My husband and I use to pack in the back country there, and I lived in Dubois a couple of times in my day, and was the F&B manager at Togwotee Lodge - It is certainly stunning.
I've never packed in the Winds--too dry and rocky for me--but I have done a lot of fieldwork in the Absarokas, and got to horse pack back into Five Pockets a couple of years ago, after working at RLR. That was like Old Home Week for me! Togwotee Mtn Lodge is a unique place--I have a friend who was massage therapist there, and it was not a happy experience.
Your landscape is so different from ours here on the East Coast. We have something called Chinese stilt grass that is invasive and has to be hand pulled in order to avoid crowding out, much like yours. But it's lovely to see these photos, so unlike our side of the country. Thanks for sharing it.
Trevy, This is such a huge country, and I am always fascinated by how different the landscapes are. I couldn't live in the humid climates and lush woods of the Eastern US, but I am glad that you're there and helping to cultivate a reciprocal, caring relationship with your place. Blessings!
Thanks, Christina. When I'm working this hard, I have to remind myself to stop and appreciate the place. Needing to shoot some photos for this newsletter is a good reminder!
It is beautiful country, and I agree, we all need to create reciprocal, generous relationships with wherever we are! I am a loud breather up here at 7,500 feet (the base elevation, most of where I'm working is higher), but as long as I don't try to go uphill fast, I'm fine. I definitely couldn't live here though.
Beautiful piece. I've only been in Wyoming a couple of times. On a bus through Cheyenne on my way to New York from Yuma, Arizona, and flying into Casper and proceeding by car to Sheridan for a 4-H conference during the winter!
We are seeing a lot of pollinators here- three species of bumble bees, honey bees, Halictid bees. Andrenid bees, grass-carrying wasps, great golden digger wasps, muddobbers, but unfortunately few butterflies, except for cabbage whites.
Thanks, David. If you've been across the southern part of the state (wind alley) and from Casper to Sheridan, you've missed the gorgeous mountains of the western part of the state, especially the Absarokas, my old fieldwork area.
I'm glad you've got lots of bees and wasps this summer--I wonder if it's been too wet for butterflies? It's too dry here for lots of pollinators, so it's heartening to see some at all.
I've seen the same with Santa Fe, New Mexico. My suspicion is that people got spray can happy. There were certainly plenty of nectar sources. When I was working at NMSU some woman contacted me about the caterpillars that were eating some of her plants. I gathered she may have been talking about Bordered Patch Butterflies (Chlosyne lacinia), which can devastate sunflowers. Ironically she wanted to eliminate the caterpillars, but wanted more butterflies!
Given the statistics on home-garden pesticide use, I think that may be true. Which is very sad. It seems that most people still don't see their garden plants as food for pollinators and the butterflies they love. We should be happy when the leaves get eaten!
Agreed! One of the reasons I planted Passion Flowers in our garden in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, was to attract Gulf Fritillaries. The caterpillars had a field day with the plants, but we got beautiful butterflies as a result! Plus some amazing flowers!
I always love seeing your pictures and reflections of RLR. The two times I spent there were so renewing and healing for me. I would go back in a heartbeat if I were healthy enough. Thank you for teaching us about reciprocal relationships with our home.
I think of you when I'm here, Kathryn, and send you RLR healing energy. My hope is that you will continue to gradually find ways to do the things you love, and that you'll be able to come to the ranch again to simply sit on the front porch of say, Cabin 1A, where I am, and soak in the glorious view. A warm RLR hug and many blessings to you.
ooo--i recognized that view! Experienced RLR for the first time last month, though i've loved the Torrey Creek area for decades and wander that way annually, often to escape the long-lasting spring snowpack on our side of the mountains. Happy to see the Major too ;-). While i visited the ranch petroglyphs early one morning, a chukar popped out of the brush, and ranch people were happy to hear that--though chukar were introduced for hunting--these birds co-evolved with cheatgrass and are one of the only beings able to find nutrition in it. Thank you for being part of the effort to keep it from taking over so much wildlife habitat.
I'm glad you've had time at the Ranch. It's a wonderful place!
Major is a sweetie, and he loves his ear rubs. If I sit on the porch quietly, he will come up and lay his head in my lap for me to rub his ears. :)
Re chukars and cheatgrass: We'd have to have a huge chukar population for them to make a dent. But any eating they do (it would be in early spring, while it's still edible, is good. I am the one who noticed the cheatgrass at the ranch when I came to give a seminar six years ago, and have worked hard to get it as much under control as possible.
