Eclipse Diaries, Day Two

Driving home from the Moran Station 4 training last night (Moran sits at the north end of the valley, Hoback sits at the south end; the drive is about 47 miles through Grand Teton National Park and the Town of Jackson), I pondered the black dark sky.  Days are getting shorter, the mornings are cool, and fall is in the air.

The stars pinned light holes through the black velour skyscape.  How will the two minutes of darkness on Monday differ from the darkness of the night?  This morning, I looked up to the sun's position at 10:30 after a morning briefing with the Forest Service.  Brightly shining in a clear, blue sky, I tried to attach the sun's position on my internal compass for Monday bearings.  

This once-in-a-lifetime event brings up all kinds of deep emotions.  A once-in-a-lifetime event stirs up thoughts of mortality and brings a layer of depth and real meaning to the event.  Looking up to the sky rustles up the wonder of the universe and how stupidly small we ego-bound, self righteous humans can be under a galaxy of planets, stars, comets, and this eclipse.  Like our concerns mean anything!  We are mere molecules in the vastness of it all!

Today is a day of agency briefings for me.  Finishing up one, preparing for the next.  The Forest Service facilitator noted 100,000 people are expected to descend upon our mountain town.  Everyone is planning.  Patience is the key word as we watch our streets and highways condense their lanes with traffic.  A gas station ran out of fuel yesterday.  The grocery stores are a mess.  I have heard that gas, ice and booze will be the commodity items as this continues to intensify.  I have a bet with a friend about grid lock.  She doesn't think we will grid lock.  I say we will.  We are not sure how to put rules on this bet, but we both are sure we will know who the winner is by next Tuesday.  I win a eggplant Parmesan meal.  She gets to pick the meal of her choice, should I lose.  Both meals will be graced with ample bottles of big, red wine and we will look back on the Great American Eclipse.

You can watch in live time how busy the downtown intersection is getting and how many people are walking around the square by checking out Jackson's Web Cam (just click on the words and it will take you right to the web cam).

Tomorrow will be one day closer.  Close to the eclipse, closer to the eclipse being over, and closer to the things we don't yet know of what is coming.

May the Universe be With Us!!

Eclipse Diaries

I do not have time for this.  But I will make time.

For the last two years, many of us in this county have been planning for this Monday's event, the total eclipse of the sun.  There have been meetings and more meetings to the point of ad nauseum.  Rooms filled with overstuffed people and inflated egos, passing out paper and chewing on chocolate covered donuts.

Unlike most events, no one can predict what will happen.  Take a car crash.  You expect highway blockage, the need for one or two medic units, bleeding and stressed out patients, the possible need for extrication.  But this event.  This event is unpredictable.

Rumors abound.  300 people climbing Sleeping Indian Mountain to watch the shadow race across the valley floor.  Masses of people driving into the valley from the three ways in Monday morning.  Cell phones are anticipated to fail.  Radio repeaters are already down with frenzied repair technicians repairing lightning damage from last week; just discovered.  I have packed 4 walkie talkies and three packages of AAA batteries to feed them, just in case.

It has been personally verified that the grocery stores and their associated parking lots are a war zone.  Produce is wiped clean from display cabinets.  Customers are surly in their angst to make sure they get their goods.  A sense of anxiety it thick through the barren aisles.

Also verified, the increase of traffic on all streets.  Grid lock is expected.  There are air resources ready for responder and patient transportation.  Civil Air Patrol will fly the darkening sky the day of the eclipse to provide updates for highway congestion.

I am sad Mike and I will be separated in distance during this remarkable event.  He will be in Hoback ready to respond for calls out of his station and I will be in Moran, acting as a North Division Deputy Chief.  I wish we could share this together.  Our commitment to this community pulls us apart.  We swore the oath years ago.

Baring the lack of internet, I will make a daily entry into this blog, noting my observations on The Great American Eclipse event about to happen here in Teton County, Wyoming, the Path of Totality going right through the airport.

It won't be something we forget.  It will challenge us and push us to work together.  And it just might be so amazingly awesome that we sit back and say, wow, that was really something!

Here are two great articles - if you have time for reading - that are worth the reading. Join The Crowd!  and a bit longer, but exceptional piece Annie Dillard's Writing   Enjoy.

White Farm House Make-Over

Mike has been working hard on the white farm house getting ready for the new renters who will be moving in tomorrow.  There will still be work to be done after they move in, but not nearly as much as there was one week ago!  Here is the new kitchen floor.  The two bedrooms, living room, ,and front entry got a new pecan laminate floor.  Things are looking good!!

