Vance's Journal

June 3, 2000

It’s been an incredibly beautiful Jackson Hole summer kind of day…lots of sun, temperatures in the 70’s, dark clouds occasionally building behind the Tetons in the warmth of afternoon.  From here at my desk I can look out to the northwest and enjoy my view of the Grand Teton.  However, IMMEDIATELY outside the windows hang my hummingbird feeders.  The flowers these tiny birds depend on as a food source are not yet blooming in profusion, therefore there are often as many as three or four of them at any one feeder almost any hour of the day!  Here in the West we are blessed to have the smallest of the hummingbird species, the tiny Calliope!  Of all the bird species I have been privileged to observe, these are my favorite.

Beyond the bay window, between my view of the Grand Teton and me, lies a small side yard bounded on the north by my flower garden (see the panoramic “Garden of My Dreams” and “My Garden II” on the Flower page).  Please understand, the images on the Flower page were taken the summer of 1998!  This spring I have had little time to spend gardening, but over the Memorial Day weekend I was finally able to put some time in and I now have a little color beneath my view of the Grand.  A pair of chipmunks frequents my garden throughout the summer months.  They provide me with countless hours of entertainment as they scurry  about…of all the wonderful variety of animals that reside in this valley, I am partial to the chipmunk!  On a post outside the garden there is a bluebird house and every year in March the bluebirds arrive to make the initial inspection.  They always decide to stay.  The female is presently incubating her eggs.  A pair of Mourning Doves also takes up residence in the garden each summer.  They too have returned.  The bird feeder hangs near the center and at the rear of the garden.  Every morning the sound of at least a hundred different birds can be heard, and the flurry of activity doesn’t die down until afternoon.  I often wonder how the feeder operates without a control tower!

As I sit here many hours each day creating my note cards and working at the computer I think about how fortunate I am.  Everything I enjoy most in life is just outside my windows!  A visual break from the repetitious, and sometimes tedious work I do is just a simple glance away.    I have so much to be thankful for that I feel a need to share my good fortune with you while you’re here!

Previous Journal Entries

April 28, 2000