Home of the Plywood Bull

Tonight we are in Rock Springs, WY, a town name that always evokes a funny image. What is a rock spring? How do rocks spring? Do rocks have springs? I could continue, but I'm sure you get the idea.  Whatever it is, there does not seem to be a lot of water around. Rock Springs is in the dry  part of WY. The terrain is rolling and this time of year, there's not a lot of green unlike where we live a few hours drive north.

The big event seems to be the upcoming rodeo. The local merchants are showing their support for the rodeo with painted/decorated statues of bulls. These are placed around the town and near the big mall. Some cities have fancy fiberglass statues that are decorated by local artists and groups. I'm sure you have seen painted bison or cows or wolves. I've even included some pictures of decorated long horned sheep (from Oman, no less).  Here in Rock Springs the statues are plywood cut-outs of bulls. Very different. 

In Oman, the fiberglass statue was the local long horned sheep.

The plywood bulls do have a simple charm that the fiberglass statues can never achieve. 

New iPad

The "home" button on my iPad 3 started to malfunction. It would work some of the time and not work the rest of the time. I called the nice folks at Apple and asked if there was a remedy for the problem. There was...replace the unit. 

Replacement, the common way we "fix" things nowadays. It seems like such a waste of resources. But, if I wanted a working iPad, replacement was the order of the day. For the next two days I backed up my faulty iPad with the idea I would be ready for the transition. I also carved out some time so as to ease the transition. The last time I made a transition from iPad 1 to iPad 3, I needed several hours. 

It took over an hour to download files from iPad to computer. Today, the replacement iPad arrived. I plugged it into my computer and reversed the process. Less than an hour later 95% of the material was switched to the new iPad. I did need to input some passwords. All 258 apps were on the replacement iPad and apps that had specific information were unchanged. I did not need to input any additional data from the old iPad.  Seems like the folks at Apple have improved the backup process! 

As an added benefit, the new iPad has a new battery with a longer "life." All is good in my little iPad world. 

Asters, Lilies, Susans and Coneflowers

Last night we had a rain storm and this morning all sorts of new flowers appeared. I was happy to see the 3 spot lily, also called the Sego Lily. It's always welcome in the garden.

I as not pleased to see the asters. The folklore says that the aster is the "last flower of summer." Since summer just started a few days ago, I hope the folklore is wrong. The other local saying about asters is they predict the coming of fall...six more weeks of summer and then fall is in the air. Last year the asters started blooming on 2 July...this year on the 6th. I hope that fall does not arrive on the 17th of August! Way too early!!!

 I call this yellow bloom a "Susan." I only like this flower when it's over the hill, like this one is. There's something whimsical and delightful with the "older" bloom that cannot be found in the more "organized" bloom of a few days ago.

 The coneflower is starting to mature. It still does not have the teeny-tiny yellow flowers that are smaller than a period, but they will show up soon.

A guest showed up a while back and asked where are all the flowers--I don't see any. I pointed to the front garden and said "They are in there"...at first blush, all you see are the tall grasses; but if you look closely, the flowers are there, hiding in plain sight.

Fireworks

The ethereal and the real come together with fireworks. Take a look!

One old--one new

As I was enjoying the wildflowers yesterday I saw an old friend. A delicate light purple harebell. It's appearance in the garden is "on time." But I was surprised by a white lupine. We have rafts of lavender lupine this year as in years past...but I've never seen a white lupine in my garden. I wonder if it's a new color or a variation on the lavender?

Here's a lavender lupine...you can see the difference.

Meet Chris

A new teddy bear has been added to our collection. He's a special little bear imported from Ireland just for me.  He's a Waterford Crystal bear in fact. Right now he's learning the rules of the house from the senior bear, a cookie jar bear named MomBear. 

Thanks Ed. Chris is a wonderful new bear. I love him a lot. 

Independence Day #237

237 years ago we declared our independence from England and the 13 colonies became the United States of America. It was a new, bold country where there was freedom, and liberty, and justice for all. While not perfect, it's still the best place to live!

In the early days, folks observed the day by reading the Declaration of Independence and marching in parades to celebrate our freedom from tyranny and oppression. Nowadays few read the Declaration,  but we still have parades. Our little parade consisted of decorated golf carts (you can only imagine what the Founding Fathers would have to say about them!), with horns and whistles. It was great fun. 

We've come a long way baby! Happy Independence Day!

Baked French Toast

I normally do not write about recipes, but today I am! 

We went to Jackson yesterday and bought some crunchy whole grain bread at a new bakery, the Persephone Bakery on Broadway. We thought we would eat the bread at lunch today. It was so crusty and hearty we could not stand it. I now had a whole loaf of bread and it seemed wasteful to throw it away. We had eaten only 2 slices...what to do,  I said, I'll use it for baked French toast. The other DrC said, what's that? I looked up a recipe and made it for dinner. (Sometimes it's fun to have breakfast for dinner.)

The recipe is located at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/08/baked-french-toast

They recommend serving it with blueberries...I served it with strawberries...but it was fantastic! 

