Photographic catch-up

I have been remiss in my posting this summer - so here's a photographic diary for ya:

fishing with Ben and Izzy at Yellowstone Lake, Jeff, Poppa, and Tuck visit the park, making beer and cider in the kitchen, and tons of other daily fun I did not take photos of! Just too busy this summer. Seems like I missed June and half of July this year - just runs by too fast. Now the talk is of hunting tags and snow. Might have to head south for a while to extend the season this year.

35, man, I'm old

OK, so it's my birthday again. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to outrun it. The ladies came over and made me chicken fingers, jalapeno poppers, bbq chicken pizza, and bananna split sundaes. MMMMM. Health food.
Bigger party Saturday. Stay tuned...

Fishin...

Well, after my killer craigslist find of 5 spinning rods, huge tackle box (not much tackle), 4 piece 5-weight rod with case, fly vest with net, box of flies, neoprene waders (too small), and boots (perfect fit) $20. That's not a mis-print. Had to drive a bit, but TOTALLY worth it.
Tried spinning at the Gardner/Yellowstone confluence and caught one small rainbow. Had ripped lips so I took it easy and let him go - I use barbless hooks cause I can't stand mangled fishies. Jessi got a picture, I think.
Couple more bites, but no more brought to shore. Salmon flies were hatching so next time I bring the fly rod and try my luck.
I dragged Jessi along and she made me laugh - sitting in a camp chair with her ipod on playing her game boy - getting back to nature!
Eddie actually got his toes wet - perhaps the life jacket was a ridiculous purchase since he barely goes near the water...
Anyway, hope we have better luck when Jeff, Tuck, and pops show up on Friday. I can't wait!!!

Explainations

OK, so I realize the last blog entry was a little cryptic, but that's what you get when Jessi is typing in your blog. Yes, I shaved my head. There were many reasons - the hair is going to locks of love, btw. Suffice it to say I have been having a rather melancholy time of things lately and needed a big change.
There was definitely alcohol involved (kids, don't try this at home) and the one who shaved my head was on whiskey shot #2 I think. There was full video coverage and I promise to at least get some stills up for you all.

Quotes from shaving my head

Heidi (begging to be the one to shave) : I would not send you out looking anything but completely bald
Carrie: Allie would you please do it? You've shorn sheep before
Heidi: Do you want me to practice on Hunter, would that make you feel better?
Allie: Heidi's been drinking and baking
Allie: Oh my lands, you have a scar... This is so personal, we're going to see all your scars
Heidi: It's not too late, it won't look bad, just a little thin
Allie : Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...Oh my God...
Jessi (after holding hair for about 30 seconds, freaking out): I have hair in my hand! There's hair in my hand! (and doing a little high-stepping dance lol)
Carrie: It feels about 20 degrees cooler
Allie: I was doubtful, but [bald] looks good on you
Carrie: Thanks Heidi, you're a mensch.

Enjoying the soft air of Louisiana

Well, it's day 2 in Bossier City and so far we have done a ton of work - I say "we" but really the constant stream of the boys and their friends keep things going. Spreading gravel, digging a vegetable garden, building a chicken coop, cleaning, cooking, and endless laundry!
I'm trying to cobble together two working laptops from three semi-functional ones as well. Apparently the biggest post-graduation party on earth is happening here Saturday, so we are getting the yard up to scratch for that. Movies are happening in the back yard (ala Gardiner, yay!) including one the boys put together. They have been making short movies using whatever cameras they can find, and editor extrordinnaire "G-Whiz" perfects them on his laptop. They're doing an awesome job and are crazily creative.
Anyway, I promise to take some pics and get updates this week.

Hunter Eddie's evil twin in G-Town

I've run into this guy a time or two, and friends have done a double-take thinking Eddie was stolen. Well, they finally met yesterday, Hunter and "Cha-Cha" I think her name was. Sniffed noses and bits, then Cha-Cha went nutsy - jumping and snarling. Eddie turned away.

Jessi got this great picture, though.

