Back in pre-hysteria days, when we could freely watch a high school basketball game unhindered by the fetters of a crafty little virus, I made a short trip from my place to the hamlet of Murtaugh, Idaho, to scout a game involving a couple teams, one of which would be the opponent of my hometown Oakley Hornets in the next round of the conference tournament.

My wife loves to garden. As a matter of fact, she is a dang fine gardener, and she works irrationally hard at it and gladly shares the bounty of her hard work and harvest.

As I type the very words you’re now reading, struggling to make another column deadline for an ever-patient editor, my mind is not entirely focused on the immediate task at hand.

As I was dutifully scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day, I came across a post from my daughter honoring her mother. It was kind of a long post, and there was no flashy picture accompanying it. Those are two factors that would normally dissuade me from taking the time to read a social media post. However, since it was family, I had to at least take a look, right?

Home to me is the early morning bang and echo of horseshoes on old trailer floorboards. It’s the half-eager, half-asleep complaint of the 8-year-old who can’t find his spurs as he clambers into the pickup.

My house sits not 50 yards from the corrals. Having the chute, the corrals and the cattle in such close proximity to my humble abode is not entirely without its advantages.

There’s a lot I like about fall. You know, the typical stuff like gathering cows off the mountain, beautiful fall colors and mornings cool enough to slow the flies down and keep the gnats at bay for the first part of the day.

I rarely watch the news anymore. It’s not that I don’t want to keep up on current events; it’s just that I can barely tolerate the smug editorializing of those who report the news.

It was a moment I was simultaneously dreading and eagerly anticipating, kind of like the first time you climbed up on that sweet linebred Hancock colt you sent to the trainer for 60 days.