Homestead Harvest

Family Reunion 2010

2010-09-09T14:41:00.006-05:00

Labor Day Weekend 2010 Kate and I hosted the Saturday festivities of our family reunion here on the Albrecht Homestead 4 miles south of Bridger, MT. Great food and Great times were had by all!

Margaret and Mary

Tammy, Shirlee, Jeanie
Steve, Sharon, Janet

Jim and Jeanie Mullins

Thanks to all that attended and we can't wait for the next reunion!

Take a moment to vote!

2009-12-10T12:32:00.000-05:00

Wednesday Freeze-fest

2009-12-10T12:22:00.001-05:00

My Wednesday evening ride with Team Heinous. Holy crap it was cold.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Deadman's Basin Reservoir

2009-07-27T12:24:00.010-05:00

We took the weekend off and headed two hours north of our place to Deadman's Basin Reservoir for some fishing and camping with Jon's sister and family. Approaching Deadman's is like any typical drive in the country until you turn down a dirt road and crest a hill to find a giant lake nestled in between farm houses.

We thought we had the place to ourselves but on Saturday morning, we acquired neighbors on both sides. On our right, the jet skiers who insisted on riding directly on top of our fishing lines - thanks! On our left, the drunks with a boat. They were piss drunk at 9:00 am when they pulled up. I was expecting high entertainment, and hoping for no fatalities. There were neither.

When we returned, nobody asked if we had fun. They only asked, "Was it windy?" This particular reservoir is notorious for wicked storms that whip out of nowhere, capsizing boats and not too infrequently, drowning people.

The answer? I'll let you judge for yourselves.

On Saturday night, a storm did roll through. We hastily gathered everything in camp, stashed the chairs, weighted down our camper awning with massive logs, and took shelter.

We fished for salmon and trout, but caught a fair share of suckers and carp, which are junk fish.

We learned that Gus is fanatical about going after your fish as you reel it in. That dog has a serious chasing issue: squirrels, mice, rabbits, horses, sheep, cows, and now fish. Thankfully, he leaves the neighbors' cats alone.

Every time someone got a bite, he raced over and plowed into the water to attack the flailing fish. This is fine unless you like teeth marks in your dinner and digging fish hooks out of your dog's paw - which did not deter him, I might add. I only had one bite the whole weekend and I lost the fish because Gus tore the line as I was reeling it in.

For most of the weekend, Gus stood a few feet offshore waiting for a catch.

The Falcons brought their canoe and did a good bit of trolling in it. Taya, my niece who has the entire family wrapped around her five year old fingers, caught more fish than any of us! Not wanting to miss out on anything, she would yell, "ARE YOU GOING ON A BOAT RIDE?!?!" anytime we came within 20 feet of the canoe.

Laying Pipe

2009-07-24T10:41:00.008-05:00

One of the irrigation methods used by farmers in these parts involves 20-odd foot sections of gated, 10-inch diameter PVC pipe. In the summertime, Jon and I often help our neighbor Josh put out pipe. If we are lucky, Josh comes to get us in the cool evenings and not in the heat of the day. Jon and Josh are just six months apart. Three generations of Josh's family live on our lane and so they grew up together - they will surely be lifelong friends.

For irrigation, water is diverted off of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River and into the irrigation ditches that snake their way through the farmland. Having irrigated pasture is an expensive, but critical piece of farming out here. We are fortunate enough to have about half of our acreage irrigated and we pay dearly for it. While we don't farm our ground, we irrigate the fields to grow grass that we then lease to a rancher that runs cattle on our place. That money then pays for our shares of the irrigation ditches. Rinse and repeat, every summer and fall.

Farmers route the water into this pipe which has lots of little "gates" that they can open and close to control the flow of water. The gates are spaced on the pipe so that they flow perfectly in between the crop rows.

The pipe is heavy and takes two people to manage. First, you hook up the pipe trailer to the truck or the tractor. Then, if you are me, you get distracted by the old buildings on the farm and wander off.

This doesn't happen to Josh and Jon.

Oh right, we're loading pipe. I supervise while Josh and Jon load the pipe onto the trailer and then we pile into the vehicle and drive to the field.

If you are lucky enough to have three people working, one drives the truck while two pick the pipe off of the trailer, lay it down, and connect it like lincoln logs. The driver creeps just far enough forward so that the trailer is positioned exactly where the next pipe needs to go. It's a well-oiled machine.

It's a big help to Josh to have the extra hands for laying pipe, but to us it is just an opportunity to help out. The work isn't hard. It's a good time to socialize and it feels right to foster the sense of community we feel with our friends and neighbors.

Droopy Things

2009-04-28T11:40:00.005-05:00

While doing my morning walk in our Boise yard today, I noticed the number of plants abloom with hanging flowers. They are quite pretty. Their languid posture belies the fervor of spring.

These are currant flowers. Our two bushes are loaded with flowers this year, along with our gooseberry (we planted last spring). I had to move to Idaho so I could grow these -- they are outlawed in North Carolina because they are a possible vector for some pine tree disease.

This is our Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree, also know as curly filbert.

We have lovely, massive bleeding hearts in our front yard.

Not a plant, but just as pretty. A Buddhist prayer flag that hangs in our backyard.

Spring Break Retrospective: Fire and Ice

2009-04-21T15:09:00.009-05:00

Turns out that the woodpile we stacked (I use the term "stacked" loosely) last summer became a hovel for mice. All of the dogs were extremely interested in the mice, but only our blind dog Cash pursued the mice with the intensity and focus of a Buddhist monk. He barely left that woodpile during the entire trip which was good because we needed someone to, er, watch the fire. Winds can pick up in an instant out at the ranch.

We choose carefully when to have fires and we watch carefully for flying embers and increasing wind speeds when the fire is burning.

Not only can winds pick up faster than you can say snap, severe weather changes are to be expected in the west. This same night it started snowing on our way into a movie in Red Lodge. When we got home, we lit the fire again to have a beer before going to bed. It was so cold outside that our beers were turning to slush in the bottles. The next morning we woke to this scene:

Spring Break Retrospective: Wood you?

2009-04-10T12:09:00.007-05:00

If there is one thing I have learned about farms and ranches, it is that there is an unending supply of firewood and only a limited time of the year when you can burn it. For us, this fact is compounded because the people who rented the ranch for the past 20 years that we had to evict through a year-long battle in the Carbon County Court system didn't, um, clean up after themselves. Or their cows. Cows are rough on everything--they lean against and scratch themselves on trees, fences, and buildings. The result of slobs + cows = wood scraps scattered everywhere. It sometimes feels like all we do is move wood from pile to pile.

There are piles of lumber scraps.

There are piles of lumber.

There are piles of brush and branches.

Mixed piles of fencing, tree stump, branches, and an unidentifiable metal and concrete object.

And then there are the gigantic tree stumps that are too big to move.

That's when I call for reinforcements.

Here come the reinforcements.

I feel safer already.

Spring Break Retrospective: Prelude

2009-04-08T16:30:00.010-05:00

We got a little distracted over here when a gigantic tree fell on our trucks on the day we arrived home from Spring Break 2009. (Spring Break means nothing unless you or yours are in school. Since Jon is still enrolled in Boise State's nursing program, school breaks are our only opportunity to take a lengthy vacation together.)

To back up even further, I was in California the week before Spring Break with these juice box junkies while their dad was ~~cavorting~~ working in Germany. The best and worst part was that my company's headquarters is nearby so I was able to work during the week while in California. I didn't have to use my vacation time, but I got a good taste of what it is like to be a working parent in the San Francisco Bay area: stressful. Commuting sucks.

I played Mr. Mom, a.k.a. Dad, a.k.a. Auntie, helping my sister-in-law out so she wouldn't have to be a single parent for the week. We split up the drop-off and pick-up duties (two different schools), meal preparations, discipline, and bedtime stories. I wiped noses, wiped butts, wiped floors, and wiped out. It was all together one of the most exhausting and gratifying experiences I've ever had.

I also got immense satisfaction from turning the tables on my brother: telling him all the insanely cute things his kids were doing instead of the usual other way around. I can understand now why people like to talk so much about their kids! It was so fun and I miss them so much now!

April is Autism Awareness Month

2009-04-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

I never thought about autism until a few years ago when a dear friend's child was diagnosed with it. As is often the case, I didn't know what autism or autism-spectrum disorders were until someone close to me was affected by it. Since then, I have become quietly passionate about the topic: reading books, articles, websites, and shushing anyone around when the subject comes up the radio.

I won't go into the debate about the causes of autism here but I will say that my friend and her family have seen a remarkable improvement in her child's symptoms as a result of diet and supplement intervention. It is remarkable, too, that when my friend's child gets a fever, the autism literally goes away. And so it is also immensely frustrating that although these things actually repeat themselves over and over amongst autistic children, many in the medical and research communities dismiss them as anecdotal.

I found Paul Collins' book Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism to be a joyful, well, adventure. In it, he talks about both the diagnosis of his son with autism and his research into the history of autism and historical autists. He doesn't rail against the medical community or his son's diagnosis but approaches it with a sense of wonder about what it is instead of what it isn't:

"Autists are described by others--and by themselves--as aliens among humans. But there's an irony to this, for precisely the opposite is true. They are us, and to understand them is to begin to understand what it means to be human. Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. A child tugs at his or her parents and whispers, 'Where's that man's arm?' But autism is an ability and a disability: it is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over expression of the very traits that make our species unique. Other animals are social, but only humans are capable of abstract logic. The autistic outhumans the humans, and we can scarcely recognize the result."

As an avid cook and foodie, I am always on the lookout for recipes that fit my friend's child's diet: gluten, dairy, and soy products exacerbate the autism. Today, so many people are either vegan, intolerant of gluten, or have soy allergies that entire cookbooks exist on the subjects. My search, though, is for recipes that don't require special ingredients or techniques; recipes that fit the lifestyle of a very busy, two working parent, three child household.

I came across this recipe that fit the bill. Click the link for a devastating picture.

Sensational Peanut Butter Cookies

18 cookies
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
additional sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees°F. Mix all the ingredients up in a bowl. Roll walnut-sized pieces into balls and roll balls in the additional sugar. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork in a crisscross pattern. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool before removing from baking sheet.

Spring: In Like a Lion

2009-04-01T15:54:00.006-05:00

Jon and I raced home from Montana on Saturday to beat the impending winter storm. We were worried that it would compromise the roads and that we would get stuck or worse. We arrived in Boise on Saturday around 5 p.m. and after unloading the Suburban, we hopped into my truck and headed to the Tavern for dinner.

In the still-dark Sunday morning, I awoke to what sounded like a train whooshing by. I got up, looked out the window into the backyard, and listened as hail began to fall, eventually falling back to sleep. The next morning we rolled out of bed and headed out the front door to get coffee and a bagel (we really don’t eat every meal out, it’s just that we had no groceries in the house yet after being gone for over a week).

Turns out the winds I heard ripped this 50 foot beautiful blue spruce tree out of the ground and tipped it over onto our vehicles.

The trunk fell squarely on the hood of my truck, the branches of one side rested on the hood of Jon's Suburban.

Closeup of my truck.

Closeup of Jon's Suburban.

Our house and the bluebird house were spared.

Update: Lime Cilantro Slaw

2009-03-13T11:39:00.004-05:00

I realized this morning that I forgot an ingredient in the recipe. The first time I made it, I used honey to balance the tart acidity of the lime juice. The second time, I used agave syrup because my honey was beginning to crystallize.

So here is the new, improved recipe (still without ingredient amounts because I am trying to live more on the edge these days).

Lime Cilantro Slaw

Mix together, tasting for flavor:

green cabbage, thinly sliced
chopped jalapenos
a large handful of chopped fresh cilantro
juice from several limes
a squirt or two of honey or agave syrup
a dollop of mayonnaise
a dash of salt

I was also thinking last night as I improvised lemon penne with broccoli and romano that the above slaw would be good if you grated some lime zest into it.

And vegetarians, you know what to do instead of that pork: black bean tacos! Or burritos.

Pork and Pioneers

2009-03-12T15:33:00.008-05:00

I've recently become a fan of The Pioneer Woman's blog, which is filled with confessions, cooking, and photography among other things. One of the most alluring things about her blog (aside from the food, farm, and photography) is that she updates her blog multiple times a day. Not unlike what has been happening on this blog in the last month, er, um, anyway...

I have had my eye on a certain pork recipe (sorry, Tricia) on PW's blog. We had a visitor from Salt Lake City this past weekend and I seized the opportunity to test this out in tacos. It's sort of a Carolina pork barbecue meets Mexico recipe, minus the barbecue. I diced up avocado, fresh jalapenos, and scallions, grated jack cheese, and served chipotle sour cream and two salsas: red (homemade and canned this past summer) and green (outed as supermarket canned salsa by our guest--when asked if it was homemade, I couldn't tell a lie). The piece de resistance, however, was a lime cilantro slaw that I adapted from a recipe I found in Bon Apetit magazine. Oh my, was it ever good!

Even after dinner for five (including three very hungry backcountry ski and snowboarders) and lunch the following day, we had plenty of pork left over which we froze in individual vacuum-sealed packages. Last night, we thawed a package while I whipped up another batch of lime cilantro slaw and we had round three of these beauties. I think they might deserve their own food group.

Lime Cilantro Slaw (sorry, I hate when recipes don't give ingredient amounts)

Mix together, tasting for flavor:

green cabbage, thinly sliced
chopped jalapenos
a large handful of chopped fresh cilantro
juice from several limes
a dollop of mayonnaise
a dash of salt

Not Winter

2009-02-04T15:53:00.010-05:00

I did an informal poll of myself to find out my favorite season.

Now in my second year here in Idaho, I have decided that winter is not it. Especially not this winter.

When we were in North Carolina, I thought the reason I didn't like winter was because there was nothing to do during the cold months. I admit I like winter better here in Boise than I did in North Carolina because at least you can snowshoe or ski. The snow conditions here haven't been that great though, and we haven't had much snow. The local mountain conditions vacillate between ice skating rink and slush. I prefer the other seasons because some of my favorite activities are done then, like biking, gardening, and pretty much anything outside.

One of this winter's favorite indoor activities is playing cards. Jon and our neighbors taught me how to play cribbage a few weeks ago and now the cribbage board is a permanent fixture on our dining room table.

Whenever we have the time, we play a game, which takes about 20 minutes. We keep track of the games and the best out of ten games wins. I am 0 for 1 right now, but the first tournament I lost by only one game. Not bad for a beginner!

[photograph courtesy of www.shepshedgames.co.uk/cribbage.jpg.]

From Tucker, Cash, and Gus

2008-12-30T20:52:00.008-05:00

Happy New Year!

Winter Playground

2008-12-28T19:18:00.008-05:00

I found this picture of the homestead in Montana and thought I'd share it with everyone.

Kate and I have been doing a bit of construction around the Boise homestead since we returned from our Florida getaway. Our landing in Boise was uneventful even with 3 inches of snow on the runway! In the parking lot we were shocked to find 5 inches of snow covering Kate's Dodge Dakota. It snowed most days we we're away and has since snowed most of the days we've been back. Today was different though with 57 degrees most of our valley snow is gone. In the past week or so we've managed to do some snow construction in the front yard, snowshoe in the valley and at Bogus Basin. There has even been time for skiing and snowboarding! A bit of our handy work is pictured below.

We spent a few hours preparing for a snow battle that never happened. It's always good to be prepared isn't it?