Monthly Photo

The smoke finally went away and stormy skies made for a beautiful Sunday at the farm.  Mike, Mom, and I made the final touches on the white farm house, readying it for the new renters, arriving this week.  The day of work was a break after Saturday's busy Hoback BBQ picnic, feeding over 1000 people.  It is such a huge effort on so many peoples' part - pulled it off again.  It seems to get just a bit easier every year.

Pictures from the Picnic....Mom's "Solar Eclipse" quilt went for $4,500!  It was so wonderful to have her present and able to witness this community's generous support!

This week, we all take a deep breath and get ready for the big, solar eclipse event coming up in one week.  After next week, life should settle down a bit.  Many of us are looking forward to the break!!  

Stay safe out there.

Perfect Rice!!

Yup.  Another Insta Pot recipe.  Someone told me these things were getting sold on TV in those commercials everyone dreads.  If this is so, I am really glad I do not have a TV.  I would have never bought one!  Clearly, I love this thing.  Here is another recipe to try!  This cut from my adventures using OneNote.

Mac & Cheese, Made Easy

  

 

Noodle cooking is usually a mess for me.  Preferring gluten free noodles, they get gummy, stick to the bottom of the pan and each other.  I'm never very proud of my noodles.  

 

They rave about noodle cooking in an Insta Pot on the web.  What is there to lose?  I give it a try..... 

 

Here is the simple step by step process: 

 

Put 1 pound of noodles in the Insta Pot.  Add 4 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of butter, and 2 teaspoons of salt (unless you add ham, as shown above – then no salt needed).  Put on the lid, set to high pressure for 4 minutes and release the steam to find perfectly cooked noodles inside.  

 

Throw in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (oh my, oh my!!) and 2 cups of shredded cheese.  This will all ooze and melt together, stir a bit, add some pepper and be very very proud of your perfect noodles!!   

 

PS  After this batch, I made another for the folks selling tickets tonight for the Hoback Volunteer Firefighter BBQ picnic happening Saturday, August 12 noon – 4pm at Astoria Hot Springs – join us for delicious (non Insta Pot cooked) BBQ ribs and the fixin's and the fun!   $15 gets you in and then you get a $20 gift card for the Hoback Market – how can you go wrong with that kind of a deal?   

 

PSS  After the second batch, I made a red lentil soup.  It's about to be finished..... 

 

This is what the mac & cheese looks like, when the lid comes off!!

 

 

 

Today's Insta Pot Discovery

This morning........rolled oats oatmeal out of the Insta Pot in 4 minutes!!  Check it out at Oatmeal for Breakfast!!  I'm getting some steel cut oats next!!  Did I tell you about the baked beans I made for our Sunday night party?  Delicious!!

Off to see Yo Yo Ma perform tonight at GTMF .  Should be awesome!!

Taming the Beast

This lawnmower was a gift from Tom Breen.  It is a 1977 Ariens model 16 horse mower with a big mowing deck.  Since we got the mower, fondly referred to as the "Beast", Michael has fussed with the ignition switch, the choke lever, changed the fuel filter (no wonder we were going through gas so fast!!), and then the mower belt (a challenging task indeed!).  There was an incident in which the thing could have easily caught on fire!

Cut grass last weekend and it's running like a charm! This old lawn mower has new life!!

The Picture You've Been Waiting For!

Yup.  There was a sliver in his hand.  Complete with paint even!!  I picked Michael up from recovery (they knocked him out for the digging around procedure) around 6 pm last night.  Here is a picture of what was causing all the fuss.

Of course, the sliver was in his right hand.  He is on his way this morning to the farm to figure out if changing irrigation pipe one-handed is even possible.  Doctor visit tomorrow.  All are hoping for a quick recovery.  That takes care of this year's health insurance deductible!!  We wait for the culture results to see what kind of bad stuff came along with the sliver of wood.

Hand Surgery

Two weeks ago, Michael went shopping at Home Depot.  While there, he got stabbed by a piece of wood, right in the crook of his hand, palm side, by his thumb.  The next day, his hand started swelling fast.  He found a doc.  The doc dug around and sent him home with antibiotics.  Yesterday, taking the last pill, there was still a tender spot.  Called the local (famous) hand doc.  This afternoon, he had surgery on that hand!

