Yesterday

One of the things that amazed me most about the election yesterday was how little we heard about Barack Obama being black. In some circles I'm sure that was the main subject, but not from where I sat. For me, I was impressed how this was about new vs. old, change vs. status quo, anybody vs. President Bush.

Just for grits and shiggles I went to Fox News this morning, and saw two of the comment areas: Why Did John McCain Lose? and Why Did Barack Obama Win?

I went into both, and unfortunately read some incredibly ignorant, frightened, and racist comments. Hopefully Fox has either taken them down, or handed them over to the Secret Service.

A friend on Facebook wrote she was wondering where we go from here. My answer was, I dunno, but a lot of people would have to work VERY hard to do more damage to the country and the world than has been done in the past eight years.

I'm not much of a figurative Kool-Aid drinker (literally, however, I love the stuff), so my expectations for President Obama are realistic. Part of me wants him to use the executive signing statement as much as President Bush has, except to use it within the law and for good purposes. But really, instead of tit for tat, I think America needs a steady hand, an articulate voice, and a less petulant personality in our leader.

As usual, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert provided brilliant insight and analysis, while CNN premiered their holographic analyst. That's a head-shaker, that one.

Winter is approaching quickly, the wood pile needs a little more attention, and there are many rocks left to skip before the snow covers them. Now is not the time to just sit back and coast. The bloviators are catching their breath and regrouping, and the Republicans are still stunned. Gotta keep working, people.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S.

I can't comprehend how the presidential candidates sustain their schedules. Recently I was in San Jose for five intense days of meetings, and I was exhausted for two days when I got home. The pace, the demands, the energy required to do what they've done is remarkable.

In 2000, I voted for Nader. Governor Bush's primary campaign against Senator McCain -- really, a foretaste of his presidency -- was nasty, deceitful, and brutally effective. I didn't believe Al Gore best represented my interests, and I thought George Bush was a political aberration.

Senator McCain employs many who got George Bush elected in the anti-Clinton wave, but McCain's caught in a torrent of anti-Bush sentiment. He's been grabbed by a thresher, with blades named Bush, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Perle, Rumsfeld, Rove, Miers, Gonzales, Feith, Ridge, Brown, Chertoff, Ashcroft... (and that's without using The Google!). Even Governor Palin, undoubtedly picked for her uncanny resemblance to President Bush in mentality, philosophy, experience and vocabulary, hasn't seemed to help the McCain campaign much.

Should Barack Obama win, he will not (cannot) save the nation. The debt, the wars, the economy, the culutre of corruption, the propaganda, the unitary executive, the mistrust, the bold and bald admitted lies; these are why George Bush's approval ratings are in the low 20's, and no one can easily or quickly confront (much less overcome) obstacles that large.

But tomorrow morning I'll gladly, proudly vote at the Swan River Elementary School (Go Warriors!). I hope you all do the same, whomever your candidates are.

Oh. Except, don't all show up at Swan River Elementary (Go Warriors!). That wouldn't work.

Ridiculous

Over a month since I last updated this blog? Insanely ridiculous, that. So much going on, such wonderful weather, so much to blab about. Let's start with the super good.

This nasty-looking beast is Scout, the newest member of my cousin Lynn's family. Scout is a black lab, famous for their energy, but she has two boys, Jake and Nicholas, to run her ragged and teach her the ways of the world. The first time I met her, she ran right up and put a couple little puppy piranha teeth into my hand. But dangit she's cute, so it didn't really hurt.

Whenever we next see her, be it next month or next spring, she'll be huge (and, no doubt, just as menacing a cur as she is in this photo).

Now for some sad news. These are a couple lovely apples from one of the trees on the property. It was was right on the river, between my grandma's and aunt and uncle's places. I say "was" because a few weeks ago a beaver got it. I'm bugged threefold: 1) the beavers have been active all year, so I should have seen this coming and could have easily prevented it; 2) of all the apple trees here, this by far produced the biggest and sweetest fruit; 3) I have no desire whatsover to either kill the beavers or see them gone, but when Monique and I found the tree down, I was not pleased with the thoughts of revenge / vengeance that entered my little mind.

All the other apple trees are protected, as are some of the shrubs, which the beaver have started taking en masse. But there are too many to protect, so it's got to be selective. One willow stump I protected this spring has 6' shoots; that one will stay protected.

In the living room, we have a 4'x5' window about 12' off the floor; from the outside, it's about 20' off the ground. It was cracked and had moisture between the panes, so we wanted it replaced. When "The Guy" came over to do it, I helped as I could, but much of it was left to his strength, balance, and confidence of hauling a broken window down a 24' ladder and pushing the replacement up the same ladder. Long story short, it's in, but it was almost a tragedy as Jeremy was very nearly knocked off the ladder as he moved the new window into the frame. I was on a ladder inside the house, watching as the window started backward -- there was nothing I could do. I still shudder at that image. Luckily (and unbelievably) he recovered his balance and somehow kept the window from falling.

Lastly, autumn is fully here. No snow in the Swans yet, but we're hopeful, maybe for the weekend. The turkeys have come back, we have a deer lick out and more hearty bird food in the feeder than just the black oil sunflower seeds.

Peace, and for our American friends who aren't (convicted) felons, please remember to vote next Tuesday.

Really, It's That Time Again?