The Year of Bad News

2008-12-10T10:04:00.010-05:00

This morning we received word that our former neighbor in Raleigh, Dot Smith, passed away yesterday. This marks yet another death in our lives this year. We stopped counting when the numbers reached 10.

When I bought the house on King Charles in the Longview Gardens neighborhood of Raleigh in June 2004, the first neighbors I met were Dot and Henry Smith. Dot and Henry were a couple in their 80s that you couldn't help but meet; Dot and Henry were outside working in their yard every day. And when they weren't in the yard, they were busy with their children and grandson, delivering meals on wheels, and active in their church and the neighborhood association. Dot and Henry led very full, very rich lives, and were very proud of their family. Dot and Henry built their home in Longview Gardens in 1951 and lived in it ever since.

It wasn't long before I was out in the yard all the time, too, and often worked alongside the Smiths. We helped each other trim trees and bundle yard waste, Dot helped me identify plants in the yard, and they both shared stories about the previous owners and the neighborhood. My favorite stories were about the pony that the Smiths kept in their backyard while their girls were young.

As the renovations on my house convened, Henry would pop over every day or so to see what was going on. I took great pride in showing Henry the changes in the house because he seemed to be so proud of the effort I was making. One day Henry showed up with a gift for me: it was a Craftsman hand tool he called a maddox. It is a long handled yard tool with an axe blade on one side and another blade on the other side, turned 90 degrees. He told me it would become the most useful garden tool I owned and he was right. Every time I use it, I think of Henry. In fact, Jon and I just used it a few months ago to grub out gigantic crab apple tree roots here in Boise. I remember saying at the time, "it's a good thing Henry gave me this, huh?"

Henry passed away just a few months after Jon moved into the house and Jon too, quickly grew to love the Smiths. I think Henry was pleased to have another tinkering man around. Henry passed away shortly after stubbornly trimming crepe myrtle trees in the front yard...with a chainsaw. I was a wreck at the funeral, but the Smith family was calm and composed because they have a strong religious faith and were secure that Henry was in a good place.

I truly loved Dot and Henry. After Henry died, we really looked out for Dot and did whatever we could for her, which wasn't much. She was very capable. Jon would use the weedeater on her trees and bushes because her riding lawn mower didn't get close enough. She let us pick figs and cherries from her fruit trees and we were grateful.

Dot had an awesome, underutilized four-string clothesline in her yard that abutted ours. I asked her if I could use it and she agreed. It wasn't long before she was back to using the clothesline again, and we spent many moments chatting while hanging and folding laundry. Later on, when Dot sold her mother's house to a fantastic family with a gaggle of kids, the Culpeppers used the line too. Even our neighbors Jer and Selina on the other side of us, not even next to Dot, used it. It became the social hub of all our houses. Bored? Check the clothesline. Anyone out there?

Dot was busy, but every time we knocked on her door, she always said "come in, come in." At the time we were married, she still owned her mother's house directly behind her own and she let us use it to house seven of our family members for the week. Dot talked often of her mother, which in her Carolina accent she pronounced, "muthuh." I loved to hear her say it. I loved hearing Dot call to us from across her expansive yard.

As Jer said today, "She was an amazing person that just exuded life to everyone she met, if anybody deserves a place in heaven it surely is Ms. Dot."

Win the Wii!

2008-12-02T19:14:00.002-05:00

Hello fans, hope all is well. Our fellow blogger has a Christmas Gift giveaway going on. Check out Los Angelista for details, and you might be able to win the Wii! This is not spam, or a joke. It's the real deal and I'm sure the odds are better for you to win it than to buy it this year.

Happy commenting!

I've died and gone to Sicily!

2008-11-03T13:57:00.004-05:00

Sunday afternoon, Kate and I were deciding on our menu for the week before heading out into the wild blue grocery shopping yonder to gather ingredients. Kate suggested pizza for dinner, of course I loved the idea. If you're like me, you probably think pizza should be it's very own food group. I like all pizza; NY style, thick crust, thin crust, veggie pizza, meat lover's. It just doesn't matter what kind it is. As long as it's called pizza, I'm a fan.

Pepperoni and mushroom are my standard pizza toppings, for almost every occasion. The toppings were no different last night, but the pizza was quite different. It set a new standard for which all Sicilian pizza will be held. The dough was absolutely perfect. It was thick, close to two inches, and soft. Edges golden brown and crunchy, the way crust is meant to be. I'll try to take a picture next time to document the experience.

For those of you who have experienced Kate's culinary creations, you know how lucky I am to be spoiled regularly. I'm as thankful as you are jealous! The recipe is top secret, definitely one to request anytime you come to visit.

Roasting Peppers

2008-10-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

After too many rounds of bad Mexican food in Boise, I declared this the year of Mexican cooking. To that end, I collected and ordered a variety of Mexican chile pepper seeds that are commonly used in Diana Kennedy's cookbook Mexican Regional Cooking: cascabel, guajillo, anaheim, poblano, jalapeno, and pasilla. Most of the peppers I grew are designed to be used after ripening and drying; I planned to use them for a myriad of tasty meals.

This year's first snow and thus first freeze came earlier than expected in Boise, while the plants were loaded with green peppers. I harvested early (early in terms of the ripeness of the fruit, not early according to the calendar--next year I will start my seeds in February instead of March) and was left with massive amounts of green peppers.

Peppers can be frozen, but I opted to roast them on the grill and then freeze them for added flavor.

Poblano peppers roasting on the grill.

Peeling the charred skins from the roasted peppers. Gloves mandatory, and careful not to wipe your, er, eyes.

The finished product.

Thank You

2008-10-24T11:53:00.004-05:00

One of two cards I did for Jon's clinical nursing class to give to the staff of the nursing home in which they worked. The white circles were cut from a letterpress card we received from a friend. I'm all about reusing, especially when it comes to paper and cards. Hopefully, the original artist would be pleased with the reincarnation of their product.

Found Religion or a Table Rock Hike

2008-10-17T10:49:00.013-05:00

The full, harvest moon was on Wednesday, so last night a friend and I hiked up to Table Rock to see the sunset and the moonrise. Table Rock is, as it's name implies, a flat outcropping of rock in the foothills surrounding Boise. It provides gorgeous views of the city and I thought it would be magical to see the full moon from that vantage point. Oddly, this geologic wonder also hosts a gigantic white cross that is lit nightly, as well as power transformers and cell phone towers.

Neither Steffani nor I had done the hike before, but we figured we would just start at the bottom and hike the trail to the top. We were chatting and quickly out of breath, so when we came to a crossroads with the Table Rock Trail, we followed it, without looking around to secure our bearings. Turns out we were hiking away from Table Rock. Gah! We backtracked and finally made it up just after sunset.

There were others at the top, including some cars as apparently there is a road that leads to the top in addition to the trail. We waited for the moon as it grew cold, but still no moon. Then a couple drove up in an SUV, rolled their windows down, and serenaded us with merengue music. What a buzz-kill. At that point, we decided to pick our way down in the dark. Neither of us brought lights, thinking the light of the moon would guide us.

The vile gigantic cross lit the way at first, but eventually the trail was just plain dark, rocky, and a little sketchy. I admit that "mountain lion bait" was in the back of my mind but I kept this thought to myself. We finally made it to the bottom just after 8:00pm. While on the trail, we saw a two-point buck and six large quail, and then saw a fox across the street from Steffani's house in the heart of Boise. The moon eventually poked it's head above the foothills on the drive home.

Nancy Cooper's family: Brad killed her

2008-10-16T11:53:00.011-05:00

The shock of seeing these words in print caused me to gasp out loud. Not because of any belief or disbelief. I can't explain why, the harsh reality just caught me off-guard.

During this week, a trial is ongoing for the custody of Nancy and Brad Cooper's children. I have chosen to speak here only about my feelings about Nancy and her death. Even then, it has been infrequent.

In the past year and a half I have learned more about grief than I ever wanted, beginning with Leila's death and now with Nancy's; both were tragic and sudden. I understand now that loss is a part of life. I am beginning to understand the social norms around death and the way that the grieving are expected to go inward after a period of public mourning. I understand that the ability to do so is to some observers a measure of one's success at coping. I understand that while the grief may churn above or below the surface, it doesn't go away.

For me, reading the published information around Nancy's death and the ensuing legal battles has given me a focus. Without it, I struggled to know where to focus my anger because no one has been charged with her murder. Reading the news stories, watching the depositions, reading the affidavits: all this makes me feel like I am doing something. And lacking a convicted killer, I was hoping to channel my anger at the people who are part of the public commentary.

With the same public information as the commentators but also with personal knowledge of Nancy, Brad, their marriage, and their relationships, I have been unable or unwilling to do anything but witness. I am asked all the time if I think Brad killed Nancy and while I don't mind or resent the question, I say that I don't know, which for some doesn't really answer the question of what I think. But I stand by the fact that I don't have enough information to decide, so in this situation what I know is what I think.

Nancy's death, the custody case for her children, and the murder investigation have wrenched the local public into attention. I think that is good and right, but sadly, not all attention is positive. I don't know if it is the anonymous nature of the internet (comments are posted with aliases chosen by the commenter) or that access to so much information lulls people into thinking they have all of the information. Nevertheless, I am astonished at the way in which some people with less information than myself are willing to not only draw conclusions publicly, but also to personally attack Nancy and defame the character, intentions, and intelligence of her family (who I believe have acted with more grace than I thought summonable in this situation). These commenters also presume to know the emotional needs of the Cooper children. Here is a smattering of comments from the WRAL website (commenter's alias in parentheses). Note: To be fair, I should say too that Brad has been subjected to some of the same treatment.

"He's the only person I can think of with the motivation and the access," Garry Rentz testified. Your lack of thinking ability is hardly relevent. (haggis basher)

Nancy's parents have the judge, Cary, police dept, etc. in their back pocket..(lilwil)

Ok Parents of Nancy, you know oohhhhh so much more then the Cary Police. Prove it. Stop watching the stupid news. Guess you believe in the 3rd world approach. Guility until proven innocent. (Morrisville)

just because she told everyone he was a jerk doesnt mean it was true. people say mean things about their spouses when they cant have their way. THE ONLY reason her parents are doing this is to get those kids, WHO need to be with their father (Snow whites poisoned Apple)

I think her family should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, defamation, interfering with an investigation, etc. etc. etc. They are despicable and should not even be allowed to speak to their grandchildren. (tarheelalum)

And the Cooper family is also confusing the girls by trying to substitute Nancy's twin sister for their mother. I still can't believe that a judge would take these children away from their daddy and let them be taken out of the country, especially when he is not even considered a person of interest, much less a suspect in the case. (Historians_13th)

The lynching nature of these attacks doesn't make me angry as I expected, so failure in the attempt to use it for my own focus. I don't begrudge people the opportunity to state their opinion, but I do begrudge the stating of one's opinion as fact. The comments defending Brad or the comments saying that he did it don't make me feel good, either. But since I started reading these posts, I am coming to the conclusion that there is enough anger around the subject without my own--and that idea gives me a measure of peace--at least for now.

Snowed In

2008-10-12T09:36:00.006-05:00

South-central Montana and is getting hammered by the same storm that brought record-breaking snow to Boise a few days ago. The Clarks Fork Valley is buried under more than two feet of snow and it is predicted to continue snowing today. The view from the Red Lodge web camera looks pretty socked in.

We got a call this morning from the folks that have their cows on our ranch; they are trying to get a vehicle into the ranch to supply feed (hay) to the cows. With this kind of snow cover, the cows won't be able to forage for grass.

Carol, one of those ranchers, said that she has never seen a storm like this so early. Heavy, wet, spring-like snow will make getting in and out of our place nearly impossible.

Broken Record!

2008-10-11T13:10:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, on October 10th, we experienced the earliest measurable snowfall in Boise, ID. The previous record was October 12th. It was just a few inches of snow, but it was SNOW! I am already in the mood to bust out the snow board.

Having grown up on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, Gus wasn't quite sure what to do with his first snow. Ducking the flakes was unsuccessful, so he decided that hiding under bushes was the best course of action. I hope he likes to snowshoe.

Get Into the Groove

2008-10-06T08:58:00.006-05:00

It is tough to blog after a hiatus. The hiatus wasn't intentional, but once the mental list of things to blog about grows to a certain length it becomes almost paralyzing to me. (I don't know what Jon's excuse is, but I have dibs on paralyzation.) It's kind of like getting into the gym; the longer you don't go, the harder it is to work out. When I do think about what to write first, I get all wrapped up in whether I should begin chronologically with the cool things we have been up to in the past few weeks or if I should just shut the door on the past and begin anew.

Several of our friends were out of town this weekend which provided us the opportunity to get some much needed chores done. I have been having minor (depending on your perspective, of course) freak-outs the past few weeks about the state of our home. Having three dogs including one whose winter coat decides to drop before winter creates a horrific amount of hair in our small space.

I've also been freaking out about how small our house is. When we bought it last year, its 1100 square feet of two bedrooms and one bathroom was one bedroom and one bathroom smaller than we would have liked in order to accommodate my home office and our guests. But, it was in a very desirable neighborhood close to downtown and close to BSU. It has good closet space, a 14 x 14 outbuilding we lovingly call "the cottage" since Jon converted it into a craft/yoga/work studio for me, and a spacious one-car garage. I have come to the realization that most of our space in this house is used not by us, but by our stuff:

storage of the art, furniture, and accessories that barely filled our 2300 square foot house in Raleigh which do not fit in our current home (but we might need someday!)

our overflowing wealth of tools and gear in the garage which consists of six bicycles (we ride them all: a commuter bike, road bike, and mountain bike for each of us), a motorcycle which does nothing but hold down the garage floor but nobody wants to buy, camping and backpacking equipment (different stuff, really), kayaks and associated clothing, snowshoes, Jon's snowboard, a 1975 tiller (runs great, small oil leak), an inordinate amount of tools and home renovation gear (tiling, drywall, plumbing, electrical work anyone?)

kitchen gear and food storage: I love to grow and cook food. Having a full pantry, putting up food, and having the tools to do so make me feel rich and content (as well they should). I embrace all methods of food storage: canning, our deep freeze in the garage, and drying.

I assume that in a past life I was either extremely practical or lived through some time of great need. I do not save everything, but I try to take good care of anything I do own and I strongly believe in reuse and recycling; if it is in solid working condition and isn't crap, I hate to let it go. Invariably, when I do, I find myself needing or wanting it at some point in the future.

Space is relative, I know. A friend and her family of four-soon-to-be-five recently moved into an even smaller home than ours and they are working it out.

All of this has been weighing on my mind lately as I yearn for the simplicity of life on the ranch; where the space for living is small and as big as we need, but the space to stretch out is farther than the eye can see, where we routinely find ourselves using decades-old iron and wood salvage and re-purposing abandoned buildings. Where every action has a purpose for which you tire yourself out until dark and beyond almost every evening. And most importantly, it matters.

At the end of this life, I want not to be defined by what I have, but rather by what I have done.

Sightings

2008-09-18T16:21:00.004-05:00

Last night my friend Erin and I left Tony's restaurant around 9:30 after our first official book club meeting. This isn't your regular book club; after trying in vain to form a fully-fledged book club with a name, a Google groups page, and more than two members, we gave up trying to meet because the club couldn't agree on a date, a time, or a book.

Not to be deterred, Erin and I formed our own. We decided that for our first book reading in our new club, we would read the highly acclaimed Eckhart Tolle book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. We were both curious, but I personally was chagrined about the prospect of reading a quasi-self-help book. I was embarrassed about jumping the Oprah’s Books Bandwagon with the millions of other hapless readers looking for the answers to “life’s persistent questions.” I called Erin from Barnes and Noble to say that I couldn’t find it on my own and was embarrassed to ask for it. I was afraid to carry the book around for reading, fearful that I might be judged as just another cow in the herd of soulless Americans.

