Anne Balboa or Me and My Shiner or( Best) Black Ice and Gravity

I found out Thursday night that black ice is fast to bring you, not to your knees, but to your face. In my case it was face to frozen concrete before I could even reach out my hands. That stuff is wicked. Mary says that I was hurt so badly because i am so darn tall that I fell from a great distance. Although I wasn't really lucky - luck would be no fall at all - I suppose it could have be very much worse so I wear my shiner with gratitude...and heck, maybe a little pride.
This, of course, this will not reflect well on T. at the New Years Day party we will attend together tomorrow!

Two horse open sleigh

Our annual sleigh ride up to Solitude Cabin was last night. Perhaps you can tell by the red faces that this woas done in freezing rain.

So Many Rachel Rays

Last night's Christmas dinner was different from that of other years. The girls handled it all. Prepared foods, Tom's turkey on the grill and paper plates made it easy, banning Tom from the kitchen made it doable. It was, as evidenced above - Ariel, Mary, Karen, Lauren - a merry christmas dinner.

White Christmas

Don't think Irving Berlin mentioned this part of a white Christmas.
Wishing you a merry and bright day.

Winter Trail

Yesterday I joined my friend above, Suzanne, for a x country ski. She took me on a private trail at Crescent H that I had never been on. It was incredibly beautiful - the kind of beauty that demands frequent stops and appreciation. What a glorious place to live in.
( The green gingerbread cookie above is me.)

Family Christmas Party

We took grandkids, Meme and Tommy, and their parents to a family party at Teton Pines last night. All of the Forts had skiied hard all day and by the time the kids made it to dessert - but not to Santa and the caroling - they were pooped and ready to crash. This is not such a big loss, however, because the desserts were not only big but a BIG hit!

Santa and Jack

More from the Christmas party: Santa Jack ( Jack N.) with Jack D.

Christmas Party

It has been three years since our last big Christmas party. Sunday night was the big 06 event and was a great good time - lots of good friends, good food, good music and even Santa.
Here is the spread right before the guests showed up.

Walking along the Snake River levee....

in 6 degree sun yesterday. As long as there is no wind this, because of the dry air, doesn't feel terribly cold - not nearly so cold as, say 30 degress without wind in the canyons of New York City.
The center picture is of ice floes that looked as if it were made of cyrstals and made me think of lace.

El Zorro

While I was out walking on the levee, chastizing myself because I didn't have a camera with me and because, in my opinion, the walk along The Snake had never been so beautiful, Tom, at home, spotted a red lump on a mound of snow out of a back bedroom window. And who to his wondering eyes was it but the fox, said same fellow that terrorized the summer's baby duck eggs but now, curled red fur on truly icy snow, exhibited himself as the magnificent and graceful creature that he is and always was.
Tom took a slew of pictures, the elegant fox sleeping, arising, bathing and sautering off finally to sniff out, yes, evidence of ducks for the ducks live, when there is a thaw, just on the stream beyond the pond.
Now we are the Duck Protectors of Northwestern Wyoming but today, for a bit, we were fox reverent. Anyway, the ducks can certainly deal with the fox, in fact, they succeed rather formidably in tormenting him/her? when the pond is full. We won't have to despise this most noble creature until early summer when the hens nest. Then our hearts will ache for the ducks who, we have read, lose 8 of 10 nests with eggs to beautiful predators like zorro. ( spanish for fox)

Two Bad Cats and One Sad Tree

Suggest you take the link to the right, Jolie Jam, for two funny pictures - two bad cats and one sad tree- indicating the unforeseen difficulties Jolie and Owain are having in bringing western holiday cheer into their Tokyo lives.

And like clockwork....

...when the Jacksonites have complained enough about the lack of snow, a really big one comes along. It snowed all day yesterday and this is what we awakened to this morning.
Both views are from my studio, the above is the now frozen and snow covered pond.

Center for the Arts Theatre

Two years ago our Center for The Arts opened with phase one, a magnificent three story building with facilities for dance, music, art, photography and a gallery. Phase 2 is the theatre which will be finished in late February and open to an immediate full schedule in March.
I took a private tour this morning with Doug ( above* ). Along with being astounded by the physical structure ( a real theatre!) and the plans for it, I was also struck with how little 6 stop light Jackson is changing. This theatre is a very big deal.

I have written a good deal about the joys of living in so small a town. Jackson truly has a soul.
What we have not had until the advent of this art center is a magnet structure. This theatre and the adjacent art center along with the planned town park in front of the theatre is just that.
It certainly has been a thrill to see the rise up from intense community planning that spanned many years.
* Doug is standing in front of what will be the lobby's concession bar.

Snow Anxiety

This is the time of year - happens like clockwork - that folks in Jackson start moaning about No Snow. "What we need is some snow!" " The mountain is terrible!" " I remember back in '98 it rained on Christmas." Another historic event is a snow on the fourth of July but no one's mind is on that at the moment.
Despite the lament and only a couple of inches of snow on the ground here in the valley, we have not been without natural beauty. Every morning for the past five or so there has been thick brilliant frost on every limb, dried leaf and sage bush. It stays like this until about eleven o'clock and all of that time there are frost diamonds in the air. There is surely a name for this spectacular condition but I dont know it.
Today is different, warmer and there is a forecast of some snow showers. Not enough for this ski mad town but flakes in the right direction.
I have to say here that, growing up in the South, not seeing much snow, I have been a snow lover from the git go. It was shock to me to live in places where the adults hated "dealing with the snow". I love living in a place where EVERYONE LOVES SNOW!

Yes, Virginia...

..there is a tuxedo in the state of Wyoming and no this is not Jeeves!
We were actually invited to a black tie dinner dance last night. Some guys, true to Wyoming style wore a tux top over their jeans and boots. Others didn't even bother but there were enough of us city transplants that an air of formal elegance prevailed.

Meme

Apologies for the temporary absence of posts. I have been working in one phase or another on four different photo projects at the same time All have been accompanied of late by a wretched cold. Moght be seeing the end of the tunnel on the cold which makes everything else more vital as well.

Above is our Meme putting on an improv harmonica performance. I found this pic from this summer while looking everywhere in my computer for a proposal that dissappeared upon completion. It is a bit like looking deep into one's closet. One is easily way laid by treasures as I was in finding this. Meme is nothing if not a performer and the above occurred on our deck after supper one July night. Everyone was invited up onto the bench to perform but Meme ( the memcee) was The Star.

Under The Bridge

The bay walk at Chrissy Field is a favorite of ours.
Yesterday the walk was exceptionally crowded. There were a number of seniors. apparantly having come as a group, along with the walkers, joggers, strollers and dogs. The woman above had found a sunny spot by the wall of Fort Point, just under the bridge. She was seemed to be enjoying the site of the girl runner while the gent seemed entirely unaware of her presence.

Post Peter D.

Jolie and Owain leaving Peter D.'s sated and happy having just made converts of Lauren and Ariel to satifaction available at said same establishment.