It's snowing in the mountains today. I can see that it starts about 300-500 feet up. They say there will be 7 inches of snow in the mountains by nightfall. But in the valley, they are predicting just half an inch. So I thought I'd better get my Fall pictures published before they get covered over with snow impressions.
The weekend before last, I should have stayed home to unpack and fix up. But it was a beautiful weekend, so I went out exploring the Logan Canyon. I had my cell phone with me and took some pictures. The Logan Canyon is part of the Cache-Wasatch National Park, which covers a lot of ground -- maybe 1/2 of the upper and eastern part of the state - up to Wyoming and Idaho. The Wasatch mountains are the western edge of the Rockies. And the Logan canyon begins just around the corner from where I work in Logan. I'll include some pictures. Pictures don't do justice, though, because they can't capture the vastness, distance, and line of sight. I'd need a 360 degree camera for that. Or maybe you'll just have to come and visit me to see for yourself.
It was very quiet outside at home in Newton on Sunday morning with the Mormons - known as "LDS" around here - in church from 9-noon or so. It was just me and the pheasants out there. So I decided to venture out and try to get closer to the body of water that I can see from my house. It is sort of a marshland with branched-out ponds and a slow river that winds its way through the valley. A small reservoir has been made by damming the river, called Bear Creek. I can launch my canoe into it about 1/4 mile from my house. There are lots of ducks, other birds, and cattails in the marsh. And I even saw a group of seagulls. The seagull is the state bird of Utah. Go figure -- in a "dry" state (although I did find the local liquor store). Although I suppose the Salt Lake is a lot like an ocean. I'll also attach a picture or 2 of the valley. There are lots of cattle and horses in this valley, too, as you'll see.
The "official" story about the seagulls says that they're here because there was a plague of crickets that threatened the crops one year, way back when. So God sent seagulls from California. These bulimic gulls ate the crickets and then threw them up in the ditches, and then went and ate some more, which save the crops that year. And they liked this place so much that they just never left.
Last Saturday, the valley fields were full of hunters. Quail and pheasant hunting season started that day. And I heard guns going off on and off all day. And some pretty pheasants were hiding in the back corner of my yard. I guess they could tell I was gunless.
The neighbors have been stopping by with caramel corn, bread, advice about where to find the best views, questions about the big boat that's in dry dock in my back yard (it's a large, semi-famous racing yacht called Bay Bea, that belongs to the previous owner), and information about the LDS (latter day saints) church. I went to the Episcopal Church on Sunday, which was very small, and reminded me of the solid simple beauty of the churches/mosques/temples in Spain. The choir was as big as the congregation. They were shaking incense ahead of the procession-- I don't know if I've ever seen that in the Episcopal church before.
After church, I stopped in a college-oriented cafe. They had good coffee and a keyboard-guitar duo playing jazz. So that was a welcome reminder of civilization as I know it. It was raining. I didn't realize how high up we are until I noticed that I was sort of looking down on the clouds, which sit in the valleys between the mountains. the picture at the top of this post is a view of the valley from the top of chocolate mountain, which is just west of Newton.
I don't have much information to offer about my work yet ... and if I did, I couldn't tell you anyway ;). I suppose the security clearance issue around here will teach me to keep my mouth shut (do I hear applause coming from the ghosts of all of my Jr. high school teachers?). Funny, they didn't ask me about those particular skills during the interview process.
Sue
The "official" story about the seagulls says that they're here because there was a plague of crickets that threatened the crops one year, way back when. So God sent seagulls from California. These bulimic gulls ate the crickets and then threw them up in the ditches, and then went and ate some more, which save the crops that year. And they liked this place so much that they just never left.
Last Saturday, the valley fields were full of hunters. Quail and pheasant hunting season started that day. And I heard guns going off on and off all day. And some pretty pheasants were hiding in the back corner of my yard. I guess they could tell I was gunless.
The neighbors have been stopping by with caramel corn, bread, advice about where to find the best views, questions about the big boat that's in dry dock in my back yard (it's a large, semi-famous racing yacht called Bay Bea, that belongs to the previous owner), and information about the LDS (latter day saints) church. I went to the Episcopal Church on Sunday, which was very small, and reminded me of the solid simple beauty of the churches/mosques/temples in Spain. The choir was as big as the congregation. They were shaking incense ahead of the procession-- I don't know if I've ever seen that in the Episcopal church before.
After church, I stopped in a college-oriented cafe. They had good coffee and a keyboard-guitar duo playing jazz. So that was a welcome reminder of civilization as I know it. It was raining. I didn't realize how high up we are until I noticed that I was sort of looking down on the clouds, which sit in the valleys between the mountains. the picture at the top of this post is a view of the valley from the top of chocolate mountain, which is just west of Newton.
I don't have much information to offer about my work yet ... and if I did, I couldn't tell you anyway ;). I suppose the security clearance issue around here will teach me to keep my mouth shut (do I hear applause coming from the ghosts of all of my Jr. high school teachers?). Funny, they didn't ask me about those particular skills during the interview process.
Seriously, it is relaxed, quiet, and comfortable for me at work right now. A new director started on the same day I did. He calls this organization a "national treasure." I'm sure it is. Most of our work is with sensors (cameras, lenses, mirrors, etc) which go in satellites, airplanes, and spacecraft and the storage and transmittal of images. There is a drawing of a cowboy (looks like a young John Wayne) in the conference room with some a quote under it that says: "There's a helluvalot they didn't tell me when I signed onto this outfit." There are lots of outer space pictures on the walls -- a Hubble space telescope photo of star cloud in the Eagle Nebula, a space photo of the lights on earth, a photo of "Daybreak over the Rockies" taken from space. There are also displays of interesting equipment, which is manufactured and tested here. You can't tell the managers from the phDs from the workers here. Everyone just works together in an honest way. About 100 students work here part time. So I'm uniquely "experienced." Some people might call it "elderly," which seems as strange to me as seagulls in northern Utah.
See you later (I hope) ... as soon as I get my head out of the clouds.
See you later (I hope) ... as soon as I get my head out of the clouds.
Sue
1 comment:
That sounds like a really great cafe. You could relax there and listen to music, or get some reading done.
I guess you're not the only bird who thought it would be a good idea to migrate to Northern Utah for awhile. :)
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