The book sat unread for months. Occasionally, we checked in on each other’s lack of progress, but last week we finally committed to a schedule. We met, we discussed, we have homework and reading for next week. We decided that even if we did occasionally fall asleep while being awakened to our lives’ purpose, it was a worthy exercise.

Anyway.

Last night we were standing outside of Tony’s restaurant, which also happens to be right next to the Egyptian Theater. I’m holding my Eckhart Tolle book in one arm while Erin unlocks her bike. A few performers stream out of the theater, the last one being this guy:

Photo © Mick Rock 2008

As he passes me, he points and calls out, "hey, that's a great book!" For those of you who don't know, it was Alejandro Escovedo. With his endorsement, all I could do was laugh at myself.

Time Flies, and Then It Doesn't

2008-09-15T10:47:00.003-05:00

It seems like our summer at the ranch just flew by us and much too soon, it was over. When I left Montana in mid-August, I was ready to come back to my urbane Boise. I longed for easy access to fresh, local, and organic produce and dairy products. I longed for more than one option for my local restaurant. I longed to have clean laundry on a whim, without having to scrub it by hand or haul it into someone else’s home. I longed to have an oven for baking.

But, it wasn't long before I found myself, um, longing for the ranch.

Longing for what? The simplicity of life out there, the ease of having a clear idea of what to do with my time, and of what work to accomplish. Somehow, having a myriad of options is overwhelming to me: Yoga? Shopping? Cleaning? Farmer's market? Festival? Fishing? Gardening? Socialize? Bike ride? I have learned to appreciate the satisfaction of having clearly defined goals for the day. Wake up, get your breakfast, get to work. I like the idea of knowing precisely why something is being done and being able to see the results; you irrigate to make the grass grow so the cows have food to eat, the roof is replaced so that it doesn’t leak, the trash is collected because it doesn’t belong in the field.

The joy and luxury of our own laundry machines has quickly worn off and piles of laundry sit in various places around the house, waiting to be folded. I find myself making multiple trips to multiple grocery stores because the recipes I want to make are so freaking complicated. At the ranch my spice rack consisted of six things: oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic. Yesterday I went to the store to buy flax seeds, whole wheat pastry flour, soy milk, rice milk, and brown rice syrup. (Fortunately, I already had the agave nectar.)

Jon and I have talked occasionally over the last weeks about missing the ranch. Yesterday, we had this conversation:

Me: “I think we might be overdue for a trip to the ranch.”
Jon: “Overdue? Why do you say that?”
Me: “Well, we’ve both been talking lately about missing it and we’ve been away a long time now.”
Jon: “Kate. It has only been a month.”
Me: “Just a month? Really?”
Jon: “Really. It was mid-August when we left and it is now only mid-September.”
Me: “Wow.”

Wheels turning, a few minutes later I actually initiated this ridiculous line of conversation:

Me: "How long do you think it would take to get to the ranch if we had a private plane?"
Jon: "Well, it depends on the plane. How big it is, how often you have to refuel."
Me: "Like a small plane, just big enough for us."
Jon: "In a small, two-seater plane it would probably take 6 – 8 hours."
Me: "Hmmph. So it wouldn’t really save us much time then. And we couldn’t bring the dogs."

Quiet Struggle

2008-09-05T08:54:00.008-05:00

This past week has been a tough one for me, more on that later. It followed an eight-day vacation and visit with my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew which was fun, followed by fun, rounded out by fun. This was their first visit to Boise and Jon and I reveled in the opportunity to share our city.

Although having two extra adults and two toddlers in the house with our current count of three dogs led to a certain degree of chaos, it was welcome, especially now that they have gone. I won't try to pull the wool over your eyes by saying that there weren't mornings I awoke to a crying, okay occasionally screaming, child. There were battles over watching television and chocolate milk versus juice. There were disciplinary events highlighted by warnings such as, "Do not sit on your sister!"

My nephew, who is three and a half, discovered the joys of peeing outside while on a recent camping trip back home. He has not, however, learned the subtleties of when it is appropriate to pee outside. On several occasions, we lost track of him in the backyard, only to find him in various corners with his pants around his ankles.

It was fun to see the world through kid-eyes again. We turned over rocks everywhere to look for earwigs and roly poly bugs, visited three different playgrounds, and he learned how to fish with his new Spider-Man fishing rod. Every moment of silence was broken by, "Can I go outside and go fishing?" and "Where is my fishing rod?" After several days of practice while we camped on the Middle Fork of the Payette, he was casting like a champ. Thing is, he kept catching the same red plastic fish!

We caught lots of trout on our camping trip. My brother and Jon renewed their vows with fishing and we could barely peel them away from that river. I myself caught three fish and my brother commented that fishing is like gambling: "just one more cast." The fish were cooked and enjoyed especially by the kids who gobbled them down without hesitation.

After they left, the house was q-u-i-e-t and Jon and I had several "what do we do now" moments. But we settled back in and geared up for the school and work week.

On Tuesday, September 2nd, the search warrants in Nancy's case were unsealed.

I've kept a pretty tight check in the last few weeks on how much I delve into the media and my emotions; some might say too tight, but I felt like I needed a break. But on Tuesday, I poured over all of the available documentation; old and new scenarios danced in my head. On Thursday, I received a completely unexpected call from the detective on the case. The rest of the week was a grief-ridden spiral.

Things are a little better now, but I heard someone say on a radio show last night that grief is not a process. The word process implies a beginning and an end and belies the life-altering proportions of death. I have yet to know how my life will be irrevocably changed by this event, and that unknowing scares me.

Priorities

2008-08-20T10:43:00.007-05:00

After more than 80 days working in Montana on our ranch I returned to Boise, and the many summer projects that need to be finished before school starts on August 25th. The list was very long a week ago, but we are crossing things off at a pretty quick rate. We've replaced a dilapidated screen door with a new Andersen glass door, replaced multiple door handles and deadbolts, power-washed the house and deck, repainted exterior doors and trim, built a bench on the deck, painted the deck, and done more yard work and weeding in the garden than one ever thought possible.

The trim repairs proved to be a bit more complicated than I expected. After removing the rotten trim I discovered a surprise; the old fascia boards were custom cut to fit together like a puzzle. To replace them would require a table saw. Off to Home Depot after doing some research on Consumer Reports. Creating the new fascia was a piece of cake with the right tools! We reevaluated some of the project priorities and decided that we needed a bench on the deck, and with the new table saw I figured I could handle it.

It was a chore to complete in the heat but we are quite pleased with our new addition!

Just as a side note, thinking of the ranch. Here's a picture of my 1965 John Deere 4020 with the loader. Althought it is nice to be home, I kind of miss the massive amount of daily labor that we managed to do every day on the ranch. I spent most of yesterday (and most of my next several days will be spent) catching up on my studies.

The Guest House

2008-08-19T21:03:00.006-05:00

A friend shared this with me today. It resonated with her and then with me. It helped me to gain an understanding of the inexplicable.

The Guest House
Rumi

(From The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks)

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Coming soon...

2008-08-13T08:36:00.005-05:00

I can't believe the last time I blogged was July 30th, and that I left ya'll hanging about the sheep. There are many more stories to tell about our summer that I'm sure we won't get to all of them.

I arrived back in Boise with Cash and Gus (the two sheep-marauding dogs) a week before Jon and Tucker and it is has been somewhat of a difficult transition for me and Gus. Per usual, Jon adapts readily but I am slower to ease into the old routine. I have been home for a week and a half and my suitcase is still sitting open and full on the floor of the guest bedroom. I find myself barely able to be inside the house. I find myself wanting for physical work on a scale that just isn't available here in the city; although, the backup of six weeks of yard work gave me a good run for my money. Gus quickly bored of the confines of our yard. He found a hole in the fence and decided to explore on his own. Fortunately, he didn't go too far and when I found him he was so excited that I had decided to join him for his adventure!

I am sure we will try to do some posts about a few more things from the ranch, but for the most part, life will move on. School starts at BSU on August 25th for both me and Jon. Just like last semester, my night class falls on one of the few nights that Jon doesn't have class. Arggh! But, a friend of mine will be in the class with me which will make it much more enjoyable. Jon starts his clinical nursing rotations so the semester should be very interesting and busy for him.

Summer is not yet over and I hope it has treated you all well. We will make the most of what remains.

Summer Photo Log

2008-08-12T11:09:00.003-05:00

Finally home! I returned to Boise on Saturday evening after a nice 12 hour drive through Montana and Idaho. We chilled out for a night and then started our long list of projects we've got to do here at our house. Gardening and yard work were first on the list. There was also a good bit of laundry and house cleaning intermingled throughout most of the day. I've added pictures to our photo repository from our summer so far. You can see the mess our renters left behind, the clean-up effort. We got so many things done, most importantly the transformation of our ranch from a junk pile to a cozy place to stay.

I just installed a dog door for our 3 boys, they seem confused. I think they prefer having a doorman. We'll write more later, enjoy the photos!

Zzzzzzzzzzz

2008-07-30T10:06:00.006-05:00

Last night was a sleepless one--or at least sleep only in short bursts. Since we moved the camper to be closer to the bath-house, there are more sounds from the nearby pastures and hills. Between the coyotes howling, the dogs barking at the coyotes, and then the dogs howling with the coyotes, last night's sleep was fitful at best. I woke three times that I recall to a canine symphony starting with yipping and howling coyotes in the not too far away distance, joined by barking dogs in three pitches: Tucker, Cash, and Gus, building to a cacophony of barking and howling dogs and coyotes. We looked out the camper window to see Cash with his nose pointed high in the air singing, "aaaawwwwwooooooooooo!"

And somewhere in between was this sleepy conversation:

--unidentified animal noise--

--barking dogs--

Jon: "What was that?"
Me: "It was a cow."
Jon: "That was NOT a cow."
Me: "No? I thought it sounded like a cow."
Jon: "It sounded like a mountain lion."
Me: "I didn't think we had mountain lions down here."
Jon: "Me neither. Maybe it was a bobcat."
Me: "Okay, now I am totally freaked out and I have to go to the bathroom."

All of this makes me nervous because tomorrow our neighbor is putting 20 ewes and their lambs in our orchard and corral areas to eat down the grass. It is a mutually beneficial agreement: our grass needs to be eaten and the sheep are hungry.

But, I am worried about the coyotes preying on the sheep. Our neighbor says as long as our dogs are around the sheep should be fine. I am worried about the dogs chasing the sheep, or worse, because our dogs aren't accustomed to livestock. Our neighbor says his sheep are used to dogs, but still, I worry.

Really, I couldn't sleep last night worrying about it. Then again, maybe it was the coyotes...

Cascade Fire

2008-07-29T13:07:00.009-05:00

Once again, most news agencies are reporting about the California wildfires, but other areas are burning as well. The Cascade fire in southwestern Montana is pretty close to the ranch--about 15 miles as the crow flies. This is basically the view that greeted us on Saturday afternoon as we returned from Cody, Wyoming:

Photo: LARRY MAYER/Billings Gazette Staff

Our ranch is not in any imminent danger, but our quaint little haven of Red Lodge is indeed.

Cascade Fire Map Courtesy of Tom Kohley for www.redlodge.com (amended with place names)

The fire has continued to burn unabated (it is 0% contained after four days), consuming 5800 acres so far. We can see the fire's smoke from the ranch and yesterday while in Red Lodge for pizza, we saw and heard C130 planes and Sikorsky helicopters flying above town.

High winds of 20 - 40 mph are expected tonight which could push the fire into the town. I'm really hoping that doesn't happen. Click here for more pictures of the fire activity.

Happenings

2008-07-28T13:56:00.008-05:00

We’ve been mighty busy over the last several weeks working on the ranch out here in Montana. We’ve hauled nine loads of refuse to either the dump or the recycling company; the loads have ranged from 2200 pounds up to 4000 pounds. We’re down to a fewer number of small piles that still need to be hauled into the Billings. I wasn’t sure we’d ever find the end of the trash piles and I’m sure that when the tall grass is gone we’ll find more garbage hiding, waiting for us to load and haul.

The little house we are planning to renovate is finally cleaned out! Sadly, we came to the realization that we would not be able to do very much construction work on it this year. We emptied and sorted all of the stuff that had been stored inside: furniture, paperwork, bottles, jars, and other household accessories. We then removed all of the drywall, the floors, the doors, and the trim. We had a structural engineer who specializes in historic homes come out and evaluate it and to our delight, he said it was in unusually good structural condition, particularly given it's age of probably 100 years or more. It doesn't look like much, I know, but it will!

As an interim solution to our current “camp living” situation, we had the idea of converting an old lambing barn into a bath house. It’s only 12’x16’ but it will have all the amenities of a small home: toilet, vanity, shower, washing machine, bed, and refrigerator. The major stuff such as roofing, electrical, and plumbing are complete and the toilet, sink, shower, and floor are in as well. It’s amazing how special it feels to have a toilet that flushes. The shower is nice as well, not only for me, but also for everyone that spends any time around me!

We even made time to throw in a flagstone patio out front, made from slate collected around the property.

One of the summer's big projects was to upgrade all of the electrical services on the ranch. Everything was brought to current code requirements and the service was expanded to several new areas. Our houses and outbuildings are no longer unsafe.

The main shop also got a shiny new roof! I liked the aesthetics of the cedar shingles that we had to cover up, however the rain and sunshine that could be seen or felt from the inside were not so desirable.

In our efforts to practice sustainable grazing, we decided to lease our pasture to some neighbors that need a place for 28 pairs (cows with their calves) of Charolais cattle . This decision meant I had to do a bit of fencing, so I spend about four hours today working on the fence that forms the boundary around our 80 acres of paradise.

Earlier in the summer, the plan was to mow the four or so acres around our outbuildings, orchard, and corrals, but the grass grew so fast we didn’t have time to pick up the junk and tree limbs. As I drove home one night, I noticed our neighbor tossing hay to his sheep because he had run out of grass for them to eat in his pasture. Perhaps I didn't need to mow it, but could lease it to our neighbor for his sheep--sheep make great lawnmowers! The neighbors came down to check it out and agreed that there was a lot of good grazing to be had. So now I’ve also got to fix that section of fence. It seems like no matter how much we get done, there’s always more to do out here in Big Sky Country. Sorry for posting so few pictures, more to come! I've got to get out and move some water!

Surfacing

2008-07-22T15:08:00.009-05:00

The search is over, the vigil and memorial in North Carolina have passed. Nancy's family has returned to Canada for a few days and I guess this is the time when many of us will try to create a degree of normalcy in our lives.

Sunday was the first day that I didn't think about Nancy, her death, and her family incessantly. Monday, yesterday, was the first day that I didn't wake up thinking about Nancy. For days, I would wake in the morning and realize that I had already been thinking about her before I even realized I was awake. At times my grief was paralyzing and at times it felt distant because of my geography.

Life and death roll on.

Our friend Mike, who we met in Boise and who later moved to San Francisco, visited us in Bridger for a long weekend. We explored the reaches of nearby natural wonders in Yellowstone National Park and the Beartooth Pass.

Our Montana neighbors lost one of their dogs; Kathleen went to check water near the highway and her deaf dog wandered into the road.

Our work on the ranch continues with the realization that we will not finish the little house this summer and the conversion of an old lambing barn into a new bath-house.

Tucker supervises the electrical work on the bath-house (if only he had thumbs).

Grief

2008-07-16T08:28:00.006-05:00

To my great surprise,
Although a shining light was lost,
The sun still rose today.

I suppose, too,
The stars will twinkle and the moon will rise tonight.
But nothing, nothing, nothing,
Will seem as bright.

For my friend Nancy Cooper: August 25, 1973 - July 12, 2008.

She's Gone

2008-07-15T18:56:00.004-05:00

The Cary Police announced today that the body they found was indeed Nancy--and she was murdered.

To my friends and family that have consoled me with calls and support, you have my deepest gratitude. I'm not sure where my grief will go from here. To Nancy's family and her other friends that also grieve for the loss of her, I send my love and my heartfelt and heart-full memories of Nancy.

My dear Nan, I can only send my love for you out into the universe and hope that you find it. I mourn the loss of your friendship and I will miss you terribly.

Missing: Nancy Cooper

2008-07-14T11:23:00.008-05:00

My dear friend Nancy Cooper went for a run on Saturday morning in Cary, NC, and never returned. If you are local, please pass this information along to everyone you know and anyone who might be willing and able to help in the search efforts. Please print and post the flyer if you can. Below is a blog that is being used to track the search areas. If you have a blog or other media resources, please link to it.

www.nancycooper.blogspot.com

Log Cabin

2008-07-07T17:10:00.004-05:00

This is the original log cabin that was built on the property. At one time, a friend of Jon's father had plans to deconstruct it and rebuild it on his property. His numbering system didn't work and he wasn't able to keep track of the pieces, thus the pile of logs we eventually used to build a makeshift enclosure for the dogs.

The dogs quickly learned to jump over our little fence, so in part that was a wasted effort although the logs needed to be moved anyway. Good thing there is a larger fenced area of several acres to keep the dogs somewhat contained.

The log cabin is small, and in later years was re-purposed as a pig sty. Literally. Nowadays, the roof needs alot of work and there are inches, perhaps feet, of old manure inside. There are no plans to do anything with it; for now it is just a historic novelty.

Random Shots Around the Ranch

2008-07-05T11:39:00.003-05:00

Our little homesite on the ranch property.

The wash station, where we do dishes and laundry by hand. The flagstone "patio" was built with rocks collected around the property. The enameled washbasin and tin bucket were found inside the little house, plastic bucket and hose are circa 2008. We recently had almost 400 feet of plumbing run from the well and pump over to the area of the little house (after Jon spent three days excavating a six foot deep trench). We have a relatively unlimited supply of fresh water.

The yard hydrant and well above ground; the pump house is under the big metal cover that Jon built.

People Are Strange

2008-07-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

I took a walk on the ranch property this morning before heading to work and thought it strange what our former renters decided to take with them and what they left behind.

Gone: the basketball hoop that was mounted on the wood shop.

Left behind: the dog house (but not the dog, thankfully) painted to match the Keiths' trailer.

Left behind: a sturdy tire swing. No telling how much of the Keith girls' time was spent swinging in it during their 15 years on the property.

Left behind: thousands of pounds of garbage, literally, for us to clean up.

Mountain Pornography

2008-07-03T13:53:00.007-05:00

Posting some more pictures of the Sawtooths because they were so breathtaking. These shots were taken while riding down Fourth of July Road outside of Stanley, Idaho.

Shepherd Camp with Hobbled Horses

Fire Damage from 2007

More Fire Damage from 2007

Stole this solo-bike-in-photograph staging from Jill Homer.

The Times, They Are a Changin'

2008-07-01T13:28:00.004-05:00

You know things are different when you have the following conversation with your husband:

Jon: "Sweetie, can you make a list of things to buy when we go to town?"
Me: "Sure, what should I put on it?"
Jon: "Ummm, irrigating boots for you, a pair of fencing pliers, a big magnet for cleaning out the burn pit, sawzall blades, dust masks, an auger bit, and Advil. Can you think of anything else?"
Me: "I think that about covers it. Oh, I'm gonna stop at the antique store to see if I can find a manual clothes wringer, a washboard, and a cast iron skillet."

Kickin' it pioneer style, I tell ya.

Weekend Update

2008-06-26T23:31:00.011-05:00

Hello out there in the blogosphere! Kate and I have been busy working and commuting from Bridger (Jon) to Boise (Kate) during the last week. We spent last weekend in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho with our nephew, a bunch of mountain biker/hiker friends from Boise, and six dogs. The cabin was south of Stanley, Idaho, on a ridge just a few hundred yards above the Salmon River; breathtaking.

Saturday there was hiking or biking for everyone, and rumor has it there was also a bit of swimming for Troy. Kate went to mountain biking camp in Ketchum, Idaho on Saturday and the rest of the boys rode the Sawtooth Mountains. The ride really took the wind out of my sail. After not having ridden in a month, I really bit off more than I could chew. We rode all 19 miles of the Fisher Creek loop from 6700 ft to 8200 ft. It was brutal for me, but worth every minute of it to check out the scenery.

On Sunday, some of us decided to ride from the 4th of July Creek Road, elevation 8720 ft. We had to work with the Forest Service guys to clear some trees from the road to make our way to the trail head.

Jon, Kate, Troy, KJ, and Ryan
(not pictured: Molly, Erin, Jim, and the dogs)

We eventually had to turn back because there was way too much snow. What an experience!

The following week, we headed back to Montana separately. On Wednesday, Troy and I made the drive in 11 hours and Kate made it in 10 hours on Thursday. It sure is nice to be here on the ranch. Upon our arrival, we found that someone out there ordered a nice gift for the residents of rural southern Montana.

Thanks, we enjoyed it here in the Clark's Fork Valley.

And Then There Were Three

2008-06-17T14:28:00.008-05:00

This past Friday I was sitting outside Papa Joe's restaurant, at the base of the hill that leads to our neighborhood. A cute, friendly dog was running around the patio. I thought he belonged to some folks a few tables away.

Unless you have absolutely no powers of deduction, I'm sure you see where this story is headed.

Our dogs are currently in Montana with Jon and the house has been very quiet. I didn't check with Jon first because by now, he knows the deal with me and stray dogs. Firstly, they find me. Secondly, I somehow feel that it is my karmic duty to help them find good homes and I don't understand why more people don't feel the same sense of responsibility.

I got a piece of rope from our waiter, left my bike locked to the rack at the restaurant, and walked home with a stray dog. I stopped at our neighbors' house so that new dog could meet their exuberant black lab Eddie, as Eddie was going to be staying with me Saturday and Sunday. The dogs got along famously.

On Sunday, I took new dog to the vet to be scanned for a microchip (he had none) and then to our local pet store for their monthly low-cost vaccine clinic.

Monday morning, I found new dog's picture while flipping through the newspaper classified ads in the adopt-a-pet section:

I was almost certain that was a picture of new dog (tentatively named Gus the night before)! I called the number in the ad and when the woman answered, I said I was calling about the dog she had for adoption. There was a pause on the line. She sighed and then said, "well, unfortunately, he ran away a few days ago." I told her that I thought I had him and she commenced to tell me his story.

Turns out that her father Jim was working on an asbestos abatement project on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and new dog was hanging around the job site. Every day, they pulled up and he was always there waiting for their arrival. A couple of the guys got attached to him and one in particular, a guy named Ray, was going to take him back home to his place in Oklahoma. Well, Ray packed up his truck with barely enough room to spare so new dog dog sat in the front passenger seat. Ray got eight miles down the road and new dog somehow hit the electric window button and rolled the window down. Ray pulled over to remedy the situation and when he did, new dog jumped out and ran back towards the reservation. Ray called Jim who was still at the reservation and he ended up bringing the dog (they call him Red Rover) back to Boise in hopes of finding a good home for him.

Red Rover Gus escaped out of Jim's yard by jumping from a bench over the fence. Apparently, Jim was home for one day before leaving again for another job and Red Rover Gus got pretty stressed out by all of the change, hence his escape. Jim and I made plans for him to come by and pick up Red Rover Gus. He was headed back to Texas that evening, would see Ray again, and could try to hand off Red Rover Gus to Ray once again.

When Jim came by, Red Rover Gus was clearly excited to see him. We chatted for a while and I probed him about his plans. Was Ray a good guy? Did he think this was going to be a good home? Oh yes, he said, Ray and his wife have several acres in Oklahoma City with horses and other dogs. I could sense hesitation, though, and when I pressed a little, he said that he really wants to keep Red Rover Gus but his wife and family don't want him. He was hoping they would come around but he felt compelled to take Red Rover Gus to Ray since he didn't have time to rectify the escape route before he left that evening.

I offered to keep Red Rover Gus for a few days to give Jim additional time to think on it or work on his family. He agreed and said he would call when he returned on Saturday. If his family failed to come around, Jim would see Ray again later in the summer and we agreed that I should continue to try and find Gus a permanent home locally. When Jim left, Red Rover Gus was decidedly upset, whining and pacing for the remainder of the evening (except when I took him over to see Eddie for a play date, during which they both ran around like banshees).

Red Rover Gus is available for adoption, although I wish we could keep him. He's a really neat dog with good behavior and a calm disposition, sort of a playful but reserved Buddhist monk-type reincarnated in a dog body. A neighbor told me today that "res(ervation) dogs" are usually exceptional--generations of harsh social and living conditions means that only the smartest and strongest survive.

I've talked with several people in marketing Gus for adoption and so far everyone has said, "Oh no, I couldn't have a dog right now because of <insert reason here>." I know being a dog owner isn't for everyone and there are some that absolutely should not have pets. We will keep Gus until he finds a home: either with someone great or with us. He is proving to be a lovely dog with a kind disposition, sincere loyalty, and a unique history.

If Pioneers Had Chainsaws

2008-06-13T10:56:00.006-05:00

A pile of logs sat on the ranch property just to the right of the little house. Jon always referred to them as old telephone poles but closer inspection revealed that they were logs from the original log cabin. The cabin still stands on the property although it is several logs shorter and was re-purposed as a pig sty.

The logs needed to be moved so that we could get the utility trailer as close to the little house as possible. Brutus and Troy helped us build a fence around the camper in hopes of keeping Cassius the blind dog from wandering.

For the most part, the fence doesn't work. Cassius is smart. He quickly learned where the fence was shortest and followed Tucker's lead in jumping over. Some mornings he's halfway down the lane before we finish our first cup of coffee.

Jon called me one night out of breath; he had taken the dogs into one of the fields and had Cassius running and playing at top speed. Normally, Cash trots along warily; you would, too, if you couldn't see a damn thing. Across the wire, I could only imagine the exuberance of a blind dog running at full tilt without a care, but it gave me immense joy. That is, until Jon told me that Cash ran out of earshot and right into the irrigation ditch before Jon could stop him. But I laughed out loud when he said that unfazed, Cash leapt out, shook off, and resumed his play.

We get such pleasure out of watching this boy navigate the sighted world with his other senses.

Katie’s Been Gone

2008-06-12T09:48:00.003-05:00

excerpted from the great Bob Dylan

Dear Katie, don't ya miss your home?
I don't see why you had to roam.

Dear Katie, since you've been away,
I lose a little something every day.
I need you here, but you're still out there.
Dear Katie, please drop me a line,
just write, Love, to tell me you're fine.

Oh, Katie, if you can hear me,
I just can't wait to have you near me.
I can only think,
Where are you,
What ya do, maybe there's someone new.

I have been away from Boise for three weeks; first to Montana for two weeks, then to Raleigh, then to Atlanta, and now back in Boise.

There is no one new and I do long to be home, although these days I’m no longer sure how to define my version of home. Generations of writers and thinkers have stewed upon this question but the answer resonates differently for everyone. For me, for now, I feel unsettled. Is home in Boise in my brick house that is filled with my things? Or is home in Montana, with my husband and my puppies in the pop-up trailer on the ranch? Is home a place, is it a person, or a feeling? My guess is that for me the conglomerate of these things is my home and that I will always feel unsettled without all of them, all together, all at once.

P Bar Lazy W Update

2008-06-04T00:25:00.006-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to post an update. Some of you know about our latest saga dealing with evicting our renter so I'll not rehash the details. This morning we were in court for our trial. Court is funny out here in the rural west. The judge kicks the mud off his boots, trades his cowboy hat for a long black robe, and then calls his own court into session. In short, we won.

This morning, after 9+ months of trying to be the "nice guys", the Honorable Johnny Seiffert ruled in our favor and we legally seized possession of our ranch and all property that had not been removed by the defendants. Finally! We did end up with several huge piles of trash, a 1969 mobile home converted into a storage trailer, and a large burn pit that the renter buried. Some might have trouble seeing how I could possibly be happy with the outcome, but on the bright side, they are gone. I can deal with trash you can haul to a landfill, it's the trash that takes a judge to remove I can't stand.

So far we've hauled a lot, and by a lot I mean several decades worth of trash (about 5000 pounds) . We probably have several tons left to haul to the landfill. Thankfully, we bought an 8'x18' trailer to handle all of the debris removal.

The house we intend to rebuild is nearly empty. Tomorrow, I'll begin removing the flooring and some of the wall covering so the structural engineer can see what kind of shape the building is in and give us his recommendations on how to proceed with our rebuild. I should be working with a mini-excavator on Thursday and Friday digging a trench for our water and power lines and also doing the prep work for the new septic system that we'll have to install.

It's late now so I better get to sleep, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day...etc...etc...

P.S. Kate got a new pair of cowboy boots! Talk about the cutest lil' cowgirl ever!

Burning Ring of Fire

2008-06-02T10:42:00.005-05:00

We have been on the ranch property for twelve days now. On day one, we built a stout fire ring six feet across of rocks scavenged from the property. All the rain that fell recently makes it safe to burn for now, but that will change soon when the ground dries and wildfire danger heightens. Despite all of the irrigation that allows for farming, one must remember that this is first and foremost a parched desert landscape.

In those twelve days, we have burned logs, limbs, and brush, as well as wood and cardboard pulled from the little house that we are clearing out to renovate.

Our neighbor stopped by around 10:00 pm on Saturday night, having just finished up working in his fields (sunset isn't until 9:28 pm, farmers are busy, and tractors have lights). He leaned down and said to Jon, "Haven't you all run out of firewood yet?"

Not even close.

Good Morning South of Bridger, Montana!

2008-05-31T08:15:00.005-05:00

The Webber's horses across the lane.

Looking up the lane towards the Webber's place.

Brief Update from Montana

2008-05-27T21:36:00.003-05:00

As soon as we dig out the cable for the camera, I have lots to post.

In the meantime, I sit here in the Montana Brew Pub in Billings (free internet!) while Jon is at the Dry Creek Ditch Company meeting in Bridger. What is a ditch company, you ask? Well in these parts, folks (farmers in particular) live and die by water rights. The ditch companies are a cooperative of sorts that manage the irrigation ditches that in our case, come off of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. Land owners pay for shares in the ditch which entitles them to pull water for irrigation. In exchange, the ditch companies maintain the ditch infrastructure and manage their administration.

Recently, one of the farmers up the way from us decided to put in a new headgate to divert more water to his place. You just can't put in a headgate when and where you want; water is a limited resource. The more water pulled from upstream, the less water there is for those folks at the end of the ditch, like us and our neighbors. Our neighbors that actively farm and ranch their property objected to this vigilantism and the ditch company called a meeting.

I have alot to learn about farming and ranching!

So Sweet!

2008-05-15T19:07:00.002-05:00

see more dog pictures

Toys!

