Thistle and Lady Bison kisses

I truly believe I must have more fun than the average human being. I’m not going to apologize, either, because I think it’s just in the way I look at things. I really don’t think I’m involved in anything that anyone else isn’t. Okay, maybe I do live in a wonderful place, although, if you talk to some of the kids who grew up here, they’d beg to differ. It always amazes me when the kids around Buffalo say there is nothing to do or that dumb winter has set in and they are bored.

Of course, I do remember being that sloe-eyed, rebellious age when I thought adults were incredible idiots. You remember…it was hard to figure out just how “old people” managed to function with their lack of knowledge?  Then, about 27-30ish, you came back to your senses and felt most had normal intelligence again?

Somehow, I manage to make every day an adventure, that’s all I’m trying to say. And, yes, I’m very verbose at times (that means I take a lot of words to make a point).  Ask my husband or my friends about that verbosity thing. I think it actually irritates them.  I know it irritates Rob.  He’s always telling me to get to the point of my story. I can’t help it, though. I guess I think that all conversations require that you fill in all the background before you say “and then I saw…” I apologize, folks.  I realized it yesterday when I was talking to a store clerk… in of all places, Walgreen’s.  I saw that glaze over that Rob gets when I’m taking too long to get to “the crux of the biscuit”.

I was in purchasing one of those new “Blu” e-cigarettes. My friend, Bobbie, has gotten one, and had let me try hers the other night at the Moose.  As I’ve told you, I’m always making serious movement toward quitting and here’s another thing that just might help.  I tried those e-cigs, when they first came out a few years ago.  They hadn’t quite perfected all the stuff yet.  No pack to hold it in, so I lost about 4 of them in short order, left here and there.  And you had to refill them with gooey nicotine juice yourself (well, you didn’t HAVE to, but I save money where I can).  All in all, though, they just weren’t ready for prime time.

So, I tried Bobbie’s Blu and it felt pretty good.  Nice pull on it and heavenly smoke comes out. Got its own little pack to keep it in which even keeps it charging.  It even has a “social” feature on the pack that blinks blue if you are near someone else who has a Blu…kinda cool.  I guess you can be semi-miserable together.  I can just see myself now…standing in a crowded place and all of a sudden my pack starts flashing. I guess I’m supposed to start asking everyone “Who’s the other loser who is trying to quit?”  Regardless, I came home yesterday and charged the sucker up and am giving it the old college try starting today.

The clerk in Walgreen’s was victim to my verbosity because she had asked why I was getting one.  Luckily, she had just put up her “closed” sign or we might both be in trouble because I had to answer her in longhand. Bet she’ll never ask me anything again.  Of course, if she hadn’t continued to ask more questions, we wouldn’t have spent 15 minutes together. Lady at Walgreen’s, I’m sorry I took up so much of you break time! She really didn’t seem to mind too awful much, though. She banters with me every time I go in there.

We also hit the wildlife pen yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and Rob wanted to get some good shots of the big elk guy in there. Thistle and I walk while he’s doing that. There was a huge Bison (Buffalo) laying near the fence right near the walking path so I took Thistle over to get a close look at him.  While I was trying to get her to focus on the big guy, a younger female Bison came right up and started sticking her big gray tongue through the fence. After checking , indeed, that was all she would be able to get through that little hole, I let Thistle get right up to her!  Lady Bison was really friendly and curious and so was Thistle. 

Lady B would snort gently a big blast of air (which we could see because it was chilly) and Thistle would sniff, sniff, sniff, almost enveloped in a cloud of her steam.  Then, out would come the tongue from Lady B. Finally, Thistle stuck her face close enough that she got licked right up the face by Lady B. This seemed to make the bison even more excited, but not in a bad or threatening way, which kinda surprised me, as they can be very dangerous.  We stood there for probably five minutes with big clouds of bison air billowing out toward Thistle and random licks. They almost seemed to be communicating! The most unusual thing (okay it was ALL unusual) was that Thistle was completely calm and focused the whole time. No puppy antics, no jumping or barking or clawing at the fence this time! I think she could feel the power of the big lady. I don’t know, really, it was just surreal.

Of course, we got none of it on film.  Rob did get some great shots of the elk, however. So, you never know when you are going to have an adventure, do you? Around here, it seems it’s every day.  You just have to open your eyes and really look at what’s around you.  Nature can be so awesome, even if you live in a big city!  I used to live in downtown Baltimore and had a fire escape off my living room window at one of my apartments. I’d put out plates of bird food out there and get some amazing birds!  Okay, got a lot of freaking pigeons, too, but if you look close, they have pretty colors, too. 

I think there’s beauty everywhere, not just here in Buffalo, WY.  I do not, however, want to live anywhere else.  We seem to have a perfect mix of everything here for me (although, Lord, I’ll take a few more restaurants, please).  We have real seasons here, which I love because I love all the seasons. I think each one has its own unique beauty.  When I lived in California, I really missed the changing seasons.  It hardly ever rains here in summer, so you can make plans without fear. Spring is just shockingly amazing when the brown and white landscape turns green and there’s hundreds of thousands of new births everywhere, both domestic cattle & sheep and the baby deer & pronghorn antelope are prancing about.  Fall is spectacular when the aspens turn! Winter, ah, winter…still my favorite!  The snow here is so dry and crystallized, picks up color like you can’t believe.  Yes, it’s cold. I do believe we’ve perfected warm clothing, however, and dressed properly (and not trying to look like a fashion model) can be enjoyed just as much as the other seasons.

I’ll leave you with my two favorite quotes of all time on this crisp, beautiful February morning….

This one hangs over my stove:

“In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus

And in my library:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I come to die, discover that I had not lived” Henry David Thoreau