Where does one get Micro Kale and Wasabi Arugula in the midst of ski season?

We move our lives indoors as frost and snow shuts down another outdoor growing season in Cheyenne. Yesterday, I plucked all of my tomatoes and brought them inside to finish ripening. I found some purple pod beans lurking in the foliage. I snipped off my basil, oregano, and rosemary and stored them in the freezer. I'll use them in sauces throughout the winter. 

This is usually a somber day for me. Winter is coming! October through March is when I spend more time thinking about gardening than actually gardening. What grew well this year and what am I going to tackle in 2022? Thing is, much growing has moved inside. Locals have built small backyard greenhouses. Some of us take advantage of big south-facing windows to continue the process during the dreary months, just as our rooftop solar panels reach out to the sun dipping into the southern latitudes.

Just read an Inc. Magazine article about vertical farming operations around the U.S. Former industrial sites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been transformed into hydroponic farms. Vertical Harvest in Jackson grows greens and tomatoes year-round in its three-story farm built on a strip of land adjacent to the city parking garage. Teton County visionaries found this unused bit of land, a rarity in Jackson, and then planned, funded, and built VH. Now, according to the Inc. article, it's going nationwide with facilities planned for Westbrook, Maine, and North Philadelphia, Penn. VH's mission from its early days was to employ people with developmental disabilities, which they are doing, a mission VH promotes on its packaged produce: "Sustainably produced by community members with different abilities." 

This fascinates me. I am a gardener and cook. My daughter has "different abilities." I volunteer at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Botany is not my trade -- writing is -- but I've always been interested in growing things. I'm moderately tech-savvy but am intrigued with ways that tech can change ways we grow our food. Computers, efficient L.E.D. lights, and robotics are feeding what Inc. calls "the future of the $5 trillion agriculture industry." Outdoor gardening has its thrills but also drawbacks in hail, pests, and diseases. So-called urban farming impacts all of this. It also addresses climate change variables: hurricanes, deluges, drought, massive wildfires. In southeast Wyoming, we look forward to this week's snow because the summer and early fall have been so dry. Meanwhile, Northern Italy last week was swamped with almost 30 inches of rain in a 12-hour storm. 

The Inc. article wraps with mention of a book by botanist Stefano Mancuso, "The Revolutionary Genius of Plants." Mancuso posits that not only have humans been nurturing plants for some 10,000 years, but "plants have brought us along on their evolutionary journey, employing us as a means of transportation." Now we bring them inside, away from most of their pests and plagues, and refine them along the way. A photo in the article shows Irving Fain, Bowery Farms founder, behind a crop of wasabi arugula. Some diners already consider arugula pungent, but a wasabi mix? Holy moly. Some crops are brand new and some are being resurrected from the dustbin of history. 

Tech and business brainiacs are in the mix with Micro Kale and Beet Greens. Lots of start-up dough is going into these projects. "Geeks and quants" are involved, says Inc., and I think I know a geek when I see one but a quant? That's what the Internet is for. According to Investopedia, it comes from "quantitative (quant) trading" which "involves the use of algorithms and programs to identify and capitalize on available trading opportunities." Quants do this. They read pubs such as Poets and Quants which, as far as I can tell, has more to do with the latter than the former. Bowery's Fain might be a quant as he says this: "The question for me is, can tech generate scalable opportunities and an exponential increase in outcomes." 

It's a good question. There's another way to put it:

Salad on table/Where to find arugula/That inflames the tongue

Just asking for a poet friend.

Jackson Hole Art Blog keeps me posted about arts events in Teton County and beyond

I spent two hours this morning reading Tammy Christel’s Jackson Hole Art Blog and 12 days of posts on Tammy’s Facebook page about the fall arts festival. Wonderful blog post about David Brookover’s photo techniques and the methods he uses to visualize the Tetons and valley wildlife. Great detail about the various papers he uses. I learned so much about silver prints and platinums and photogravures.  

Tammy FB-tracked the busy 12 days in Jackson with the fall arts festival. An arts extravaganza for what may be the most beautiful month in The Hole. Funny to note the clothing choices of artists painting en plein air. At the Quick Draw, artist Jason Borbet, clad in sweat shirt and bright-red mittens, paints the Tetons/Snake River vista made famous by Ansel Adams. Emily Boespflug decked out for a run down the slopes with gloves, three layers of jackets, a red scarf and wool cap. She’s putting the finishing touches on a painting while onlookers in stocking caps observe her progress. Fall in Jackson – winter one day, summer the next.

Tammy kept track of the many events and also logged in some of the accompanying fun things – Sunday Brunch Gallery Walk with gigantic Bloody Marys topped off with onion rings and the many studio open houses, including Laurie Thal’s cool glass-blowing workplace in Wilson. Tammy also logs in some of the prices paid for artwork. For the casual arts buyer, the prices are astounding. Someone paid $1.2 million for Howard Terpning’s “Vanishing Pony Tracks” oil (writes Tammy: “Wowza!”) and $65,000 for Gary Lynn Roberts Quick Draw painting of a winter day at the Wort Hotel in days gone by.

Impressive numbers. But not unusual for a noted arts town such as Jackson. It was ranked the number one small community on the list of The Most Vibrant Arts Communities in America 2020. That’s from the National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

The top five were all in the Mountain West. Along with Jackson (which includes Wilson and Teton Village, Wyo., and Victor and Driggs, Idaho just over Teton Pass) were Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Heber, Utah; Hailey, Idaho; and Glenwood Springs, Colo. All of these places are within a day’s drive from my house. At 677 miles, Hailey would be a bit of a stretch, although Chris and I have logged one-day drives of 995 miles from our son’s place in Tucson. Long-distance driving skills are a necessity in our part of the world. It’s also good to note that three of the arts towns on the list of medium-sized communities are Boulder, Colo. (100 miles), Santa Fe, N.M.. (492 miles) and Bozeman, Mont. (595 miles). Note that Steamboat, Glenwood and Boulder are closer to me than Jackson, a mere 432 miles away, about the same distance as Heber City and Santa Fe.

As you can see, I live in the orbit of some of our country’s artsiest towns. Cheyenne is not in the SMU top ten. That’s OK – our arts scene is growing and we are very close to Denver and other pretty darn good arts town along the Front Range. Fort Collins has a multitude of outdoor music events promoted by the zillion craft brewers in town. I also like to browse the CSU Arts Center in the Old Fort Collins H.S. (Go Lambkins!). During the warmer months, you can find me outside perusing CSU Ag’s beautiful test garden and its large Xeriscape garden. Loveland is sculpture town. Visit and of the city parks to find an array of sculpture, from the representational to the avant-garde. I like the Chapungu African Sculpture Park east of the sprawling Centerra Center at I-25 and Hwy. 34. It features 82 hard-carved stone sculptures in a park with 600 trees of 20 species along with natïve shrubs and grasses. Wild Wonderful Weekend takes place there this weekend with a Saturday evening concert by American Authors who are actually American rockers.

As is true for many Cheyennites, we spend a lot of time at Colorado venues. We also support local arts. You can do both.

The top-five small arts communities mentioned above are all destination resorts for summer and winter sports. The rich have gravitated to these places so they can brag about swapping tall tales with real local cowboys at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. They also like the views or viewsheds as realtors call them. It’s easy to be snarky about the scene and the outrageous prices paid for some art. Local writers have had some fun poking fun at the migratory riche, nouveau or otherwise (I’m looking at you Tim Sandlin). 

But I always loved traveling to Jackson for arts events and get there as often as I can. At all other times, I depend on Tammy’s blog and Facebook posts to transport me to its arts happenings.  

Pandemic tip: You can view most Wyoming public art from the comfort and safety of your car

I was noodling around on my PC and I clicked on the Cheyenne Arts web site. I was pleased to see an upgraded site now includes a Cheyenne Arts Public Art Tour. Kudos to Bill Lindstrom and the tech-savvy people who compiled the tour. Open the site and find a portfolio of the 82 registered public artworks. Click on the photo to go to the page to find more photos and some background on the piece. Location is listed at the bottom of the page. There's a link to a Google Maps which takes you to the map and lists the public art's latitude and longitude. This assists those touring with the help of GPS and also geocaching aficionados. When I was at the Wyoming Arts Council, I was part of many discussions for online tours in Cheyenne, other communities, and statewide. Locally, it never happened until Arts Cheyenne took it on. 

Sheridan Public Arts has been around since 1992. Its permanent collection boasts 59 pieces. Artists and museums loan pieces to exhibit on Grinnell Plaza and downtown. One of the latest is a sculpture by the late Native American artist Allan Houser. No better way to spend a summer day -- tour the art and wrap it up at Black Tooth Brewing Company for craft beers and discussion. 

Not sure if Casper has an online public art tour but the city has many pieces of representational and non-representational artwork. One of my faves is on the Casper College campus. It's "Man and Energy" by Robert Russin. Its somber nature flashed me back to my duck-and-cover nuke drill days. The artist, who died in 2007 was a New York transplant who taught at UW for almost four decades. He is best known for his massive bronze Lincoln head perched at the top of Sherman Hill. Visit Casper is developing an Arts & Culture Pass. Not many offerings yet but these things take time. 

Russin also is known for the playful family sculpture installed in 1983 on UW's Prexy's Pasture. "The University Family" represents a nuclear family of three in white marble. Recently, it has been criticized because it doesn't represent a broader range of UW students and family. One proposal is to move it indoors to protect it and replace it with a more monumental sculpture, such as a bronze of graduating students or a bucking horse and rider. As if the UW campus doesn't already have bucking horses and riders aplenty.

Here's the thing about public art: it's easy to criticize because it's so public. In our bitterly divided country, artwork can be attacked from many sides. And is. The coal/oil/gas lobby that pours millions into UW objected to a public artwork called "Carbon Sink: What Goes Around Comes Around" by Chris Drury. UW decided to spirit it away in the dead of night and allegedly burned its beetle-killed logs and chunks of coal in the campus furnace. Many art students were kept warm that night by a funeral pyre of public art.

Russin's "Fountainhead" sculpture outside of the Casper City Hall came under fire for its water feature. The sculpture shows three stylized red oilfield workers surrounding a pole that represents an oil well. Water once shot out of the top to represent oil but had the bad manners to dampen city bureaucrats on Casper's many windy days. Now the water feature ponds peacefully below the artwork.   

Get more on the Casper arts scene via the ARTCORE site. 

The best-known public art program in Wyoming is in Jackson. 

When I started making work trips to Teton County in 1991, the town's library was in a log cabin. A sleek new library replaced it and is now home to a unique public artwork, "Filament Mind." It's indoors so it's a bit less visible than most public art. But it's worth a visit. A short description:

Installed in January 2013, the sculpture is visually arresting: nearly 1,000 thread-like filaments cascade from a mainframe column. Transcending its technological sophistication, the sculpture exudes a life-like aesthetic, at times resembling a bird in flight, a waterfall, a mountain, a crater, even the willows that whistle around the valley. Each filament flows from the column to the wall and an anchor point tagged by a Dewey Decimal System section title.

 

When a visitor begins a search on WyldCat – the online inventory of the library organized by the Dewey Decimal System – a LED light glows on the filament corresponding with that Dewey Decimal section title – say “International Relations” – and related topics glow as well – like “Political Science.”

 

Filament Mind is designed to be the visual brain of the library and by extension, the community.

Wyomingites from less scenic parts of the state pick on Jackson Hole for its chi-chi attributes. See "Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West" by Justin Farrell and Tim Sandlin's "The Pyms: Unauthorized Tales of Jackson Hole." I've made my share of smart-ass remarks on the subject. 

But Teton County boosts Wyoming's stature as an arts-friendly state. Rich residents are arts patrons and assist arts orgs and facilities with generous donations. The annual Old Bill's Fun Run is a Teton County tradition and raises a ton of money for local orgs. Local, state, and federal funds are a part of the mix.

The Hole is home to the National Museum of Wildlife Art and its amazing collections. It hosts tours of its outdoor sculpture. Many artists and writers I know came to Jackson in the good ol' days of cheap, crowded housing (think ski bum) and many short-term service-industry jobs. Many fled as prices climbed but those creative people who stayed are a stubborn lot. 

For insight on the Teton County art scene, go to Tammy Christel's Jackson Hole Art Blog and Jackson Hole Public Art. 

The Wyoming Arts Council supervises the state's public art initiative. Go to https://wyoarts.state.wy.us for more info and calls for entries.

As the pandemic winds down (we hope), summer visitors may be feeling a bit skittish about touring Wyoming (see "Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters"). It may be tough to feel safe at a jam-packed music festival or brewfest. 

But no worries, as most public art can be viewed from the comfort and safety of your vehicle. My high-risk family and I cruised Cheyenne's Paint Slingers Art Festival last July. We watched many of the muralists at work, even shouted out questions to the artists and they shouted their answers. We also attended movies and concerts at the Terry Ranch's Chinook Drive-in. We viewed from our car and listened via a dedicated FM station. 

Covid-19 changed so much. We felt the absence of people gathering to enjoy music, dance, and theatre. It also showed us that creativity can bloom in hard times. 

What does it cost to save a life?

I am pleased that WyoFile published my review of Katherine Standefer's nonfiction book, "Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life." In it, the author recounts her diagnosis of Long QT Cardiac Syndrome and how the cure can sometimes be as daunting as the ailment.

Standefer walks Planet Earth with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). It's a high-tech device about the size of a Zippo lighter (remember those?) that surgeons implant in a cardiac patient's chest. If that person's heart experiences irregular rhythms or stops, it shocks it back to life. As one research center noted: "It is like having paramedics with you at all times." 

Tiny paramedics.

Standefer playfully calls this intricate medical device her "titanium can." When we met online in November, she said, "Welcome, Cyborg." 

Surgeons installed my ICD in July 2013 when I was 62. Read my blogs about it here and here. 

Standefer is at least a generation younger than me. However, her cardiac problem is genetic and is a killer. 

In 2009, she was a 24-year-old college grad living in Jackson. She busily balanced outdoor jaunts, a budding relationship, several jobs, and performing in a local band. In what Standefer calls "the last morning of my first life," she passed out in a parking lot and was rushed to the hospital. After tests, a cardiologist said she had Long QT Syndrome and needed a defibrillator implant. If she didn't get one, she was vulnerable to Sudden Cardiac Death which is as final as it sounds. Problem is, she had no catastrophic health insurance for a procedure that could cost as much as $200,000.

This is when Standefer's saga began. 

“Lightning Flowers” explores two questions, Standefer told an audience during a Nov. 18 Zoom reading co-sponsored by Jackson Hole Writers Conference and Jackson Hole Book Trader. The first is: What happens to a 24-year-old who passes out in a parking lot and tries to access proper medical care? And the second: What does it cost to save a life?

First things first. Wyoming residents without means have few options for procedures like this. She found out that Colorado had an indigent care program for state residents. She made the decision to leave her life in Jackson behind and move back to Colorado so she could get the life-saving operation. She did, but there were complications. Once in recovery, she wondered about the second thing: what is the true cost of modern medicine? Her journey takes her to the California lab that made her device and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. She traveled to Madagascar and Rwanda. She interviewed miners and the impoverished people who lived with the poisonous byproducts of modern medical engineering. And then it was time to write the book.

The U.S medical establishment does one thing very well: research and development. New life-saving gizmos come online all of the time. I have an ICD and artificial knees. My diabetic wife is equipped with an insulin pump. During the Covid crisis, Moderna and Pfizer and others used new technology to develop a vaccine in record time. I received my first injection two weeks ago. I had a passing thought about all the materials the nurses used at the hospital. Syringes, vials, the medicine itself. Where does it all come from and where will it go? 

"Lightning Flowers" prompted me to ponder this question. Last night, the nightly news reported that people in developing countries are less likely than those in developed countries to get vaccinated against Covid. Some countries are raising holy hell about it and I don't blame them. It doesn't take much imagination to conjure a world war caused by lack of access to a cure for a plague. Countries that have vaccine supplies (looking at you, U.S.) are having a difficult time getting it into people's arms. One-percenters fly to places to get vaccine intended for the 99 percent, as in the recent case where a white couple traveled to the Yukon to get vaccine intended for elderly indigenous people. Capitalism at its worst. 

I am a First Worlder with insurance and access to miracle drugs. Millions of others do not have such an advantage. I aim to find out why and report what I find.

Meanwhile, read Standefer's book to trace her journey of discovery. Order a copy from your local indie store. Click the JH Book Trader link above. 

Curiosity can lead an artist down exciting and dangerous paths

WyoFile's Studio Wyoming Review posted my review Friday of Georgia Rowswell's exhibit, "Crazy," at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper.

Here's the opener:

The “Crazy” exhibit at The Nic sent me to my room to find out where my clothes come from.   

Dress shirts from the Dominican Republic. Pants from Cambodia. Sweaters from China. I have drawers filled with T-shirts: Made in Haiti; Fabrique au Vietnam; Hecho en Bangladesh. There are blue jeans from Mexico and sweatpants from Guatemala. I look at clothes labels when I shop. I hope one will read “Made in USA.” It’s a rare find in the 21st century. Our apparel industry went offshore decades ago and is not coming back. 

“Crazy – A Contemporary Quilt about Fashion’s Pressing Problems” opened at Casper’s Nicolaysen Art Museum in September and will be up through Dec. 27. It is one section of a solo exhibit, “Layer, Fold, Unfold,” that features Georgia Rowswell’s fabric art pieces made from thrift-store clothes. Also on display are her “Hot Yellowstone” series and several Wyoming landscapes in “found drawers and boxes.” 

The exhibit asks that opening question: Where do your clothes come from? Instead of a stern lecture, Georgia displays the answer across a wall at the Nic. A good question, one that sparked the Cheyenne artist's interest in finding origins for the many clothing items she collects at thrift shops to make her fabric art. Clothes have labels and Georgia collected items from 36 countries for what some might call a tapestry but the artist calls an embroidery. 

Read the rest of the story at WyoFile's Contemporary fiber art show tackles fashion's pressing problems. And then you can find out your clothing's origins. 

Georgia's curiosity about the origins of her clothes mirrors a similar question asked by author Katherine Standefer. After surgeons implanted a defibrillator in her chest at 24, she wondered about the origins of the materials that go into making this life-saving device. Her book, Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life, explores the author's quest to find out where the titanium, cobalt and other crucial elements and metals are mined. It's a dirty business. She also visited another part of the supply chain: the steel-and-glass "clean rooms" at the L.A. plant that made her device. 

I read the book and attended a writing workshop (sponsored by Jackson Hole Writers) conducted online by Katherine. I was curious about the same things Katherine was because I also have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator in my chest. A 2013 heart attack damaged my heart and the ICD is there in case I experience an out of control atrial fibrillation (afib) that could stop my heart. I rarely think about it these days but Katherine's book piqued my curiosity and taught me a few things that I didn't know. Part of her book is set in Jackson, Wyo., which brings her story even closer to home.

Curiosity prompted creation of some magnificent artwork and an exciting nonfiction book that reads like a thriller. We all should have such curious minds. 

The "Poetry Apothecary" prescribes plenty of poetry and art

How have the arts been impacted by the pandemic?

Bigly.

No surprise, since the creating of art can be a solitary act but it's enjoyed with others. We gather for concerts, dance performances, plays. We gather in museums and galleries to appreciate the visual arts. We read singly yet gather for talks and book signings by writers. We gather in book clubs to celebrate our favorite writers and maybe drink some wine.

This is the summer of ungathering.

Many arts groups, not content to start planning for 2021, have come up with creative ways to reframe their events. Impromptu performances from city balconies. Zoom collaborations. Drive-in concerts.

I wrote about one of these groups this week for WyoFile's Studio Wyoming Review.

The coronavirus cancelled the annual June Jackson Hole Writers Conference, one of the most esteemed events on the country’s literary calendar. Since planning is done years in advance, staffers scrambled to put conference sessions online for free (registration is usually around $375) and only charged fees for critiques offered by faculty.

Matt Daly, assistant director of the JHWC, came up with the "Poetry Apothecary" that showcases visual arts and writing. The show is up at the Center for the Arts gallery until the end of July. The JHWC web site features a video tour (updated regularly) of the exhibit along with two other videos featuring artist/poet collaborations.

Daly proposed “Poetry Apothecary” well before the pandemic but needed to do some fancy footwork to adjust to the times. As he was helping to redesign the conference, he also was installing the show at the Center for the Arts. As anyone who works in the arts knows, fancy footwork is part of the job.

Read my Studio Wyoming Review article on the show on WyoFile. It was posted yesterday in a slightly edited form. 

All articles need editors. As one, I have revised, reframed, and rejected many stories. I tell young writers to expect changes to everything you write. My daughter Annie recently submitted a script to the True Troupe. The acting company is reviewing play scripts for the fall. Annie read one of my old short stories and transformed it to a one-act. She asked me to be thorough in my critique. I was. What I wasn't prepared for was Annie's interpretation of my story. She condensed and rearranged it. I had the chance to experience my work anew. She had workshopped my story before I had a chance to edit her. 

One of my Dad the Editor lines is "it's not finished until it's finished." She obviously was paying attention. My story, 15 years on, was still being finished. And it won't be finished yet. If the troupe adopts the script, the director and actors and crew will workshop it again. Lines may be dropped and lines may be added. Characters may change or disappear altogether. It's a wonderful process and not one for the faint of heart. 

Take some time to read Studio Wyoming Review. It's supported by WyoFile and grants from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund and the Wyoming Arts Council. 

And then there's this:

From noon to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, “Prescribe,” a livestream "Poetry Apothecary" reading, will be presented in the Center for the Arts Mainstage in Jackson. Medical professionals read poems as acts of healing. Masks and social distancing will be in effect.

The subject may be roaches but, if you look closely, you see so much more

My latest piece for Wyofile's Studio Wyoming Review has the header "The subject is roaches," a review of Laramie artist Shelby Shadwell's exhibit at Blue Door Arts in Cheyenne. Pretty good header for an arts review as cockroaches and bugs in general don't come up that often. For good reason -- nobody likes a roach, at least the kind in the animal world (none of the other kind in WYO, at least not legally). I have never seen a roach of any type in WYO. Bugs prefer the hot sweltering climes of the South.

I grew up in the South and have seen hundreds of cockroaches. You turn on the kitchen light at 2 a.m. for a snack, and you hear them skittering back to their hideouts -- you might even catch a quick glimpse of one. You can wake up on a sunny Florida morning and see one staring at you across the pillow. You might be driving along and see one riding shotgun in your rusty 1972 Ford Torino. It's not merely bad housekeeping, although I have been guilty of that. Roaches will inherit the earth. It's not too much to imagine that roaches and their pals in the insect world will be running the show in the year 5020. Of course, we may be living in Kevin Kostner's Waterworld by then. But if I know my roaches, they will find ways to backstroke their way into your giant catamaran or floating fortress or wherever our soggy future relatives live.

Shadwell's show is a small one in a relatively small gallery. The art is big. Blue Door Arts proprietor Terry Kreuzer cracked me up when I asked her how she got a rising star such as Shadwell to show in her gallery in Cheyenne's most famous downtown building that would be deserted if it weren't for the enterprising artists on the ground floor.

"I asked him," she said.

Later, I was puzzled by the fact that the artist has shown rarely in Wyoming. He's been at The Nic in Casper and at the Jackson Art Center. Never in Cheyenne, according to his artist resume. Ironic since I note in my SWR piece that he has received two visual arts fellowships from the Wyoming Arts Council headquartered right here in Capital City. It just shows there are few exhibit spaces for contemporary artists in Cheyenne and Wyoming. You might say that is fitting in a state where artists are more interested in quaking aspen and the Grand Tetons than in abstractions and gigantic roaches. Au contraire, I say. I worked at the Wyoming Arts Council for 25 years and came to know plenty of artists who walk on the wild side in their work. For artists, it makes it tough to survive in an already tough place if there are no places to show your work,

It's not all about artists and galleries. It's never been more important to express yourself. That goes for everybody. Members of the ruling junta, Trump and his cronies, have no aesthetics. Art is just a commodity to them, like a yacht or a 50-room garish Shangri-la on the beach (any roaches at Mar-A-Lago?). It's no accident that Trump wants to review all government architecture, make sure it is "classical" instead of some crazy-quilt modern architecture that doesn't imitate the Parthenon. Trump and his GOP pals are working to defund the arts, humanities, and museums. The creative world is what threatens their destructive impulses. No accident that artists have worked to transform Trump's No Brown People border wall into something artistic. The odds are stacked against them as they are up against the monoliths of power and money. But you gotta try.

Their daily assault on our democracy is also an assault on our senses. It's important to create to counter that. It doesn't have to be a direct blast at No-Nothingness. The creative act itself is a blow against negativity.

Go make something. And vote. Get involved. Participate in your community. Be kind. And get out and view some art. It might inspire you to do all of these other life-affirming acts.

Return of the Jackson Hole Art Blog, and other arts news

I was excited to see that Tammy Christel restarted her Jackson Hole Art Blog. Back when I was the communications guy at the Wyoming Arts Council, I borrowed liberally from Tammy's blog. It was chock-full of news about Teton County arts and artists. She teased upcoming events and critiqued exhibits and happenings. She took off a couple years to take care of some family issues. Just yesterday she posted her first JHAB blog. Take time to read it.

Jackson has long been recognized as an arts hotbed in Wyoming and the region. It is the epicenter of Teton County, possibly one of the most picturesque in the country. Home of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, you can't open your eyes without ogling a magnificent view. Naturally, it draws landscape artists  which has enriched the community. It's been a draw for writers, too, and is home to the Jackson Hole Writers Conference every June. Residents include starving artists and conservative gazillionaires. Millions of tourists flock to Teton County for the scenery and hiking and skiing and rock climbing. There are a fair number of liberals in the mix but also conservative cranks such as Dick Cheney and Foster Friess.

This heady mix causes many Wyoming residents to insist that Jackson is not a part of Wyoming, as if it existed in its own universe which, sometimes, it does. Those same critics spend an inordinate amount of time enjoying Jackson and Wilson and Teton Village and the slopes of Jackson Hole Ski Resort. But Jackson can't be denied. It's as much a part of Wyoming as Yellowstone and coal mines and rodeo and wind. And its clout as an aesthetic destination can't be ignored.

Jackson isn't the state's only arts town. You can find out more by regularly perusing the Wyoming Arts Council web site. Many Wyoming communities have their own arts councils. Look up Pinedale Fine Arts Council, Casper's Artcore, Arts Cheyenne, and many others. Look them up on social media. Get involved locally.  Often you find that the arts in smaller communities is spearheaded by one or two residents. That can get mighty lonesome. Volunteer!

And finally, badger your legislators when they are close to home. Remind them that you are a voter who cares deeply about the arts and he/she should too. Be cordial but insistent. However, should that legislator disappoint you with crackpot bills and anti-arts behavior, you might vote for someone else or even run for office. That may sound extreme, but I have worked for more than one candidate who won or lost by fewer than 20 votes. If just 11 of those people had changed their votes, the make-up of our legislature would be different.

