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So, I see that Bones and Annie have joined the neighborhood of bloggers.  They say that they don’t have any cool pets or kids, so their posts will be boring.  Hey, I didn’t say that we have cool pets or kids (just kidding, kids), and we all KNOW that my entries are boring.  But y’all know that we’re still alive and breathing, anyway.  So, blog on, Nicholas and Tiffany-Ann.  Those little movies of toddlers are overrated, anyway. 

It’s been brought to my attention that my neighborhood is being overrun by above ground pools in folks’ backyards.  Not that it’s any of my business, but we live next to a corner, and two of those backyards are practically in our frontyards.  None of the yards are fenced, which leads me to believe that I live in a neighborhood of uninhibited people who don’t mind being seen in their bathing suits, or just clueless people.  There’s a crazy law here addressing pools and fences.  If the pool is deep enough to drown in (48 inches or higher), it doesn’t have to be fenced.  Go figure.  All it needs is a removable ladder, which both neighbors have, though they are NEVER removed.  If the pool is shallower than 48 inches, it has to be fenced.  Oh gosh.  Life in the burbs.  I’m surprised the teenagers haven’t discovered the new night time playgrounds…

We’re headed up to Maine again this weekend.  It’s still a little odd to write that.

So, Randy is putting up with my latest obsession.  Crab fishing tales.  I’m not making this up.  Seems that I’m hooked (no pun intended) on the Deadliest Catch, the Discovery Channel documentaries on Alaskan Crab Fishing.  This is how it happened:  One day I happened upon it while wasting time on the talking box, and I recognized an acquaintance from CdA on the crab boat.  Well, boy howdy I had to check that out.  So I’ve become WAY too fascinated by this industry.  Now I’m reading books on the subject, too.  Save me from myself…

The Jello has nothing to do with this entry.  Yum.

When I flew to Jackson Hole on the 10th of this month, the plane took a northern tier, and we flew just south of the Finger Lakes region of New York.  We could see Letchworth State Park and Niagara Falls.  Most folks take the Thruway and miss the Finger Lakes on their way to Niagara, but the region south of Rochester is well worth the Off the Beaten Path route.  Though Letchworth is not part of the Finger Lakes, it’s unique and the falls are amazing.  The falls in the first photo are in the Finger Lake area, and have an Indian name that is fun to pronounce. 

  Happy Birthday, Patrick!  I hope you have the best birthday ever. 

Joyce and I had fun with the critters last Thursday.  That was the first time that I’ve ever washed a fish.  They, along with the Canadian Lynx, have a new home at the Teton Valley Historical Museum. We put the lynx in the back seat of Lee’s pickup so he could just hang out on the ride.  Joyce, Dad and I took them for a ride to their new place.  They were just part of the treasures we found in the East Room.  Anyone for a Geiger Counter?  I miss the lynx already, but the fish are gross. 

  I am home, but I couldn’t leave Driggs without catching Sally working at her drug store.  This is another one of those cell phone photos.  It was really great to see Sally and Aaron and their cute little kids.  Their house is coming right along, and they have a great view, that’s for sure.  It was good to see Mother and Dad again.  Joyce and I did a project while I was there, and it involved washing a fish, sitting in the backseat of Lee’s truck with a Canadian Lynx, and a Geiger Counter.  I’ll do a post about that tomorrow for inquiring minds. 

    Remember the old movie Spencer’s Mountain?  If you haven’t rented it, and want to see an old Henry Fonda classic, rent it.  It was filmed here, where I am going tomorrow.  I remember when they filmed it.  A girl I went to school with had a sister who was an extra in a scene.  Which reminds me, I had a celebrity sighting yesterday.  I sat across from Neil Patrick Harris on the C train.  I was tempted to tell him that when he played Doogie Howser on TV he looked just like Nicholas.  Still does, though they are no longer dead ringers for each other. 

    Tomorrow is my last day at the museum for a few weeks.  I am going in tomorrow to train MEEPS (sort of college interns) in the Hall of Planet Earth.  It’s one of my favorite things to do, talk about that hall.  The specimans there are amazing.  I didn’t work in the HoPE very much this year, though.  Next year, maybe.  I’ve been having fun teaching in the Hall of North American Mammals lately, telling Grizzly Bear stories and such.  I hope to spend more time in the HoPE next fall. (The MEEPS take over for us regular Teaching Volunteers in the summer.) I’ll still be going in to the AMNH, though.  I’m doing some storytelling the later part of June, and in July. 

What a bummer for Audrey, having her car stolen.  I’m sending good vibes your way for a good resolution to that, Aud. 

Nicholas has a new gig this summer on Wednesdays–mediating in small claims court at the LA Superior Court.  Zounds, Nick!  Have fun with that, sounds like a fun gig.

Congratulations to Libby on her job promotion.

I’m headed to Jackson Hole on Sunday, back the following Sunday.  Randy will stay home and keep Mia company. 

   Belated Congratulations to Craig for graduating.  It’s fun to see you enjoying the fruits of your labors with your great new job in a wonderful new place.  Welcome to the East Coast, we are so happy you like it here.  And best of luck with the new job.  Keep up the good work!  And watch out for visiting relatives. 

   This is Claire’s famous dirty look.  We all get it from time to time, even Ginny.  It is just about the funniest thing to see.  She gave it to me on demand when she was having fun sliding down the slide.  You go, girl.  Gotta love a girl with attitude.  She’s a Driggs/Floyd girl, alright.  Just like her mama, and her mama’s mama, and her mama’s mama’s mama, etc. etc.  Give up, guys. 

   You took the time to send me…?  I love getting mail, all kinds of mail.  Today I received five meretricious offers from various sources, one AARP magazine, (the one with Kevin Costner on the front), and one CD from Allan of his daughter Lisa’s flute recital.  One of my favorite places in town is the post office.  Mike the postman told me about this guy in town who sends things to his brother on the other coast.  They send gag things.  Mike said that contrary to popular belief, you can send things unwrapped at the post office, as long as a mailing label can be placed on it and as long as it is not dangerous to people or to other mail.  So it seems that these two brothers have sent each other plastic laundry baskets, toilet plungers, all sorts of stuff.  They are my kind of guys.  I sent Joyce a rock the other day, one that I picked up on the beach in Maine.  I hope that she likes mail as much as I do.  Maybe she can hit it with a hammer and break it into small enough pieces to polish.  I put it in an envelope, though.  Old habits die hard. 

A few years ago I gave Joyce a book of scratch and sniff postcards of New York landmarks.  A gag gift of sorts.  Postcards of the Fulton Street Fish Market, The Subway, A Pizza joint, the East River, etc.  She sent them back to me, one by one, over the course of a year or so.  It was one of the funniest running gags ever.  I’ve looked and looked for another set of these cards, so that I can send them to her one by one, to no avail. 

Send a friend a postcard today!