Awwww!

First baby bison of the year! So, so cute! It was nursing on its mama out on the football field in front of work this morning.

By the way...it's snowing. Still/again/forever.

Lazy days and Sunday...

There's just something about falling asleep while listening to public radio on a snowy grey afternoon in late April. Rain and snow in the forecast for the foreseeable future, drat. I hope we get some nice weather for the FS cabin next weekend!

Best get back to that radio...

Huh.

It snowed all night. After my first hike of the year on Wednesday, where I laid on the grass and didn't even get muddy, this is what happens. You have to be strong to survive here.

Sun-warmed

It is a glorious day. I mean, the kind of day that when you walk outside the sun greets you like a physical presence on your face and bare arms and the inside of your car smells like toasted leather and dirt and the birds are making such a racket you're not sure if you love them or hate them. But mostly you love them. And the light is golden and the land around you has a newly-hatched look, even though on close inspection it's still just the same old brown hills and dusty streets. The light, after the hard glare of winter, is now a caressing, playful, friendly thing that brings smiles and the opening of both your arms and your soul. Your eyes, though, squint in the brightness, unaccustomed after the long dark winter to such plenty.

Life is so much...more open now!

Even though I have a few more edits to do on my paper, I'm pretty much done, done, done with my MA. The paperwork has been signed and hands have been shook. No more studying. No more feeling guilty while I procrastinate. No more thinking that no matter what I'm doing, it's not going to be good enough. Because, you know what? It was good enough. Yippee!

So last night I made a healthy dinner. And it was delish. I made lovely roasted asparagus w/ a divine soy/balsamic vinegar sauce. And I baked salmon in a tiny bit of butter and lemon which was perhaps the best salmon I've ever had. And then, I was going to make wild rice and a low-sugar, low-fat strawberry rhubarb crunch. Unfortunately, by the time I went to the store, took Ruffers for a walk, hung out at the football field waiting for a bison cow to give birth (which she never did and now the herd's gone, so I don't know what the heck happened), and got my act together, I didn't have time for the rice or dessert. So instead I had 2 dinner rolls w/ Brommel & Brown butter and blueberry-blackberry jelly. Kind of a starch/dessert in one deal. Life is good, good, good.

Alicia Murphy, MA

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I now have a Masters in History!


This feels weird. Really weird.

Happy Easter!

Lovely, lovely day. I slept with the windows open last night and woke to a glorious morning. The sun was actually warm on my face as I let Ruffers out at around 8:00. The drive to Livingston was perfect. I saw a bald eagle, 2 ospreys on their nest, a big horn sheep ewe, 3 sandhill cranes, and lots of little baby calves. I love when calves are new--for the first few weeks they have pointy little behinds, and that silhouette really speaks of springtime, birth, and cuteness.

Brunch in Big Timber was as good as ever. And, I ate a lot, of course. But strangely, I'm hungry again already. Sigh.

There's green on the hillsides and the sky is blue, blue, blue. I came home over East River Road to immerse myself in the afternoon sunshine.

Now I'm ostensibly studying for my oral exams, which are tomorrow afternoon. I don't really know what else to study, because I feel that I've prepared pretty well. I hope this isn't false confidence. My aim is to not be cursing myself tomorrow at noon.