Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Yvonne's New Adventure- Horses and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!

Well, it seems I've been on a hiatus of sorts. Almost a month has flown by and life goes on in Willowtown. The month of May started with saying goodbye to my wonderful friend, Yvonne. She has forged on ahead and started a new chapter down in Soldotna. We had a bonfire to commemorate her time in Willow with some friends- The cool folks wore their XtraTufs. I'm going to miss my friend, neighbor, and running partner. I've already gone to the phone I don't know how many times to call about some little thing or other before I realize she's not there. So where is she? Yvonne is officially the newest goat farmer of Soldotna. She is helping to take care of a farm- milking goats, collecting eggs and making sure the foxes don't sneak into the henhouse. Helped her move down on a beautiful day a couple weeks ago. The sun was shining on Kenai Lake on my way back home- So while Yv awaits news on a job with the FAA she is finding time to explore new trails, figuratively and literally, avoiding avalanches on the way up to Crow Pass- And so a few words for Yv from me and Josh: "This is it my dear old friend Our paths it seems are at an end for now Though in time we floated free We are pulled by separate gravities to ground... Time is like this fast freight train You gotta ride, you can't remain behind And all your friends are on separate tracks And some of them they won't look back to find The one place that we all have known The one place that we call a home The place where each of us began Sure as that day rolls around When the road back home is finally found I know our paths will cross again " See you in a couple weeks! (hopefully I'll be off the DL by then-see below) General musings and happenings: Josh Ritter is married. To Dawn Landes. No kidding. I've always tried to separate myself from the personal lives of musicians, especially when I listen to their music (sometimes it's impossible, for example 1. Noah and the Whale's latest CD was only that good because of a colossal break-up w/ Laura Marling. 2. I'll never listen to John Mayer no matter how good it is. Good god, stuff a sock in it already) But Josh moved to Alaska with me. I heard my first Ritter song on KNBA, driving down to Girdwood, April 2002 "All the other girls here are stars, you are the Northern Lights...". I saw him up here a year or two ago and Dawn Landes opened for him. Nary a word from either of them. Hmm. It changes how you listen to the music, knowing who he's singing about. And now that he's happy and no longer yearning for love, what's he going to sing about? Guess I need to get his new album and find out- So Runs the World Away. and with it my grand illusions about JR. Batter Up! I'll have Newman's Hilltop record over on the right. 1-1 on Monday, putting us at 3-1 for the season. Not a bad start for the Willowbillies. My first at bat, felt something tear as I turned to run to first base. Yowza, almost couldn't walk- there goes my right quad (hopefully it's only one of the four). New injury for me. Hurts like hell, too. So I'll take the standard stubborn runner's 2 days off and see how it feels on Thursday. Crow Pass got moved a week later. Officially scratched off my running calendar due to ResPass the very next weekend and work scheduling conflicts. So ResPass is the highlight- Yv, you better be doing some scouting for me down there. Memorial Day Weekend coming up- garden central. My favorite quote of the night from M*A*S*H: (Radar walks in with 4 full shot glasses) "Scotch anyone? We ran out of ice so I used Bourbon."