Susan, it does my heart and soul a world of good to know you are at Ring Lake Ranch taking intimate care of that sacred place, and to see these beautiful, calming photos, feel the memories they stir. Thank you. If you do this again another summer, I might come and be your cheat grass pulling partner. I need to be there again and give back.
Beth, I've been thinking of seeing if Andy would let me offer a "Sacred Stewardship" seminar that would incorporate time out on the roach, pulling cheatgrass and learning about the fascinating relationships that weave the sagebrush and limber pine communities. Plus, of course, time to ride and hike and just sit on a cabin porch and relax. Is that something you'd be interested in?
Yes, so interested! I love the limber pines and would like to learn more about them and help care for them. I want to be at the ranch every 3-4 years. This sounds like the perfect reason, and I enjoyed nature hikes with you so much. I'm retired now, and traveling each year - Turkey next year - so on a limited budget. Maybe 2027? How has the new home been for your health and well-being? ~ Beth
I talked to Andy at Ring Lake Ranch, and 2027 is a possibility for a stewardship seminar. So that could be perfect. I hope your Turkey trip next year is great! I’ll be home in a week, and I’m eager to be there. It feels like the refuge I have needed. Blessings!
So many of the places I love have been destroyed by fire. I am so grateful I got to experience them before they were lost to fire and over-development. Your writing and photos take me back to them.
Karen, I am so sorry about the twin scourges of catastrophic fire and over-development. I'm glad I can remind you of those places as you knew and loved them. Blessings to you!
From the first word and photo to the end...all perfectly said. I loved everything about this, especially feeling the hope you exude for the future of our beloved and fragile planet.
You saw a Hunt's bumble!! I might be jealous, but you earned it.
Your wisdom and grace enrich our world. Enrich all your readers.
Dear Sharon, Thank you for reading and for this lovely comment. I am honored by your words. As for that Hunt's bumblebee, I think they are one of the more common bumblebee species here, because they are generalists (foraging from many different kinds of flowers). I always love seeing them though because they are so eye-catching.
What amazing beauty! Thank you so much for your terrific pictures and, just as important, an explanation of what's in each one (I love nature, but I'm no expert). With all that's going on in the U.S., your Substack gives me hope.
Hi, Beth, I believe that the more we learn about this earth, the better reciprocal relationship we can create. Which is why teaching the practice of terraphilia is my mission! And we can all use hope in these times, plus the motivation do do what we can to steward the planet and each other. Blessings to you.
Lynn, How great that you can be at the ranch for the last three weeks of the season! I hope it's a truly nurturing and inspiring time, and you come away with all you need to continue to be you in the world. Blessings!
The name comes from the grass's behavior: it's a winter annual, so it sprouts early, before the native grasses, takes all the water and nutrients from the top layer of the soil, greens up and looks lush and wonderful until it sucks the soil dry, and then produces tons of seeds, dries out and shatters without benefiting the ecosystem at all. So it's a "cheat."
So inspiring, Susan! Thank you for the service you offer our Earth, down on your knees grubbing in the soil. I am learning to love the Western landscape via your posts.
Jeanne, I say half-jokingly that when I am weeding cheatgrass, I am in supplication to the earth. It's true though, and it's humbling and also very satisfying work. (Plus sweaty and hard!) Time at the ranch in these harsh and awesome mountains is humbling in general, and deeply satisfying. I think you would love it here. (And the ranch is open to all.) Blessings and a hug!
Beautiful writing, Susan.
Thank you, Sue! Blessings to you.
Are you by Dubois? Everything looks so familiar. S
Yup. The ranch is in the Torrey Creek drainage, between Trail and Ring lakes. It borders the Whiskey Mountain Sheep area.
My husband and I use to pack in the back country there, and I lived in Dubois a couple of times in my day, and was the F&B manager at Togwotee Lodge - It is certainly stunning.
I've never packed in the Winds--too dry and rocky for me--but I have done a lot of fieldwork in the Absarokas, and got to horse pack back into Five Pockets a couple of years ago, after working at RLR. That was like Old Home Week for me! Togwotee Mtn Lodge is a unique place--I have a friend who was massage therapist there, and it was not a happy experience.
