Our Own Lorax - Jim Otterstrom

"I speak for the trees!!" - the Lorax

"The Lorax is a children's book, written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler. The book is commonly recognized as a fable concerning industrialized society, using literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler (whose face is never shown in any of the story's illustrations or in the television special) and to the environment as the Lorax. It has become a popular metaphor for those concerned about the environment." - Wikipedia

Our own Lorax past on to a more peaceful place yesterday.


A toast to the man who influenced lives,

changed the world he touched,

and took the time to teach all those he loved.

My heart hurts to know that the world has lost such a wonderful human. However, I am selfish in the joy that I had known him so well. He was an amazing man in so many ways. We shared many a bottle of wine and too many adventures to count. It was hard to find the right pictures or stories to tell. So speechless I am, yes me, the woman whose family swears I can't ever shut up.

As for now, I am like many others, dealing with the shock, the sorrow, the loss. My bags are packed, my dogs boarded, my car gassed up (sorry Jim it's just too far to ride a bicycle) and me and my family are leaving tomorrow before sunrise to be with Peggy, Jimmy, Jamie and Lois.

Jim Otterstrom - We miss you and will live on in the knowledge that you have imparted upon us. We love you dearly. Rest in knowing that you have changed our lives forever.

Life is too short to ever say -

"maybe someday."

Full Moon Snowshoeing

The following pictures were taken on Wednesday the 19th of January under a brilliant full moon. No flash was used. Pictures were taken by everyone on the hike as we passed the camera around. Enjoy the views while quietly singing

"Moon shadows, moon shadow..." in your head.

Our guiding light of the night

Jim

Shan

Regina

Me

Heading home for a crock pot full of homemade road killed elk stew!!

If a picture is worth a thousand words,

I believe pictures of a full moon snowshoe are worth millions!!

Get Outside and Enjoy Nature

Mother - Son Day at Lemon Reservoir

Monday (MLK observance) was a holiday for some and others had to work. In our family, Jim had to work and Stown and I had the day to play together. We had planned on going up to the mountain and working on our snowboard park skills (jumps, rails, etc.) but I woke up with a wicked sore throat so we decided to take it easy. We loaded the dogs up and took a drive to our property up at Lemon Reservoir. We hadn't ever been up there in the winter and wondered how much snow would be there and if my 2 -wheel drive car would even make it.

Driving up the snow packed road to the land.

The roads run on the east and south of the property.

The trees on the corner are the only trees on the entire plot.

Our snow covered mountain meadow, blanketed with about 3 feet of fluff.

( I can't wait to build our home up here.)

Back down to the frozen lake (reservoir) to let the dogs run. Boy, they sure love the snow!!

Stown (looking like the infamous Bigfoot picture) hiked ahead towards the lake. The wind was whipping but there were no kiters (people who fly huge kites and ski or snowboard behind them) out that day.

Looking south down the lake towards the dam.

We realized that the kiters weren't out due to the thin ice conditions. There were bare spots across the lake where you could see water. A very unusual thing for this time of year. We don't seem to have as much snow as years past but statistics say we are 7% above average. Of course, some placed have gotten an overload where others have been deprived - but that's why they call it an average.

As for now we keep -

Praying for Snow!!

An Expensive Day on the Slopes

So what happens when two snowboarders collide at high speeds, at just the right angle and one of them has a really expensive board and the other has a more affordable board?

The lesser of the two boards is sliced like butter with a hot knife!!

Cut five inches straight down the nose of the board... (Top view)

(Bottom view - note the metal edge cut through and torn back)

And the structure explodes in a delaminated mess.

Well, that's what happens when you go fast.

We were all at the mountain on Sunday, I was teaching with ASA (Adaptive Sports Association) and Jim and Stown were out playing. They came into the school were I was having lunch with my student and were all excited and stammering out bits of a story and most of what I caught was that Stown crashed really hard and exploded his nose. Being a mom I start to freak out a bit until I notice nothing is wrong with his nose. That's when they made it clear that it was the nose of his board.

As the story goes, Jim and Stown were on the backside of the mountain carving down a run when Stown collided with Jim (both were blindsided due to their riding styles). The nose of Stown's board hit the tail of Jim's board with such force and at just the right angle that it was cut in half, while Jim's board sustained only a minor scratch. They managed to ride to the front of the mountain and get to the local board shop at the base area. The thought of repair was beyond consideration due to the damage, if it was a car it would have been "totalled". Jim got a screaming deal on a used board out of the rental fleet ($600 new but we paid a fraction of that). They mounted up the bindings and took it for a test ride. By time they got to me, the deal was done and Stown ended up with a new board that day.

Life happens and sometimes it cost money. I am just glad no one was injured.

Be safe and go fast!!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

"Save the Bows!!"

- my Grandma Louise

Piles of paper... (Dinah looks for a way around the tissue mountains.)

Boxes of boxes, Bags of bags...

Bows in a box.

All in an effort to reduce, recycle and reuse.

Years ago Grandma had it right, although as kids we laughed and mocked her running around on Christmas yelling "Save the bows!" at each other. I remember my Grandma with her bags feverishly collecting the discarded bows off the floor every year. I also remember the layers of scotch tape that had built up on the bottom from years of reuse. That was about the only thing I remember my Grandma reusing. Recycle and reduce weren't really words tossed around our house as a child. Saving things was considered "pack-ratting". If so, than I am just that - a pack rat. I haven't bought a gift bag, box or tissue paper in years. I noticed the price on the bottom of one of the bags I was folding - $2.99!! I must be sitting on a small fortune worth of gift wrap. My bags might be crinkled, my tissue slightly torn and my boxes somewhat misshaped but they are free every time. Neatly organized in a tote, I never have the need to rush to the store - just simply out to my shed.

May you find a second life
in the things you might otherwise throw out!!

Scenes from a dogs nose...

Ever wonder what the world looks like from the dog's point of view?

Doug ponders the fence.

Beautifully frozen ice crystals ontop of the fluffy dry snow.

Iron cross

Boldly go where no dogs has gone before... atleast since the last snow.

So many trees to pee on...

why must there be a fence?

First Snowshow of 2011

Yesterday marked the first snowshoe excursion of the year. I don't who was more excited -

us or the dogs. Aspen proceeded to give herself a wonderful snow bath.

Doug tried to follow that big nose of his and just ended up with a face full of snow.

Me & Regina - Shan in the background

We seemed a bit confused to be in the lead, but it made for a fun portrait.

Shan took over and led the way west into the setting sun.

Finally, the top!!

We paused for a few moments to take in the gorgeous mountains we live in lit so vibrantly by the ever sinking sun. Then it was back down to the warmth of our homes, our families and dinner.

Shan and Regina have become wonderful friends over the past year. They live one block away and have two beautiful children whom have befriended Stown. The three kids can often be found cruising the neighborhood, sledding or having snowball fights while we stay home having intellectual exchanges over the current state of the world around us.

May your world be blessed with beauty, light, love and people to share it all with!!