2008-05-15T13:56:00.008-05:00

New toys are the greatest, aren't they? Well, this one is more of a necessity than most of our toys. After months of deliberation about how our summer was going to play out, we decided that living in a tent at the ranch over the summer wouldn't be that much fun. We looked around Boise and found a reasonably priced camper and after a few days of negotiating we purchased a Jayco Tent Camper. It's going to be great to have; aside from living in the tent trailer this summer, we are already planning camping trips in the fall! Here are a couple of preview pictures. We can't wait to go camping with you!

Scratch and Sniff

2008-05-12T14:00:00.004-05:00

Bet you wish you could! Our yard is in full bloom; the lilacs smell so sweet.

Spring is here for sure; we've planted tomatoes and peppers!

Blind Dog, Still Hunts

2008-04-24T13:23:00.007-05:00

Object of desire #1.

Object of desire #2.

Be very quiet, he's hunting squirrels.

Despite being blind, our dog Cassius still hunts squirrels for the better part of most days. And when I say better, I mean both quantitatively and qualitatively, for he certainly considers this to be the penultimate fun activity. The only thing better is eating anything, including cat poop.

He may not be able to see the squirrels but he can sure hear them. He spends hours racing around the yard guided by their chattering. Sometimes we even catch Cash quietly and slowly stalking the squirrels like a cat, apparently not realizing that although he can't see them, they can very much see him.

Occasionally the chases end with some collateral damage, but when you get right down to it, he doesn't need those eyes anyway!

Disclaimer #1: This injury was only to the skin outside of his eye and is now healed. His vision, however, remains the same. He has none.

Disclaimer #2: For those of you grossed out that he eats cat poop, I was just kidding. He only eats Tucker's poop.

Disclaimer #3: For those of you grossed out by any discussion of poop and in particular eating poop, it was all just a big joke. No, really.

Duck, Duck, Mallard

2008-04-19T08:15:00.003-05:00

This little pair of mallard ducks has been visiting our front yard for several weeks now. They discovered the bird seed buffet that falls to the ground from the feeder in the tree above. We really enjoy having them, but I worry about them hanging out in such an urban setting with all the dangers of dogs, cats, and cars.

I could, however, do without the Saturday morning 6:26 am wake up call I got today. Only the female was in the yard and she was quacking incessantly; our bedroom window is about 15 feet from the tree and feeder. I assume she was calling for her mate as he wasn't around. Should I be concerned?

Peace Out

2008-04-12T11:42:00.004-05:00

What a season! This year brought some of the best snow in decades to Bogus Basin. Yesterday, I got up to the mountain and found some new powder. Can you believe that? New powder in mid April. I was very impressed with the season as a whole. I certainly abused my season pass to the fullest extent. Thank you Bogus, and until next year...Peace Out!

Chemistry Widow

2008-04-08T07:16:00.005-05:00

This school semester has been particularly tough for both Jon and me. In addition to starting nursing classes, Jon had some prerequisites to finish up as well. Anatomy and Physiology 2 and an accelerated Chemistry class round out his course load at 17 credits. (A normal load is 12 credits.)

I started a Master's program in Technical Communication and am taking my first graduate class this semester, too. Being back in school has been a challenging adjustment for me. I haven't found the course work to be unmanageable, but those of you that know me well know that I like to do exactly what I want, on my schedule, my terms. I really dislike activities with compulsory attendance so until recently, Tuesday night from 6 - 9 pm just grated on my nerves.

The other thing I resent is the thought of homework that persistently lurks in my subconscious. I started having dreams about walking into class to find that not only had I not studied the material, I had forgotten to go to class for the entire semester.

With a little over a month to go, I am finally rounding the corner. I don't grimace when Tuesdays roll around and I feel like I am getting a handle on the course work.

I still hate Monday nights and Thursday nights, though. Jon chose a chemistry class taught in the Boise suburb of Nampa because former students said the teacher was excellent. We talked it over and decided that we could handle a semester-long break in our dinner routine but I think we both hate it. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Jon leaves the house at 4 pm to get to class by 6 pm and avoid the stop and go traffic heading out to the suburbs. On these days I don't even see him until 9 pm and we both forage for dinner alone.

Our dinner routine is a favorite thing of mine. I relish the remaining nightly meals, but I long for the return of those few nights. Planning meals, cooking together, sharing the day's stories, cleaning up, and discussing the merits of the meal; these things anchor our marriage in a way. I think we will both be glad to have this semester under our belts.

Finches Can't Read

2008-04-05T07:27:00.011-05:00

In the last century, bluebirds have suffered an alarming decline in their numbers. Loss of habitat and nesting cavities due to logging, competition from swallows and other species, and the use of pesticides are some of the factors contributing to the decline. Bluebirds were once as numerous as robins!

North Carolinians love their bluebirds and we were no exception. The entire state, it seems, is part of an effort to rebuild the bluebird population. In fact, just about every state has a bluebird society and there is also a national organization as well. Very serious stuff!

The most common way to encourage bluebird population is to provide nesting boxes. When I moved to North Carolina from Florida, I had never seen a bluebird and had no idea what all those wooden boxes were that dotted the rural landscape on fence posts and tree trunks. Once you see a bluebird, you want to see more. Once you see them in courtship, nesting, and fledging their young, it is easy to fall in love forever. They are beautiful, busy animals.

In the piedmont area of North Carolina, a man by the name of Jack Finch started building bluebird boxes in the 1970s. I picked one up during a trip to the Finch family's pottery and blueberry nursery. When I got home, Jon and I excitedly installed it in the yard, staking a surrogate claim for the first bluebird family to find it.

While the house is clearly stamped with "Homes for Bluebirds", finches in North Carolina can't read. Apparently finches also think that bluebird boxes make for great nesting sites and the only way to keep them out is to destroy their nests as they try to build them. Let me repeat that: destroy their nests as they build them.

Now I know that early bird watchers, Audubon included, shot and killed the very birds they studied and illustrated. To a modern bird enthusiast like myself this is abhorrent; although, I guess lacking cameras the only way to get the dern thing still enough to get a good look is to kill it. To me, the thought of destroying a bird nest is enough to send me into a tizzy of personal debate about ethics, the valuation of one animal species versus another, and whether we should intervene with a hand of destruction. The topic of destroying squatting birds' nests has also led to some interesting marital discussions because Jon can read and he is quite certain the box does not say "Homes for insert name of species here". Any intruders must go; he empties out their nests without hesitation or guilt.

So over the years we have had some finches, some swallows, but mostly bluebirds. I have given over our bluebird home property management arm to chance or my husband, whichever intervenes first. After all, Jon has to live with his choices and frankly, he seems to sleep just fine at night. I sleep alright too, and try not to worry too much about whether bluebird karma is worth more than finch karma. Jon gets to follow his moral compass and I follow mine. Fortunately, most of the time they still point North.

I can't help but wonder, though: Where do the presidential candidates stand on a literacy campaign for birds?

Update, April 25th, 2008: Got a voicemail last night from our old neighbors that our bluebird family has relocated to their yard.

Spring Break Trip Report #1

2008-04-04T10:40:00.013-05:00

Spring break seemed to be over just as it started. School work dominated a couple of my spring break days because three of my professors scheduled exams during or immediately following spring break. I had one take home exam due promptly at the start of class Monday after spring break, one exam Monday at noon, and a lab exam on Tuesday at 8:00 am. Oh joy! Thankfully, the exams are in the past now and my GPA didn't suffer as much as some of my classmates.

I completed a few projects around the house during the first few days of the break so we were able to head for the hills on Wednesday. Remember, the time of year is late March and this is spring break for Boise State students.

Spring in Eastern Idaho

We drove north on US Route 20, a very scenic highway through the Targhee National Forest in Idaho, and then into West Yellowstone, Montana. The weather, as you can see from the picture above, didn't resemble spring by any stretch. It sure looked and felt like winter! The road was ice and snow covered from Rexburg, ID all the way up to Island Park, ID. The plows were out and working hard but they were severely out-gunned by ol' Mother Nature. The bad roads didn't slow us down though; we made it to West Yellowstone by 3:30pm to find what was to be our sleepy little mountain get-away for the evening. Unfortunately, someone opened too much ether. The town wasn't just sleepy, it was comatose! It was a ghost-town because the annual snowmobiling events had ended the week prior. Our options for dinner were Arby's or McDonald's!

We decided to move on, checked out of our hotel, and hit the road heading north again on US-191 aiming for Bozeman, MT. The drive through Yellowstone Park treated us to some pretty stunning scenery.

That was the first part of our trip, we'll finish the trip report soon. Stay tuned!

ALERT: Delinquent Blogger Seen On Mountain Bike

2008-03-24T20:15:00.002-05:00

That’s right! It was me on the trails Sunday afternoon. I got a big dose of “ass kicking” on Sunday trying to keep pace with Ryan (on a single speed) and Mike (on a hard-tail) on the Ridge to Rivers trails. The weather was gorgeous albeit a bit overcast. Mike’s ride is in the shop so I drove over to his house with my bike and a loaner for him to ride. We rode up to Camel's Back to meet Ryan before heading out on our 10 mile beat down. It seems as though the first ride of the season is always the hardest. I can’t imagine what my fate would have been if I hadn’t been commuting by bicycle all winter long. I know now that my short commute did nothing to keep my lungs in shape; they are still burning today.

I’ve been thinking lately about converting my mountain bike and commuter bike to single speed machines. Converting the bikes will be the easy part. Converting me is going to be the hard part. I’m excited about the challenge of learning to ride in a totally different way. I actually ordered the parts today! We’ll see how my conversion goes in the coming months.

Kate and I are officially on spring break--school's out! Wednesday we are heading for the hills, literally. We are heading to Montana for a couple of days and plan to stay the night in West Yellowstone, Montana at The Stagecoach Inn. We’ll take the camera and post a trip report when we return to Boise.

Until then…

Catkins

2008-03-20T15:53:00.006-05:00

Our backyard has a wacky tree in it with gnarled branches that curl back on themselves. Neglected for many years, we had to cut and pry its limbs out of the chain link fence enclosing the dog runs. The tree is commonly known as a filbert, which is a member of the hazel family; they produce edible nuts, namely filberts and hazelnuts. This contorted variety is considered mostly ornamental and is known as Corkscrew Hazel or Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. Appropriate to my Scottish heritage, Harry Lauder was a Scottish entertainer. I haven't been able to find out why the variety is thusly named.

It is one of the many harbingers of spring and bloomed shortly after the temperatures began to warm. The blooms are long dangles of tiny yellow pollen-filed flowers that don't look like anything like flowers. These flowers are called catkins.

I just finished reading Gene Logsdon's book Organic Orcharding. In it, he says that occasionally these trees do produce edible nuts. I'll hope and wait and try to beat the squirrels to them!

Green Eggs

2008-03-20T14:05:00.006-05:00

We picked up this dozen of fresh eggs from the Boise Co-op the other day and to my utter delight, some of them were green!

Here is a close-up view; some of them have speckles!

Jon grew up on fresh eggs, but I had never eaten one. I love eggs for their role in baked goods and breakfast, but I am picky about them; I am one of those people that picks out the squiggly white tag (the chalazae) and won't use eggs if the whites are too runny. I admit I was a bit squeamish to learn that they are fertilized:

I think what this really means is that they COULD BE fertile. Because the hens are free-range, there is no telling what those ladies have gotten into or where there morals...lay.

Jon's fried eggs were cooked first and he oooed and ahhed about the depth and flavor of the eggs. Again, I was squeamish. To be honest, I don't really know what egg flavor is and I'm not sure if I want my eggs to have a flavor. So it was with trepidation and I admit, some mild nausea, that I ventured into my first bite.

I was an animal science major for two semesters in college and learned how to identify the white dot on the yolk indicating the egg is fertile, so for my breakfast I definitely had scrambled eggs and chicken zygotes. And well, they were good! Bon Apetit ya'll!

Falcon Family Visit

2008-03-10T17:19:00.006-05:00

The Dunn/Falcon/Shepard Clan and the Boise Skyline

This past weekend much of our Montana family descended upon us--six of them! It was a blast. The boys went to the mountain on Friday and snowboarded all day while Leslie, Taya, and I puttered around town, ate a leisurely lunch, and cooked a wonderful pulled pork dinner. Saturday, Uncle Jon made everyone bacon and eggs for breakfast. (I have discovered two ways to get teenage boys out of bed in the morning: snowboarding and bacon.) We all walked to the Boise State University campus, to Julia Davis Park and Zoo Boise, and then downtown for a late lunch. After swimming and water slides at the YMCA, we went out that night for pizza at the Flying Pie Pizzaria and celebrated Brutus' birthday with cake and a movie at the house.

Troy, Me, and Taya

Uncle Jon as Sherpa

Springing

2008-02-28T15:04:00.005-05:00

One of the exciting things about owning an older home is discovering the garden plants for the first time. Spring is the perfect time to do so. Bulbs are rearing their heads all over our yard and so far I have identified tulip, crocus, hyacinth, and daffodil. Saddening is the lonely plant markers strewn across the yard like fallen soldiers on a battlefield. After so many years of neglect, I doubt many of them will be resurrected. I've seen tags for hollyhocks, Solomon's Seal, foxglove, salvia, and many others with names so faded they can no longer be identified.

Yellow crocus in bloom

Pink hellebore about to bloom

Something Bad about Boise

2008-02-21T02:38:00.006-05:00

I know all of our friends from North Carolina are tired of hearing how great Boise, Idaho is, so this post should soothe those bruised egos. Yes indeed, there is something bad about Boise.

Tortillas are essentially an entire food group in my pyramid, so finding quality Mexican food was high on the list of things to do when we moved here. To complicate matters, we had a really excellent Mexican restaurant in Raleigh, NC called Dos Taquitos. It was Mexican food with an inventive Central and South American flair. The service was great, the margaritas were made with fresh-squeezed juices, and as a side dish they served my favorite vegetable, broccoli, sprinkled with Oaxacan cheese and chipotle sauce. What Mexican restaurant have you been to that serves broccoli? ~~To be fair, perhaps~~ We were spoiled and our expectations were unreasonable.

I had read much about the breadth of Mexican food available in Boise, due to the large community of Mexican immigrants in the area. (I must say, however, that there are not nearly the number of Mexican immigrants here as there are in Raleigh.) I tirelessly read reviews of area Mexican restaurants and we soldiered to many of them in search of our Dos Taquitos. The latest and final edition in my search was Chapala #9.

Although the Chapala restaurants have received good, even excellent reviews, I had avoided them because of the #9. Most people would think, "with nine restaurants, the food must be good," but I was suspicious. Owning one restaurant is hard enough, let alone nine? I was convinced that with so many restaurants, the food could only be mediocre and ~~Jon was wrong~~ I was right. In fact, I would go so far as to say the food was terrible and the service was pleasant, expedient, and annoying.

Weirdly, the waiters and staff kept calling us "amigos". Somewhere along the way in opening nine restaurants, the owners got the idea that white people love being called "amigos", which is Spanish for friends. The phrase was tacked on at the end of every single question and every reply. By the end of the meal, it was so ridiculous that it was making me laugh out loud every time I heard it.

Oh, and when I asked if they had any chopped jalapeño peppers as a condiment for my meal, they served me a whole jalapeño pepper in a cup, stem attached. Thanks, amigos! For my next act, I will chop this jalapeño pepper with my dinner knife, which is about as sharp as a spoon. Can the chef spare a cutting board?

Here is a rundown of the other area Mexican restaurants that have tried and failed.

