Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A declaration of thoughts, being thought.

Our dog chases planes. She spots a plane, flying oh so very high up in the sky, and then she takes off across the ground, running and looking up to make sure she's still going in the right direction.
She also chases birds, which is more normal dog behavior. Yesterday she spotted a Great Horned Owl with a dying, squeaking rabbit flopping from it's claws. She ran instantly after it, with Taylor in hot pursuit, and after 3 miles and a highway crossing, she succeeded in cornering the owl in a tree, and somehow getting it to drop it's quarry, now very much dead. Then she systematically crunched up the bones to make it more consumable, and swallowed the thing whole.
This incident has served to convince me that my Power Animal can no longer be the Snowshoe Hare, as I have stated in a previous post. No, it cannot be, because Taylor has decided that his Power Animal is a Lynx, and Moma has decided that her Power Animal is some sort of Feral Canine, and both of those prey on rabbits and hares. I cannot be eaten by my own family.
And, I know, Taylor and I only heard of Power Animals through the movie 'Thumbsucker,' and we thought of it as a joke (and still do), but the thing is is that I am a firm believer in the phrase "Every joke has a heart of truth" (a thank you to my mom, for repeating that enough to make me believe it), so a change has to happen.
The dilemma is now this, and I'm going to pose it as a question you would ask on a first date that is going very, very poorly: if I had to choose an animal, what would I be?
And the answer is, I don't know, but here are some contenders:
Caribou- the females have antlers as well so they can protect their babies from rampaging bull caribou who only want one thing from the nursing mother (and we all know what it is that men want...)
Walrus- whiskers, overgrown buck teeth, and wrinkly skin is what I have to look forward to when I'm old anyways, so why not embrace it right now?
Stegosaurus with triplets- by the looks of it, I will be well at ease in the city life, and the babies are cutie patooties, so that's all the reasons I need!

Postcript: I am not a writer, I am a reader- and that is why everything I write sounds like something you have read, because I have a sponge for a brain. Hopefully someday I will think of something original, something that will be a mix of all I have read with some inspiration thrown in- and it will be grand.
I've decided that the greatest thing to happen for most people would be for them to have just one original thought in their entire lives, just one would be enough to convince them... to convince them to think, and to do something with those thoughts, because they would then be searching for the next original thought.
Or maybe they wouldn't- because I am also convinced the the majority of the world are not thinkers, but absorbers- and that is scary because absorbers are followers, and followers in large numbers are mobs, and mobs are lead by thinkers who know their followers are foolish and unthinking, and want someone else to do the hard work for them.
This we must be aware of, and fight against- we must fight against the dark thinkers, and against the lethargy that always wants to overtake the thinking mind, and turn it into an absorbing mind. But awareness, and recognition, of that danger is half the battle- most don't even get that far!
So take heart, man, and see that you are alive! And only once! And for not very long! Wasting time is foolish, but being a blank-sheet absorber- a sponge with no destination- is even more than foolish- it is stamping your foot at wisdom, and pissing at the feet of God. We must take vows of moral courage if we are to live this life well, and I take mine- to seek wisdom so that I may get closer to my goal of creating something new, and by doing that- to see God. Creation is devotion, and devotion is obedience, and I will obey Him who gave me my thinking, reasoning, rational mind.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Oh, to be an adventurous old lady!

It has been so long (21 days) since I last communicated with the World Wide Blogosphere that I am half-ashamed. But only half.
Moma, our fine furried friend, is a truly awesome animal. Look at this picture and see the truth of that statement. Not much is better than a sleeping puppy posing as a praying mantis:
We've been spending a lot of time cross-country skiing. There are only a few trails around here that dogs are allowed on legally, and one of them has a waterfall as a destination.
One of the best things about going out and skiing is that we have met a lot of really sweet old ladies and their equally sweet dogs- one such Grand Dame is 84 years old, has a bum knee, and still goes skiing almost every day. We first met her right near this waterfall:
Long before Christmas Taylor and I made up this really fantastic package and sent it to our just-as-fantastic friends, Scott and Claire, who are living in Italy for a year or so. And two days ago, we got it back. What the devil is that all about?! The stamp on the package said the address was wrong- but it isn't because they received a letter we sent them! Those Italians are just plain nutters!
So, dear Claire and Scott, here is a picture of what international mail did to your Christmas present, and we are saving it for you until you get back:
Also, as I am sure most of you are aware, there was a total eclipse of my heart... and also the moon.
And I need you now tonight, And I need you more than ever...

Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark

We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
:
Going to the library is, and always has been, one of my favorite things to do. All the long aisles with high bookshelves, and the millions of options, and the collective smell of thousands of books- it's all so comfortable. Taylor and I have totally raided our library's collection of falconry guides (Taylor), how-to books on the art of composting toilets (both of us), and great novels by Margaret Atwood, Roald Dahl, and Julia Alvarez (me):
Squirrel says, "Howdy-doo-dee, friends, neighbors, and countrymen. I'm a reading fool!"

Sunday, February 10, 2008

A Saturday night at home...

Drunken samurai ninja warrior devils on the loose!


Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Soul of a Skier, the Heart of a Lion, the Mind of a Giant.

Taylor and I went on a cross-country skiing expedition, and even though I am a complete beginner to the sport, I got Taylor's approval, and he is a former Competitive Athlete. And I am a total convert to the coolness of the sport even though, I admit, I always thought cross-country skiers were really dorky, and I still do, but in a cool way now (because, take a gander at my outfit, and tell me I am not doing my best to uphold the belief that cross-country skiers are silly nerds).
Taylor found a mound, a giant scary mound, and my downhill-skiing soul took over, and so, in confusion of what sport I was actually participating in, I gave a whoop of delight, and was off! And then I was done. Just that quickly:


Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Veenter Vonderland

There is a sign in the ski school yurt where I work selling lessons. My coworkers and I have debated what it could have originally been intended for, but we are at a loss. We have a very low-risk job, and most of the girls have long hair, and we've all been known to wear scarves, and I can't say that my clothing is all that tight fitting:
Mighty winter storms have been hanging out with us, which makes walks with Moma really fun, since she is a regular Snow Poodle. See if you can spot her perfectly posed body in this shot:
Her favorite thing is to run full-tilt and then lower her head and scoop up the delicious snow in her mouth. Or to bury her head under the snow and just lay there, content. We have to dust her off a lot:
Something got this Poor Coyote; we think a car hit him or some fool idiot shot him for fun. He was really pretty though, and surprisingly healthy for it being the middle of winter. We found him before the snowfall, and now he's just a lovely little outline under a juniper tree:

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Epidermaly Bereft, and Happy for it.

Not only was today National Pie Day, but it was (self-declared) National Alpenglow Appreciation Day. Both holidays were duly celebrated, with a big HUP HUP HUP to Bob-my-father-in-law for the pie, and a mighty slap on the back to Taylor and I for getting up really early (and on my day off) to make it up the hill by the time the alpenglow was in full bloom.
We ran, really hard, in the -3 degree weather, and all the heaving and gasping I was doing frosted myself right up:
But all of our efforts payed off BIG time when we saw the beauty of the splendid Cascades and a full moon to boot. You can see that Moma really got into the spirit of the day:
Also today we went and saw a concert (Taylor's first one since last August! Crimeny!). A band called Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles rocked us out of our skins. I'm totally skinless right now, and I will be for a while, because of their hard rockin' rockin-ness. And if you don't go out and check these guys out, you will never know the pleasure of having your epidermis fall off out of pure musical satisfaction.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Colors!

I know it has been 13 days since I last wrote, but I truly had nothing to say. Our puppy is doing well, I am working full time at the mountain being a barista, and Taylor is ship shape as ever- but isn't writing just to say that merely being boastful? And am I being boastful right now by oh so artfully slipping in how well everything is?
In any case,I now have something to show- this picture I found of a building in Iowa or Ohio or one of those silly Midwest states, and it's beautiful, and worth a post. It makes me think of great colors, and how I should think in colors more often:

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Part Three: The Grand Entrance and Exit of General George Custer.


(Read the words of General Custer first in each frame)




*Extra points to the reader who recognizes the awesome movie reference in the last frame.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Moma Hearts Nature.

Our dog has decided that she wants to be a deer. We have a resident herd of mule deer that hang out on the lawn most evenings, and Moma's favorite thing in life is to sit about 20 feet away from them and just stare- for hours. We once left her out there for two hours (supervised, OBviously), and she only moved her eyeballs. She is just about the raddest dog in the history of canines: