We went on an impromptu 9-mile hike yesterday, and I realized I have never gone a day here without laughing. Mary and her husband keep me endlessly entertained, and I never cease to entertain myself. Though they have grandkids, they’re more like an aunt and uncle to me. 

Each day this summer has been just that - living moment by moment and enjoying everything for all that it’s worth. Sometimes my days have started at 6 am to get ready for a long day in the field, or I have pushed through midnight working on reports.  With my last day working for the Grand Canyon Trust, I feel like I’ve gotten just about as much as I’ve given.  There’s no need to complain when I’m out in this beautiful country though I have been in under 33 and over 103 weather in the same week. Or surrounded by mosquitoes and gnats, or bloodied by thorns. There’s still always beauty.

From the huge geologic structures worn by the wind and rain of millions of years to the smallest penstemon flower, the magnitude of this summer is something to not be looked over.  I’m humbled by the Book Cliffs and Porcupine Rim. I’m thrilled by the few raindrops that reach the house when thunderstorms just brew and brew up in the mountains.  

And, best of all, I’ve just been so incredibly happy. The laughs and pure bliss that I find when on my never-ending beaver search, every minute has been fulfilling.

Thank you, Utah. And now, back to the pacific northwest.

There are seven of them. Black-chinned and Rufous, they are stunning in the evening light. And fast! They remind me of fish, darting about, around the terraces an grasses. Fighting for territory, and chirping louder than any other bird. What the lack in size they make up in personality.

In the past week, I’ve seen lightning hit the ground twice. Yesterday, part of a house caught on fire not more than a mile away from our house. Fortunately, it was small and out soon, but it was quite frightening to see the smoke billowing out from just across the valley.  Things are dry here, but we get thunderstorms with some regularity. 

We were joking the other day about how meteorologists can be incorrect in their weather reports, but often give themselves a good safety cushion. If they say there is a 40% chance of precipitation, how can they be wrong?? If it rains, they called it. If it doesn’t, they called that, too. Sunny with a chance of showers….either way goes. 

When out in the field, especially up in the mountains on the west side of the state, we never know just what kind of clouds will roll in. But we keep a sharp eye out because to be caught in the middle of a thunderstorm on an exposed stream holding a six foot tall metal measuring pole is less than ideal. We’ve retreated more than once, and subsequently saw lightning strike just where we’d been. Too close for comfort.

But most days it’s just hot. Muggy, still, and hot. I’ve stared longingly at our neighbor’s sprinkler that runs incessantly, making their yard a ridiculous green in the middle of this desert. But what’s nice about beaver is that there’s always water. Always a pool to jump in if things get sweltering!

banal (adj): so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring

capricious (adj): given to sudden and unaccountable changes in mood or behavior 

diaphanous (adj): light, delicate, and translucent

parsimonious (adj): unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal