A Perfect Day!

1. I woke to the smell of rain.... damp, piney rain. I was completely socked in with fog. Over the course of 3 cups of coffee, I watched the shrouds slowly lift from the mountains and readjust themselves as the weather moved.

2. the temperature is in the low 50's so I am wearing my favorite clothes (jeans, Fishtail Mt sweatshirt, boots) and have a roaring fire.

3. Kaite and Ally came over for hot chocolate and neighborhood "bidness."

4. Laurie, the postmistress, called to say that letter I was looking for had come in.

4. I drove to Columbus (45 minutes away) to visit the county courthouse to .... ta dum... register my car!!!!!! and register the warranty deed for the river lot that our neighborhood owns. The county clerk opens this enormous book and I see that ownership for every bit of land is handwritten. It was like being in Mayberry. The nice clerk wearing a pink jacket and blue hair just chatted away with me..... and I complimented her on the lovely knickknacks on her desk.

5. I was going to stop by Potter's Rock and Coffee shop for a latte... but forgot that he always takes a nap after lunch so the place does not reopen until after two.

6. Evan came over and we made plans for my new clothes line.... yes! I hang the clothes out to dry in the sun.

7. I have enough dry firewood to keep the fire going all night..... what more could I want?

Hey, I saw a bear last night

NOTE TURKEY IN TREE

YOU ACTUALLY COULD SEE CLAW MARKS

NO, CUPBOARD WAS NOT OPEN WHEN I WENT TO BED

Long, long day at the Crow Fair yesterday.... which is another story. It was hot and I was tired but I loved the pow wow.

I went to bed early and then the wind picked up (the Nye breeze as it is called). I actually find the wind a nice companion (when it is not sending chairs flying.....the chairs around the fire pit did get toppled last night). Anyway, the wind was loud enough that I heard it slam the bathroom room downstairs from my sleeping loft. then I heard the wind rattling papers I have on the refrig door. hmm. wait. I took that big piece of brown paper with a note from brother's family down last week. After a bit, I realized that it was a bit too noisy for wind. So, I got up and headed down the stairs. As I turned on the light halfway down the stairs, I saw a BEAR..... I said a BEAR... calmly walking out OF MY HOUSE onto the deck. So, leaving all of my intelligence sleeping soundly with my alleged protector, Wally the wimp dog, I continued down the stairs. Went to the door of the deck and closed the screen. Hmm. On the second thought, I will close the sliding glass door as well. Turning towards the kitchen area....a mere 15 feet away... cantalope rinds on the floor, trash can cover off, chicken pot pie pan licked clean, cupboard opened, jar of peanut butter open on floor with discernable claw marks.

I went back up stairs to bed...... not to sleep. Holy S**T, Batman!!!! There was a bear in my house. So I went back down and turned on the outside lights hoping that the bear had not heard Motel Six commercials with Tom Bodette (I'll leave the light on for you).

It took a while to get back to sleep. u n d e r s t a t e m e n t. By morning's light, I also discovered that the bear took the metal lid off the can with bird seed and dragged the plastic bag off into the woods. There is a trail of thistle down one side of the deck and I spotted a piece of plastic bag in the yard.

Oh, and there was a flock of wild turkeys in the yard this morning and Wally chose to chase THEM. Great..... yeah, turkeys are a big threat..... where were you when the bear was in the house?

For once, I am without words........... I believe I am simply gobsmacked.

Ranch Eggs

Ranch Eggs. A treasure. These eggs are NOTHING like what you buy in the store. They are huge, the yolks are huge, the color is vibrant and the taste..... well....... I just can't tell you how delicious they are. and fresh. I mean fresh.

So, how does it work? Well, you go to the Fishtail General Store and pick out a carton.... the rancher's name and phone number is on the carton. Enjoy your eggs and return the carton to the store and the carton will make its way back to the rancher. Even if you buy nasty ol' grocery store eggs, you need to take the commercial/industrial complex carton to the store so some rancher can use it. off to make bacon.

CSI: Nye

It appears that 2 boys found "human remains" at the nearby Woodbine campground. Upon further examination by law enforcement personnel, it was determined that bone fragments and "dental work" were most likely cremains. Unlike Waffle House that specializes in scattered, smothered AND covered, it appears that the bereaved only scattered. Not cool. and not a crime scene.

So, my children, LISTEN:

You know that I want my ashes (sounds nicer than bone fragments) in the Stillwater River. Do NOT dump them at the campground. I want you to hike up to where the river flattens out and there is that rock island. (see attached photograph) Then WADE into the water and gently let half of me go. If you want, you can fish afterwards but please cast away from my ashes. Then, hike back to Carter's and buy everyone there a round of drinks. Make sure Pappy has an open tab and a ride home.

The other half I want under the trees by the deck, scattered, smothered and covered with the wonderful trophy pudding stone (see attached photograph) that I found today halfway to Sioux Charley and hauled all the way back. Can I tell you how heavy it is??? My arms have turned to rubber and I look like Gumby.

so, here is the picture of the river and the pudding stone. and, just for the heck of it, some beautiful Indian Paintbrush that was growing along the river.

love, Mom

Sunday morning musings

I wax on about the wildlife that I am privileged to view..... mule deer nearly every day, the occasional marmot... elk... bear. But yesterday, alas, the dark side of nature. I went out for a walk and at the end of my drive...... the remains of a bunny, head neatly chewed off. Hmm. mountain lion? coyote? By the end of the day, most of the bunny was gone except a pile of entrails. Frankly, I prefer my wildlife bouncing across the panoramic meadows. geez, the food chain in action ain't so pretty. I also found fresh bear scat about 100 feet from the house.