Sorry to hear that about your friend's experience. I left there in 1991
Places change, as you know....
Your landscape is so different from ours here on the East Coast. We have something called Chinese stilt grass that is invasive and has to be hand pulled in order to avoid crowding out, much like yours. But it's lovely to see these photos, so unlike our side of the country. Thanks for sharing it.
Trevy, This is such a huge country, and I am always fascinated by how different the landscapes are. I couldn't live in the humid climates and lush woods of the Eastern US, but I am glad that you're there and helping to cultivate a reciprocal, caring relationship with your place. Blessings!
And I'm so acclimated to it that I struggle in arid climates! I guess a place really is in your blood. Same to you❤️
I do believe that we are each born to a particular place or region, and I'm glad you recognize and live in yours!
Looks glorious. What a magnificent place for a retreat.
Anyone is welcome! (https://ringlake.org) And it's also a good place to work your tiny a-- off weeding cheatgrass, which is what I'm doing. :)
I like this representation of where you are, and the photographs are stunning.
Thanks, Christina. When I'm working this hard, I have to remind myself to stop and appreciate the place. Needing to shoot some photos for this newsletter is a good reminder!
Beautiful country. We all need to do whatever we can wherever we are. You moved to be in a lower elevation. Do you do okay up that high working?
It is beautiful country, and I agree, we all need to create reciprocal, generous relationships with wherever we are! I am a loud breather up here at 7,500 feet (the base elevation, most of where I'm working is higher), but as long as I don't try to go uphill fast, I'm fine. I definitely couldn't live here though.
Beautiful piece. I've only been in Wyoming a couple of times. On a bus through Cheyenne on my way to New York from Yuma, Arizona, and flying into Casper and proceeding by car to Sheridan for a 4-H conference during the winter!
We are seeing a lot of pollinators here- three species of bumble bees, honey bees, Halictid bees. Andrenid bees, grass-carrying wasps, great golden digger wasps, muddobbers, but unfortunately few butterflies, except for cabbage whites.
Thanks, David. If you've been across the southern part of the state (wind alley) and from Casper to Sheridan, you've missed the gorgeous mountains of the western part of the state, especially the Absarokas, my old fieldwork area.
I'm glad you've got lots of bees and wasps this summer--I wonder if it's been too wet for butterflies? It's too dry here for lots of pollinators, so it's heartening to see some at all.
I've seen the same with Santa Fe, New Mexico. My suspicion is that people got spray can happy. There were certainly plenty of nectar sources. When I was working at NMSU some woman contacted me about the caterpillars that were eating some of her plants. I gathered she may have been talking about Bordered Patch Butterflies (Chlosyne lacinia), which can devastate sunflowers. Ironically she wanted to eliminate the caterpillars, but wanted more butterflies!
Given the statistics on home-garden pesticide use, I think that may be true. Which is very sad. It seems that most people still don't see their garden plants as food for pollinators and the butterflies they love. We should be happy when the leaves get eaten!
Agreed! One of the reasons I planted Passion Flowers in our garden in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, was to attract Gulf Fritillaries. The caterpillars had a field day with the plants, but we got beautiful butterflies as a result! Plus some amazing flowers!
That's a great story!
I always love seeing your pictures and reflections of RLR. The two times I spent there were so renewing and healing for me. I would go back in a heartbeat if I were healthy enough. Thank you for teaching us about reciprocal relationships with our home.
I think of you when I'm here, Kathryn, and send you RLR healing energy. My hope is that you will continue to gradually find ways to do the things you love, and that you'll be able to come to the ranch again to simply sit on the front porch of say, Cabin 1A, where I am, and soak in the glorious view. A warm RLR hug and many blessings to you.
😄 thank you!
ooo--i recognized that view! Experienced RLR for the first time last month, though i've loved the Torrey Creek area for decades and wander that way annually, often to escape the long-lasting spring snowpack on our side of the mountains. Happy to see the Major too ;-). While i visited the ranch petroglyphs early one morning, a chukar popped out of the brush, and ranch people were happy to hear that--though chukar were introduced for hunting--these birds co-evolved with cheatgrass and are one of the only beings able to find nutrition in it. Thank you for being part of the effort to keep it from taking over so much wildlife habitat.
