That's Twice

The new art museum in Cedar City hosted a very nice party last night.  We were invited because VSO was one of the juried painters.  From what I heard, the event was sold out, and the place was packed with 300 of the rich and powerful.  As I said, it was VERY nice.  The organizers did a fine job.  The food and wine were outstanding; the new building looked beautiful; the guest list featured senators, bankers, and other millionaires.

And then there was me.  I'd been, of course, out in the woods getting firewood and must have looked a little haggard.  I had put on clean pants, but they were from Walmart, so they didn't help me fit in.  I hung out for a while in the corner by the food table and ate a couple of sandwiches made with imported cheese.  I surreptitiously slipped a little of the food into my pockets to take home for EDO.  When the president of the university came by I pretended to be studying the wood grain on the chef's chalk board.  (I was hoping he wouldn't mistake me for a lazy employee, but then I realized that all the workers at the event were too clean and well dressed for there to be any mistake.)

After an hour or so, the board members were called to the podium to begin their speeches.  VSO thought it would be OK to sneak out the back.  So we did.  As we pulled out of the parking lot in our crappy car, I said, "That's twice."  Twice this year I've found myself intruding—like some species of vermin—on one of these events for the great and the good.  It is a little embarrassing I suppose, but I know they don't care.  Besides, where else would I get imported wine and cheese? 

Walking in the Woods

There is a place that EDO likes:  Wet meadows, aspen, wildflowers.  This is the time of year for it, too.  We went out today.  She doesn't like my company.  And I think she should feel comfortable alone in the woods.  So she went her way and I went mine.  We got back together after an hour or two.

Metallic Borers

This past week we were on a hunt for tree eating insects.  With a colleague, I looked, primarily, for Dendroctonus beetles.  Tree killers.  But, at one location, we found a family of metallic wood borers.  In a dead white fir we collected both the larva (above) and the adult (below).  These beetles generally inhabit dead trees, and are not usually responsible for tree mortality.  An infamous cousin of this pair—the non-native emerald ash borer—is, however, on the march in the mid-west, and has already killed millions of ash trees.

Twisted Forest

Some friends came to visit from the east coast.  We met them at Brian Head on the first cool afternoon of the past two weeks.  Brian Head Peak itself remains closed by snow.  But we made it to the top of the Twisted Forest.  From there, VSO pointed out (above) Ashdown Gorge (below).

Green Thumb

Over the past several years, VSO has put significant effort into finding, planting, and tending flowers on The Homestead.  It is starting to pay-off.  There are now hundreds of colorful blooming things on all sides.  And this is a good season for making pictures of them.

Book Burning

On Friday we hosted an old fashioned book burning.  EDO and several friends found that their sixth-grade math books contained objectionable material.  The publishers were, evidently, committed to an ideology that included fractions and decimals.  So, into the fire went those dangerous ideas.  Besides, now that the school year is over, the girls felt that a purge was justified.  I tried to remind them that it might still be good to know that two halves make a whole.