She called to tell me a 2cm sliver -with paint - was found!  Surrounded by infection, they will do a culture to know how to kick the germ's asses.  He's in recovery (surprise on that for me) and I am off to pick him up here shortly.

It rained all day on the alfalfa.  Perhaps he might think about taking tomorrow off......

Sorry I don't have a cool picture to share!!

Crazy-Cooking!

Okay, I am super-sold on this new appliance; my Insta Pot.  All week I have been trying out new recipes.  It's been hot and I am really pleased with the fact that the entire kitchen isn't getting hot as I cook.  A bonus, for sure.

So far, 3 successful batches of Jasmine rice (really, you say....you two are eating that much rice?), beef broccoli, pork roast, Asian beef, a whole chicken, and the best of best of all - potato salad.

I gotta say, I was sure this was going to be a disaster.  Following the online recipe, I put water with chunked potatoes into the pot and added 4 raw eggs.  Set them right on top the potatoes.  Closed it up and cooked it.  I was sure when I opened the thing I'd find egg whites and yolks and shells all over the thing.  Nope!  It worked!  The eggs were hard boiled, the potatoes cooked perfectly - done, but yet firm.  Michael is raving about this potato salad.  Says it's the best he's ever had!! Of course the dressing is key, but still, the eggs - they didn't burst!! Who woulda guessed?!  Here is a picture of what this looks like before the lid goes on.....

You can find the recipe at Miracle Potato Salad

Fast, furious exhausting work continues on the Freedom Farm.  Mike has been dealing with an infection from a puncture wound (he may need surgery.....), a tweaked back, an ancient (free) Ariens lawn mower with a blown belt and cracked fuel filter (no wonder it was slurping up so much gas!), hot and dry weather (the alfalfa needs irrigation), post holes that won't dig, and Hoback picnic ticket sales.  Starting tonight.  Groan.  Oh, I forgot to mention we had no water at home one day too.  That required a new pump, cleaning of a filter, and now the door - left open by the well dude  and ripped off during a storm - needs replaced (note, I did not say repaired).  

This is the view over a neighbor's barley field.  Beautiful, soft fields grace the country landscape.  This is beer barley.  Really pretty fields down south now. 

Another Appliance

We live in a small space.  There is no room for superfluous items.  In fact, it would be good to cull some things away to the second hand store!

So, when I kept reading about this new contraption called the Insta Pot, I resisted.  The thing kept showing up - especially on one of my favorite blog sites, French Blog Writer .  She raved about the thing.

Then, I had some baked beans made by a friend after branding their calves and cows.  The beans were delicious!  Pam couldn't quit raving about the thing and went on and on about its many features.

So, I did some research.  This is an electric pressure cooker, a crock pot, a machine that can saute and then pressure or slow cook, a really great RICE cooker (something I've always wanted but hesitated on getting; another appliance!), and much more, from what I'm learning.

The thing is intimidating.  I will confess, I was intimidated.  There are a bunch of buttons and it's a pressure cooker!!  Following the directions, learning the parts and buttons, one can feel comfortable using the thing in two or three tries.

So far, I've made two successful batches of jasmine rice.  Easy peasy and quick!  I pressure cooked up a thin sliced tri tip and seasoned it into something quite delicious and tender for an excellent dish served over the rice.  Last night, a whole chicken went into the thing.  In less than an hour, the chicken was tender and cooked through with nice, tasty juices - to serve over the rice!

Anyway, I recommend this.  Yes, it is one more appliance.  However, currently the thing now lives on my stove top - and not only for the reason that I haven't figured out where to store it - I'm using the thing every chance I can.

A great gift for your favorite cook who is sure to groan about another appliance, certain to be a bit intimidated by all the buttons, and almost guaranteed to fall in love with the thing!! All this for $100!!

PS.  There are tons of recipes on Pinterest.

Back from the Mountains

A great trip into the wilderness!  We set up camp and did day rides out.  Wonderful.  Relaxing.  The bugs were not bad and the stock - including all the dogs - did great.  New pack tripper, Jaicie (age 9), rode in on So-Long Sally and impressed us all.  Good kid!  We came out on our 11th year anniversary day (good grief, how did all those years fly by so fast??) and have since enjoyed spending some time with Jean and George.  Another sour cherry tree was planted at the Franch yesterday and today's tour took us all to Red Rock Ranch up the beautiful Gros Ventre drainage.  Nice to see you on the road today Addie!  Have a great day and next week - you are all in the midst of your summer busy season.  The place looks beautiful!!  Flowers are gorgeous!  

