War Dog

Memorial Day weekend Cody dedicated a new statue in Veterans Park.

The statue is named War Dog.

The dedication was on a Saturday and hoping to catch the last hour of the dedication ceremony (that included speeches from dignitaries, patriotic music, the statue unveiling and then food) I scheduled the store to close early at 1pm.

With people still milling around and shopping, it turned out that I did not make it up to the park until 1:30.

By then the ceremonies were in full swing, and I had to park across the highway from the park.

No matter.

Glad to have finally made the ceremony I walked up the brick lined foot path, scanning the group in search of LC........................

Memorial Day Weekend in Tennessee was always a very big deal.

As the Aquatics Director for a Parks and Recreation Department it was always the culmination of three months of non-stop work, getting the outdoor pool ready for the summer.

The logistics of cleaning both the big pool and the wading pool, and the endless expanse of concrete deck.  Getting the pool filled, chemically balanced, mechanically up and running smoothly.

The hiring, training and scheduling of guards.

The marketing, and all the other logistics involved in what would always be a very hectic and always busy summer.

By Memorial Day it was good to go.

I always took Opening Day off work - confident that the physical plant and the staff I had nurtured for months were ready.

Accessible by phone if they weren't.

And as I inevitably mountain biked on trails out at the military base that was my favorite place to both bike and run (and across the road - paddle), the temperature was always blast furnace hot.

It was Tennessee.

It was always hot in Tennessee by Memorial Day.........................

Once I reached LC (who was standing at the back of the crowd), I gently touched him on the shoulder.

Momentarily startled he turned to see who had touched him and then smiled at me in recognition.

Standing beside him I focused on everything around me, trying to catch up on the ceremonies, and was immediately freezing cold.

It had been raining all morning but was now simply a misty, overcast, grey and very cold day.

God it was cold.

I shivered, trying to ignore the fact that I wasn't dressed well enough against the cold........................

Cedar Mountain on the left.

Rattlesnake Mountain on the right.

Jims Mountain through the gap........................

For the next 30 minutes I listened to speeches.

When it was time to finally unveil the statue I heard the applause but couldn't see the statue from where we were standing.

We were too far back.

There were too many people in front

Somebody else began to talk, but by then I was so cold that I didn't even care who it was or what they were saying.

When the speeches were finally done everyone in attendance was invited to move towards the statue and see it in more detail.

Determined to trooper on I began to head that way, but LC grabbed me by the arm.

This time it was MY turn to be startled and I turned to look at him.

"Let's go to Grannies and get some coffee".

"Don't you want to see the statue?"

"We'll see it another time.  I'm freezing".

"Me too.  I'll meet you down there"......................

So after standing in the freezing cold listening to boring speeches in the back of a crowd, we didn't even get to see the statue.

Or eat the food.

Or even visit the many other wonderful statues and memorials that fill Veterans Park.

Instead, we went to Grannies Restaurant, drank coffee and ate apple pie.  

With ice cream.

And that was OK.

We'll visit the park again soon.

When it is sunny and warm and when we have the entire place to ourselves.

A Cody Enterprise picture of War Dog and his handler.

We like it.........................

Is Summer Here Yet? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Right now it is 78 degrees, the sun is shining outside, and I am sitting wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

The white legs are a little startling.

These pictures were taken two weeks ago.

It snowed on this day, but the week before and the week after saw non-stop rain in Cody.

I knew that it could snow any day of the year here.

I didn't know that it could rain for two straight weeks, and yet here we are.

The snow was unexpected and beautiful in late May but it was gone by the end of that same day.

Still in pajamas and wearing a heavy coat first thing in the morning, I wandered around the yard with my still-sleepy dog, enjoying the sight of the unexpected.

Snow is always welcome to this Norwegian-English-Australian-Canadian-American woman.

We purchased the little wooden bear while living in Idaho, he sits in the gravel at the bottom of the front steps of the house and I love him.

The wagon sits in the side yard of the house across the road from us..................

My kayaks.

Waiting patiently - waiting to get out on the lake...............

We had this giant horse on the side of our house over in Idaho.

He has a broke hoof but we kept him anyway.

Maybe we will just mount him as-is and ignore the broken leg.

Or maybe we'll use him as a template and just make another.

Not sure yet, but I'm glad we kept him and eventually we'll do something with him...................

These are my water shoes.

I carelessly threw them onto the back deck after our brief trip on the water a few weeks earlier, and quickly forgot about them.

I'm sure at some point they dried out, but on this day they were covered in snow......................

A week later the snow was long gone, it was almost June, and I was becoming increasingly restless.

I don't mind long winters in Wyoming.

And I don't mind short summers in Wyoming.

But by this time it was almost June and it was SUPPOSED to be consistently warm by now.

After making a brief stop in Clark (an isolated community of homes about 30 miles from Cody) to pick up a patio set of wrought iron and ceramic table and chairs, we stopped on the way home at Newton Lakes.

Newton Lakes are located only a few miles outside of Cody.

Two small bodies of water, a few short hiking trails, known for both rattlesnakes and grizzly bears at certain times of year, but also widely used by locals who want to fish, paddle, and generally enjoy the outdoors.

This was the first time we had stopped here since our return to Cody back in the fall of 2017 and on this beautiful day I was very glad to be out.................

The nose of Heart Mountain barely visible beyond the hills, and still covered in snow......................

There were a handful of vehicles in the parking lot and as I looked around us, trying to get the lay of the land I saw a few fishermen floating in the water.

The lakes were small enough that motors were not permitted, so their small boats and rafts were all fitted with oars.

One young family had a couple of dogs with them, and Kory was instantly attracted to them.

She loves everyone and everything.

People.  Animals.

She wants to be friends with them all, and hesitantly made her way over to the labs, wanting to say hello.

Within a minute the ice was broken and they all ran and played for a few minutes before Kory broke it off to head into the lake and cool down.................

Our visit was short but it was also very good.

I had forgotten how beautiful it was there. 

I had forgotten how quiet it was there.

This trip reminded me.  Us.  Me.

We'll be back.

My brain tells me that summer has finally arrived.

But this Saturday it is supposed to rain and be 58 degrees.

So maybe not quite yet........................ 

When I was a child I wanted to raise horses in Wyoming or be a cabin boy on a pirate ship....................Sadie Jones

When I was a child, I wanted to raise horses in Wyoming or be a cabin boy on a pirate ship.
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