Snowy Twilight

Finally, the inversion is gone and we're back to normal lovely winter.

The Midwest

Images like this one make me miss Illinois. This is college buddy Barry playing hockey with his daughter Megan and another college bud's son Ryan.

Barry says he dominated. I don't believe it. And I love that Megan kicks a** in pink.

Say what you want about alpine and skate skiing, about winter sports in the west. They're great, all right, but this is what I call making your own winter fun. I just want to know why Macri ain't out on the ice--or is that him, losing the puck to Megan?

Inverted Weekend

Getting pretty sick of the weather around here.

Heading up to Bogus Basin helps. Single digits and steel-colored low-ceiling here in town. About 12 miles up the road, sunny skies and 40F. That's good for the soul.

Bird Dog

Josie came to live with us a few months ago. I've been interested in bird hunting for a while, but never had the impetus to try it out. Now, I do. So our good friend Bill offered to take us to his favorite spot to see how she did. I bought a $1.75 hunting passport, with Bill as my mentor, and off we went.

We didn't get any chukar, but we did see at least a half-dozen covies that flushed from very far away. Not certain if that's because it's late season and they're wary, or because of Josie's unbridled enthusiasm. But, Bill got a couple shots off, and we had a fantastic day hiking this beautiful area for 4+ hours.

Josie did well. The amount of ground she can cover, seemingly effortlessly, is just staggering to me. Amazing energy and speed, and no fear whatsoever of a shotgun blast. It was even more fun than I imagined. I can't wait to get out there with her again.