Winter is upon us here, snowed for three days. Have a grass-fed beef and wether, "a yearling sheep" in the freezer. The kind words and descriptions of your trip out here are great to read.

Quakies [aspen] are my favorite tree. They pioneer and shade new growth, especially spruce. My mother would lay me upon old sleeping bags when I was an infant, bathe me in a wash tub. She said I would gaze at the leaves on the quakies, and go to sleep.

My Father would wrap me up in his ragged hunting jacket, I wore until it fell apart as an adult, and show me the constellations, and taught me to recognize the North Star. We fished and hunted together many times. I miss him greatly, even when he bloodied my nose teaching me to fight.

-Your friend, Ishmael