What a lovely day for a SWIM!!!
...yep, the sun was out and it was 25 degrees outside...

...so, I went for a nice swim...INSIDE! (had ya goin' there for a moment, didn't I?) Due to the ultra-coldness we've had in our area lately, my house's plumbing system has reverted back to the pioneer days...no running water. No pipes have burst, but I've gotta wait 'til things thaw out a bit 'fore I can flip on the faucets. So, I went down to ye old health club today, to take a shower. While there, I thot, "why not try swimming a little bit"? I haven't swum yet this year; it's a psychological thing, something about developing an aversion to immersing myself in water when it's so COLD outside. But, I've been having really bad back problems lately, so swimming is all I've got left right now. Me, the basket case.

Ah, but the water was actually pretty WARM...mmmmm. I remember my old swimming days in the Coeur d'Alene YMCA, when I used to swim over 3 miles a week in the pool, and I'd cuss out the management, because they kept the water so warm (88+ degrees) for the senior citizens who recreated there. An 88+ temperature is pure hell on lap swimmers; it's like trying to run a marathon on a hot, sultry summer afternoon. Well, now, I'm closer to being a senior citizen than I used to be, and that warm pool sure felt nice. So I started swimming. OUCH! Arthritis in my right shoulder. Plus I couldn't kick because my back's in bad shape. Sheesh! I haven't even made it to the "golden years" yet!

Still...I did manage 10 laps; 10-times back and forth, that is, which amounts to about 500 yards. In addition to doing the "crawl", I also back-floated and did ye olde breast stroke, both of which were a bit easier on my ol' shoulder. I don't know what there is about exercising in the water; I always get a gentle, mild, serene buzz that lasts for a long time afterwards. So I guess I'm going to begin flopping and thrashing around in the pool like a baby seal now. Arf, Arf! And the HOT SHOWER afterwards was absolutely heavenly. At home, the hot water begins to "fade" after about 7 or 8 minutes, but the health club's hot water just kept flowing and flowing...probably good for me that the health club hasn't installed parking meters in the shower! So now I'm a clean blogger. Aren't you glad?

Ministering to my flock dept.: I've been feeding the birds lately, and in a way, I feel like I'm understanding them better. I used to hate seagulls, thinking they were no more than "rats with wings", but they catch on to the whole process fast. They'll hover overhead, I'll toss up a crumb, the seagull takes it in flight, eats it, circles back around at which time I "repeat process". I've taken a lot of pleasure watching them glide upon the air currents in the summer; somehow, I feel as if I'm paying them back. And the ducks...when it's really cold like it's been lately, it's too cold for them to even THINK about swimming. So, both the ducks and seagulls can be found laying down on the asphalt, which heats up from what little warmth the February sun can provide. I can hold a piece of bread out the car door, and the ducks will jump up and grab a bite, all the while quacking amongst themselves and shaking their tail feathers. I can tell when the ducks have had their fill; instead of leaping at a piece of bread, they'll just sit there. It seems the seagulls never get enough, though.

I pulled this picture from the "Huckleberries" website I visit, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. Evidently, a goose was interrupting the photo session here. The location where the picture was taken looks a little bit like Coeur d'Alene's Independence point, although I think the photo was actually taken in the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington.

Maybe, if this materialistic concept progresses among our fair-feathered friends, one day a goose will walk up to someone, and extend a wing, and say, "hey, buddy, wanna buy a WATCH?" My source for this particular photo was one of the posts at www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/hbo. Credit where credit is due.

How about a picture of somewhere else besides Coeur d'Alene dept.: It's kinda fun to pop in a picture of our area every now and then. You see, I have the attention span of a flea, so therefore it's important that I keep myself interested, or, well, I'll lose interest. (Something I hope my bank doesn't do) So anyway, I have posted a photo or two of Spokane, Washington (that town that tries to be all citi-fied, but will never quite get there), and now, I'm posting a picture of a location in POST FALLS, that little town that'll probably someday be bigger than CDA and Spokane put together. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present...

...the Post Falls Dam, back about 50 years ago. I'm no authority here, because I don't know a lot about Post Falls, but a lumber mill lurks behind the dam at "photo left". This dam is where Coeur d'Alene's lake level is maintained...maybe we could get the dam's operators to let a little more water outta the lake in the summertime so there'd be more of Sanders Beach for us all to enjoy? I'm sure the Lakeshore Drive homeowners would just LOVE that...

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While reading the "huckleberries" blog this weekend, some of you who visit my blogsite here had some really nice things to say, and I want ya's to know I appreciate all of that very much. It shows that I can do something right once in a while, and that's always a satisfying feeling. Thanks again.