I believe I will focus on the traffic congestion at the birdfeeders.

Last night I went to a "Pitchfork Fondu" to support an alliance to erradicate weeds in the valley. Alas, many of my colorful "wildflowers" are weeds!!! Since I am not ranching -- raising cattle or grains, it is not imperative that I deflower my land but I am ready to get rid of the darn thistle. I was going to borrow a neighbor's goat but after the bunny assassination, I am less inclined.

Oh, a pitchfork fondu you ask? Well, you build a fire, suspend an enormous cast iron pot from an industrial strength tripod. Heat this vat of oil to the appropriate temp. Take a pitchfork and load it with slabs of beef (I am not kidding) and jab the pitchfork into the boiling oil. So, it really is like fondu. The whole cooking process is rather colorful and a great spectator sport. Deep fried steak? not so good......I am not sure if we were dining on loafers or steak.

There is a bit of fall in the air... flannel sheets are on the bed. I break out in hives each time I think about returning to Atlanta. seriously.

The Griswalds Go to Glacier

photos to follow.

My brother, sister-in-law, 2 nieces and I decided to visit Glacier National Park (before the glaciers disappear in 2020-- seriously).

Brother Scott generously planned the whole trip with 2 days in a lodge on the west side of the park and 2 days on the east side. We know the first day will be a long day in the car so I suggest an early start. Suggest being the operative word. I have learned that I have no power..... it was like herding cats to get everyone in the car Friday morning. And did I mention that my nieces have grown enough that 5 people in my car was similar to the Shriner's mini-car at the parade? Yep, flesh on flesh. "SHE IS TOUCHING ME!" no kidding... all 5 of us are touching each other. I ended up sitting on the hump in the backseat in the interest of world peace.... which was a good solution. The day dragged on. how muccccchhhh looooonnger? At last, we could count down the miles.... 30 more to go, chickadees! 20 more!!! darlings, hold your breath -- we are 4 precious miles away!!

So, we arrive at West Glacier.... ready to spill out of the car and stretch legs.

Scott returns to the car sheepishly..... he had reversed our plans in his mind and we were actually supposed to be on the EAST side of the park. I was ready to grab any hotel room, emergency shelter, anything but Scott said that we were a mere 2 hours away from the correct hotel!

I will admit, it was a beautiful drive over Logan Pass. that is all I will admit.

so, here we are at St. Mary's Lodge.... one big happy, extended family in one room. Actually, we are not all in one room.... I escaped to the coffee shop with my computer.

Yesterday was a magnificant 6 mile hike to Hidden Lake with snow pack, streams of run-off, mountain goats galore, big horn sheep, mule deer and marmots. It was simply glorious... we added a mile hike to a waterfall, a few scenic overlooks, an exhibit at the visitor center on the Indians that we displaced, "giving" them arid high plains land in exchange for the most beautiful park in North American. Ain't imperialism grand? for an extra little bit of drama..... my car key suddenly turned inoperative and we could not open the door locks. I was ready to just collapse in a heap but Scott kept jiggling the key and finally, the door lock responded. No more locking the car. Geez... the car only has 187,000 miles -- what is with this quality issue? Oh yeah, we got a bullet hole type crack in windshield from a rock and have entertained ourselves watching a large crack traverse the windshield.... it has advanced about 10 inches so far.

I almost fell asleep in my dinner plate.

today is Many Glacier and surrounds

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

My brother, sister-in-law and nieces are here for a visit. So much to do! Well, tubing the river was a popular choice and we hooked up with the Mayfield family to enjoy a leisurely float down the Stillwater. (remember this: STILLwater). not.

Got the inner tubes pumped and drove up the road to put in just below the mine.

clue #1 that this might be an adventure: the water was f r eeeeeee zing.
clue #2: a long patch of white water before we hit "still" water
clue #3: the water was low enough that we could see all the rocks... which meant that any dragging fanny would hit rock.

undaunted, we launched amid shrieks of agony as the cold water hit... well, you know, the more temperature sensitve parts.

within 2 minutes, my tube wedged up against a rock, flipped and my special Wal-Mart sunglasses were lost to the ages. since the water was so fast, all I could do was hold on the to tube and ride the water.... banging against rocks. The current was pulling off my shorts which had the car keys in a zipped pocket so one hand held on to tube and the other my shorts. I would say that this was akin to being a human pinball in a machine of ice water. Let the record show that I have what appears to be an exceptionally large eggplant bruise on my arse. And numerous other bruises. If I were a child, DFACS would have been summoned immediately.

About halfway down the river, we spotted Debbie and her dog, Barty, on the bank with NUTTY BUDDIES!!! So, we pulled out for an ice cream social and set off again.

oh, and did I mention that my tube had a leak so I was holding a thumb over the leak as much as possible... a race against time to get to the take out point before I was completely out of air. This decompressing tube had the added feature of making me ride lower in the water (as in closer to the rocks).

A minor wreck at the end involved Maddy getting caught under a tree, losing her tube, Kristy trying to rescue her and getting stuck, Henry getting jammed against the bank, Shannon falling twice trying to get to them. But all ended well and we threw ourselves on the Mayfield deck ... happy, exhausted and ready for another day of adventure.

and I am so tired, that I uploaded pictures in reverse order. oh well.