On the mountain, final evening

Today was a day of bears and beaches.

Did not awaken until after the sunbeam had traveled off the refrigerator. A 36-degree night, so we built a fire this morning. Didn't have breakfast until after midmorning. Went for a walk around the lake. A couple passing by warned us that a bear and her cubs were up ahead, so we were particularly watchful. A camera always accompanies us on our walk each morning. This time, however, we didn't see any wild animals as we continued on around. 10 minutes later, we saw several fishermen scurry up the bank off the lake, hauling their catch and running to their trucks. There were the two youngster bears, last year's cubs, trolling along the shore and checking each fisherman's stake-out for fish or food. Quite a crowd gathered by the time we arrived, many snapping photos. They continued, bear and human, along the road for a quarter mile, like an ursuline parade, before the bears broke free of the crowd and ambled up the hillside.

Nothing else much was done this morning. After lunch, we went over to the lake where we had picnicked last year. Sat in the sun and read books. Tim came by and he and I hiked up to one of the higher lakes. Coming back, I went out onto the lake in the blow-up raft and drifted with the waves. It was windy today, rippling the water and bouncing the raft. Stayed out until dinnertime.

Concert will begin at 8PM this evening, and then the musical week will be over.

Cheers.

Tuesday on the mountain

I suppose that there are two ways of looking at things.

One is that it is a terrible waste of a day to have not hiked to the top of something, or paddled to the other side of somewhere else.

The other is that if one must do little mundane things all day, it is wonderful to do those things in a place as beautiful as this. In that case, there is never a wasted day, which is a great comfort.

I have washed dishes, I will do some laundry (it is so much fun that I can't believe I haven't done any yet while on this venture), and I will most likely assist with preparing a meal. But the sky is so very blue, and the breeze is so clear and crisp, and the hummingbirds buzz and the chipmunks click and it doesn't seem all that bad.

Thank goodness I am not driving up and down the mountain so much today. Yesterday got to be a little bit crazy, trying to figure out how to get people to and from special rehearsals, feed them all and have everyone end up in the right place by the end of th evening. Today has been much simpler, in part because expectations have been better managed. Our hostess here was up most of the night with a dog which would not stop whining, for reasons unknown, so she remains asleep on the sofa with her book in her lap. The dog in question, meanwhile, has slept through most of the day, preparing for another round this evening. I am very glad that I brought earplugs with me.

We awoke this morning to 32 fun-loving degrees outside, and 50 degrees inside. Hot shower, hot coffee, a warm afghan and a good book began the day. I was up at 7AM. The next member of the family appeared at 8:30. We had a fire in the stove to take the chill off the cabin. In two hours, the outside temperature had risen to nearly 60 degrees, and the warm stove made it nearly 70 indoors before the fire died. I am wearing shorts at the moment, having spent a while after lunch sitting outside in the sun. I had a book with me (about which more later) and was sitting so still long enough that a chipmunk came by to lick the last film of melted ice cream out of the bowl I had set next to my chair. He didn't seem to mind me, but eviidently wasn't as fond of chocolate as I am. In the sun it is warm, but in the shade it is chilly.

I am borrowing The Da Vinci Code to read while I am here. I have reached the 16th or 17th chapter so far (which is what happens when you wake up an hour and a half before everyone else and it is too cold to do much but snuggle under a blanket. I also got to have two breakfasts, too: one when I got out of the shower, and a smaller one with my hostess a couple of hours later.) Being a mystery, the book will require completion now so that I can find out whether the bad guy will be caught and the good guy escape danger. The question is, can I slip the book off her lap without waking her up so that I can read some more.....

There are a few children here this year. Maria's three have come, and then there is another 7 or 8 yo girl, daughter of a cellist and trombone player (and younger sister of a violin player). They seemed to enjoy playing around during rehearsal, but the littlest ones were pretty tired by the end. They all told me that they do not have bedtimes and usually stay up past midnight. I talked with the cellist mum, and she laughed -- I guess that isn't true after all. We went to the grocery after rehearsal and found over a dozen orchestra members shopping there as well. This morning, another orchestra member complained that there had been no gathering at a restaurant or other spot of interest after rehearsal. I know where everyone was -- at the store buying groceries.

I have yet to think many deep thoughts while here. You'll have to be satisfied today with these little ones.

Cheers.

Mammoth Lakes, part I

Hello from the mountains.

It's the smell that impresses me the most. The pine trees and the crisp air and the volcanic dust all smells like being here. I can smell the smell and imagine what I am seeing. I can't imagine the smell just by looking. The mountains are amazing, as always. I went walking along the lake this morning before the sun had come up over the crest. It's a breezy day.

While I was walking along the lake, I saw a BEAR! Katie tells me that it is one of last summer's cub. I was walking back near the cabin when someone nearby pointed out a bear ambling out of the trees by the rental cabins and heading down toward the water. He was as far away from me as you might be if you were at the kitchen table and I was at the stove. He looked at me and kept right on walking. After all those times we looked for a bear last year, and here I saw one on my first day. It seemed a little strange to see it so close to where I was standing.

I am looking forward to a nap this afternoon, and will have a rehearsal this evening. It was good to see old friends last night, although there are several who aren't here this year, and I will miss them. Some parts of the music are pretty tricky, and other parts are not as difficult as they look.

It is nice to be here.