Please Happy

Music On Main.

Thank you, Driggs. Thank you, Friends.

.

(Thank you to DLo, of DanielLongPhotography,

who snapped the above golden moment.)

.

Hysteric giggling, song singing, silence, hours of conversation.
Dawn, sun, wind, clouds, lightning (once we were back in The Meadows), hail (in the Boulder Field).
Walking uphill, climbing uphill, scrambling, roping up, unroping, rappelling, down climbing, walking down, glissading, jogging, dragging, skipping, walking slow. Down.
Rocks, flowers, rocks, snow, deer, bugs, grit, pee, poop, poop bag, rushing water, water trickling.
Breathing, breathing, singing, sighing, breathing, talking, laughing, breathing, panting, holding breath, breathing.
Blisters, bruises, callouses, high-fives, fist pumps, peace signs, tight grips, open hands, stemming, scraping, moving, moving.
Breathing, moving, stepping, hopping, jumping, walking, walking, walking.

.

.

Flip flops for pruney feet, Bacon cheeseburgers, water, coke, ice packs.

Asleep with the lights on.

Thankful, smiling, loving, breathing, exhausted, excited.
.
This Mountain. This Valley. My Friends.

.

Today, I’m double posting.
These are the same photographs I put on my Cloudveil work blog. It’s my final week with administrative duties there, and I wanted to give a shout-out to the Tetons, to Jim, to the silence of the morning, to the dark, then blue, then pink and golden morning light.

Because I babysit early in the morning until late at night, my windows for mountain adventure are limited. Jim was game to go early.

Meet me at 4:15, he said.

We put in at Pacific Creek in Grand Teton National Park just as the stars faded into pale blue.

Breathe deep the fresh river wind, rose alpenglow, floating mergansers, slapping and dunking beaver, swooping bald eagles, quiet, quiet, quiet. Raspberry rhubarb muffins, steaming coffee and tea, Teton history and more quiet. We saw no one else from Pacific Creek to Dead Man’s Bar. Just the three of us, on a raft, under the changing sky and brightening day, watching the awakening world pass by.

The old LG has had its day,
For hundreds of batteries, I had to pay.
It played the NFL tone too loud.
For that accidental ring, I wasn’t proud.

Toward the end of its life, the phone required a hair band, a ski pole and The Chicago Manual of Style for charging.

I talked in the shower, in the car, in the rain.
My hard love cause it much pain.
And so this flip phone flopped,
it suddenly stopped
(screen went blank
antennae tanked).

It kept me connected for several years.
But, now that’s it gone, I shed no tears.
For while it served me well at best,
I can’t pretend I’m sad it’s at rest.

Shabby charger, phone in pieces on its last day. R.I.P., LG (which, I just learned stands for Life’s Good).

For in its demise, I found a light.
The end of the tunnel was quite bright.
My new phone buzzes, beeps and clicks.
With only a brush from my finger tips.

It’s hooked to my laptop, I get email
it’s a total techgeek fairytale:
I know the time in every state,
In Brussels right now, it’s rather late.

It holds my music, calculates,
alerts me of speed traps, keeps me un-late.
I can play golf, ski jump and even shoot skeet,
review restaurants before I eat.

It will tell me what song is playing right now,
teach me how to grill a cow.
I can read books on its screen, and track my trips.
It has manuals for everything and tons of tips.

So, yes, I’m sad the old phone died.
But, this new one, wow. It satisfies.
I press and slide and tap with glee.
So many apps to download for free.

So, goodbye old and hello new.
I don’t know how I lived without you.
There’s so much to show me, so much to do.

(And the actual phone part is pretty cool, too.)

Proud new mama.

Walked to the Jackson Hole Farmers Market today. My first and last trip this season.

En route, a bounding black lab rushed over to me. Gorgeous dog.

Said hi to his human and kept going.

Man, then, stopped me: Excuse me.

I turned around.

Me: Yeah? (I had just woken up, and still felt a little dazed.)

Man: I’m wondering if you’re in a position to meet someone new.

Wow. The Most Classy line I’ve ever heard. Obviously a nice guy.

I said I wasn’t, but asked his name (B.) and introduced myself, shook his hand, and went to market.

Thank you, B. For being classy and open and brave. And for paying me such a compliment first thing in the morning. I hope that line works on someone special for you!

(At the market, I bought beets, onions, spring mix, spinach, kale, cilantro, garlic, cherries and raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. The berries are already gone.)

The pic is of C’s basket.

Milkiest milky way.
Sheep huddle, thick and silent.
Quietest quiet, save wind through sagebrush.
Until a dog barks.
Wolf.