Now get out there and appreciate the arts. I am a front desk volunteer at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens this afternoon. Come see me and I will point out the wonderful animal sculptures by Don Ostermiller that are scattered about the grounds. I will also direct you to the art show on the conservatory's second floor. I also may remind you that all of the blooming flowers are nature's works of art. You might even see a plein air artist out in the plein air painting the scenery. I will remind you that tickets are still available for Thursday's Summer Concert Series performance by Jason Burge, the Dauphin of Mississippi who's from Mississippi, once worked at the Wyoming Humanities Council and now lives and works in New Zealand. A very talented singer/songwriter.

See you there.

U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera speaks about poetry and migration April 21 in Jackson

This news just came in from the Wyoming Arts Council Literary News e-mail blast: 

Presenting U.S. Poet Laureate: Juan Felipe Herrera 

Friday, April 21, 7–9 p.m.  

Center for the Arts, 265 S Cache St, Jackson, WY 83001  

The first Mexican-American U.S. Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera, presents “Because We Come from Everything: Poetry and Migration.” In 2015, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington appointed Herrera the 21st U.S. Poet Laureate. Herrera grew up in California as the son to migrant farmers, which shapes much of his work. A Washington Post article tells the story that “As a child, Herrera learned to love poetry by singing about the Mexican Revolution with his mother, a migrant farmworker in California. Inspired by her spirit, he has spent his life crossing borders, erasing boundaries and expanding the American chorus.”  

Tickets available APRIL 3. 

FMI: http://jhcenterforthearts.org/. Box office: 307-733-4900.

Sunday morning round-up: The harvest is in!

Sunday morning round-up....

A biplane circles the airport, which also brings it over my head as I sit here on the back porch. Don't see many biplanes in these parts, not even cropdusters. Maybe they've found a new commuter airline to service Cheyenne? Here's your goggles -- and watch out for birds!

The crops are coming in. Cherry tomatoes, crookneck squash, peppers and lots of herbs. I threw in some of the squash with rice for dinner last night and tomatoes in the salad. We ate grilled chicken from Colorado marinated with a selection of my herbs. And, no, I didn't get the chicken's name and family of origin when I bought it. Peaches-and-cream corn from Eaton, Colorado. Good eatin' corn. Palisade peaches for dessert. I love this time of year. I'm just a modest backyard gardener who depends on the bounty of farmer's markets.

Speaking of harvests.... Jackson's Vertical Harvest is getting lots of attention these days. Three three-story hydroponic greenhouse is being built on the south end of the city's parking garage on one-tenth of an acre. Once completed, it will supply fresh produce to Jackson Hole, even during the frigid months of winter when anything fresh arrives via Ice Road Truckers. When fully functional, the facility will produce the equivalent of a five-acre farm. The Daily Secret just listed Vettical Harvest as one of "The Eight Wonders of the Design World," along with the new Mexico City International Airport and the Uber HQ planned for San Francisco. So many innovative things going on in Jackson. Yes, there is money in Jackson and that helps. But it's also home to some innovative thinkers which is undoubtedly why there is a TedX JH.

Vertical Dance troupe at the Cheyenne Arts Festival.

Speaking of vertical.... Chris, Annie and I enjoyed the Vertical Dance performance Friday night at the Asher Building downtown. Vertical Dance is a troupe of dancers at the University of Wyoming who perform on vertical spaces, such as the cliffs of Vedauwoo, the side of buildings or in high-ceilinged interior spaces. Their dances are accompanied by live music, this time by a quarter from Laramie, Lights Along the Shore. If this seems like a particularly Wyoming kind of art form, it is. We're all about vertical spaces and the arts!

The dancers were then opening act of Arts Cheyenne's Cheyenne Arts Festival. Friday's turnout was healthy, even though the clouds spit some rain for awhile. You can easily shrug off summer rain showers because you can almost dodge the sparse rain drops. If you do get wet, the sun will soon reappear to dry you, which happened Friday. We visited the artist spaces indoors. Great to see Ron McIntosh and his distinctive artwork. Ron was over from Laramie where last year he became the first individual artist picked up and promoted by the Wyoming Technology Business Center. Ron has a studio at the WTBC and will be featured in a show in Laramie in the fall. The WTBC is now working with musicians and possibly a writer or two to help them bring innovative business practices to their careers. Lord knows, most of us writers could use a plan. And speaking of harvests (again), the WTBC is home to Bright Agrotech, which has brought innovative indoor vertical gardening tools and techniques to the world. Check them out at https://www.brightagrotech.com/

What happens when Wyoming tourists no longer want to drive?