Just another Thursday night in Gardiner

So, I'm just back from Livingston, picking up a convalescing dog with loose bowels. The phone rings. Jessi says, hey, can Trudy and I come over? Sure. Bottle of wine, some leftover venison spaghetti, phone rings again. Heidi. Wants to know if I have "Wedding Crashers" nope, but come over 'cause we're eating and watching the series finale of ER. K, maybe. Phone rings again. A frantic Heidi "THERE'S WATER POURING INTO MY BASEMENT!!!" Did you turn off the water? AAAARRRGGGHHHH! Ok, we'll be right over.

Yup. There's about 1/2 inch of water covering the concrete. Heidi's on the phone with her landlord (who lives in Idaho, not anywhere nearby). Jessi and I are trying to ID a valve we can turn off the water.

I run back for Trudy and found a couple of shop vacs. We have decided that we all earned our Lady Scout merit badges in leaking water heaters. Here's a couple of pics from the fun.

Remember when school was great?

Remember when you were a kid, and weekends seemed to last forever? Spring break? SUMMER VACATION? It seemed like an eternity.
This all came to a head the other night when I stopped by to visit my fave kids in G-Town, Ben and Izzy. Ben asked, "So what are you doing for spring break?" Good question Ben. Working, man! Rather be playing video games, board games, baking cookies, and watching Harry Potter marathons, though.

Days like this

So yesterday sucked. Car issues (smell of something burning and a check engine light, but the experts at the Gardiner Tire Iron assured me nothing is wrong...) continuing financial woes with doggy hip surgery a week away, bills, bills, bills, realizing I have to do my damn taxes, applying for a possibly groovy better paying job, getting course work done, and, oh, my job where I never seem to get caught up.
Today was a bit better. Burning smell is gone, still haven't gotten a hell of a lot done with personal finances, but decided to have people over for venison spaghetti at 3:30. So just those of us with no plans on a Wednesday night :-)
Too tired to do much of anything (just finished the dishes from Friday's sushi night, last night, and now have a new pile) but totally worth the work cause it was quite fun to sit around and watch Project Runway re-runs with the girls.
I can feel it - I'll be falling asleep in chapter 4 of my remote sensing book tonight...

Let it snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...
Well, it's felt almost like spring the past week, but we've returned to winter - here's the forecast for the next few days:
Hazardous weather condition(s):
Hazardous Weather Outlook
Tonight: Snow. Low around 7. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind between 3 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of around 2 inches.
Monday: Snow, mainly before noon. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 22. Wind chill values as low as zero. West wind between 3 and 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than 1 inch possible.
Monday Night: Snow likely. The snow could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a low around 5. Wind chill values as low as -5. North northwest wind between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around 2 inches.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as -5. West wind between 8 and 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2. West southwest wind around 10 mph.

Home again

Well, I just realized I took no pictures while in Florida. Silly, but honestly the training really could have been anywhere and it would not have made a difference. I flew in late Sunday night, and took a shuttle to the hotel that took over 2 hours. Checked in at 0230 and was up for class at 0730. That set the scene for the week. Up, classes till noon, grab some lunch, back in class, back to the room, get some reading done, sleep, repeat. I had some time free Friday afternoon, but really it was just enough to get things packed and take a nap. Had to leave for the airport at o330 Saturday (0130 MT time ugh). Flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed by weather so didn't end up getting to Bozeman until 1500. Grabbed a few groceries and drove home at 1730. A long day by any standards.
On the up side, S-341 GIS for Incident Management was an excellent course. It brought a lot of things into focus for me that had previously been ambiguous. If we are mapping fire at YELL, we should be using the same tools and SOP's as the rest of the world. I'm not sure it's any easier than the way we are doing things now, but at least it's a national standard that other people are maintaining. It will certainly reduce the amount of time needed to maintain our ad hoc mapping efforts, file structure, training, and naming conventions. But I digress.
It's good to be home. Emily took excellent care of Hunter Eddie and the apartment for me. He seemed excited to have me back, but I'm sure he had a blast being spoiled while I was gone. I took a few minutes to put away the perishables, then fell exhausted onto my lovely couch. I'd been dreaming of it for days - sitting uncomfortably in a vinyl chair in my hotel room! The snow was a welcome relief. Although the southern warmth was a welcome diversion, I am happy to be home to winter. Still many trails to ski before spring!
It is a little quiet after spending a week in Louisiana with the craziness of my boys' lives, but things will soon be back to normal here in Gardiner, with friends coming over to watch TV and knit. I do miss them horribly. The daily happenings of the house on Holiday Place are always entertaining! I ponied up for a voice over IP channel that the boys and I share - it's great to be able to talk to them almost every day and stay involved with their lives.
The river is running pretty freely, so spring feels imminent but there are a few more months of weather before summer backpacking season.
Well, it's about 0230 now and I need to get some sleep. For details of my time in LA, see my sister's blog (photos posted). It's great to be home!