I'm glad you've had time at the Ranch. It's a wonderful place!
Major is a sweetie, and he loves his ear rubs. If I sit on the porch quietly, he will come up and lay his head in my lap for me to rub his ears. :)
Re chukars and cheatgrass: We'd have to have a huge chukar population for them to make a dent. But any eating they do (it would be in early spring, while it's still edible, is good. I am the one who noticed the cheatgrass at the ranch when I came to give a seminar six years ago, and have worked hard to get it as much under control as possible.
Susan, it does my heart and soul a world of good to know you are at Ring Lake Ranch taking intimate care of that sacred place, and to see these beautiful, calming photos, feel the memories they stir. Thank you. If you do this again another summer, I might come and be your cheat grass pulling partner. I need to be there again and give back.
~ Beth
Beth, I've been thinking of seeing if Andy would let me offer a "Sacred Stewardship" seminar that would incorporate time out on the roach, pulling cheatgrass and learning about the fascinating relationships that weave the sagebrush and limber pine communities. Plus, of course, time to ride and hike and just sit on a cabin porch and relax. Is that something you'd be interested in?
Yes, so interested! I love the limber pines and would like to learn more about them and help care for them. I want to be at the ranch every 3-4 years. This sounds like the perfect reason, and I enjoyed nature hikes with you so much. I'm retired now, and traveling each year - Turkey next year - so on a limited budget. Maybe 2027? How has the new home been for your health and well-being? ~ Beth
I talked to Andy at Ring Lake Ranch, and 2027 is a possibility for a stewardship seminar. So that could be perfect. I hope your Turkey trip next year is great! I’ll be home in a week, and I’m eager to be there. It feels like the refuge I have needed. Blessings!
So many of the places I love have been destroyed by fire. I am so grateful I got to experience them before they were lost to fire and over-development. Your writing and photos take me back to them.
Karen, I am so sorry about the twin scourges of catastrophic fire and over-development. I'm glad I can remind you of those places as you knew and loved them. Blessings to you!
From the first word and photo to the end...all perfectly said. I loved everything about this, especially feeling the hope you exude for the future of our beloved and fragile planet.
You saw a Hunt's bumble!! I might be jealous, but you earned it.
Your wisdom and grace enrich our world. Enrich all your readers.
Brava Susan!
Dear Sharon, Thank you for reading and for this lovely comment. I am honored by your words. As for that Hunt's bumblebee, I think they are one of the more common bumblebee species here, because they are generalists (foraging from many different kinds of flowers). I always love seeing them though because they are so eye-catching.
Big hugs to you.
I've never seen one, but it is on my list!
Do you ever see "the Guy?"
Bumblebees are so cool!
Hi Susan,
What amazing beauty! Thank you so much for your terrific pictures and, just as important, an explanation of what's in each one (I love nature, but I'm no expert). With all that's going on in the U.S., your Substack gives me hope.
Hi, Beth, I believe that the more we learn about this earth, the better reciprocal relationship we can create. Which is why teaching the practice of terraphilia is my mission! And we can all use hope in these times, plus the motivation do do what we can to steward the planet and each other. Blessings to you.
Beautiful. I will be there for the last three weeks. What you write is preparing my soul. Thank you
Lynn, How great that you can be at the ranch for the last three weeks of the season! I hope it's a truly nurturing and inspiring time, and you come away with all you need to continue to be you in the world. Blessings!
Cheatgrass. Good name for an invasive.
The name comes from the grass's behavior: it's a winter annual, so it sprouts early, before the native grasses, takes all the water and nutrients from the top layer of the soil, greens up and looks lush and wonderful until it sucks the soil dry, and then produces tons of seeds, dries out and shatters without benefiting the ecosystem at all. So it's a "cheat."
How interesting. Thanks for the more detailed explanation of how it got its name.
More on the life and times of cheatgrass in next week's post....
So inspiring, Susan! Thank you for the service you offer our Earth, down on your knees grubbing in the soil. I am learning to love the Western landscape via your posts.
Jeanne, I say half-jokingly that when I am weeding cheatgrass, I am in supplication to the earth. It's true though, and it's humbling and also very satisfying work. (Plus sweaty and hard!) Time at the ranch in these harsh and awesome mountains is humbling in general, and deeply satisfying. I think you would love it here. (And the ranch is open to all.) Blessings and a hug!