ArtFest and the Rites of Spring

While some rites of Spring are Universal, others are definitely personal. Last weekend we witnessed the spring migration of the snow geese and the trumpeter swans. As one of my favorite ecologists once observed,

"One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the Spring."
Aldo Leopold
Definitely Universal!

This week, Jenn joined her friends to participate in ArtFest . Definitely personal, but no less important. It is talked about, called about, emailed and prepared for as soon as the packets arrive for next year's festival. She left Tuesday and will return Monday night.

Tiika and I do our own spring ritual. Her idea of spring is to run through the woods and discover all the wonderful goodies that the melting snow reveals. I follow along and try to keep her from rolling in the worst of it. If not, there's a stop at the river on the way home and she swims with the ice floes. However, this is Springtime in the Rockies, which brings up another quote:

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck, 1899

One day we went out and the weather looked like this . It was nice hiking in shorts and a t-shirt.


Tiika always likes to stay in front, but I'm not sure if she ever notices the sky.




I do and thought we might have a different hike today. Sure enough,
this is what it looked like when we opened the door this morning.













I hiked in fleece pants and a pair of gaiters. It will be like this through April and I've been snowed on in July, which brings up the last quote:


"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
- Robert Frost

This is why you'll find both fleece pants and a pair of shorts in my pack. Oh, to be Tiika, who seems to be perfectly dressed all year long and can swim any time she likes! This is fun, but we both really miss Jenn. The last picture is of, in my humble opinion, the two best hiking partners on the planet!

Wild Winged Weekend

Guest Post by Rob:

Twice a year we're given a chance to participate (in a small way) in the migration cycles of our feathered friends. This weekend we drove up to Freezeout Lake (120 miles NE of Missoula) to be part of the spring migration of the Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans.

They first amass in northern California from Mexico and the southwestern United States and then fly non-stop (18 hours) to Freezeout Lake where they rest for four or five days and then continue their journeys. The flock splits up here heading for Siberia, Alaska or the Canadian Arctic.

Click on pictures to see birds up close

This year, their numbers were estimated at 350,000. What a beautiful sight they made rising off the lake at dawn and heading for breakfast in the barley fields surrounding the lake. They return after feeding and spend the rest of the day on the lake. They repeat the process in the evening, returning after dark. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed watching them, especially when the flock, for no apparent reason, would all lift off to about 30 feet and then settle back down. We were close enough to hear the wingbeats as they flew off. It sounded like thunder! They honk incessantly and we wondered how they ever managed to get any rest! I slept fine as their sounds soothed me to sleep. Jenn and Tiika seemed to sleep well also, despite being outside in 25 degree temperature. Love those sleeping bags!

In addition to our bird friends, we met some nice folks around the lake who ended up being torn between watching the birds and watching Tiika! Our Tiika girl makes friends wherever she goes. I wish we were taking her to New Zealand with us as I'm sure she would open a lot of doors.

We headed home after the second dinner flight happy and peaceful. As you can tell by the picture, Tiika was enthralled!

testing 1 2 3

Just testing this app on my Touch. Is it working ok?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

birthday dinner

Since my birthday falls on a holiday that causes restaurant prices to soar and crowds to fill every seat, we usually cook a nice dinner at home instead. This year was no different.

We bought a couple of New York steaks and some yukon gold potatoes. I found a delicious sounding olive topping for the steak and decided on mashed potatoes with gravy for a side dish. Dessert was harder to come by but since I was already on a roll with the comfort food idea, I went with a dolled up version of a childhood favorite: chocolate pudding. We found some chocolate mousse (from a box) and topped it off with whipped cream (beaten fresh by Rob).

I enjoyed every bite of this luscious meal!

(And yes, Rob really did have black tea with dinner, Russian Caravan, a favorite of his, while I had dark mead, something I don't need to have again anytime soon.)

what's happening here?

edit: the post below was freaking out and not showing up until I created this one. Who knows what's up? I'm just glad it seems to be working ok now. whew!

.J.

happy belated valentine's day

This year I have a wish, a wish to be a little bit closer to the ones I love. I began feeling this desire back around Christmas. It grew until I knew I needed to do something, to act on this urge.

Out of my desire, I chose to create Valentines for you (my family and close friends who are like family to me). Each one is unique, like my relationships with each of you. I struggled with what I wanted to write on these missives of love. Everything I wanted to say seemed too big for that little card. I landed on simple, "From my heart to yours". There is more behind that five word phrase. I want to explain.

I have long believed, though not necessarily spoken this belief aloud, that little things lead to big things. The smallest grain of sand is an integral part of the largest castle, one resting on top of another, accumulating to create something more grand than any one grain could be by itself. I think this is true of all aspects of life, from relationships to goals to spirituality. Each little burst of energy establishes a firmer hold, brings me closer to what I want to create.

Now, all of this can be true and lead to something less than beautiful if the energy is used to construct, say, a dungeon. I acknowledge this and choose to focus on what I want rather than what I fear. What I hope for in sending these Valentines, is that they can be grains of sand in a bridge to bring me closer to each of you. The essence I choose to keep close is this: I believe small things lead to big things, and every small, sweet act of love builds upon another to create something greater.

My heart holds each of you tenderly and I am grateful for you. Thank you

(The two images I've included here are the Valentine's Rob and I chose from the batch that I created. The first one is his and the second one is mine. I'm not entirely happy with the scans that resulted. Hopefully they look better on your screen than they do on mine!)

what's cookin'?

Doesn't that look super delicious? Homemade chicken soup, yum yum yummy. Rob has been slaving away in the kitchen all day to make this happen. Ok, maybe not exactly "slaving" but puttering nonetheless. He has gotten quite good at this chicken soup recipe.

The brilliant green you see is a lovely kale that is far better than I ever imagined. Though we grew up eating a lot of vegetables at my house, greens never seemed to make it on the menu. I think we had cooked spinach once or twice (ew!) but other than that, I don't recall others. [Mom? Do you remember?] I was a little hesitant the first time Rob wanted to use them in a soup. Now I love 'em that way.

After we've enjoyed the soup this way for a night or two, including a lunch for me, we'll add coconut milk and curry paste from the asian food store for a twist (and to stretch it out to our greatest advantage). This pot of soup exemplifies what we've been doing all day. Putting things together for a good start to the week.

On the other hand, last night was a special treat. We got to see the New Shanghai Circus perform. Normally, we wouldn't be interested in anything calling themselves a circus due to the bad reputations they have for how they treat animals. This, however, was entirely different since it was all acrobatics performed by professional Chinese athletes. (Their muscles fairly bulged!)

The acts were all made up of the amazing things the human form can do. The poses they held were awe inspiring for their demonstration of pure strength and balance. They also had some drumming performances weaved in there. This was a surprise to us, it didn't seem to be listed on the program we were given. The drummers were all young women. I was impressed.

Overall, it was a nice way to spend the evening together. In two weeks, it will be the Ailley II dance troupe.