Louisiana and Florida

Well, finally I have a minute to blog! I'm now in Kissimmee, Florida taking some GIS/Incident Management training, but spent last week hanging out with sis and the boys in Bossier City. Caught a terrible cold (AGAIN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!) and was sick for the first few days, so that sucked. Still have a lingering cough but the worst seems to be over. That's what I get for living in the relatively immunologically sequestered haven of rural Montana.
Got to attend my first Mardi Gras parade on Saturday with Aims, the boys, and their friends - what a hoot! Can't imagine I would have enjoyed New Orleans more. I was just starting to have fun with the kids when it was time to jump on the plane for Florida. I love being at that crazy, loud, busy, fun house! We got some projects done while I was there (see Aimee's blog for more in-depth info) seems like a recurring theme whenever I go visit her. The fixer-upper house is always a work in progress though, so it's to be expected. Still didn't get to see my gator, but I may have a few hours Friday so I'll check into the options here.

So far training has been interesting - mostly focusing on using the FIMT toolset for ArcGIS and general ICS. Some NPS GIS folks I know are here, so good to see them again. Lots of USFS and state foresters as well, so quite a good interagency mix.
The "resort" is not super impressive, but along the lines of what one would expect for a government operation. The weather has been chilly, so being inside is not a chore. Supposed to get better as the week goes on. I'll be home late Saturday night if all goes to plan. Will post pics when I have a chance.

'tis a sad, sad time in Gardiner...

Number 6 has been an enigmatic figure for the past few years, and a big part of life for some friends of mine (sorry TD). I will miss seeing him run his harem outside my office window each fall and the squeal of his bugle. Farewell, old man. We will miss you.

Slumber Party!!!!

Well, Ben & Izzy got to come over and hang out with Hunter Eddie & I. I think they had a good time, but I had TONS of fun!! We started to watch Bedknobs & Broomsticks (one of Izzy's favorites, and mine too!) then both of them played WoW for a bit. Later we went to Bruce-Fest over at the 2-Bit - a huge rousing success btw - and had some dinner. We poked around a bit and saw pretty much everyone in Gardiner. Next a walk with the dog, then a Harry Potter movie fest. Izzy fell asleep before the first movie was over (using Eddie as a pillow), but Ben and I made it to Prisoner of Azkaban before falling to sleep.

Thankfully, we slept in till about 8 then made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Izzy was a great help! The kids played video games and watched cartoons while I got the dishes done, then we walked Eddie back to their house.

The kids were a lot of fun, and I told them we would for sure do it again. I snapped a few pics of Saturday night - Ben was a bit addicted to gaming, but Izzy was great with Eddie and loves her "new pillow" He tolerates anything, really, and likes getting scratched so it worked out fine for both.

An hour in the life of Hunter Eddie...

What can I say? It's cold!