The recipe is easy, tasty, and if you come visit, I know I will make it for you at breakfast. It's that good!

PS: The Persephone Bakery makes a killer baguette and their croissants are to die for... But I'm warning you--

Avoid their crunch multi grain bread. 

Another Late Bloomer

The wild flax is usually here the third week in June. In fact I have seen it in its usual haunts but not at my house until today! Welcome back stranger. 

Finally

I saw a wild rose today! I'm fact I saw three! 

The wild rose is the provincial flower of Alberta, Canada. It's not a fancy "floribunda" rose that you have planted in your garden, but a simple "single" rose...probably what a rose looked like before it was modified and cultivated by man. 

Look Fast

The deer have missed a few of the pansies. That's why I named this post "look fast" as I have no idea how long they will last. 

On another note-- two years ago one of our resident deer had twins. Mommy Doe guarded those twins all summer but right before we left for the winter, disaster happened. One of the twins had a hind  lower leg broken. We saw her several times limping into the forest with her mom right behind her while her twin scampered away. We both thought that the faun wouldn't survive the winter. Last summer, we saw a young doe with a "knot" on her hind leg right where the break was. Surprise! She made it thru the winter. Yesterday we saw a more mature doe, with a "knot" on her hind leg...it must be the our injured twin! She's a hearty creature. I'm guessing she does not wander far from our little corner of the world. I wonder if she has a faun hidden in the forest?

New Blooms

I try to keep track of the wildflowers. They usually bloom in a logical progression. Right now I'm expecting to see flax and wild rose, but they have not appeared in my little corner of the world, but I've seen them nearby. What is blooming this week is lupine. The lupine started last week and there are more of them than I've seen in the past. The understory  is a carpet of lavender lupine. 

A few bright yellow arnica are appearing as are the lemony-yellow salsify. We will have salsify all summer, but the arnica will disappear in a month. There's one bright pink flower that should continue to bloom all summer too. It's a phlox. While not completely "wild" (as I planted them) they are a native wild phlox perennial that can handle the cold Wyoming winter. 

I saw a wild geranium on Saturday, but when I tried to find it this morning it was gone! The paintbrush are just starting. Right now there are 3 burnt orange flowers and I'm hopeful more will make an appearance. The Paintbrush is the official flower of Wyoming.  

The coneflower has put out a bud, but it will not have a flower per se. There is a small patch of yarrow and a few red clover too. 

To round out the mixture I've planted some petunias and pansies. The deer have discovered the pansies and have eaten most of the flowers! You would think that with the wonderful mixture of native wildflowers we have, the deer would avoid the pansies but I guess the pansies taste better. (I'm trying to think of a way to protect the pansies without hurting the deer...do you have any suggestions?)

Beautiful Jenny Lake

Today we took a quick drive to Jenny Lake in the Tetons. Jenny Lake a little gem. Every time we vist her we cannot help but say "OH Wow!" The mountains are the perfect backdrop to the lake. Today the sky was particularly wonderful..bluebird blue, white puffy clouds...and the air was clear and warm. 

The Tree

Our tilting aspen is no longer atilt. This morning 3 lumberjacks came to our house and took care of the situation. I asked them to save as many of my trees as possible and they did! I think we lost a little guy with a trunk about 1 inch in diameter. 

It's amazing to watch these fellows ply their trade. They looked at the tree....they looked at the rest of the forest...they analyzed the best place to drop it and then they started the process. One fellow set up a truck with a winch on the back bumper. Another fellow set out with heavy duty ropes and a pole that elongated over 70 feet. His job was to lasso the tree in such a way so that longer ropes could connect it with the winch and they could lift the tree away from the house. The third fellow tied another heavy duty rope and winch to another huge tree on the other side of the yard. When all the ropes were in place they started to lift the tree away from the house. When the tree was at a 70 degree angle to the house, the second fellow took a 36 inch chain saw and made a cut on the trunk about 5 feet above the ground. Then he axed the severed chunk and the tree was separated from the "stump." The tree fell into place about 3 feet from where it was, but it was held in place by the two guide ropes. The chainsaw fellow made another cut about 5 feet up and this time the tree separated without him using the axe. Now the two winch fellows cranked away on their winches and the tree fell down in the front yard. It did not even make a loud noise...it just keeled over! The whole front yard was covered with the remaining trunk and the huge canopy of green leaves and limbs. I'm guessing the tree was 60-70 feet tall. It was the largest one in the front of the house!

Next the fellows cut the trunk into 16 inch logs and stacked them along the driveway. They removed the rest of the limbs and leaves from the yard, and got it ready for us to take it to the dump. In 90 minutes, the tree was down. 

There's a huge hole in the canopy in front of my house, but that tree is not going to fall on the house. There are several others that could, but I hope that will not happen soon. 

