LETTERS FROM WHITE BIRD
	Friday, July 11
	Click to see last week's letter, White Bird Chronicles, or Leaving the City

I skipped a few weeks since I wrote here last because we've been so busy drilling wells, entertaining company, camping, and trying to do the footwork for eventually generating a little income here.

...Oh, and working on the model airplane I got from John. It has been great fun cutting out the balsa, assembling the framework for the fuselage, wings etc...and, of course, sniffing the airplane glue. I expect to finish it properly but right now I just like to look at it dangling from the ceiling by some fishing leader. When I made such models as a boy, this was the stage at which I would usually stop. We'll see if adulthood (I hesitate to use the term "maturity") has changed my mode of operating.

While Jane was off in St. Paul MN I did some wandering around--with camera, of course. The canola fields were in full bloom and very beautiful. I don't know the economics or agricultural technologies here, but the plant appears to be a crop-alternative to wheat. You could see the startlingly brilliant patches from miles away. Contrast always draws my attention and these beautiful fields certainly did. I've wondered what part of the plant produces the oil. It can't be the flowers, they're gone now and the unharvested fields remain. I saw this low-cholesterol acreage near Grangeville.

Wednesday we took our monthly shopping trek to Lewiston. Sure it's important to eat, but the main thing is that I got my film processed--5 rolls of it. So this newsletter is going to be more pictorial than usual. (I'd better check the space I'm using at Teleport. They allow 5 megabytes but these graphics really gobble it up, and I've got several Web sites there already.)

We have been company-rich this summer, and with more to come. Travis, Jordan, Mom and John had already been here when I wrote last. Since then our home has been honored by the presence of Steve and Mary, Jordan again for 4 weeks, Katie and Juli. Tami and her boys are due to arrive Sunday night.

I only include the lineup photo over here on the right to point out one of life's truly compelling questions...like why the hell does Steve get to keep his hair and I don't? What's fair about that, anyway?

Juli says that, for her, Gus' misadventures weave a thread of continuity through these notes. So here he is again, Juli, this time showing off his suspension system. We were down on the Salmon River, at our favorite white-sand beach which had just been revealed again after being submerged during the runoff. Travis will remember the place.

If we leave Gus at home he hears our returning noises, gets excited and jumps up like that to catch sight of us through the back door window. We see his scruffy little brillo head popping up, his neck stretched to the max and, seemingly, even his eyeballs extended to get that last glimpse of us before he falls out of sight. Then up he comes again, until we unlock the door.

Kate brought Jordan to stay for a month but we didn't get to see much of Katie herself; a night and one nice day, then she headed out to Portland via the southern route. It is about 100 miles farther that way and when I took it the time was exactly the same as going through Lewiston. Kate was held up by construction so it cost her an hour. But it is beautiful (so is the other route but I hate always going the same way).

Here she is watering her bear, Joe, on the way up to our property.

Summer made us aware of another wonderful thing about this place. White Bird Creek runs about 200 feet behind our house and the White Bird swimming hole is right there. Kids from throughout the community come to swim there. Some have tubed down the creek, all the way to the river. I went in one hot day to move a rock around, got wet and ended up working for an hour on the rock "dam" the kids had started last year to raise the water level. Being only four feet at the deepest place, no one worries too much. Kids jump or dive off the rocks, float around in the eddy or race downstream in the current. It has everything a kid could want.

Juli went right in with Jordy. They're showing off the inlet end of the swimming hole in this picture. In the other one Jordan is just showing off. When Andy came to pick her up he arrived just before dark. Late or not, Jordy had to show her dad what was what in the pool, blue lips and all.

She became famous while she was here--at least at the Grangeville library. Got to put on the library walls a sticker with her name on it for every book she read. With 27 of them, she's everywhere.

Here's Juli, just off the point of our building pad and surrounded by wildflowers and rocks painted with lichen—several of which she brazenly pilfered. We had hiked down to check the status of some aspens I had planted. They were well, of course. Hey, you do know who you're dealing with here don't you?

