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Pre- Malaria: fat in Zim

Writers with first books MANY years later

Wyoming

Back from Wyoming, exhausted, behind, but happy we went. Lib cooked for a wedding in Jackson , for the daughter of one of many old climbers and Outward Bound guides who she knew in her days there, when as they say "the billionaires hadn't kicked out the millionaires." In her day it was more a mix of climbing hippies and Mormon ranchers, and a house could still be had for Magdalenian prices.

A few old friends remain. Mark and Jeannie Clark brought in Libby and legendary river rat- resterauter Martha Clark (no relation-- she is also Peculiar's "other mother" and maybe L's best friend) and a crew of old adventurers to ramrod the making of such things as 565 tamales from scratch. A fine time was had by all, especially Libby who enjoyed a reunion party before the wedding where I got to meet many storied faces who remain in or came to Jackson and environs, and put names to them. She also danced more at the wedding than I have seen her do in the almost 20 years we have been together! We stayed at Andy and Nancy Carson's and I believe I have made some new friends as well as connected with some old ones-- I mean you, Carsons, plus Jocelyn, Joanne, Jennifer, Mark, Jeannie, Martha, Bobby, Matt, Tina, Bernie (no, STILL another Matt!) and anyone forgotten...

The only person at the party from my "side of the family", ie writers, was Ted Kerasote. He has a third dog volume in the works and we agreed on the health problems facing today's dogs, especially genetics and closed studbooks-- more to come.

But I basically have almost no pix because I spent most of the week with Cat, Jim, and their animals a couple of hours south in the big sage plains between the Wyoming range on the west and the Wind Rivers to the east, as different a world from Jackson as Jackson is from Magdalena. Yankee- born or no, I feel more at home in rangeland than in the haunts of the very (VERY) rich. I only took my Canon point & shoot for ease so some landscapes are flattened, and a few shot through windows are blurred, but it will give you some idea. Remember to click to embiggen!

Cat and flock guardian Luv, taking a break-- the male Aziat, Rant, is with the flock in the river bottom...

Here:

Luv looks; they are coming up to the gate...


Here comes Rant...

Cat greets the big Nevada donkeys-- do you believe I may consider one as old- age mountain transportation? Jim has me half convinced...

Back home, the Urbigkits with the active herding dogs old and new...


I'll have you know, we didn't as much drink like "Kazakhs" as we drank & talked like scholars of animal domestication-- but we still finished the bottle(s?) at 3 AM-- and got up at six.

...And one of Lib washing dishes with another veteran Outward Bound Andy, Wilson. Despite the concentration she insists she hasn't had as much fun in public since Peculiar's wedding!

Thanks!

Busy-- just finished an assignment for Shooting Sportsman, starting two pieces on spec for Double Gun Journal, taking notes for my forthcoming Living Bird review, reading galleys of Pete Dunne's new installment in his seasonal birding series, Arctic Autumn (outspokenly pro- hunting, among other virtues, and yes, he gets a blurb!)...

But need to thank whoever got Levy's new "Pleistocene Overkill" book Once & Future Giants from my Wish List, and whoever thought of and sent The Horse, the Wheel, and Language, which also looks close to my heart's obsessions.

Re Overkill: I am aware Paul Martin, who first conceived of the Pleistocene Blitz: an inspiration to multidisciplinary researchers and to me personally though I only met him once, when he handed me a 12,000 year- old chunk of giant sloth dung; Libby's brother's PhD advisor; brave survivor of polio's effects for over 50 years; controversial proponent of "re- wilding", and of, in Michael McClure's and Grayal Farr's phrase, of Bringing Back the Pleistocene, is dead at 82. I hope I can convince busy Reid to put him in some proper paleontological- archaeological context (he crossed boundaries-- Libby's brother was a palynologist!) But meanwhile: Paul Martin, RIP.

Recovering

Thanks to all of your generous help, Irbis is on the way to recovery.

he is not at all sure about the collar.


But he is even walking!

Thanks to Jeff Nicoll, Reid & Connie Farmer, Matt Mullenix, Cat Urbigkit, Chris Markle, Kathy Bentzoni, Anne, Chas Clifton, Stacey Patterson, Bill & Katie, Joan Holdsworthy, Mike Wilborn, Dave Dixon, Gary Moody and Oriana Rodman, Mike & Amelia, Paul Domski, "Johnnie UK", Sy Montgomery, Sherri Beregovoy, Laura Belkin, Jennifer Kent, Marty & David, Maggie Jones, LabRat & Stingray, Dan & Margaret, Terence & Karen, and AT LEAST four large donors who either wanted to be anonymous or were not recorded by the vet's front office.

If I don't have your address send it to me or to Peculiar-- he is planning a photo for our pup's saviors.