The days are getting shorter, even as I type. Although I miss the 10pm sunsets of summer, the early nights remind us to come in from the cold, enjoy the alpenglow views, and have some hot cocoa. It’s been a beautiful, mild fall, with migratory fowl honking their way south across the cerulean skies. Although we’ve just a floof of snow in the valley, the mountain peaks are capped and we are expecting an Arctic Blast a few days after Thanksgiving. I love our Four Seasons in Montana. (Yes, you will need to remind me of that when it’s 20 below.)
The Harriotts wandered a bit this year. Jeff’s Big Adventure was a trek to Everest Base Camp in November. I was fretting because avalanches a week earlier killed climbers and sherpas just 20 miles from Jeff’s route, but he had great weather and no complications. Altitude was a challenge, but Jeff toughed it out and summited on November 17. It was cold and steep, but the views were epic. Jeff was able to stay in some luxury “tea houses” part of the way with electric blankets and hot water and sit-down toilets. He had internet most of the trek so we were able to FaceTime. As he says after every mountain trek, “this is the last one.”
Kayla’s wedding to Jack over Memorial Day was in a lovely outdoor setting near their home in Red Wing, MN. Lots of magic in the air and good visits with my sisters and family. Both Kayla and Katerah are thriving. Kayla is a massage therapist and loving her work. Katerah is in OshKosh with her boys, Elijah and Zayden. She has started a pet sitting business and I’m so proud of her accomplishments. Her boys are adorable little gentlemen.
I launched our family trip to Italy in June with a photography workshop in Tuscany. I went to Rome first for some acclimatization time. All of Italy was overwhelmed with tourists but I had a wonderful time wandering the streets and plazas and people watching. Then I took the train to Florence in preparation for meeting my photography group and driving into Tuscany. We stayed in the quaint town of Pienza, rising early to capture sunrise and staying up late for sunset. It’s all about the light in photography. Never mind the need to sleep. We made fabulous pictures of iconic landscapes and historic buildings in the Tuscan Hills.
When I booked the photography workshop, Jeff and I decided to make a vacation around it. Dave and Tana and Sheila and Mike had never been to Italy and are committed to making the most of their retirements, so they signed on for the group venture. They joined Jeff for a tour of London before flying to Rome. Jeff LOVES London and it was fun to show it to newcomers. They had a private tour guide for the Vatican and the Colosseum, which was perfect in chaotic Rome. Next stop was Florence to meet me at the conclusion of my photography workshop.
On the drive back to Florence from our photography shoots I started feeling poorly. More poorly than early mornings and late nights should cause. I was exposed to Covid at Kayla’s wedding but thought I had passed the gestation stage. Nope. Down for the count. Lots of scrambling to find a hotel where I could isolate while contagious. Jeff et al continued their sightseeing tours without me but made me as comfortable as possible. My biggest regret is missing a daylong winery tour in the Tuscan hills. Sigh. Not the way I wanted to experience our group vacation, but we made the best of it.
Jeff is in fabulous shape for a 70-year-old retired man. He trained hard for the Everest Trek and Phoebe loved being his hiking partner. I committed to getting healthier this year and have been reasonably successful. (I’m regretting my decision to toss out so many jeans I thought I’d never squeeze into again.) Could be two-piece swimsuits on our next Maui trip without copious amounts of ruffles and skirts. Phoebe is my faithful hiking companion, pushing me to exercise these flabby old legs. Our favorite hike covers 1000 feet of elevation gain over 3 miles up and then blessedly back down. It follows a lovely creek that provides swimming stops for Phoebe. If you’ve ever wondered if a bear $h!ts in the woods, I can verify that they do. And it’s apparent that they eat LOTS of berries. We carry bear spray and a bear bell. Jeff saw a black bear twice on that trail. He rang his little bell and the bruin took off quickly. As my friend Natasha says, the bears in that drainage are very polite.
The Harriott Family convened in Iowa in July to inter the cremains of Jeff’s mother in the community cemetery in her hometown. The corn was way higher than “knee high.” Reminded me of growing up in Central Illinois. Lovely visit with many Harriotts. Jeff and Jim reveled in childhood memories and we had the opportunity to see Uncle Bill and Peg and Laura along with Don and Carol. We reconnected with the Seattle Harriotts for our annual camping trip. This time it was on the Olympic Peninsula. Jeff really misses the Seattle area.
Our homestead keeps growing and changing. We love the pavilion we built last year and Jeff is building a Trex fence to match. This year, we decided that our guest room was too small to comfortably accommodate visiting families. We blew out the wall and added a sitting room. I’ve claimed it as my “She Shed.” We added a nook that I am using as my photography editing studio because it doesn’t have the glare I fought in my old location. The conclusion is that you can visit us without being forced to camp out in our Airstream if you arrive with more than two in your party.
Unfortunately, the new and improved guest room wasn’t ready when Alice visited with granddaughter Bailey. That child is amazingly verbal and curious. She loved the animals and frequently asked “where is Astro?” She brought her books so she could read to Buster and asked her mom if Mr Chips had a baby in his belly. (Hence, the horses are on a diet. Levi protests by pooping in the hay piles in hopes that nobody else will eat it.) We had a grand reunion in Seattle last December for Jeff’s 70th Birthday Bash and spent quality time not only with grandchild Bailey, but Jackson and Addie.
Astro is slowing down but has her zoomie moments with Phoebe, usually after eating and pooping. She insists that every time I sit down (on the sofa, in my work chair, on the toilet) I must rub behind her ears. With both hands, please. Phoebe is mixture of GOGOGO and Caution. She LOVES hiking in the mountains and the opportunity to visit with her frenemies the squirrels. She always returns to my side when other hikers appear and practices excellent trailside etiquette.
My passion for photography is not diminished. In fact, it is flourishing. I’m returning to Provence and the Camargue with my favorite workshop photographers this summer. I took a trip back to the Palouse last summer to grab some new shots and have a list of new sites I’d love to photograph. In addition, I participate in a few weekly photo challenge groups that keep me shooting. My photog friends Cate and Randy and I have formed an informal group we call BCR. We Zoom every few weeks. They prod me to try new things and see things differently. I’ve learned as much from them as any class or webinar. I carry my camera with me everywhere and keep clicking the shutter. Practice is the magic sauce.
As always, we’d love to hear from you all. You can always follow my activities vicariously on my SmugMug account. I post many of my current photos there in organized galleries. I’ve created a gallery of Jeff’s Everest Photos. I still have my website but don’t update frequently. However, I’ll post this letter in the Blog section with lots of photographs to illustrate my stories.