Quirky

Maybe it's a sign that I'm starting to fit in...which I've never really been any good at but lately I've been noticing some quirky things about this new place on the planet for me. AND I'm starting to think that this place is a bit more liberal than my first impression, I like that. With MP in Helena nursing her mom from a fall two days ago I decided to drive to Stevensville just to see. Well, they call it Stevi and the 2 block downtown area is charming, it really it is. I came across a message or two...

The bottom pic didn't turn out so good but it was on a variety store and part of it said ' political humor always welcome ' . This day and age that's a pretty big statement and a bit chancy I'd say...As we walk along the river everyday we came across this fence. Now MPeasy has a theory for everything but this one left her a little stumped, maybe it was to scare off the deer when they jumped the fence and made them fall, or maybe the hole wasn't deep enough and they needed to be weighed down....or maybe somebody just hated to see a flat spot wasted, I don't know and neither does MP.

 In Alaska if you've got a truck over 20 years old with no rust or dents that's a pretty darn rare thing. So I get down here with that old truck I love and figure people will notice how nice it is and it's even from Alaska...Nope, that's another thing I was wrong about. Around here there's nice old stuff everywhere and it's way easier to keep it all nice and clean. I remember Denny Carlson giving us advice about moving things to Montana ' don't bring any old s*^# , there's lots of it in Montana '. Here's a pic of me with my white truck and an even older one that I parked next to at the hardware store the other day.

But...you do need to keep your stuff out of the sun and especially don't use the shade trees to do that. This neighbor of mine could plant a crop on his ride.

We went over Skalkahoe Pass to visit MP's sister at Moose Lake. Reminded me how big the country is. It was only 60 miles but on a winding dirt road it took 2 full hours and took another year off the life of my white pick up. I have NEVER seen corduroy so bad in my life. MP's niece Becky gave me some good ( but useless ) advice ' just drive fast enough that bounce over every 3rd or 4th bump.  But the drive was beautiful....we took the long way home on the interstate..did I tell you about  those 80 mph speed limits ?

There's something to be said about walking just a few blocks to downtown. The Saturday Market is much like Soldotna's but with just a more local produce. We walk and hold hands and it's familiar and makes me feel good. We come across what every one of these deals has, the send a shallow message on your t-shirt booth, I get a little tired of that.

So it was wonderful to then run into this fella playing the guitar. He seemed a bit nervous like he was new new to busking but his melodies were wonderful. I guess the only way to describe his handicap playing was that he plucked the guitar. He had tuned to an open key and it was like a good finger picker like my friend Chuck Sanders. As I threw some green into his guitar case I asked him if he sang at all...he said it was tough enough just doing this . So all I can tell him is this, thanks for reminding me how  lucky I've been and god love ya.

Speaking of guitars , I finally got all my stuff unpacked and when I played that first night I realized how much I missed it and maybe that's part of the reason I've not been feeling like my old self. So I promise you this, when MP gets back tomorrow we'll record a song or two and I will have it on facebook and my next blog for sure.

  And here's my new version of the eagle eating a salmon pic.

Several Osprey nest and hang out on the lights at the baseball field and the river is only a wing flap or two away...Now I'm wondering about winter, do you suppose they find the dump like Kenai's majestic  Bald Eagles ????

And oh, in the what ever it's worth department we kinda semi-ran -into Kevin Costner and his bunch filming Yellowstone. And I have some advice for you Kevin. Get rid of the black Suburbans and get some White or better yet maybe even some different colored ones so people won't think you're either a politician or a narco...or somewhere in between....

That would be a rocking Y