The past few days have been picturesque for how I like to live my life: hanging around town with good friends and good food. I love Whitefish. It's the best place to come for a good microbrew, interesting people, and great entertainment. There are beautiful mountains blanketed in snow, the richness of wildlife (I like to wonder where that weasel is heading based on his tracks in the snow), and an atmosphere where everyone feels exactly the same way.
Friday, Mark and I went to a really cool show by local artists Terabyte and The Battery Eaters. Terra and Stephen live in Whitefish, and I know Stephen from spending long hours entering bobcat data in the local coffee shop. With tons of original songs and a sound that makes the soul want to dance, their electro flux style is really awesome. Plus, Terra has worked on one of the bear DNA projects in Glacier National Park, so I'm definitely up for chatting about someone who loves art and science.
The rest of the weekend was spent in a similar fashion: coffee shop for internet and phone access (yay job applications and phone interviews!), and the brewery for a pint and some good company. And food. Whitefish boasts, rightfully so, some of the best food around... get here. Ski. Eat. Etc. We celebrated Bobbie's birthday on Monday with a family/field crew barbeque. Happy Birthday to Bobcat Bobbie!
Today was supposed to be the first day back to work opening traps for bobcats. However, with one snowmobile refusing to work properly, Mark and I have a free day (two people per snowmobile). This didn't really matter, though, as today's forecast includes whiteout conditions and snow tornadoes from a nasty wind. Bobcats are hardy critters, but nothing moves around when the high is 0 F. So, no working on the mountain for any of us, as frostbite and hypothermia are inevitable with a windchill of -30 to -50 F for the next few days. I guess M1 will have to wait a bit longer for a free meal.
I spent the weekend painting, and man does it feel good to use a brush again. Of late, I've taken up chalk pastels, but this weekend I pulled out the acrylics to have some fun. Here are some of the bobcats:
Friday, Mark and I went to a really cool show by local artists Terabyte and The Battery Eaters. Terra and Stephen live in Whitefish, and I know Stephen from spending long hours entering bobcat data in the local coffee shop. With tons of original songs and a sound that makes the soul want to dance, their electro flux style is really awesome. Plus, Terra has worked on one of the bear DNA projects in Glacier National Park, so I'm definitely up for chatting about someone who loves art and science.
The rest of the weekend was spent in a similar fashion: coffee shop for internet and phone access (yay job applications and phone interviews!), and the brewery for a pint and some good company. And food. Whitefish boasts, rightfully so, some of the best food around... get here. Ski. Eat. Etc. We celebrated Bobbie's birthday on Monday with a family/field crew barbeque. Happy Birthday to Bobcat Bobbie!
Today was supposed to be the first day back to work opening traps for bobcats. However, with one snowmobile refusing to work properly, Mark and I have a free day (two people per snowmobile). This didn't really matter, though, as today's forecast includes whiteout conditions and snow tornadoes from a nasty wind. Bobcats are hardy critters, but nothing moves around when the high is 0 F. So, no working on the mountain for any of us, as frostbite and hypothermia are inevitable with a windchill of -30 to -50 F for the next few days. I guess M1 will have to wait a bit longer for a free meal.
I spent the weekend painting, and man does it feel good to use a brush again. Of late, I've taken up chalk pastels, but this weekend I pulled out the acrylics to have some fun. Here are some of the bobcats:
MUNK, or M7. 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas.
M1, or Old Faithful. 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas.
Hopefully we can get out soon to see some more of those bobcats! I've got to move my flight... I think I'm staying here a while longer. How can I not?