another area of the inland empire that was breathtakingly beautiful . It was a sunny, late summer day. We packed a picnic, the camera, and the dogs. We captured images of places I had always wanted to see.We headed down Silver Creek road and were first greeted by a mix of farmland, hills, and mountains in the horizon.

Heading south along Lake Roosevelt we enjoyed a favorite view of mine. This part of the lake between Inchelium and Two Rivers (where the Spokane River connects) is spectacular.We then explored some mountain roads that were bordered by underbrush, creeks, ferns, and towering pines. Driving along another dirt road we spotted some horses by an artesian well.

Box Canyon is a landmark well known to the people of Inchelium. We stopped several times and found the sun dropping behind the rocks a lovely site.
At the end of our road trip we stopped to get an image the setting sun behind these trees. It was a joy to discover so much beauty and such an untouched part or our state. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this road trip.

Top Ten Things That Put Ms. InlandEmpireGirl Over the Edge!

I gave my students a little quiz at the end of last week to see what they remembered about their teacher, classroom procedures, and the rules. During discussion these were their answers when asked to list :
Top Ten Things That Put Ms. InlandEmpireGirl Over the Edge in the Classroom:
10. Breaking brand new pencils in half and throwing them.
9. Laughing when somebody does something and feels embarrassed.
8. Hooking all the colored paper clips together to make a necklace, then putting them back in the holder.
7. Bullying.
6. Becoming aliens from a different planet when a sub comes.
5. Turning the slightly broken chair into a carnival ride on the slick floor.
4. Being tardy.
3. Drinking pop.
2. Announcing the state of the air quality in the bathroom upon returning to the room.
1. When answering the phone announcing to the principal, "Yes, she can come to the phone...she doesn't look like she is doing anything!!"

After two weeks.... I have not gone over the edge. I haven't even come close. It does help to have the same students a second year. I had a sub Friday that raved about the students' behavior. What a great start to another promising teaching year.

The Last Rose of Summer

"Tis the last rose of summer,

Left blooming all alone,

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone.

No flower of her kindred,

No rose bud is nigh,

To reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh."

Sir John Stevenson

Sibling Assignment #37: You Can Call Me Al

" If you'll be my bodyguard

I can be your long lost pal

I can call you Betty

And Betty when you call me

You can call me Al ."

Paul Simon

I gave the sibling assignment this week. "Think about a pet that has been a part of your life. Think about a significant event that happened with that pet that made you realize you were glad the pet was in your life." Raymond Pert's is here and Silver Valley Girl's will be here.

In 1990 I adopted my dog Lucy. She was a springer/cocker/maybe poodle mix. She always got along famously with my first springer spaniel Nikki. Early on Nikki "taught Lucy the ropes". The two pictures blended together above show the two of them enjoying the beach on the Oregon coast, but later that day Lucy was the bodyguard for anyone that needed watching. Lucy was a part of my life during the years when the most changes occurred. A marriage dissolved, her other owner went away except during hunting time, we moved to another town, her best buddy Nikki grew older causing her vision and hearing to wane, we moved to my current house, my dad died, Nikki died, Emily came into the household, and JEJ came into our lives bringing another dog. The day Lucy came home with Nikki and me.
Once my brother started singing Paul Simon's song " You Can Call Me Al" as he watched Lucy's protective bodyguarding around me. Of course later I don't know who was Betty- Nikki or me. The significant event I remembered was when Nikki got lost while on our nightly run. When I first started teaching in Inchelium I lived in teacher housing by the school. Across the road was the football field. It was a perfect place to take the dogs for their run each night. Unfortunately part of it isn't fenced. Nikki was sniffing, exploring, and running in the dark when she disappeared. I saw Lucy, but no sign of Nikki. I knew she was having a hard time seeing and my shouts would not be heard because of her slow loss of hearing. I looked down the hill toward the lake hoping she had not caught a scent and headed there.

All of a sudden I saw Lucy guiding Nikki back around the fence. I had seen her do this before, but that night it was profound. Lucy became Nikki's eyes and ears. In the football field in the dark I was so glad I had Lucy in my life. Nikki was just loping beside her as if nothing was wrong. Lucy continued to be a bodyguard. Most of the time it was with Nikki, but she protected me also. Everyone knew that Lucy was never going to let anything happen to the rest of her family (author note: right after that incident with Nikki I got a doggy Christmas collar that had blinking red lights so we never lost her again!).
Dogs sense our emotions when things change in our lives. Lucy had an intuitive sense that she needed to help both Nikki and myself during that difficult time. Whenever I hear Paul Simon sing "You Can Call Me Al" on my MP3 player I forever think of Lucy. She was my bodyguard.



This was our last day in Kennewick before we embarked on new life in northeastern Washington. (1994)

Sunday Scribblings: Collector Personality

I have a few collections. All of them focus on things I love. Some started because of decorating a room. Others started but flourished as people gave me items as gifts. I love Mary Engelbreit and have received many of her products as gifts. I have now used them to create creative surroundings in my guest room/office. Another thing I collect are roosters and chickens. This began when we had chickens, then it worked well with my kitchen decor. You can see a nice collage of this collection on my brother's blog here. My watering can collection has been the most fun to create. It started when I saw some galvanized watering cans at a antique store. After that I was always on the lookout for unique watering cans. I have also received some as gifts. Most of them have come from yard sales, second hand stores, and Value Village. They add charm to my greenhouse and my new garden room in the winter. They are often used as vases to hold cut flowers. In the growing months they are placed in different locations around my yard. My favorite one is the cobalt blue one above with the green handle in the center of the collage. Raymond Pert created that for me as a gift one Christmas.

My collections tend to center around the things I love.That would also explain my collections of books, cookbooks, cross necklaces, and snowmen. You can read about other collector personalities here.

Out of Service, Out of Service

We have been out of Internet service for about eight hours. I guess it was a widespread outage in Washington and Oregon with CenturyTel. It just came back up again in time for me to post this perfect picture JEJ took of the dogs checking out the hillside from our deck today.


I am coordinating a trip to my favorite Idaho campground with a meeting at the University of Idaho this week-end. We will be out of Internet service at Heyburn State Park so I will check back in on Sunday with stories and photos. This is my new favorite color for ivy geraniums. I hope I can winter this beauty in the greenhouse.