From his perch high above downtown Coeur d'Alene, Don Sausser spotting the beginning of another basketball season that will last until the snow flies late this fall. Mrs. O & I call it “the never-ending basketball game,” featuring young males (usually) throughout the Inland Northwest who play from sunup to sundown and beyond on the outdoor courts at Coeur d'Alene City Park.

Don Sausser provides this viewtiful photo, emailing: “Low winter sun backlights CDA Lake’s rippled surface while Brook’s sea plane rests, poised to invade nature’s beauty.”

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Idaho bill would ban minors from tanning beds/AP
• Idaho's share of mortgage settlement nearly $100M/StateImpact
• Montana's bishops criticize Obama's contraception rule/Missoulian
• Whitefish, Bozeman, Ketchum, Bend among world's top ski towns/Daily Inter Lake
• Idaho building repair, renovation nearly half billion backlog/Betsy Russell, EOB
• New bills target wolves, dangerous dogs, repeat animal abuse/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Orbusmax Special: Washington cop arrested for stealing for slain officers' fund here

Don Sausser reports: “These interesting surface patterns occur frequently when volumes of water with differing in temperatures meet.” Don snapped the photo of the north shore, b/n the Coeur d'Alene Resort and City Beach, on Saturday.

Re: North Idaho College schedules memorial for Joe Jonas/Hucks Online

Don Sausser: Joe, so humble, simply produced uncontroversial art that everyone could digest with great delight. From the piano near Schuler autitorium to the massive brass & ocopper pieces covering Christiansen Gymnasium and Boswell Hall, Joe has blessed North Idaho College for generations of future visitors. I used to visit him in his garage studio/workshop and marvel at his clay workups for larger pieces. They in themselves were works of art. RIP Joe.

Question: What’s your favorite piece of public art in the greater Coeur d’Alene area?

“With an LCSC scrimmage Thursday night (no score kept) the NIC men’s power packed basketball team is ready to begin another successful year,” e-mails Don Sausser with this photo. “Preseason NJCAA rankings place the Cardinals 3rd in the nation while the women’s team is ranked 6th. With this quality in our backyard there is no reason to travel far to enjoy highly competitive basketball.” Pictured is a young NIC Cardinal round baller in training!

DFO: Feel free to post a possible cutline, if you’d like.

Don Sausser’s photo is an alert that images like this are coming to a tree near you soon …

Don Sausser was Donny-on-the-Spot today for those photo of a totally TP’d vehicle in the parking lot of Coeur d’Alene Athletic Club parking lot (old Oz Fitness, 2nd & Coeur d’Alene). Seems employees gave this going away gift to a co-worker who is in her final week of work at the club.

Question: Have you ever had your house or car TP’d?

Bent: While I am sure there are a few incidents, I cannot recall reading about any problems with people and alcohol at Post Falls City Parks … Alcohol is leagl in Post Falls Parks and Beaches… Didn’t see any problems at the fair this weekend either… I see more trouble in the police bar report on Sherman Avenue, where bars are allowed to sell the evil drug to people.

Don Sausser: I have nothing against anyone enjoying beer but the effects of alcohol are well demonstrated. … I don’t “buzz” and find life really good without it. Not much buzz in a diet pepsi but it taste good on a hot day. I’m glad that it works in Post Falls Park. But while I was on the NIC Board we allowed alcohol on the NIC beach. It caused so many problems that we reversed the policy after one season.

Question: Would you like to see alcohol allowed in city parks and more public events like the North Idaho Fair?

Photographer Don Sausser e-mails Huckleberries Online: “Friday’s moon slowly sunk into the cleavage between Mica (on right) and another peak. This moon is referred to as a ‘Waxing Crescent’ where 23 percent is illuminated.’

From his perch above downtown Coeur d’Alene, Don Sausser spotted a bearded man pushing his overloaded bicycle along First Street. Don said that the bike appeared to have “the contents of a motorhome on a two-wheeler.”

