Dec 15, 2021Member-onlyThe Chicken and The HawkWe sat outside on the patio furniture, sun-drunk in the calm before the Thanksgiving storm. My Labrador was sprawled out on the edge of the circled chairs, and the lone chicken was close to the middle. Lone chicken, since most of her brethren were picked off by hawks more than…2 min read2 min read
Dec 12, 2020Member-onlyThe Little EggToday is Mother’s Day. I’m not one. I’m apparently surrounded by them, though. There are signs of new life everywhere, from baby turtles around the pond to tiny killdeer in the pasture, to eggs in the nest under the horse trailer. I found the little egg on Easter Sunday, picking…2 min read2 min read
Dec 10, 2020Member-onlyThis DayThis day should be every day. I knew a guy whose first words, every morning before his feet hit the bedside floor, were Thank you Thank you Thank you. I should’ve asked him what he was grateful for, back when he was sitting next to me in his underwear. We…1 min read1 min read
Dec 9, 2020Member-onlyThe RiverThe headwaters of the Salmon River empty into this fertile basin, bordered on one side by the Sawtooth range and the other by the White Clouds. …2 min read2 min read
Dec 7, 2020Member-onlyEvidence To The ContraryI saw them again this morning. Just the mama moose this time, with her twins. The young ones searched the parched earth for any last stubbles of life, under the watchful eye of their mother, in their quest to gain as much weight as possible before likely being left to…3 min read3 min read
Dec 6, 2020Member-onlyThe Impassable CanyonI was alone. Alone, in a group of 13 strangers, running a river through the largest swath of roadless land in the lower 48, with no cell service. And no news feed. On the bus to the tiny airstrip, everyone was wearing masks and social distancing. Bush planes dropped us…2 min read2 min read
Dec 4, 2020Member-onlyTwinsThe sun was barely cresting the ridge this morning when we saw them. Emma growled low and I told her to hush, because I wanted to hold the moment for a little while. A huge bull moose was standing proud a hundred feet away, next to a smaller mama just…2 min read2 min read
Dec 3, 2020Member-onlyThey’re Having a BBQ Next DoorThey’re having a bbq next door. It’s barely noon on a blustery Sunday, presumably after the service led by the pastor neighbor in the white tents next to the house. The family spent the waning light before sunset cutting the grass, brushing their horses, and cleaning the grill. I can…1 min read1 min read
Dec 2, 2020Member-onlyAnd They FlewThe evening before I left for the mountains, I headed down to the makeshift house to say goodbye. More for me than them, of course. …1 min read1 min read
Dec 2, 2020Member-onlyEverything And NothingI asked him if the ocean was glowing like this the last time we surfed together at night, and he said, “Thankfully, no.” Probably because I was naked then, and he was grateful for as little illumination as possible. I’d been at his house for a 4th of July BBQ…2 min read2 min read