El Gallo Giro, Kuna, ID: This place was so highly recommended that we drove 20 miles to eat there. If only I had read this review first: "The fried doughnuts are not to be missed, and there's even a can of whipped cream if you so desire. "
Cafe Ole, Boise, ID
Andrade, Boise, ID
Los Betos, Boise, ID
Casa Mexico, Boise, ID
9 Beans and a Burrito, Twin Falls, ID
La Tapatia, Boise, ID: This is the only place that was slightly above mediocre in my book.

I am so absolutely done eating Mexican food in Boise. No mas!

Has Spring Sprung?

2008-02-20T11:51:00.003-05:00

The weather seems to be a hot topic of conversation as of late. You see, it has been pretty nice here lately compared to our January stint of 8 degree Fahrenheit (-13 C) mornings and the abundance of snow we received. The morning mercury hasn’t dipped into the teens for about 2 weeks, and frankly I don’t miss it! Jumping on the bicycle to head downtown is much more enjoyable when you don’t have to freeze your ears off doing it. Our daytime temperatures have been in the 40s, and 40 in the high desert sun is pretty darn nice. Sunday we went for a walk in the foothills with the doggies. I was surprised to see how quickly the trails have begun to dry out. Of course there are several places that are muddy, but those places were easy to avoid.

I hope spring has not sprung yet, I want more time to play in the snow! The news reports are leading me to believe that we’ll be in winter for a good bit longer. There are reports of ski resorts and forest service negotiations to extend resort leases until late April because significant snowmelt is supposed to be delayed this year. Wahoo! We may get to play in the snow until May!

Speaking of playing in the snow, we recently had some visitors from Raleigh, NC. Our friends came up and got surprised by our little slice of Idaho. It was a great visit, plenty of relaxing, some fine dining, and some pretty heavy powder at Bogus Basin. I had billed Bogus as our “little local resort” because I didn’t want to set an expectation of a great western ski resort. I was informed that when compared to any of the southeastern resorts, it was a great resort. I think I’ve just become spoiled by the west and the terrain already. I picked up my 08/09 season pass yesterday, $199.00. Oh how I do enjoy being spoiled!

Tonight we may head over to the foothills trail meeting to see what is to be done about the apparent dog poo problem on the trails. My crystal ball tells me that we may have to drive a few miles further in the future if we want to let our pups run free on the trails. I guess we’ll see. How would you change the habits of those owners who refuse to pick up the poo of their pet? I don’t know if it’s possible to change those inconsiderate people.

Yesterday finished my first round of exams for this semester, and boy was it a tough one. Apologies for the lack of blogging on my part, I’ve been trapped in a room with an enormous stack of textbooks and lab manuals. I am spending considerably more time studying this semester than ever before. I don’t think my credit load will increase over the next couple of years but I’m certain my workload will when I start doing clinical rotations. At the start of the semester I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to maintain my GPA with my current class schedule, now I know I can do it. Although, I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to maintain my hobbies at their previous levels. Biking and snowboarding have taken a distant second to class and studying ☹. The exam grades are well worth sacrificing some hobby time.

Nurse!

2008-02-18T17:31:00.003-05:00

As much as I wish it weren't so, I finally got to test Jon's nursing skills. I have been sick since Friday. At first, I didn't think I was getting really sick, I thought maybe it was just allergies. But alas, I am really, truly, miserably sick.

Friday: sore throat
Saturday: body aches
Sunday: runny nose
Monday: wicked cough, body aches, and runny nose

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

I was thinking that Jon has proven to be an excellent nursing student. He has been making sure that my cold is well-fed, plying me with vitamins and water, inquiring about whether my cough is "productive" and what color my snot is, and generally keeping track of my symptoms to make sure this doesn't turn into something more serious. He felt my glands and took my temperature. No fever.

Today I was feeling worse than ever and could barely move so I took a nap after lunch. Jon was doing laundry and I was too immobilized to shut the bedroom door and keep out the noise of the washer and dryer. I couldn't even muster the energy to call out to him in the other room. I had my cell phone handy so I feebly fingered a text message to him: "Nurse!"

Then he did something very un-nurse like, I thought. He threatened that if I did that again he would take my temperature again...rectally! How rude! Fine then, next time I will ring a bell.

Back on the Market!

2008-02-14T10:05:00.004-05:00

No, not that market!

We were surprised to learn a few days ago that the house we sold in Raleigh last July is back on the real estate market. Our former next door neighbors were sitting on their front porch when Jer mutely pointed at the "For Sale" sign. Shock and awe, indeed. A flurry of phone calls and the news was flying around amongst our Raleigh friends. The next day I started to receive emails from folks in the neighborhood, too. Everyone is puzzled. The family that bought our house has alot of history in the neighborhood as two other family members live just down the street! This was to be their forever home.

Looking at the pictures they posted makes me think this was a hurried decision. The kitchen is a mess, pictures on the wall are crooked, I can see boxes peeking out in the photo of the dining room, and in just six short months, the drought has taken a serious toll on the yard that we toiled over.

I don't know what unfortunate (I am assuming) turn of events caused this. Perhaps the new owners got in over their heads with the payments. The husband is a realtor so perhaps the downturn in the market has affected them personally. Maybe they hate the house. Who knows, but I feel badly about it: for them if this is an unexpected life change, and for us and the house which I have so personified through the hours of labor and pieces of our hearts we poured into it.

Food, Glorious Food

2008-01-27T09:02:00.000-05:00

Finally, a post that has nothing to do with riding your bike in the winter!

A few weeks ago, Jon and I devoured an entire recipe of Roasted Cauliflower in one sitting (that is pancetta, not cauliflower, pictured at left). Cooking the cauliflower in an oven at high heat caramelizes the sugars (yes, cauliflower has natural sugars!) and makes it taste candied. Ever since then, I have been literally fantasizing about eating roasted cauliflower again. So it was this past Friday afternoon, instead of doing the company's work, that I was busily figuring out what to make for dinner that could accommodate roasted cauliflower.

A search on my favorite recipe repository for Gourmet and Bon Apetit magazines--Epicurious--pulled up this recipe for Whole Wheat Linguine with Cauliflower, Pancetta, and Parmesan. I modified the recipe based partly on other readers' comments and partly on my own hankerings. I initially was going to omit the pork (pancetta) and replace it with arugula but in the end I used both. Here is my version of the recipe. Note: this could easily become a vegetarian recipe by omitting the pancetta and replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Fettucine with Roasted Cauliflower, Pancetta, Arugula, and Two Cheeses

1 recipe Roasted Cauliflower

1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb thinly sliced pancetta
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 lb fresh fettucine pasta
4 cups fresh greens such as arugula, chopped chard, or spinach
1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 cup) plus additional for serving
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prepare cauliflower according to recipe directions. While cauliflower is cooking, fry pancetta in non-stick pan until crisp. Remove to drain on paper towel lined plate. Do not wash pan. To the pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add panko bread crumbs and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown. Transfer to a small plate or bowl to cool.

Cook pasta until al dente, drain.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. When hot, add garlic and red pepper flakes and saute on moderately high heat for a few minutes. Add broth, continue to cook for several minutes. Add greens and stir until wilted.

Combine all ingredients in a large serving bowl, placing pancetta on top. Serves 6 - 8.

P.S. I have no idea why this picture turned out so yellow, my apologies.

You Go Girl!

2008-01-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

Limits I say..... You've got to set limits on the things you do, when you can. I don't have a parking pass for the BSU campus so my limit has been set by default. I ride my bike to school, I'm limited from parking a car on campus.

This morning it is cold, bitter cold, and Kate was on her bike early heading to work. The paper said this:

Weather
Boise, ID
Currently 8 degrees F, sunny

Almost makes you want to ride or walk to work doesn't it? Luckily, we live close enough to our daily grind to ride a bike. It really does feel good to do it, and no it's not just a hippie thing!

Sorry, Guys

2008-01-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

Image courtesy of http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/images/Issue57/BeaufortSea_l.jpg

I started to get dressed this morning fully intending to ride my bike to work. Jon asked what the temperature was and I repeated what I heard on our local NPR station this morning. "Nine degrees, with a wind chill of -10." He told me I should drive my truck to work, that I had to set some limits. Perhaps.

When I think about whether I can ride my bike in frigid temperatures, I think about Jill Homer, the Alaska journalist who is training for the human-powered Iditarod race, a multi-day event in which she will bike across the Alaska wilderness in sub-zero temperatures. She chronicles her training in her blog Arctic Glass. Her reasons for riding are different than mine, but an inspiration nonetheless. When I fret about my 1.5 mile commute, I check Jill's blog to see that she rode 22 miles yesterday in 28 degree temperatures.

I console myself with the reminder that driving to work will give me the opportunity to sherpa home the large garbage bag full of empty plastic bottles I have collected at work so they can be recycled.

How to Help Slow Global Warming

2008-01-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

Riding your bike to work or school, even when it is only 20 degrees F outside and the streets and sidewalks are covered with snow pack and ice is one way.

I wrote in this post about Boise bicycle commuters and my own limitations. Since then, I have taken to the streets on my bike, weather be damned! Unfortunately, the two days on which I have ridden my bike to work so far have been 1) during a snowstorm and 2) immediately after a series of snow days when the temperature was forecasted at 14 but fortunately climbed to 20.

I just kept telling myself to think of the polar bears and their melting ice sheets!

Honestly, it's not too terrible. Here is what I was wearing today:

winter biking tights
jeans
wool socks
cotton short-sleeved t-shirt
polypropylene long-sleeved shirt
cashmere scarf
my very toasty North Face jacket with quilted liner
polypropylene skull cap
wool took hat
bicycle helmet
biking gloves

By the time I arrived at work, my core body was overly warm, but my finger, toes, and face were very cold. I could have used my face mask (couldn't find it this morning) and some additional protection for my hands and feet.

Magazine and Marketing Rant

2008-01-16T16:15:00.001-05:00

Call me ungrateful, but when I subscribed to Yoga Journal, I never expected that my contact information would be sold to sundry fitness companies. As far as I can recall, there was no disclaimer or ability to opt out. There was no mention of it whatsoever and I am now receiving catalogs from Champion and Everlast to name a few.

I called Yoga Journal to have myself removed from this "feature" but I am so incensed that I will not be renewing my subscription. I have a lot of respect for the content and contributors of Yoga Journal Magazine and for the organization as a whole--I held them to a high(er) moral standard.

The moral, however, is that Yoga Journal is certainly owned by some media conglomerate to whom I paid money for the magazine and who in turn marketed and sold my demographic information for an additional profit. I feel totally duped. Now I am left to suffer the conscious and practical burden of unwanted mail and wasted resources as a result of printing, manufacturing, and the transportation of said unwelcome solicitations.

I've heard that the magazine industry on the whole is suffering because paper subscriptions are down. They will soon suffer the loss of one more customer! Arrrrrgggghhh!

Fluffy White Stuff

2008-01-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

Our part of the country has been seeing alot of precipitation lately. Jon is in Salt Lake City this week snowboarding on 14 plus inches of fresh powder with friends from Raleigh while I am at home taking pictures and digging out the driveway.

Snow falling in front yard and driveway.

A few inches in the back yard.

Always good to know where you are in a snowstorm.

Snow-covered lilac branches.

New Beginnings

2008-01-03T13:28:00.001-05:00

I don't plan to do much reflecting on last year, but instead just look forward to the coming one.

While in Florida for the Christmas holiday, we took an unplanned side-trip up to Gainesville, where several of my college friends are now living. We had less than 24 hours there, but we made the most of it. Citra Super hosted an amazing barbecue on such short notice with grilled steak, chicken, portabello mushrooms, and vegetable kabobs. We watched members of Holopaw and Elephant Parade duke it out on the ping pong table which sits prominently in the front yard. I saw Shena and Estelle's dad smile once again since losing Leila. In fact, we all smiled and laughed again, gathered together for happier times.

We were invited to stay the night with Sarah and Don and their new baby Dylan. Don made the fluffiest scrambled eggs I have ever eaten and served them with fruit and freshly baked biscuits for breakfast the next morning. He says you can learn alot about cooking from watching The Sopranos. Sour cream is the secret mafia ingredient.

We rounded out the visit with a stop at Burrito Brothers for an epic meal.

We said goodbye yesterday to our first Boise friends, Mike and Roxanne. They are off to try their lots in the big city of San Francisco. Jon and I met some new friends on New Year's Eve and we are excited about kindling new relationships in Boise.

After I wrapped up work yesterday, we drove up to our local Bogus Basin resort and I got to test out what I learned in my pre-Christmas snowboarding lessons. I was really nervous going up the lift the first few times, but I was starting to get the hang of the lift and the bunny slope by the end of the evening. I'm looking forward to staying active this winter.

As far as resolutions go, Jon and I are both trying to be more conscientious about our diets. I am adding more fruit to mine and we are both in general trying to curb our natural tendencies towards expansion by eating less and exercising more. One of the best things I have learned from Jon is that exercise doesn't have to be drudgery; it can be an excuse to get outside.

Personally, I am trying to reinvigorate my daily yoga practice. I forgot an important birthday this year and so I am also working on being mindful of important dates. And finally, we can all learn to practice more tolerance towards ourselves and others and I am no exception.

Cheers!

2007-12-31T20:41:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all!

Kate and I just returned to Boise, our Christmas travels went very well. We hung out with the Florida Martins and the California Martins. Everyone is doing well and the kids are growing like weeds. This was my first 80+ degree Christmas and I've got to say that if not for the company, I would rather spend my holiday covered in snow. Everyone enjoyed a grand meal on Christmas day thanks to my beautiful wife, Chef Kate.

Tonight we're heading out to ring in the new year with some of our new friends here in Boise, and some potential new friends at a house-party. Tomorrow we'll hit the slopes on Bogus Basin just outside of Boise. As always, we are thinking of all our dear friends we left in Raleigh. We hope that your New Years Eve is a smash hit... "Here's to all of you in Raleigh and abroad, let this year be enjoyed even more than the last!"

Sadly we bid farewell to Mike and Roxanne as they are moving to San Francisco on Thursday, they'll be missed. Hopefully we'll be able to see one another here and there in the future. I see biking and snowboarding trips in our future.

We'll try to post a few pictures and share some tales from our trip in the next few days. Again, Happy New Year!

Playground: Kate Style

2007-12-17T16:31:00.001-05:00

This weekend brought plenty of snowboarding to the Idaho Dunn clan. Fortunately there was only one minor hiccup, and it was all me. Early Saturday morning I frantically loaded gear so I wouldn't be late getting on the mountain at Brundage Resort. It wasn't until I was in the parking lot completely geared up that I tried to put on my gloves. One right and one right.....errrrrr NO!!!!!! 12 degrees and I was riding in my liners because I inadvertently grabbed one of Kate's gloves and one of mine. This meant that for her first snowboarding lesson, Kate had two left gloves, one of mine and one of hers. Fortunately she was able to use my left glove on her right hand during her lesson.

While I was at Brundage on Saturday, it was snowboarding lesson 1 for Kate at Bogus Basin, just north of Boise. Kate headed up a snowy Bogus Basin Road alone to find a few inches of powder laying on a small base. Check out the winter skills, she's driving on this stuff!

Sunday morning we were both up early, much earlier than we planned due to the aches and pains stemming from the first day of snowboarding. A little coffee, a bagel, and plenty of Advil seems to be the right combination to ensure you can ride again the next day. Lesson 2 on Sunday! She's rocking that boarder girl look isn't she?

