Unfortunately, although I took the camera in the car, I forgot to grab it as I headed up and across the trestle to the reservoir.

I explored a new route around the big coulee to Sheffels reservoir dam — someone, fish and game maybe, has made a new route up the big hill north of Rainbow Falls and over to the railroad track that serves the malt plant.

I plodded along that route, slowly, and up the coulee, over the dam and by the direct route to the "peak," the highest point for miles over the river. It's straight north of Malmstrom Air Force Base and is on the edge of a huge wheat field (the one where I saw the biggest bull elk I've ever encountered in person, about 10 years ago).

I saw only a small flock of Hungarian partridges in the gunge along the wheat field, along with some sizable deer tracks. Oh, and a weird thing happened as I came up the hill from the dam. I was coming up one side, and turned out a wedge of Canada geese was coming up the other. A couple of them and I almost collided. Never happened before to me.

It was a late morning, chilly run (25 or so, but calm). I took the day off to work on clearing the main floor of the house for painters and floor refinishers. They start in one room Friday, and will do the whole rest early next week if we can get everything cleared.

I calculate that I've carted about 9,000 books from the living room and hallway to the basement and, a few, our bedroom. It's taken a long time only because I'm arranging them in rough categories as I shelf them in the "new" library, the family room of the basement. It's going to be WAY cool; I'll take pictures as we proceed.

They pulled the awful putty-colored carpet from the back bedroom today in prep for refinishing, and it turns out there are beautiful, but in need of refinishing, oak floors underneath. This is going to be amazing.

6.5; 19; 19; 89