Hi everyone –
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. I’ve been distracted. It’s been a wonderful fall, full of adventure and leisure in the waning autumn sun, but there were a few things I wanted to complete, before I felt I had enough to write about. Most of the recipients of this were just here for Thanksgiving. If you all remember, we retired to our new living room, post-dinner, and sat around with satiated bellies, each with a glass of wine and a slice of pie. This ritual, I’m sure, was simultaneously being played out all over the country. Remember? If so, perhaps you also remember the photos I took. Here’s the compilation. I call it - Rachel likes pie. For those not in the picture, this is what my immediate family looks like right after a feast.
Click to enlarge
I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. I’ve been distracted. It’s been a wonderful fall, full of adventure and leisure in the waning autumn sun, but there were a few things I wanted to complete, before I felt I had enough to write about. Most of the recipients of this were just here for Thanksgiving. If you all remember, we retired to our new living room, post-dinner, and sat around with satiated bellies, each with a glass of wine and a slice of pie. This ritual, I’m sure, was simultaneously being played out all over the country. Remember? If so, perhaps you also remember the photos I took. Here’s the compilation. I call it - Rachel likes pie. For those not in the picture, this is what my immediate family looks like right after a feast.
Click to enlargeLittle did most of you know that I was in the middle of a side table project in the garage. I completed it yesterday. I was waiting to finish it so I could post a picture. I’m quite pleased with it, but want to make another. There are some ideas I have to improve it visually as well as structurally, so it’s for sale. Unofficially. I may make it official if nobody I know steps up to buy it. It’s tiger maple, walnut, with hard maple accents.
The latestSince I last wrote, I’ve been on a couple of outings. In early October, I took 2 days off of school and left for the Locsha on a Wednesday afternoon. I made it to Riggins and camped along the Salmon River, where it was warm and peaceful. There is an elk ranch next to where I camped. I loathe elk ranches, but the bulls were bugling all night and it made for a pleasant evening. Early Thursday, I drove north to the Clearwater country and past Lowell, the edge of any private land through to Montana. I fished all day and made my way back to Lowell, where I was to meet the Spokane duo – Tom and Jeff, and Alex from Boise - the inlaws. Lowell has about 10 full time residents I’d guess. There are a few cabins to rent, a restaurant, gas. I fished all day Friday and Saturday. It was amazing. I walked down highway 12 for about a mile on Saturday afternoon, returning to the truck, and not a single car drove by for the whole stretch. I also saw the largest thing ever moving on a truck. It was a huge piece of something, grey, and taking up both lanes. It probably had it's own gravitational field. There were 2 trucks in fact. It was odd to be standing in the river, lost in the sound of water and thinking about the drift of an Adams (and if whether an Adams was, in fact, the right thing to have drifting) to look up and see a brilliant example of industrial largess moving by the river.
Along the Salmon RiverThere is a brilliance I feel when fishing that I know many others, many who write well, are compelled to express. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly. I tried to take a photo of one such moment, in the middle of the river, but I think words are the only thing to effectively express the moment. I mean, how do you describe the bubble pattern on the bitter cold water, the mist drifting against the red and gold willows and deep green hemlocks, the anticipation and the quiet? I was allowed to concentrate on one thing, something I loved, for uninterrupted hours at a time. I allowed the river to sweep my mind of the litter piled up in the leeway, ignored but not forgotten. It was sublime.
I got a good portrait of TR on the trip, and a photo of Lowell, as well as the mid river shot.
TR Hutchinson
Lowell, Idaho
The Locsha RiverAmy and I went up to Ketchum for a couple of nights in late October. We left town early Friday morning and were high in the Sawtooth valley by noon. It was a bright cool day with nobody around but us, our ecstatic dog, and a few hundred chipmunks to chase. We hiked up to Hell Roaring Lake, about 3 miles in, where I managed to snap another embarrassing pic of Amy. Here she is demonstrating “the finger of fate”, which is the name of the rock behind her. She complains every time I do this, but nonetheless poses whenever I have a camera.
The Finger of Fate We went up because I spent Saturday in a LEED for Homes conference. LEED is an international green standard for buildings, and I hope to build a certified home next year with my students. I learned a lot about the process, requirements, costs, etc. I’ve met with a certifier here in town, and I think it’s do-able. There are not a lot of these homes around, and none built by high school programs, as far as I know. Here’s a link to the US Green Building Council’s page describing more, if you are interested.
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
My current house is in the state you see here – done with framing and ready for finish work. It’s getting cold now, and wet. Loads of fun.
Christmas break starts in two weeks, and we’re heading to Spokane. I’m looking forward to that. I hope you all have a relaxing time and enjoy the season. Isn’t winter great? I sat out in the full sun with a big coffee, music, and a hand rolled cigarette Sunday, and drifted away. Try that in summer in Boise.
Caio
