Visits from the Family
Happy New Year to you all and greetings from Montana. Today’s my day off so I’m investing my time in creating a compost pile. I inherited, with the purchase of the house, about thirty bales of moldy several-year-old hay. There are currently three horses here, none of them mine, she continues to be boarding somewhere else until spring, but they produce manure just as readily as she does, so I’m off to a good start. I’m currently researching red worms for my compost pile. If any of you have experience with them let me know.
The ranch opened for guests on December 12. Alas, at that time, we had shockingly little snow, so had to ferry them down to West Yellowstone for the skiing they’d come so far to enjoy. Don’t infer from that the kind of winter you all are enjoying in the east. We’ve had plenty of cold. One morning, I left home with the temps a balmy 1 degree, and got to work where it was -16. We’ve had some occasional mild spells, with temps actually creeping up into the 40s. But things should be back to normal, this week, with temps by Thursday down around 5 in Bozeman days, and below zero at night. It’s a little colder in Big Sky.
I’ve enjoyed some wonderful visits from my family these past few weeks.
Benjamin flew into Billings on December 26 after enjoying Christmas with his dad’s family in Newport. I was able to wangle a few days off during his stay. We had a lovely hike (on snowshoes) in Cottonwood Canyon, only about four miles from my house, after an abortive attempt to access another trail that was off an unplowed road. He’d experimented with the Toyota on unplowed roads the day before, and found it not to be an all terrain vehicle, even with snowtires. We drove a mile down an unplowed road, got to a hill where he advised that discretion required our turning back. Since turning was not an option (river on one side, trees and a hill on the other), we backed a mile out again, and found a lovely spot that actually had a plowed out road and parking area. I look forward to heading back there with the horse in the spring/summer. We made our ritual visit to the Museum of the Rockies, always one of our favorite spots in Montana, and also went on the wonderful sleighride dinner at Lone Mountain Ranch. We went with Dan and Andra Spurr for a wonderful dinner at the Willow Creek Cafe, 30 or so miles west, known for its desserts, so plan on a visit there when you come out.
Unfortunately for Benj, he was flying on blackout dates, because he had to be back in classes by the 4th, and it was way cheaper for him to fly into Billings, 2 and 1/2 hours east. We spent a fair amount of time in the car on his way in and way out, but got to see some of the areas along the highway burned by the Derby fire last summer. That fire burned something like 260,000 acres. That, for all you inquiring minds, is something like 40% of the size of the entire state of RI.
Unfortunately, Benj had not brought his camera charger, and my camera batteries went dead during our hike. So all I have to show for his visit is the photo of him arriving and a lot of pleasant memories. He did tell me that one of the internships he’s considering for the summer is one in solar physics at MSU in Billings. Since one of my tenants has moved out and the other leaves at the end of January, I have a bedroom and an entire separate kitchen for him, and of course, the pleasure of Bubba’s company. I hope he drives cross-country if he decides to come. It was such a great education for me to see this country unfold before me. He’s a taller and more mature man than the one I left last January, and I am so pleased that he is truly taking full advantage of the opportunities before him at Middlebury. He is planning to spend half of his junior year in France, studying at Poitiers. I’m trying to reach the Alliance Francaise here in Bozeman to brush up on my French in anticipation of a visit!
Sarah and her friend, Sean, arrived two days after Benj left. Timing is everything. I was being sent on a snowcoach tour into the park. As my job requires that I acquaint guests with these possibilities, it was important for me to experience it, and there was space for Sarah and Sean on the snowcoach. We all got skis from the rental shop and headed off into the park. Aside from the fact that I’d not had skis on for a number of years and my facility was pretty pathetic, it was a gorgeous day, if pretty chilly, about 10-15 degrees. As much as I adore that park in the summer, it’s even more magnificent, I think, in the winter. We took the snowcoach to the Upper Geyser Basin and skiied a few miles to Biscuit Basin after watching the mandatory eruption of Old Faithful.
Sean had never been to Yellowstone before. So far, after four days here, he’s all ready to move to Montana.
The kids and I had so many wonderful times in Yellowstone when they were younger. I’m so pleased to be able to have them in my backyard again.
Sarah and Sean fly out on Thursday morning, then there’s plenty of room for guests. It sounds like you’ll have to come out here if any of you plan to ski this winter.
I continue to be impressed by the enthusiasm for learning and listening here in Bozeman. Ellen Goodman, a long time writer for the Boston Globe and now syndicated columnist, whose work I particularly enjoy, is speaking here in Bozeman on the 12th. I sent Sarah to get tickets for me the day they went on sale, as I was at work. She arrived to find out that all the tickets had sold within 15 minutes of their going on sale. My loss, but an interesting comment on this community. It turns out Ellen Goodman’s coming to Bozeman has everything to do with her daughter, Katie living here. Katie is a principal in a local theatre company, and one of the founders of Broad Comedy. Yes, it is a bunch of women, who have apparently performed in Boston, and they are reputed to be outrageously funny. I’m heading to see them on February 1.
Back to the compost pile. It’s in the 30s today, a good day for outdoor work. I wish you all a year in which we find peace, and enjoy good health.