Kate commands that snowboard just like she rules her kayak, with grace. It doesn't matter which sport it is, Kate doesn't provide much carnage. She only fell a couple of times, one good edge catch was all I got to see! That's it, and I didn't even get a picture so it really comes down to you believing me. :)

We were still pretty sore today but it is getting better. There is snow in the forecast for the next 10 days in this region, too bad this is finals week for me. Friday we're headed to sunny Florida for what is sure to be a great Christmas. I'm already daydreaming of the powder days to come in the new year.

Shiver Me Timbers

2007-12-13T11:59:00.001-05:00

Some Boiseans are serious about bicycle commuting. On a morning a few days ago, I sat in my truck at a traffic light on a snow-covered road with two bicyclists while the flakes rained down. Jon is no exception. He is committed to continue biking to school year-round and this is his get-up for riding in 19 degree temperatures. My heart swells with pride for him, but sinks just a little as I slide into the driver's seat of my truck. I'm still acclimating.

Snowshoeing: Banner Ridge

2007-12-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

Everybody, git yer shoes on!

On Sunday, we went snowshoeing again, this time with our new friends Mike W., Roxanne, Erin, and Mike H. Some of the snow we enjoyed last weekend at Whoop-Em-Up had melted, so we drove further up the mountain to the Banner Ridge Park-n-Ski area.

The view is not too shabby.

One of the Mikes brought a GPS, so we knew exactly how far we went: 3.4 miles. I have decided that 3.4 miles on snowshoes is a pretty good hike. I woke up in the middle of the night and my legs were screaming.

Right from the outset, we saw lots of animal tracks.

I am enjoying learning how to identify animal tracks: rabbit, fox, and coyote were the most common. About halfway through the hike, we took an off-trail detour and Jon spotted wolf tracks. They were enormous and stunning. You could see the outline of each pad-- the paws were about as big around as my hand.

Living out west has forced me to think more often about the tension between ranchers, hunters, livestock, and wolves. It used to be that wolves were just the bane of livestock farmers, but now hunters are citing anecdotal evidence that wolves are the cause of a decline in elk and moose populations, as well. I won't go into this in detail, but I found numerous sources that negate this, including from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. (If you want more information, just Google "idaho wolves elk population".)

The wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are considered a "non-essential experimental population" but they are still protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Early this year, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to remove grey wolves' endangered status. In preparation for the status change, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is trying to determine how the populations will be managed and to what extent. Idaho Governor Butch Otter wants the wolf population culled by hunters from current numbers around 800 (source) to 100 animals, or 10 packs. Ten packs is the minimum number of wolves before the animals would be considered endangered...again. Anyone else see the lunacy in this idea?

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission, delisting could occur as early as February 2008. At a hunter's rally last week, Otter spoke about the issue:

"That management includes you," Otter told the approximately 300 hunters, many wearing camouflage clothing and blaze-orange caps. "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself."

Anyway...

Another interesting thing we saw on our snowshoe trip was the remnants of a burn. At first we thought the rising smoke was steam from a natural hot spring, but closer investigation revealed that it was actually tree wood still smoldering.

Winter burn.

Why are the maps are so high? So they aren't at your knees when the snowpack is three feet!

Once again, I tripped myself by stepping on my own shoe and ended up face-planting in the snow. I wasn't hurt, but as I pulled myself up, my entire group stood on the hill above me laughing with their cameras poised on their noses. Evil. (I admit that later in the hike, when Erin tripped, I was actually hoping she would fall and she totally busted me by the excited look on my face. Nobody wants to be the only clutz.)

On our way back to Boise, we stopped at the Idaho City Ranger station to alert the staff to the burn and they called out a fire crew to investigate.

It was yet another beautiful, if tiresome, weekend in this winter paradise. I doubt we will get on our snowboards until after we return from Christmas holidays in Florida but I certainly look forward it!

Saturday in the Snow

2007-12-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

Kate and I decided we'd try to find some snow to break in our snowshoes on Saturday so we headed up to one of the nearby Park N' Ski areas. Whoop-Um-Up was the natural choice because it is dog friendly. Tucker and Cash were almost as excited to get out in the fluffy white stuff as we were. Cash did great, although he can pull a little here and there. Here is Kate demonstrating the proper technique of how to react to the pull of a 90+ lbs blind dog. Falling!

Kate and I don't have much experience snowshoeing yet, which led to a few falls. It's amazing how easily you bite the dust when you step on your own shoe, when the person behind you steps on your show, or when your herding dog tries to hitch a ride on your shoe! Needless to say, you slow down and think about the precise placement of your next step.

Cash had no problems in the snow, his fur seemed to be genetically perfect for tromping about in the snow.

Tucker's fur, not so perfect. Tucker fought the snowballs all day, as you can see here.

Tucker will be getting some small shoes very soon. I think he'll be a little annoyed with them at first, but it has got to be better than the alternative.

Snowshoeing is a great way to get out and enjoy our natural winter surroundings in Idaho. The trails we visited on Saturday are a little over an hour away from the house, and the trails should be open at our local resort in a few days.

We can wait for our next outing. Think Snow!

Happy Chanukah, Ya'll

2007-11-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

One of the topics of conversation while my parents were visiting was around our ancestry. I recently started documenting my family tree and I had lots of questions. Eventually we stumbled upon this question: am I a Jew?

Despite growing up in South Florida, the land to which all New York and Michigan Jews emigrate, I never questioned the heritage of my Christian faith. During my college years, however, my brother and I took a cross-country trip together to move him to California. On the way, we stopped at our "Aunt" Margery's house. I put quotes around "Aunt" because she wasn't really our Aunt--actually more like a second cousin. Aunt Margery and my paternal grandmother Herma-Jean grew up together, my grandmother just a year or so younger than Aunt Margery. The reality was that Aunt Margery was really my grandmother's niece. Aunt Margery's mother Roselle was my grandmother's sister. Got that?

So the weird thing is that my whole life I never knew of Aunt Margery. Apparently, while Aunt Margery and my grandmother were terribly close for much of their lives, there was a rift before I was born and my grandmother never spoke of Aunt Margery--that is until they reconciled years later. Imagine my surprise when I walked into Aunt Margery's kitchen to find her eating gefilte fish right out of the jar. "Gross, you eat that stuff?!" I half-asked, half-exclaimed. "Of course I do," she said. "I'm Jewish!"

Huh.

I asked my grandmother about all of this when I got home and she spun a story to the effect that it was her father that was Jewish and you are only considered a Jew if your mother was Jewish. She said that Aunt Margery was raised Jewish by her own father, who was a Jew. I didn't completely buy that story, but it was clear I wasn't going to get a different answer from her so I relented. The question always nagged, though.

Traditional Jewish law describes a Jew as anyone born to a Jewish mother. If Margery's mother, my grandmother's sister, was a Jew, then my grandmother was too. If my paternal grandmother was a Jew, my father is, technically, a Jew. Reform Judaism states that anyone born to a Jewish mother or Jewish father is a Jew and that "once a Jew always a Jew". Do you see where I am going here? By these tenets, I am a Jew.

When the topic came up with my father, he told me that his mother was Jewish, and that when he was a boy, his parents tried to send him to Hebrew school but he hated it so much that he would skip the bus or refuse to go. I guess his parents eventually gave up. I never knew my "real" paternal (and Jewish) grandfather. My grandmother remarried before I was born and the only paternal grandfather I ever knew was Swedish and decidedly not Jewish.

Okay, I guess the Hebrew school card settles it. How much more Jewish can you get? I am not sure how I feel about all of this information or what, if anything, it means. I am not planning to light a menorah this year, in case you are wondering. My biggest question is why my grandmother felt the need to hide this piece of my heritage. She could celebrate Christmas like a champ, but looking back, I guess I feel a little bit robbed.

Despite my mixed feelings, I pulled this little gem out of the archives because it makes me laugh (click the play button in the image):

Picture Pages

2007-11-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos from our trip to Montana.

Ranch buildings

Proud pups

So this is why they call it Big Sky Country

On the road to Red Lodge Mountain

Don't eat the yellow snow

Rock Creek, Red Lodge, Montana

Red Lodge, Montana historical marker (click photo to enlarge)

Grace

2007-11-27T22:26:00.001-05:00

We have had lots of visitors over the past month, and lots of visiting.

My parents came into town for a long weekend. I was very excited for them to visit and hopeful that they would fall in love with Boise. No matter how old I am, I still want to know that my parents think I am capable of making sound decisions. My mom had been to Boise in the summer on an unfruitful trip to find some rental housing. Fortunately for us, the rental market was barren and we settled instead into our little home.

Having sworn off of cold winters since relocation to Florida from Ohio, I was worried that my folks would be terribly uncomfortable in the cool autumn mornings. They fared just fine, though, and I even caught my dad walking around town in just a sweater or long-sleeved shirt. Well, and pants, too. I know I enjoyed their visit very much and I think they did, too.

Overlapping my parents' visit was a visit from Jon's aunt and uncle from central Idaho, as well as cousins from Salt Lake City and Montana. There was a significant birthday event and we surprised the man of the hour with a faux-Halloween 50th birthday party.

Shortly after that, our friends Mike and Caroline came to visit from Raleigh. We met Mike and Caroline through our beloved neighbors Jer and Selina who we miss very dearly. No neighbors or friends will ever replace them--they are that incredible. I feel thankful that we never took our friendship for granted--meeting in between the yards at 5:30 every weekday to share the joys and sorrows of our workdays. We knew then that we would likely never find the same elsewhere and that is just fine.

So it was no surprise that we also became fast friends with Mike and Caroline. Mike and I both happen to be Scorpios, our birthdays two days apart. What good fortune that we were able to celebrate Mike's birthday here in Boise. I felt so blessed to have them here with us, and to celebrate the event I made, what else? Carolina pork barbecue. We talked and ate and laughed and while I miss them terribly now that they are gone, I am thankful for the blessing of their friendship.

The day that Mike and Caroline left for Raleigh, Jon and I also left for Billings. Unfriendly weather was on the horizon and as Jon has already recounted, we drove through a gnarly snowstorm. Having never driven in falling snow, I teetered between complete trust in Jon's judgement and driving abilities and a complete freak-out. It's a fine line, folks.

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, I felt lucky to have arrived in Billings safely. We spent several days visiting and eating with family. For the first time in my memory, I didn't have to lift a finger for Thanksgiving dinner; I just showed up and ate. We even made time for the downtown Billings annual holiday parade. While I am still puzzled at this idea of dragging the entire town outdoors for a parade in 24 degrees on icy streets, I have to admit that it was fun.

Too lengthy too have shared at the Thanksgiving table, this is my grace.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delinquent nature of our blog posts, there really is no excuse even though much has happened in the past few weeks. We've had family and friends visit our new home in Boise. The last two weekends we've made trips to Bonneville Hot Springs to soak ourselves in the soothing mineral water of central Idaho. We forgot to take pictures the second weekend but here are a couple of shots from the first weekend.

The hot springs are a great time and they are sure to be a hit with all of our visitors!

We had our first North Carolina visitors last weekend! We hit the Hot Springs, explored downtown Boise, chilled out on the couch watching football, and celebrated birthdays. Great times, we can't wait for the next visit!

Monday we drove from Boise to Billings in a blizzard. The drive isn't bad at all in normal weather, typically it takes less than 9 hours. It took us 12 hours this trip, 6 hours of slow driving in 4 wheel drive on the I-90. We sure were glad to pull into Billings! There are about 6 inches of snow on the ground from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. There will be no plum jelly parties on this trip!

Happy Thanksgiving from snowy Montana!

Squirreling, or, a New Law of Physics

2007-11-07T20:17:00.000-05:00

Fall is the time of year that you find holes in your garden beds and your potted plants, presumably because squirrels are busily burying their winter stores and hence the title of this post. (Although, I must say that I think the holes are their digging efforts to find loot to bury, because otherwise why is there nothing in the holes and why are the holes not covered back up? At any rate, that theory negates my title so let's dismiss it. Moving on...)

A few months ago Jon and I bought a chest freezer. We debated over what size to buy: for our needs now or big enough to store our future garden haul? Should it be self-defrosting? How important is it to have a drain? Is it Energy-Star compliant? We finally settled on one and once we had it home, I learned a new law of physics: if it is empty, it will be filled.

Partly because the empty freezer stared back at me with the same hollow loneliness that I sometimes feel since moving, and partly because I have nothing better to do than to spend my evenings in the kitchen, the freezer has begun to fill. Every recipe I make is in triplicate and the leftovers are vacuum-packed in Food Saver bags. I'm barely halfway to a full freezer, but not for lack of trying.

Tonight I made French Lentil Soup, but to the recipe I added chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, and a dash of soy sauce. Each bowl was garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

Earlier this week I made massive amounts of Black Bean Chili. The recipe has been in development for the past 10 plus years I have been making it.

Black Bean Chili
Serves 4 - 6

1 cup dry black beans
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TBSP chili powder
2 tsp each of cumin, paprika, cilantro, oregano
½ tsp red pepper (more or less to adjust heat)
½ tsp salt
¼ cup red wine or red wine vinegar
1 cup macaroni noodles, al dente
1 28 oz can of high quality chopped tomatoes (Muir Glen, Parmalat)

Cover black beans with several inches of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until barely tender, about 1½ to 2 hours. Check often. Do not overcook.

In separate pot, saute onions, peppers, and garlic until tender. Add spices and saute for 1 minute. Add red wine or red wine vinegar and saute for one minute. Add tomatoes and cooked beans. If consistency is too thick, you can add some more tomatoes, tomato sauce, or black bean cooking liquid. Simmer for ½ hour or until beans are fully cooked. Meanwhile, cook noodles until al dente. Add to chili, adjust spices if necessary. Serve with grated cheese and crushed crackers or cheddar Goldfish on top. Sour cream optional.

Like freezers, empty hearts must too abide the laws of physics. Eventually, mine will fill again.

**This post is dedicated to my friend Tricia, from whom I received a pointed email this morning titled "Two Questions". It said: 1) Have you read A Primate's Memoir? 2) When are you going to post on your blog? (Incidentally, I think the original version of this recipe came from one of Tricia's cookbooks!)

He Shoots....He Scores!!!!

2007-10-24T17:05:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about basketball. Those of you that know me are aware of my lack of interest in most team sports. I'm referring to acceptance into the Boise State University Nursing program, I'm finally IN. The thick envelope came in the mail today. After all the headaches, the wait is over. It's a pretty simple letter beginning with "Congratulations Mr. Dunn", blah blah blah, you can probably guess the rest. I did try to call several folks to share the news but it seems that everyone I know was pretty busy or call screening me today. :)

What a relief it was to get that letter. I wasn't left with much assurance after checking with admissions a few weeks ago about the list. They were working through it, but not nearly as fast as they thought they would. I'll admit I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to reapply next semester.

Big smiles... and big sighs.

I'd celebrate right now with a few beers but I've got class tonight so maybe when I get home!

Recipe and Life: In Review

2007-10-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid I was vegetable-adverse, especially not a fan of the cruciferous vegetables and in particular cabbage and anything that resembles cabbage.

In 1980, I begged my parents to let me go to a Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School Sleep Away Camp for two weeks. Not because I loved Jesus, but because I loved horses. My parents waffled--my father is atheist, my mother was raised Lutheran, and we certainly weren't regulars at any religious institution. The Southern Baptist Church is pretty radical but I didn't know any of this at the age of eight. All I knew was that I was in love with the bay-colored colt in the four-foot tall poster above my bed.

Service every morning and bible study in the afternoons? Check. Wednesday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning service? Okay. Memorizing the books of the Old and New Testament? No problem. Horseback riding? Sign me up! That's right, the Southern Baptist Church lured me to Jesus with horseback riding.