Almost Down

Two nights ago we had a micro windstorm. The forest was alive. I've never seen the trees sway and dance as much as then. The sky turned an inky black,  the wind came up. A mighty wind. It blew all around the house and through the forest. We heard tree limbs whipping the roof and there are not any trees close to the house. The savage wind lasted less than ten minutes. Then the sky lightened, and it started to rain. It was not a hard rain, nor was it soft--somewhere in between. When the rain stopped we looked outside and noticed lots of downed limbs and leaves, but all the trees seemed to be standing. We took a sigh of relief and continued on with our day. 

The next morning, in the light if day, all looked different. We opened a north facing window and there was a fallen giant aspen. A tree I've been looking at for more than a decade down on the cushion of the understory. Then I walked around the house to see if any more giants had fallen...and at first glance I did not see any. Then I noticed a problem. One of the giants in the front of the house was at a 45 degree angle leaning on a few shorter trees and aiming to fall right on to the house. Now I have a problem. That tree needs to be removed, but it's something we cannot do by ourselves. I'm now searching for a tree-man/lumberjack who can remove the fallen tree without damaging the house or the surrounding trees. The lumberjacks know how to do this. They are amazing!

Of Lupines and Aspens

We live in an aspen forest. The understory of that forest is filled with wildflowers. Some folks might call them weeds, but that's far too coarse of a name for these beautiful creations. Right now the understory is abloom with Lupines. These are the wild Lupines ... Not the fancy large blooms you see on domesticated plants. They are also a very light lavender instead of a more vivid purple. Other than the "wild mums" (aka dandelions) that's all that's blooming right now. But there are buds all over the place, so I know there will be more color to come

Why We Return

It's all about the mountains! Take a look at the Tetons in a panorama "shot."

The Search Might be Over

As you know, we are on the search for the perfect hamburger. For years, we thought that burger was found at Billy's in Jackson Hole, WY, but alas Billy's folded last year and we've been searching ever since.

The perfect burger has to be juicy, tasty and filling! It's probably a bit greasy, but not so greasy that it's not edible. Lastly, the burger has to be near us. A great burger in New Orleans is useless in Jackson.

Yesterday we tested the burgers at "The Lift" a restaurant not too far from the main lift at Snow King in Jackson. What's important about The Lift is the ownership. The folks who owned Billy's own The Lift.  That's a good sign.

The place is fancy compared to the "in your face" attitude found at Billy's...there's no sarcasm dripping from the walls, just decor items. There are booths as well as bar (an old fashioned carved wood bar that looks to be 100 years old). There are TVs playing sports and movies. There's outdoor dining on the porch as well as on a 2nd floor deck! Billy's was a 20 seat diner. In addition, there's a parking lot! So, while the location has changed, a few of the amenities have changed too.

We looked a the menu (actually on paper instead of printed on a board and bolted to the wall). After scanning several items that were not burgers, we found the burgers. We ordered our typical "Billy Burger" and waited for them to be cooked to perfection. A good burger is not fast food...it takes about 20 minutes.

Soon, our burgers arrived. At first blush they were similar...but with a few interesting twists. They each had a fancy toothpick spearing the bun and meat, and there was a pickle! The bun was greasier than we were used to, but the burger was pretty good. Not 100%, but 90%...the closest we've had since the search began last year! The fries are criss-cut as before. They are not served with fork and knife...this is finger food.

It's not the perfect burger than we had at Billy's but it's darned close. We'll have to try them again for a few more weeks before the verdict is in, but for now, we'll be having burgers on Sundays at The Lift!

Asters, Mums and Dandelions

Yesterday I was looking at the crop of dandelions we have in the yard, I thought they looked a lot like small chrysanthemums. Today I searched the web to find out more. Sure enough, the mum and the dandelion are related...as is the aster. They are all part of the "Asteraceae" family. This is the dandelion that gave away the secret! Doesn't it look like a mum?

We don't have any high class cultivated flowers like mums in the garden, but if you've read my blog over the years, you know where you can find pictures of asters. 

Home on the Range

Well we are home in WY. It took a day longer than usual to get here, but  that's the way it goes. Thank goodness we were able to limp into Elko. Thank goodness there was a Ford Service Center in Elko. And, thank goodness that there was a campground next to the Ford dealership!

Our little home made it through yet another winter. We've walked around the house inside and out and don't see any thing major or minor to report. The bird spikes have done a relatively good job in stopping the robins from nesting where we don't want them to nest. The robins, however, are very resourceful. We put a pair of bird spikes (btw bird spikes do not hurt the birds, they just inhibit the birds from landing on a flat spot) on the north wall, where a series of Mama Robins have made nests (and messes) for years. We thought she might get the idea that she was not invited to nest there again, but alas, we were wrong. She built a heavy duty nest this year, straddling both sets of bird spikes! That's a determined birdie!

There's the usual beginning of the summer maintenance that needs to be done, but that's kind of fun. We just take our time, and hammer away at a project or two a day, until they get done.

In the meantime, we are enjoying the weather, which is one of the reasons we retreat to the mountains every year. At our CA  home, it's over 100, here's it's only 85. What a joy that is.