The Duke

A lot of people have heard of Madison County, Iowa because of its covered bridges and the Meryl Streep/Clint Eastwood movie, "The Bridges of Madison County." But unless you are an avid fan of Western movies, you might not know the identity of Madison County's favorite son. It's John (The Duke) Wayne. John Wayne was born here in Winterset over 100 years ago...May 26, 1907 to be exact. This bigger-than-life-size bronze statue went up just this summer a couple blocks south of the courthouse square. It seems like the square would have been a better place for it...certainly there  is room. I bet there's a story why it's on this corner instead. I thought the American flag behind the statue was a nice touch. Can't get much more all-American than John Wayne! In case you can't tell...that's a big ole gun in The Duke's left hand. Two blocks east of this corner sits The Duke's birthplace...a simple little cottage that been restored and is now a museum. I took a close up of the plaque in front of the statue to show you what The Duke's name really was. You never know...this bit of information might come in handy the next time you're playing Trivial Pursuit!

Farm Life

Bob and I lived with a foot in two worlds. One world was Yellowstone; the other was our farm in southern Iowa. I wish we would have named it something catchy, but we referred to it from the beginning as the Promise City Farm and unfortunately that name stuck. Set on the top of a ridge, it should have had a view of the South Fork river valley. Instead the builder chose to orient it to have a view of the road...guess that was more important back in the early 1900's when the house was built. I felt very happy and at home here even though living on a farm was 'way out of my comfort zone. What does a girl raised in suburban California know about farm life? Not much...but I soon learned! We were dirt poor and in fact, I started life here washing clothes in an old wringer washer and hanging them on the line to dry. Here's a bit of trivia you might like to know: in the depth of an Iowa winter, it takes exactly two and a half days for blue jeans to dry hanging in the basement. Besides learning the intricacies of the wringer washer (which BTW is awesome for washing really dirty stuff!), I learned how to drive a tractor, rake and bale hay, and use a chain saw. I helped build fence, build corrals, and build ponds. I learned about raising buffalo, raising chickens, and raising step-kids. I helped restore several acres of farmland to native prairie grass and helped restore the old Methodist church I attended in town. I planted two huge gardens, learned that in Iowa God provides the irrigation with rain (who knew..I'm from California), and taught myself how to can and preserve my crops. I became part of a small town community in Iowa where life revolves around church, family and the local school. And experienced the pure joy of fireflies, bullfrogs, and skinny-dipping in the pond under a velvety Iowa sky and twinkling stars. Good memories!

The Yellowstone Years

Married, divorced....single again I made my way back to Yellowstone in 1979. Working again at the hospital in Lake, I reveled in all things outdoors...hiking, backpacking, riding, fishing...during my off hours. Meeting Bob introduced me to the world of the back country Ranger and life in the wilderness. I absolutely loved it! We hiked the boundary of Yellowstone National Park and the Absaroka Wilderness, we pitched our backpack camp in remote valleys and hauled supplies by horsepack into the back country cabins in Pelican Valley. I learned how to pack panniers, throw a box hitch, and lead a string of mules. I cooked over an open fire, in a wood cookstove, and on a tiny backpacker's stove. I split wood, wrangled horses and cleared trail. I became a real mountain woman, and I still count that among my most worthy accomplishments. I was lucky to be able to share this life with Travis and later on with Bob's kids, Sunni and Scott. These are experiences that none of us will ever forget. And they became the catalyst for Trav's career in bear management at the Yellowstone Center for Resources in the Park. The photo on the bottom shows me, Travis, Bob, and an oldtime Thorofare Ranger, whose name, of course, I can't remember! We visited him at his camp deep in the Teton Wilderness just outside the southeast boundary of the Park. He was back for a nostalgic visit to a place that was very special in his life. How well I can relate. Thorofare and this part of Yellowstone still holds a piece of my heart as well. It is one of those magical places for me that gives me a sense of my place in the world, a place where I tested myself and proved myself worthy, the place that made me realize....if I can do this challenging thing, I can do anything!

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

One of the fun things (actually the only fun thing!) about all the packing/purging I've been doing has been looking through old photo albums that I haven't opened in a long time. I've alluded in this blog that I've had 'other lives' before Red Bell Farm, but I haven't been able to blog much about them since I like to add a photo to my blog entries. Earlier this year I purchased a new copier that also scans and faxes. Voila...I can now share some images from those other lives from far away and long ago! August 2, 1969: I married Skip Wyman at the United Methodist Church in Point Loma, CA. That's my dear friend, Mickey on my right; Skip's friend, Carlos Joseph stood up with him. It's hard to believe that was almost 40 years ago...OMG! where does time go? Travis was born Feb. 1, 1972. Look at him hugging his bears...who knew he'd be in love with bears 38 years later?

St. Joseph

I'm starting to feel a bit of a sense of urgency about selling my house. I have 'places to go and things to do' and getting this house sold is key to moving forward with some opportunities that commence the end of August. So, I've decided to call in the big guns and turn this over to a Higher Power. My St. Joseph Sell-Your-House Kit arrived in this afternoon's mail. I carefully read the instructions which mainly say it doesn't matter one bit how you bury or place this little statue; what matters is that you believe and place your request in the hands of God. I know..I've heard all the urban myths before...he has to be buried upside-down by your For Sale sign facing the house, yada, yada, yada! But the little brochure says it doesn't make any difference...just pray to St. Joseph to petition on behalf of your request and let it be. So, I said the prayers and  buried him right side up by my sign facing the house. I was pretty specific that this sale needs to happen fairly quickly so I can be out of here by the middle of August. It's out of my hands now. If it is to be...it will be!

Packing and Purging

I wish I could tell you I'm 'packing and purging' because I sold my house! That hasn't happened. But I've decided to take advantage of this time to purge, get rid of, toss, donate, and trash everything that I don't absolutely need. I've started with my book collection. I'm almost embarrassed by how many I have; it's a sickness, I think! I don't have much trouble passing on novels to others, but I can hardly bear to get rid of all the non-fiction, the memoirs, the art books, the poetry books,etc. I'm being totally ruthless, though; almost everything is going to the Half Price Bookstore. They pay you a pittance for them, but at least they take them all. I'm also triaging movies. All VHS tapes...outta here along with most of my DVDs. I do have some home movie VHS tapes that I'm recording over to DVD format. That's been fun...last night I watched Travis graduate from high school. Yes, there was a tear in my eye...20 years later!!....when they played "Pomp and Circumstance." And I cheered once again when Ernie Schmell handed Trav his diploma. Some memories absolutely have to be preserved!

Choices, Choices...

This year's vernissage at Laury's Chatette is Saturday, August 28th. I'm already hard at work figuring out which photos I will send Laury to hang on the beautiful stone walls of her cave. If you remember, last year I sent two large framed photos...a pair of Provencal shoes and an intimate close up of a luscious hollyhock. This year I've chosen to go smaller. These photos are all 5x5" and whichever one(s) I choose to frame will nestle in a matted 8x8" frame. The souls of flowers have been calling to me all spring, begging me to receive their beauty. I hardly had to be tempted at all! The choices now are which ones and how many? Should I go with just one or a cluster of four? Should a group be all the same color family or all the same flower or should I mix it up some with a yellow, a purple, a pink?

Here's the biggest choice of all....should I mail them via international post....or hand-deliver them to Cadrieu in person?