Juli and I spent one of the days she was here together, just the two of us. It was a fine one, interesting things happening from start to finish. We had breakfast at Hoots, drank coffee and caught up on the Portland/White Bird news. But it was too good a day to stop there. When I mentioned Riggins, some 25 miles down the road, we said, "Shoot, let's go." So we did. On the way down we kept passing things I wanted to show Juli and we kept saving them for on the way back. It became a list too long to attend to by the time we got there. We took in some local color, got an ice cream cone, Juli bought some clothes and we stopped at a gift shop. When the owner saw that we were not going to buy anything she said, "Would you like to see our adult room?" Juli got real quiet. This seemed very bizarre to me--a town of 500 people, economy based on rafting, tucked away in the nether reaches of Idaho, and offering what you might expect to see in Reno or way downtown Portland. I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud and asked did that mean adult books, videos, marital aids, what?. Juli said, "DAD, I don't want to hear it!" I was still chuckling as we left.

We turned hard east at Riggins, tracing the main Salmon upstream. We followed it through that breathtaking canyon for about ten miles. We saw a burrowing owl, talked to some rafters and an old couple digging for garnets. We met a young woman who was photographing rafters. She would snap several from the bridge as they came by, rush down to her headquarters, process the film and sell prints to them. Four people got pitched out of a raft in some heavy water right beneath us. Anyway, we talked about photography and I mentioned my osprey shots. She said she knew someone who is looking for a good osprey picture--a guy who had worked for her outfit and had gone out on his own to start "Osprey Adventures." So I'm now tracking this guy down, which is a story in itself.

Besides the osprey coincidence, we kept meeting people from White Bird, saw Cereghino Realty signs (the father of Debi's high school friend from Sherwood), and stopped to visit some friends in Slate Creek where we drank lemonade under the biggest black walnut tree in Idaho (anywhere, from the look of it). And all of that spectacular scenery in the company of one fine daughter. Then we tried to attend to our list on the way back. A day to remember, I'd say.

I don't think Jane and I have ever camped out before but we have now--two days up on the Selway River, about 80 miles from here, on the way to Missoula. Jane had gone through this area on her way to St. Paul but the rivers were raging then. She saw people rafting even then. It is very wild country and more timbered than around White Bird--reminds me of places around Missoula. Wow, What a river! I knew instantly I would have to fish this year, non-resident or not. Now here's an Idaho puzzler: it takes 90 days to become a resident (ie, pay auto fees, etc.) but 180 days to qualify for resident fish and game permits. Could that be money I smell in this policy? I can't figure it out

We did all the camping things, including hot dogs and marshmallows, then got out of Dodge before the 4th weekend. But we're coming back for more.

We did see an osprey and GBH out in front of our camp, but because of the timber, the animals are not as visible here. So I concentrated on other things--like flowers and these Orange Tip butterflies showing communal interest in a pile of something or other (don't ask). The little outcast in front seems to be scoping out his chances to make off with a bite. Welcome to it, I say.

We had a great campsite. On the river, off the road. Plenty of shade. Gus slept with Jordy in the orange tent. Together they fended off those creatures that go bump in the night when you are out camping in the woods.

We were on the edge of the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness area. The vegetation reminded me of places I used to hunt in western Montana. Outfitters who raft the upper Selway River start out of Darby, Montana, where I got a 5-point bull elk that we wrapped and tied around a VW bug to get it home. Had to climb out of the windows when we stopped to get a drink (and lots of attention) in Darby.

We see a lot of interesting insects here--bizarre is more like it. Wait til you see the moth that came to our back porch light a few days ago (next time). Here is a wierd little moth that I snapped as he clung to our siding. The camoflage job would be great in a pile of leaves...or maybe cigar butts, but I can't think how that might have evolved.

It is now Friday, July 18—a full week after I promised to get this update loaded. Blame it on Tami. She, Travis and Anthony have been here since Sunday. We've had a great time and caught up in ways you can't when all parties are working. Man, oh man, the energy level has gone through the roof compared with normal around here. Jane and I have definitely gotten out of condition for this kind of activity. I see Tami, Debi and Katie doing parenthood but I don't remember how we did it. We must have, though, evidence abounds. Don't worry, we'll get in shape.

It is getting late. I'll finish and post this in the morning, promise (yeah, I know). We had several adventures this week with Tami and the boys. I should have the photos processed by the end of next week so I'll save them all for the next installment.

Stay well, everyone.

TCC