Hot Hayin' Weather

If we had full-grown alfalfa, we would be full-on haying now.  Hot and dry, the neighbors work in fast frenzy to cut, rake, bale, and stack this year's crop.  Mike moves his pipe today before we leave on a pack trip which is shorter this year for many reasons - alfalfa needing water being one.

Thanks to Mom and George who arrived on Thursday for watching our place while we are gone.  Feeding the cat, the fish, the chickens and keeping the plants watered is a lot of work and we appreciate them coming!  Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Until we return, July's picture of our place.  Stay safe out there!

The Art of Cutting Grass

In the midwest - and probably around the country - large lawns reflect on one's wealth.  Growing up on the farm, we had an enormous lawn, or so it seemed to those of us charged with cutting the lawn.  A white and yellow Cub Cadet riding mower was the tool to get the job done and the job was one the youth were tasked with performing.

I recall Dad critiquing my grass cutting skills, "You're just driving around and around in circles."  As I cut the grass at our new place in Freedom, I ponder this comment, remembered from my youth so well.  To this day, I still don't understand how else one can cut grass.  As I work toward straight lines (always a goal), I find myself.....going around and around in circles.

The lawn at Hoback is a long narrow lawn on a fairly steep slope.  You ride the side of the seat most of the time to keep from tipping over.  In some places, the slope is steep enough the gas won't flow in the fuel line and you have to aggressively rock the mower - on the slope - to keep fuel running until you level out.  To date, I have not tipped over the mower.

Mike has me cut at the highest setting.  When completed, the thick lush lawn looks like a polar fleece green blanket with lighter shades of green striping it lengthwise.

I long to cut this yard on the diagonal.  The steep slope makes it pretty much impossible, but I still yearn to cut across the grain.  The small square lawn at the Jean Street AFrames made diagonal cutting a breeze and I'd change up each time I cut. Diagonal to the right, diagonal to the left, then straight across.  There are few things more visually pleasing than a fresh cut, straight-lined lawn.  This could be a personal penchant toward nicely kept lawns, I fully realize.

A day off - of work at the Franch - tomorrow.  This is the week to get gathered up for the annual pack trip vacation.  A break will be nice!

Poppies, Rain, and Hail

When Mike and I are ready to rent the white house, this will be the picture I use to advertise!  I recall a visit home and Dad's orange poppies in full bloom out by the mail box.  Always hoping for a patch of poppies, another bonus feature to our newly acquired property has presented itself!  

This week has been punctuated with black, ominous thunderstorms building up around 11am and looming overhead.  Rain and hail pour out of these angry clouds.  The hail has pummeled some places, covering the ground in white marbles.  So far, our new tender alfalfa plants have been spared. 

A tour of my Hoback garden after yesterday's morning rain storm and then shining sunlight.  You could almost hear the plants growing!  Clearly, I like poppies!!  It is a beautiful summer this year! 

A Full Saturday

National Cattledog Championship, Afton, Wyoming.

Afternoon of work on the old white house.

Alfalfa coming up through ground graced with .9 inch of rain in last night's storm.

Friends June, Clara, Coralia, and Mike.

This month's picture of the new place. 

It was a good day.

 

 

 

This month's picture of the new place.

 

 

 

 

 

And if the Weather Isn't Enough.....

Check this out!

Will Yellowstone Blow?

More Weather

The national weather map shows hot weather over the southwest.  Here in the mountains, the trees flap around in stormy weather, the air humid and cool.  Today's weather should offer the best kind of irrigation of all - rains from the heavens!  Bring it on!  

This picture taken this morning on Kathy McFarland's way south from Moran to her work in Grand Teton National Park.  Beautifully ominous morning scene!  

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Jackson, Wyoming sits right in the Path of Totality for the epic 2017 Eclipse event.  On Monday, August 21, 2017, the sun will be in total eclipse, a once-in-a-lifetime event for most.  Our tiny town is expected to overflow with the event.  Rumors of 40K, 400K, and today, I hear "one million" extra people are guessed to arrive here.  How can one even begin to guess?  We have been planning for over a year for the thing.  It is certain to be an epic occasion, one to be remembered - and for most likely, much more than just the sky going dark for a couple of minutes.

We have a local website, check it out at Teton 2017 Eclipse 

Just in case you had not heard!!