Ranch Delights

I was blown away today when a friend stopped by the office to drop off some amazing fruits and vegetables that her family had grown on their ranch in southern Idaho. Among many of the delectable goodies were gigantic spaghetti squash, sweet peaches, cucumbers, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, basil, beets, white corn, peppers, and sunflowers for the birds! Nothing tastes better than home grown produce...Wow, are we lucky to have such wonderful friends to share some! The basket is sitting below my desk and I can't wait to take it home to share with people that I love!

Castle Rock Fire

It started with lighting over 14 days ago and our little community has been literally 'under fire' ever since. Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey have all been effected with the closest neighborhoods evacuated. People have had to take what they could in a few hours and then find a new place to stay. Nobody knows when the fire will be out. They can only say it will be gone when the first snow falls in a couple of months! Schools are shut down and friends/family are making lists of things that matter most when faced with the terrible possibility that their house may burn down. So far there has been no structures lost or people injured on the fire! That is the best news. There are over 1,400 fire fighters & crew on this 41,000+acre fire that has changed our lives. It is not the biggest fire currently burning or that has burned but it is so close to home it is impossible to look the other way. Current information: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/952

We know sleep with all the windows closed even though we don't have AC and it's 80 degrees when falling asleep. When looking outside it seems like it is going to rain but as soon as you open a door, a rush of smoke invades your lungs and you want to gag. Thankfully, the conversion helps lift the smoke in the afternoons so we get some relief. Working in Ketchum has been hard, knowing that our mountains are quickly changing outside.
Despite all this change and fear, I am ever more impressed with our community to stand together! Over 1,800 people were displaced in the last two weeks and the hotels were not full. This means that all these people have been absorbed back into the community with family/friends along with their pets, livestock, and belongings. I look at the mountains and feel sad because they are changing from green to gray but I am almost relieved in an odd way. I know that they will be green again and when they are the Wood River Valley will be stronger for surviving the time we thought we might lose our beloved home!
The pictures posted are curteousy of one of the local newspapers Mt. Express & two photographers Will Cook & Michael Mathewson.

Seaside in San Diego

Zach and I traveled to La Jolla this past weekend to partake in the wedding of good friends, Jon & Regina. What a beautiful location at the University of San Diego chapel and then down to the beach for cocktails and dancing! It was great to see the ocean, eat some outstanding fish, and witness the joining of this wonderful couple! We only wish we could have stayed longer and spent more time with our friends...

Weed's in Idaho

Erin, Gabe, Nick & Sally made the journey up north to Idaho this past weekend. Zach and I had a blast entertaining them! A big BBQ kicked things off at MoLo which proved to be a good introduction to Idaho in the summer. Lot's of friends and family came out to welcome Erin and Gabe. Fresh local lamb, pork, watermelon, tomatoes, and home-made goodies filled the tables. Then the outdoor activites began. Over the next four days we took a chair-lift up to the top of Mt. Baldy, spent some time at our dear friends 'caban-sion' near Stanely- playing horseshoes and yes, BBQ-ing. Thanks Megan! Then we were off for our 4hr hike up into the Sawtooth Mountains to Shangri-la lake. Beautiful razor sharp mountain ridges with emerald green and blue lakes. Half the fun was getting to the trailhead where you have to take a boat ride across Red Fish Lake, named once for the millions of salmon that literally made the lake red. Nick, the dog, earned the 'billie-goat' award for trudging through a rugged hike for a 9yr old dog. Despite the horrible fire that overtook Warm Springs this past weekend we had a wonderful time biking, hiking, eating, watching the dogs swim, and catching up. We look forward to our next visit with the Weeds! Thanks to Kat for sharing her room over the long visit! And of course everyone who made my sister and brother-in-law feel so welcome!

Zach's Photos

Zach is passionate about his photography and is hoping to start a website or blog, but when... I don't know. So until he does I wanted to share some of his amazing photos with everyone because there is a LOT!

Seattle

It's been over 10 years since I have visited this beautiful city. I have always felt like it is a 'cleaner' San Francisco because it rains so often. We were lucky to not have ANY rain while we were there for four days. Jean (Zach's mother) and I spent our time in the furniture showrooms, furniture stores, shopping, and attending wedding festivites for a friend. There is a lot of great resources for 'green' furniture in Seattle and I was happy to make those connections. We had time to visit the new public library (very contemporary in design), the SAM (Seattle Art Museum), Pioneer Square, and Pike's Market (which had amazing flowers and produce for even more amazingly cheap prices). I had a hard time not bringing home bundles of flowers on the plane. Thanks to Jean for making it such a wonderful experience! Looking forward to my next visit to Seattle!