Not too many posts - just too busy (how long can I use that as an excuse?)
Got sick with a bad cold this week - thankfully ther's such a thing as nyquil - read a couple of books, though. Dark Summit - thanks to a loan from Heidi - and The Great Influenza about the 1918 epidemic. Interestingly, most young healthy people died because their immune systems overreacted to the virus. Subject matter is interesting, but the book is not an easy or pleasureable read. Author could have done better with the subject matter. What else?
It's freaking cold. The wind just blows right through you. BTW, my sis said IT SNOWED IN BOSSIER CITY, LA TODAY! Freak occurrence...
hmm, what else?
Downloaded the 2009 Sustainable Seafood Guide from http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx
Oh, and studying Map Accuracy Assessment - which is as exciting as it sounds. That's why my blog is being updated - Kappa calculations!
Anyway, hope to feel much better so I feel like skiing this weekend.
A regular Gardiner winter, it is.

At least I shot a deer - not a llama!

Sorry, that llama sure looked like elk Photo of hunting mistake becomes Web sensation

By BRETT FRENCHOf The Gazette Staff
A New York hunter may be feeling a bit sheepish after mistaking a feral llama in Paradise Valley for a Rocky Mountain elk, but he apparently did not violate any laws.
Rusty Saunders of Fort Edward, N.Y., called a Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden in Livingston in November to turn himself in after shooting the llama, according to Mel Frost, FWP information officer in Bozeman.
Since FWP does not deal with livestock shootings, they immediately turned the investigation over to the Montana Department of Livestock.
After investigating, the Livestock Department turned the matter over to Park County authorities without issuing any citations. "We don't have any statute to prevent that kind of thing," said Steve Merritt, information officer for the Livestock Department in Helena.
A telephone call to the Park County sheriff was not immediately returned.
Photos that the Livestock Department took during its investigation showed the dark brown and black llama gutted and lying in the back of a red pickup truck. The photos included a shot of Saunders' notched 2008 elk tag, dated Nov. 18. Somehow, the photos ended up circulating through e-mails, trekking across the nation and even north of the border into Canada.
Under a subject heading of "hunting llamas in Big Sky Country," the e-mail parodied MasterCard's "priceless" advertising campaign"
".30-06 rifle with Leupold Scope - $650.
"Out of state license - $600.
"Gas to drive from New York - $700.
"Taking a trophy Montana llama - priceless."
The photos have ended up on blogs across the country, as well, generating derisive remarks from hunters.
It's not clear how Saunders realized his error, and it's not known what happened to the wild llama.
Messages left for Saunders on his home answering machine were not immediately returned.
Saunders is not the first person to mistake a llama for a game animal. On opening day of the 1999 hunting season, a 21-year-old Sun Prairie deer hunter shot a 300-pound llama on the Cascade Hutterite Colony near Fort Shaw, then gutted and tagged the animal. He didn't realize his mistake until he took it to a Great Falls meat processor, which turned him away.
The man turned himself in and the colony didn't press charges.
Montana's hunter safety education program emphasizes that hunters should always identify their target before pulling the trigger.
Contact Brett French at french@billingsgazette.com or at 657-1387.
Published on Thursday, January 15, 2009.Last modified on 1/15/2009 at 12:30 am

HE EVEN GUTTED THE DAMN THING!!! LOL

Sunday, Sunday...COLD!!!

So, working on packages to send to Louisiana for Christmas today. Stuff is strewn everywhere. Wish I could load myself into one of the packages and spend time with my boys and sis.

Also Bob needs to get into the in-floor heating system in my entry, so the shelves came down and more crap is strewn everywhere. Always a fun job.

Headed up to Mammoth this AM to grab a couple things from the office - the car barely started. Forgot to plug in last night. Bitterly cold weather plus gusty wind has made things wicked cold. Was digging through the shed to pull out the winter gear and everything is frozen solid. Found my furry hat, though.

Really can't wait to get back to work tomorrow - have too much work and not enough hours to do it in. In other words an entirely normal state of affairs.

What keeps me going on days like this...

Music. Johnny Cash, to be exact.
Dad and I started most of our days on the road with selections from the greatest hits album, and now it makes getting through marathon digitizing sessions a hell of a lot easier.
I'll get it one piece at a time...