Grooming Piper

Cat spoiled? Yah :-) Piper lets us know when she wants to get brushed by jumping up on the coffee table. It’s a different experience based on her previous activity.

If she’s been napping, it’s a pretty mellow grooming. If she just came in after hunting mice and voles in the field all day (as in the video below) she’s pretty wired up.

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Woods Creek Fen

This great 60-acre peat soil wetland is fed by ground water and is located a few miles west of Driggs, ID off Bates Rd. The land is owned by our local conservation organization, the TRLT (Teton Regional Land Trust).

I used to bring school kids here years ago when I drove the Cart bus. It was undeveloped at the time but now it’s got signage and an observation platform.

I trudged out there this morning and checked it out, just for you. If you don’t live here, I’ve saved you a bunch of money on gas! Click on the pictures of the signs to read them.

SlideShow (Woods Creek Fen)

Here’s a little spin around the valley from the top of the telescope:

You can really see how smokey the Tetons are :-(

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Fall Hay

It’s been a tough hot summer for the hay farmers here, but they came through this growing season magnificently, as they always do!


SlideShow (Fall Hay)

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Mellow Buffalo

I was heading to Victor today via Bates Road but got flagged down by a deputy next to the courthouse. He said there was a jack-knifed truck ahead so I veered off towards the Huntsman Springs complex.

The Buffalo were right next to the road! It doesn’t happen often so I pulled over and grabbed these shots. I could have reached out and petted them.


SlideShow (Mellow Buffalo)

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Scrap Booking

I never really got scrapbooking. Wikipedia describes it as a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of a scrapbook.

I have observed over the years though, that Steph has a passion for it, and she’s good!

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Magical Garden

The Community School is using us again this year! I’ve been transporting these great kids for a long time and we have a terrific history together. There was no doubt about who would run this little morning and afternoon route when I came back yesterday.

I’m really proud of the staff here! They have built an amazing award winning school that offers the kids so much, including learning how to grow a garden.

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Rainbow Loop

I shot this rainbow on Double Rainbow Drive (formally Rainbow Loop) this morning as I headed back to work after a long Summer. I’ll take this as a good sign!

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Bite Of Jackson

My sister Lorelle invited Steph and I to the Bite down in Jackson, WY today. Beautiful day, good crowd, great food, and a nice way to wrap up my Summer vacation. Sis drove so I was even able to hit up the Cowboy Bar for a quick drink.

SlideShow (Bite Of Jackson)

btw: If you have an interest in the people running our government, check this out!

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Categorized as Travels

Legislators

I’ve been writing code the last couple of days, before I go back to work next Monday. I decided to write a political mashup using the API from my old buddies over at the SunLight Foundation. I placed second in a national contest sponsored by them a few years back and had a great time in Phoenix showing it off!

This one isn’t quite done but I’m throwing in the core logic here for your perusal. The idea is to submit a State code or a Zip code and return all of the current members of Congress for that place, with links specific to that person.

For this example I’m evaluating New York state, only because I think Kirsten’s cute :-)

Scroll up and down, and click away! Some photos and links are missing: the photos are Sunlight’s issue and missing links are the individual Legislator’s issue.

Update: Here’s my new click by state program called LegiState.

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Ditch Divers

I took the snow machine up into the foothills last winter.

I was shredding the gnarly pow, doing a face shot, just getting down!

All of a sudden these two ditch divers ran into me. I demanded their information and it turns out these bums weren’t licensed, and they seemed drunk! I just left them there to sleep it off. I’m on the right…
No damage to the machine!

SlideShow (Snow Machine Fun)

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Wordles

Wordle ( pronounced: word ul ) is an online tool that accepts whatever text you submit to it, analyzes it, and then creates an image with the most predominant words enlarged.

I’ve been throwing famous speeches and song lyrics at it and the results are fascinating. I’m also pinning them to my Wordles Pinterest board.

Here’s a snapshot of the board with an Image Map applied. That’s just code talk for “hover your mouse over a box, read the text that pops up, and then click“.

Nicki Minaj - Stupid Hoe lyrics Steely Dan - Babalon Sisters lyrics Adolf Hitler - Last speech Ronald Reagan - A Time For Choosing speech Mitt Romney - Republican Convention speech John F. Kennedy - Inaugural Address Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream speech Abraham Lincoln - Gettysburg Address Barack Obama - Inaugural Address Declaration of Independence

Thanks to maschek for his online Image Mapper and if you can handle it, here’s Nicki!

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Jackson Walk

I drove Steph down to Jackson, WY today for a pre-employment drug test. We had some time before her appointment so we walked the town, had some amazing hot dogs wrapped in pita bread, and saw some cool statues. Nice day in Jackson!

Steph has actually pulled off landing another great high profile job here in the Valley. I’m very proud of her ability to do this, considering the economy.

The reality is, if you commit yourself completely to doing the best job you can for your employer, never miss a day of work, deal with people honestly, and with true enthusiasm, your reputation rolls with you in a small community.

SlideShow (Jackson Walk)
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My Buddy Jack

I was really missing my old truck last night. He’s been part of my immediate family for more than seven years and we certainly bonded. Jack was a hard worker around the house and a fun guy to go 4-wheeling with. Riley even got him stuck in the snow once!

As a tribute to Jack I’ve dug up some old photos and I’m presenting them here…

SlideShow (My Buddy Jack)
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Jack Is Sold!

I was waiting to hear back from TRPTA this morning about going back to work, when I got a call from an interested buyer regarding my truck, Jack. There have been several people drooling over this truck, but this guy just bought him!

He’s a trout fishing guide, works Search and Rescue over the winter at Targhee and his sweet dog is an avalanche rescue dog. Jack couldn’t have gone to a better home.

btw: The new owner’s name is Jack :-)  (Update: I miss my old truck already…)

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Hunter Cat

Piper wakes us just before sunrise by scratching her claws on the floor by the bed. She’s in an interesting mood that time of the morning. She doesn’t want any petting, or food, she just want’s to get outside in the dark and go hunting.

The problem is, we live in wildlife country, where she could be breakfast for a wolf as opposed to having a mouse for breakfast. So, my morning routine is to start the coffee, turn on my computer, and then open the garage door and turn the driveway lights on.

Piper scampers out through the garage into the dark without even saying good morning. Hopefully I’ve scared off any predators hanging out in the yard…

Hey, this is the internet, you might as well watch this mornings outing :-)

Hmmm, I see we need to do the laundry and trim some weeds…

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