29 Days Later (Part 1)

I'm not use to blogging, as I've mentioned before, and rather than overwhelm the blog with tons of smaller updates, I've been saving up my recent developments for a larger anniversaryesque blog :-)

About 29 days ago, I arrived here at Highline Trail Llamas. Lots of happenings have occurred since then. First, I will update y'all on my day to day sorts of things, followed up by a Post about life working on the ranch later today.

On Sunday evening, May 1st, I began an experiment after shaving my face. I will not shave for a month, and will repost a picture of my mug at that time to show the results. I expect interesting results :-) What are YOUR predictions loyal readers? Haha

One of the previous interns at HTL had gotten himself a cat but donated it upon leaving. Cathy, thinking that I may get lonely whilst in my cabin by myself for the summer, thought wise to offer me some company in the form of Miss Ima Bear. While having little cat experience (i.e- only restraining ferocious beasts at OSVS and petting the occasional house pet) I took Ima for my own. While I have been a cloudy, and gotten several headaches which I cannot directly attribute to Miss Ima, I can say that we are happily enjoying each others company. Ima wakes me up every morning at 5:45 and then 6:30. I usualyl inform her, politely and respectfully, that I am not ready to wake up at this first alarm, but usually will uprouse myself at the snooze alarm, thereby allowing myself time to accomplish various chores and tasks before my day begins. I'm very happy to have such as cute and affectionate a cat as Ima :)

she's a sweetie

Miss Ima Bear

Every night, as I lay in bed, I am able to look out my window and see a small city in the distance. This city is actually a natural gas refinery. In the area around Boulder and Pinedale (the next closest "major" town), deposits of natural gas and oil have been found in the past several decades, and has provided for a boom of income and growth for the communities. These facilities run round the clock, and as a result when driving down the highway at night, you see several of these refineries literally glowing in the distant fields. 

Speaking of, returning from my shopping trip in the early morning hours, I took the unique opportunity to pull off the highway and turn off my lights. In an absolute void of light- no highway lights, no moon, no cars coming in the distance, nothing, I was absolutely alone- I looked up. On some nights in the East, you might be lucky to trace the Milky Way star clusters, or see many of the little dot stars between the larger constellations, but man... I could see everything. I got dizzy after looking up for too long, simply due to the enormity and impressive might of the night sky out here. With no clouds, and on the night of a new moon, the stars were spectacular. My camera wouldn't do it justice. I will try and find a way to record it in the months I still have to enjoy here. 

I have not officially begun my cooking education, but have taken several steps to start. A few days ago I went on a large shopping spree at Wal-Mart (at Rock Springs, an hour 1/2 south, but it's the only affordable place to go shopping for this much stuff for a guy like me.) There, I bought spices, meats, cooking utensils, and confidence :-) I also have a new crock-pot on the way to help me along, and hopefully very soon you'll get to hear (and see!) some of my culinary efforts. As always, I welcome any recipe or cooking suggestions from you, my thousands of loyal readers. I do participate in a pleasant weekly Wednesday Night dinner with my coworkers, and plan on contributing this week with a special surprise :-)

My creative tendencies have taken a bit of a backseat, as I try to focus on more scientific pursuits. April still was a record month for reading. I do have a package of colored pencils coming in, so I'm sure once I get those I'll probably open them with the zeal of a 2nd grader and start doodling. A visit to the Fine Arts Center in Rock Springs the other day inspired me with their paintings, and I moan over my lack of interest in paint. I saw an original Grandma Moses and Norman Rockwell, as well as dozens of amazing pieces by other local artists. It was inspiring, and as I said, with the colored pencils arrival and a new idea, I will probably start going at that a little more.

My days off are Thursday, and up til this last break, I have spent them sleeping in and rolling around the cabin from this to that. No more! I plan on utilizing and taking advantage of my surrounding and going on trips on my days off (as available). For example, this week I plan on heading north to Jackson, where I am told the pre-tourist season atmosphere is quite calm, and will allow me unhastled time to explore and appreciate the beauty of this world famous ski/resort town. In the future, I'm planning trips north to Yellowstone, south to Dinosaur National Monument, and other exotic locales! :-D

Um...That's all of the exciting things to talk about right now, or at least all I can think of. I'm eating eggs right now with ham and cheese for breakfast (that I made!) before running off to work, so I think I'll end it at that. As always, I always love updates and gossip from all of you, so please feel free to email, txt, or message me too. Hope all is well around the world. So... foobamagoo.

love and hugs,

=nev