Don Sausser: In about 1955 I skated in Sonja Henie’s Ice Review chorus line for two weeks in San Diego. I was costumed as a big kitty, yes, a pussy cat, and during the number we cartoon characters were told to step over the footlights and mingle with the audience. I spotted a gorgeous red head so made a bee-line for her. It was no longer than a two second sit on her lap but I can’t repeat, even on HBO, what she said to me. After the show a performer said, “do you know whose lap you sat on?”, No, “Mareen O’hara.” These shows often hired noted folks to populate the audience to give the show credibility by announcing their presence. After a long career this was Sonja’s swan song, and likewise, the end of my two week pro skating career. The troupe went to Hawaii but I got fired

DFO: Don is responding to my weekend question: Have you ever had a brush w/fame, which stemmed from the fact that I sat directly in front of John Travolta and members of his extended family during the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre’s “Cinderella” Saturday which starred his three sisters.

Question: Have you ever had a brush with fame?

Don Sausser e-mails the photo above and this comment: “Larry Stroble’s Percussion Nauts, who provide a marching band in goofy dress each 4th, practice once a year in his neighborhood on city streets just prior to the fourth. Wednesday, 92 yr old Howie Robbins, who once played with famous big bands, has returned to the Percussion Nauts after a short hiatus due to becoming unable to march. Another band member, Darrel Anderson, modified a bicycle trailer to accommodate he and his drum so we will see him on the 4th with 100+ other performers.”

Question: Now that the Red Hot Mamas have retired, are the Percussion Nauts your favorite Fourth of July parade entry?

Debbie Berger is a Facebook friend and the female whirlwind behind the push to raise $30,000 to fund this year’s Fourth of July fireworks display. (You can donate to the fund by clicking on this link.) This week, Lake Tower residents donated nearly $400 for the fireworks fund. Posts Debbie: ”I was lucky enough to visit with Don Sausser, Betty Owens and Ace Waldon yesterday and it was amazing. These community members touched my heart and are a true inspiration.” Yeah, that’s Don Sausser, HBO’s Eye Above Sherman Avenue, standing on the left.

“The sun’s rays were just right to illuminate a drippy cloud passing by the Mica Peak ridgeline,” e-mails Don Sausser from his vantage point above Sherman Avenue.

Question: Which would you rather deal with — a lot of rain or a lot of snow?

Photographer Don Sausser writes: “The first time I have seen a tour boat inside the boardwalk made possible by the newly rebuilt bridge which is considerably higher than the original.” Story here.

Question: Which attraction do you usually take friends and relatives to see when they visit the Coeur d’Alene area? The Boardwalk?

Marmitetoasty: Our Stickman was my saviour the weekend before last … ya see, I wanted to go the the burning of the Wickerman which was being held at the Buster Ancient Farm … having been to this ritual a few times in the past I knew that there would be hundreds of people there and that the car park would be in a farmers field a couple of fields away from the site … so I was a bit apprehensive about going, ya see, I still walk a bit like a penguin with piles … I aint as yet got the best of gaits lol … and Im a bit wobbly still on uneven ground such as a bloody ploughed farmers field and climbing over a hedge sty … its all to do with the pro-procepter muscles that surround me bionic fake knees lol and it means that uneven ground is still a bit dodgy … anyways I SOOoooo wanted to go, especially as me matie had got some free tickets to the event and it was a great place to go ‘people watching’ or ‘weirdo watching’ lol … I had found my people :) — me matie said ‘take ya crutches’ I said ‘I aint no crimple’ so I took one of the beautiful sticks that The Stickman and Don Sausser had sent me … so every time I wobbled to the left or the right I had just that little stick to stop me going arse over tit :)

Question: Do you actually walk around town and country w/a stick from Stickman? Or do you put it in a corner and admire it?

Don Sausser saw this strange site from his vantage point high above Sherman Avenue at 4:30 p.m. Wedneday. In the first photo, a green-costumed character accompanied by a friend shaped like a giant, green eraser walked eat on Sherman Avenue, around Independence Point ending at Bonsai’s parking lot. In the second photo, they’re crossing 1st Street at the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce building. Then, the eraser disrobed in the Bonsai parking lot and smashed his costume into a Bonsai Dumpster.

Question: Can you provide a back story for these two characters?

Don Sausser had his camera out at the first of the week to capture this reflective shot of Tubbs Hill on a Monday morning.