Yep, really. The first dusting of autumn snow fell on the Swan Range while we were in Arizona, there are piles of bear poo around, the turkeys are back, and we... are... home.

Home from a long, hot weekend in El Mirage, AZ, where theater simple worked their interpersonal magic and interviewed dozens of residents about what they like about their current community, and what they look forward to in the future.

Thanks to everyone's kindness and hospitality, and huge thanks to Maria, Racquel, Mike, and Jan.

Oh, and Monique is home, which is a grand thing. The latest installment of Myth Understandings went well, and Gerda's Journey was a hit. I'm confident this fall's run without Monique will be good, too, 'cause ya can't have her back right away!

We brought Christine, who plays the main character in Gerda's Journey, back to The "Cabin" with us. She was a superb houseguest and had no trouble embracing The Way of The "Cabin" almost immediately.

The first apples were picked and pied, the last of my huckleberries were eaten, and the inaugural game of Apples to Apples was played. We had a blast, and hopefully she'll be back to take more naps here.

It is quiet, it is dark, it is cool, and it is home. Four fundamentally good things. Peace!

Of Sleep and Sugar Water

Clockwise from top: Dad, Silas, Lucy, Carla

I'm done apologizing for not posting as often as I could/would/should. There is something funny about this place, this "cabin," that makes one sleepy. I took this picture on the first day -- the first day! -- of our family reunion last weekend. Note the supreme gravity draw on the two dobies and my pop. Carla's only just hanging on.

I cannot be expected to blog in whatever bizarre hyper-relaxatory field is produced here. [note to work: just kidding]

The reunion was a blast, but I won't show pics 'cause I mostly took photos of the kidlings. Carla and I floated the river, my dad and I put new gate posts in at the road, and it was a good turnout in great weather. Grandma was in terrific form, saucier and funnier than I've seen her in a couple years. She's our matriarch, no doubt.

Monique was missed and asked about. Because I have a big ol' head cold, I say this for her sake... I'm glad she's not here right now. My sinuses have a grand capacity, and my head is very thick these past few days. If she were here she'd be taking care of me, and I'd be more focused on plowing through this. As it is, I'm doing well taking care of myself (made a big pot of homemade chicken soup the other day), and sort of "being" with my fogginess.

The birds are keeping me alert, going through two cups of bird seed every couple days, and a cup of hummingbird food every four. The day lily is about to bloom, as are the coneflowers, and yesterday I made it outside long enough to pluck and chomp our first ever raspberry. How cool is that!

In the good ol' summertime

Monique took this photo of a little buck eating dogbane on July 7. Summer is a good thing.

I was in San Jose last week for a productive but long business trip and an excellent reminder of how good it is working from home.

The best parts of the week were:

#4: Mild weather. The week before it'd been over 100 every day; the week I was there, it was mid-80's.

#3: Using the light rail instead of a rental car. Inexpensive, convenient, safe, and very handy. Can't wait until Seattle's opens in 2009.

#2: Seeing giant redwoods for the first time. They're freakishly big trees that grow like weeds. The Big Basin Redwood State Park has some biggies, and this page has a lot of good photos of trees we saw.

#1: Alaska Airlines customer service + my inveterate earliness = a nice long dinner with Monique in Seattle!

I was booked on the 5p flight from San Jose to Seattle, but got to the airport early enough to see the 3p beginning to board. I asked if there were seats available, and not only got on the flight, but got an aisle seat in an exit row... hello LEGROOM! It was a wonderful flight up, Monique picked me up at the airport, and we drove to Spiros in Kent, my favorite Greek restaurant in all of Seattle.

After a great meal, we went for a little walk. It was a totally un-hectic, good couple of hours together.

It's good to be home.

My Early 42's

Last Monday was my birthday, and Tuesday was Monique's. For mine we hiked into the Jewel Basin, a "neighborhood" hiking area with many alpine lakes. This shot is on the way to Black Lake, one of the easier destinations. You can see a little strip of Flathead Lake on the right.

I've hiked into the Jewel several times on my birthday... one year the glacier lilies were in full bloom, the next year there was snow everywhere. This year was in-between, with some snow around and wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

In the afternoon we went for a float, got pizza, and relaxed, which we're quite good at. Turning 42 means nothing. I'm healthier and happier than when I was 32, and my life is better and fuller. Wisdom -- if I have any -- has come slowly, but then, I've always tried to pace myself.

For Monique's birthday we borrowed a sit-on kayak from my cousin Tom and, with our sit-in kayak, paddled from The "Cabin" to the bridge outside Bigfork. In a little over two hours we saw a huge amount of the river that was new to both of us. There are surprisingly, wonderfully, stunningly large undeveloped areas, so now it's easier to understand from where all the moose might come.

I eventually woulda explored the river, but Monique's wanted to do it pretty much since she first saw it. I appreciate her adventurousness and curiosity, AND the fact that it's responsible adventurousness.

For dinner we went to a nice restaurant in Bigfork and had salmon and garlic mashed potatoes. Garlic + Mashed Potatoes = lovely.

General note to floaters on the river: if you bring refreshments on your float, please think ahead and have a place for the empties. The river and riverbank are really thoughtless, stupid. On a completely unrelated topic that probably deserves its own paragraph but I've already started typing so why bother, I'm thinking of getting a pellet gun. You know, the kind with enough power to puncture... ooh, say, inflatable objects.