The rest of my daily camp experience outside of the 10 minutes leading up to horseback riding and the 30 minutes of horseback riding was drudgery, including the food (the horseback riding wasn't that magical, either, it was more like a 30 minute tug of war with a horse hell-bent on eating every sliver of grass in sight). In my house, I was given the freedom to make my own food choices. At Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School Sleep Away Camp, you had to a) take a little of everything, with "a little" defined by the hair-netted woman wielding the spoon and b) clean your plate before you were allowed to leave the table.

So it was that I found myself alone in the cafeteria of Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School Sleep Away Camp, staring down a pile of boiled cabbage through watery eyes. I think I was a pretty dutiful child, and I remember feeling infuriated that I was being forced to do something against my will. I had three options before me: eat the cabbage, no, no, two options, efforts at eating the cabbage had already resulted in violent gagging. So I had two options before me: sit there indefinitely or stuff the cabbage surreptitiously into my empty milk carton. Not wanting to compromise my moral fiber, I tried the first for what seemed like an eternity, thinking I could wait it out. Awed by my sense of conviction, the Southern Baptist cafeteria ladies would acquiesce to letting me leave the table and my cabbage.

Not so. Eventually, I chewed bites of cabbage and spit them into my empty milk carton during faked sips. I hated to do it, but I hated the act of eating boiled cabbage even more. When I finally got to tell this story of injustice to my family, naturally, they responded with side-splitting laughter and overwhelming support by offering to serve boiled cabbage at every meal. To this day, they still think this is an excellent joke.

It appears that the experience had a narrow area of impact, limited only to boiled vegetables. These days, I will enjoy a quality cole slaw, broccoli or cauliflower in anything, and have even forayed into brussels sprouts which are essentially baby cabbages. I'm also a sucker for anything caramelized; onions, shallots, garlic, it doesn't matter. I think adding these ingredients to any dish lends an earthy sophistication.

I made the recipe below last night for dinner and it was, as Jon said, "definitely a keeper!" I modified the recipe slightly, cutting down on the added butter and oil (the original called for 6 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons oil). Photo and recipe courtesy of Con Poulos and Bon Apetit, respectively.

Brussels Sprout Hash with Carmelized Shallots

4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 pound shallots, thinly sliced
Coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 cup water

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add
shallots; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until
soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until
brown and glazed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl or plate. Do not
clean skillet.

Halve brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cut lengthwise into thin (1/8-inch)
slices. Add 1 tablespoon butter to shallot skillet and heat over
medium-high heat. Add sprouts; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté
until brown at edges, 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon
butter. Sauté until most of water evaporates and sprouts are tender
but still bright green, 3 minutes. Add shallots; season with salt and
pepper.

Nature's Paintbrush

2007-10-20T14:17:00.000-05:00

Fall weather has come a bit sooner than I thought it would here in Boise. This year seems to be a touch cooler and wetter compared to most of the historical weather data for Boise. Hopefully this wet fall will give way to a cold and snowy winter, my snowboard is so very hungry!

Most of the landscaping in our yard has begun it's annual transformation.

The lush green leaves are quickly changing to stunning red or yellow before the cool fall wind places them onto the ground. I've been out raking once already this fall and I anticipate a few more trips to the compost bin before the first snow flies.

Not all of our plants have accepted the signal to conserve energy for winter. Our roses are still blooming and putting out new growth like crazy. I wonder if they'll respond to the hard freeze we are supposed to get tonight.

An Inconvenient Truth, Indeed

2007-10-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Last night, Jon and I went to the Egyptian Theater in downtown Boise to watch Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. Not seeing the irony at first, I wanted to drive to the theater. I had ridden my bike into downtown and back twice already for a total of eight miles. I was coming down with a cold. I had been to the gym and was tired, sore. It was supposed to rain that evening. This time of year, the temperature drops into the 40s and 50s after dark--our ride home would be cold and possibly wet. Can you hear the whine?

Jon convinced me to pull up my bootstraps and get on the bike. I conceded that driving to see this movie about global climate change due to carbon emissions would be like sticking a thumb in Al Gore's eye. And that would hurt.

Within the first few minutes of the film, I realized something very important. I didn't know what global warming was, or rather, I didn't know how it worked. Nor did I understand precisely how or why the glaciers and polar ice caps were melting. I knew that global warming was bad and that CO2 emissions are a major contributing factor. I could make a general correlation but didn't understand the science behind it. I won't go into it here, just see the movie. It does an excellent job of making this erudite science accessible to the lay person.

One of the boons of moving to Boise has been our ability to commute by bicycle to 90% of any place we might need to go. The only time I need to get in the car is to go to Target, Costco, or to do a major grocery shop. Even Office Depot is downtown; yesterday Jon made me stop and buy a ream of paper and cart it home on my bike. Oh the humanity!

Back in Raleigh, I often spent up to two hours in the car on my daily commute to and from work. Now I spend 25 minutes on my bike, roundtrip. People in Boise take their bicycling and bicycle commuting seriously and it is not uncommon to see entire families riding around town. Bicycles with kid trailers are exceedingly common, as are tandem and triple parent/kid bikes. I would consider bicycle commuting to be the single most effective change I have made in addressing global climate change, but it is just not possible for everyone, just like it wasn't an option for me until recently.

Our favorite activity tracking website mycyclinglog.com has added a carbon dioxide offset calculator. Since moving to Boise on August 1st, I have saved .07 tons or 140 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions by commuting just 105 miles on the bike! That is only a savings of about $25 in gasoline, but the reality is that our overall gasoline consumption has gone down considerably (several hundred dollars per month) because everything is so much closer in Boise. Even when we do drive, nothing is very far.

For those of you that can't commute by bicycle, there are so many other options available to help offset carbon emissions and save energy. See the movie, check out the website, switch to fluorescent light bulbs, adjust your thermostat, reduce your waste, reuse things, recycle everything you can, compost, replace your bottled water consumption with filtered tap water, grow some food, eat food grown locally.

And because I know how much people like pictures, here is one for you. It has nothing to do with global warming but is just a darn cute picture of my brother and my nephew.

Keep Santa Cruz Weird

2007-10-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

We hung out in Santa Cruz, California over the weekend to celebrate a birthday in the family. There are stickers and t-shirts everywhere you look in Santa Cruz proclaiming "Keep Santa Cruz Weird". No problem, I doubt there will ever be a problem keeping the weirdness intact. It is a great California city, and weirdness might just be centered here. I didn't happen to snap a picture of the strangest sight in Santa Cruz, but thank goodness for other bloggers.

The weekend was great, it's only an hour flight to San Francisco now instead of the day long trek it used to be. Our flight was a bit delayed, but uneventful other than that. Hope everyone else had a great weekend too.

Hi from Santa Cruz!

She Wondered..

2007-10-05T19:08:00.001-05:00

Have You Ever...

2007-10-05T18:58:00.000-05:00

Wondered how much of a nerd you are? I did, and now I know.

Take the test:

Workplace Entertainment

2007-10-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

I am fortunate to work with some very colorful people. A colleague sent this email out to our team today--I thought it was funny enough to share.

"I seem to have caught an annoying cold. I'll be at home pissing and moaning about it. I'm also annoyed with the product "Kleenex" or whatever it is. I put it up to my nose, blow, and I get snot on my hand every damn time. Might as well cut out the middle man and just blow right in my hand. The product manager for that crap should be shot."

A Weekend Trip to Montana

2007-10-01T10:43:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we were on the road again, this time headed east for Montana. The weekend plans included at least one day of hard work trimming century-old apple trees in the orchard of our family farm, as well as spending some quality time with family and friends.

We left Boise just after 3am Friday morning in order to make it to Billings for lunch with the grandparents. We were both surprised at how quickly nine hours of driving passes these days when compared to our cross-country drive in July. It is a pretty drive from Boise to Billings with many different types of scenery. Eastbound from Boise almost to the Montana border you see nothing but potato, sugar beet, wheat, and malt barley fields. Even during the flattest parts of the drive you are still surrounded by mountains on the horizon. The contrast of irrigated valleys against the dry grassland of the hillsides paints a beautiful landscape for the entire drive. The drive home was equally beautiful, but different; Sunday's storm rained snow on nearly every mountain range!

Saturday: The Ranch

We got an early morning start and headed out to the ranch, having done lots of research the week prior on pruning apple trees. It was a bigger job than anticipated; we were hoping to trim dead wood, prune rubbing branches and shape the treees. We quickly realized that we only had time to trim and stack the dead limbs. The family arrived just after lunch and helped stack wood and pick apples. It was an exciting foreshadow of what family adventures are to come once we have a place to stay on the ranch.

We also had to cut down one tree that we discovered was completely rotten inside. Benign neglect (no water or pruning) has killed many of the original trees, leaving nine healthy ones: Gano, Wolf River, and Yellow Transparent varieties. The Ganos were loaded with fruit, so Leslie and I took home about 20 gallons of apples. Once the irrigation ditches are reestablished, we will be planting new trees. I have been researching all sorts of fruit to add to the orchard; cherries, pears, peaches, mulberry, and more apples.

When I was in college, my friend Betsy came up with the concept of a "last first". We would get together in the courtyard of Cafe Gardens, drink pitchers of beer, and trade last firsts--what was the last thing you did for the first time?

This weekend I had several last firsts, one being my first time using a chainsaw. I had expressed interest in learning how to use one so Jon bought me a 14" Stihl.

Sunday: I Heart Plum Jam

We arrived in Billings at the tail end of plum season and Granny and Grandpa Dunn's tree was still loaded, even after the family had made over 50 jars of jam and jelly. Here I had my second last first: my first plum ever, plucked ripe from the tree to boot.

While picking plums, Granny told me the story of this tree. The tree that stands in the yard today is actually the second tree in that spot--the original tree is gone. Granny tells how, when Jon's father died unexpectedly in late September of 1980, she wandered into the backyard and stood under the original tree, contemplating. Eventually, she found herself standing under the tree, eating plums and "feeling sorry". Granny buried one of those pits that day, and the pit grew into a tree that eventually was big enough to replace the original ailing tree. Fast forward almost exactly 27 years--Jon's sister and I made roughly 40 jars of plum jam on Sunday.

Sunday evening: Red Lodge, Montana

Jon did chores for Granny and Grandpa on Sunday afternoon. That evening, after stopping first at the ranch, we took the scenic gravel road route through Dry Creek to the quaint town of Red Lodge for pizza (incidentally some of the best pizza I have had) with friends from the next ranch over from ours. A nasty storm rolled through, bringing much needed precipitation and some pretty spectacular views.

Here we are standing on Dry Creek Road looking to the west--about 3 miles from our place.

The picture below was taken about 15 miles from our place--almost to Red Lodge. This view is to the east-northeast. Our ranch would be in the top right corner.

Before there was Boise

2007-09-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

We sold our home in Raleigh.

Emptied the house.

Stopped in at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville, Tennesee for the best-ever pancakes.

Continued on, bleary-eyed, through the hay bales of Somewhere, South Dakota.

Stopped for barbecue, hacky-sack and family time in Billings, Montana.

Toured the Beartooth Pass on bicycles.

Toured Grandpa Dunn's meticulous garden.

Spent some quality time with Granny and Grandpa, making sure to sample homemade plum jelly.

We also toured the ranch property, making mental notes of a long list of projects.

The original house on the ranch.

The original out-house on the ranch.

Chokecherries abound on the ranch--jelly is in my future!

Another lovely view.

(New) home sweet home.

Good and Bad

2007-08-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

I finished up my first week of classes tonight in the best possible way, an early release! The instructor finished the first nutrition lecture in about an hour and 15 minutes. Hopefully my two night classes will need less attention than the two day killers. I get to ride my bike to campus for my day classes, but I have to use gas twice during the week for school, isn't that cool? Only driving two days a week is going to take some adjustment.

As most folks know, Idaho is the top spot for wildfires this year. I could see three fires north of Boise while driving east on I-84 going back to Boise after class tonight. I took a picture with my phone , I must apologize for the quality of the picture. It's an awe inspiring thing to see the smoke from such a great distance. (Look above the white car and you'll see the plume of smoke, to the right and left are two more fires.)

Hopefully we won't run into any fires (or bears) while camping this weekend at Lake Cascade.

Oh, Larry!

2007-08-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

By now you have likely heard about the scandal surrounding an alleged (homosexual) bathroom incident involving Senator Larry Craig from Idaho. If not, you can read more here in the national news and here for local commentary.

When I walked into my downtown Boise, Idaho office building on Monday morning, the street was littered with picketers holding signs urging for an end to funding for the Iraq War. The Peace Coalition of Idaho is holding an event called “Bring the Iraq Occupation Home” and will be protesting outside of Senator Craig’s office building all week. In addition, “teams of two resisters will share their grievances in the congressional offices all day for the entire week.” I don’t know how much “sharing” is going on—I can see them through the office window, waiting patiently, every time I make a trip to the bathroom. See, Senator Larry Craig’s office is in my building. On my floor.

He was having a really bad Monday.

When I left the building for lunch, the TV station vans were parked out front and the cameras were set up on the sidewalk. I had to wiggle behind a camera stand to unlock my bike from the security of the tree I lock it to each morning. A different set of cameras and reporters were rolling as I left the building that night.

On Tuesday morning there they were, yep, more cameras. I saw a reporter delicately picking her nose in preparation for going on camera ("I was not picking my nose!"). As I hurried up the steps of the federal building to check for mail at the post office box, an Associated Press (AP) reporter had a woman in front of the camera and was asking for her thoughts on the Senator Craig incident. As I hurried back to work, the same AP reporter had someone else in front of the camera. Later that day, the woman I had seen being interviewed earlier walked into my yoga class at the YMCA. “Hey, weren’t you being interviewed on the steps of the federal building?”, I asked. “Yes!” she groaned. "That guy totally cornered me and I was just like, ughhh!”

There you have it folks:

"What are your thoughts on the Senator Craig scandal?"

"Ughhh!"

Today, Wednesday--repeat. The Peace Coalition folks are still protesting outside and ~~sharing their thoughts~~ sitting quietly in the waiting room of Senator Craig’s office. I have yet to catch a glimpse of him so I doubt he is entertaining visitors in his office. Maybe I can find him in the men’s room…

Seriously, he is having a really bad week. I spoke with one of the Peace Coalition activists and they said their protest is completely independent of the scandal. They have had this event planned for months. The gentleman I spoke with expressed some chagrin that they were being upstaged by this whole gay bathroom thing.

And, oh, what a ~~circus~~ scandal it is. Regardless of my political beliefs and the likelihood that they have little in common with Senator Craig’s, the entire incident seems very subjective and overblown to me. I actually feel sorry for him. I kind of doubt that a multi-term senator was propositioning a random male bathroom stall neighbor in the Minneapolis airport (that presumably was there to take a dump—how sexy is that?) by tapping his foot three times and running his hand palm facing up under the stall divider. I think he just needed some toilet paper to wipe his own ass.

And furthermore, last night on the local news they interviewed a man (I forget his name but he had the title “Gay Man” under his name so clearly he is an authority) who said that tapping three times and running your hand under the stall divider is not how you proposition for sex. At least, not in Minneapolis.

Update: 1:58pm MT
I was just stopped in the hallway and asked by a reporter/cameraman team if I wanted to be interviewed.
"About what?" I should have said.
"No, thank you," I said.
"Really?" the incredulous reporter said. "You are the first person to turn me down for an interview. Don't you want to add your two cents?"
"The only place I share my two cents is on my blog, where I can be fairly certain my audience wants to hear my thoughts."
"And it won't be edited!" piped the cameraman.