Gas prices are lower and expected to go even lower. We may be in for $2.50 gas prices in early 2015.

Yellowstone had a record 4 million visitors in 2014.

All good news for Wyoming.

Or is it?

America's love affair with cars may be over. Hard to believe for us Baby Boomers. I've been driving for almost 50 years. I couldn't wait to get my license and a car and tear around Volusia County, Florida -- and possibly use my new motorized self to get a date.

I did get a date or two. And I've driven in hundreds of counties all over this country and had a pretty good time doing it.

But those days may be over, at least in urban centers where most of the population lives. Kids these days -- they don't dream so much about piloting their own car as they do about saving the planet. Public transportation and car-sharing and walking and biking are hip.

Teton County, the gateway to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks and the cornerstone of Wyoming tourism, just opened a new terminal for its Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit (START) bus line. We have buses in Cheyenne and Casper and maybe a few other communities. But none of us has a transportation terminal that includes a "bus barn" for storing vehicles indoors away from the cruelties of Wyoming weather. The first phase of this transportation terminal was dedicated Friday. When it's completed, it will even include employee housing, a real concern for any middle class person hoping to make a living in one of the richest counties in the country.

The state has no plans to widen tourist-clogged Teton County roads. And many environmentally-conscious residents don't want those roads widened anyway. So the county plans for more rapid transit to get residents and visitors out of their cars. As it is now, visitors can fly into Jackson and spend a week without a car. In fact, they may prefer that.

The town of Jackson's web site had a link to this article written by Tim Henderson for the PEW Charitable Trusts. It talks about the drop in rates for commuting by car, not only in cities but here in the Great Wide Open:

Western areas known for wilderness and a car-loving culture are seeing big decreases. In Oregon, Washington and Colorado, the percentage of workers commuting by car dropped by either 3 or 4 percentage points. 

The car commuting rate in Teton County, Wyoming, with its breathtaking mountain views and world-renowned skiing at Jackson Hole, dropped from 79 percent to 70 percent. No other county saw a larger decline. 

“We took a number of actions between 2000 and 2010 with the intention of changing the mode of travel away from the auto, particularly for the work trip in our area,” said Michael Wackerly of Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit. Some of the steps included providing commuter buses to get workers from neighboring Idaho, bus passes for Teton Village employees and higher parking fees to encourage bus use. For Teton County, the motivation was largely environmental. 

“A transportation system oriented toward automobiles is inconsistent with our common values of ecosystem stewardship, growth management and quality of life,” said the county’s 2012 master plan.

The Western Greater Yellowstone Consortium, a four-county partnership in Wyoming and Idaho, cites the expectations of Eastern tourists, many of whom come from cities where driving is falling out of favor. “A growing percentage of those visiting our National Parks from the nation’s urban centers and other countries expect to have alternatives to driving a private vehicle,” the group said in laying out its transportation goals.

You can read the rest of the article at http://townofjackson.com/current/more-cities-and-states-car-commuting-skids/

Many tourists "expect to have alternatives for driving a vehicle." They may be prompted by an environmental ethic. They may not want to be bothered with the hassles getting around unfamiliar territory on their own. Or they may not want to endure a National Lampoon-style family summer vacation family trip from Des Moines to Yellowstone. Where's Aunt Edna?

Sure, Jackson may be filled with tree huggers (along with the occasional Dick Cheney). But what about tourists visiting other Wyoming destinations? It's hard to imagine Cheyenne Frontier Days without city streets clogged with coal rollers and RVs. But even at CFD, the city uses school buses to transport tourists from a big parking area off of I-25 to concerts and the rodeo. And the city offers a free downtown circulator bus each summer. Downtown is very walkable and there are more and more reasons to walk around in it. We have a superb bikepath system, although commuting by bike on roadways still can be a harrowing experience.

There is a huge difference between Jackson and Cheyenne, One of the first comments I heard after moving to Wyoming in 1991: "Too bad you live in the ugly part of the state." It's true -- Jackson Hole is gorgeous while you have to hunt for the beauty in the High Plains. It's there, but it's not staring you in the face as it is every day in The Hole. More and more, Teton County residents realize what a gift they have. It's reflected in transportation policies and planning and a strong "locals" movement and arts and cultural activities such as the summer's Wild Festival which has the goal of "deepening our connection to nature through the arts."

In Wyoming, tourism is as important as digging carbon out of the ground to incinerate in giant power plants that obscure our national park vistas and contribute to global warming. But changes in national attitudes and demographics may be the real key to the state's future.

Young Wyoming activists come up with unique way to save the elephants

The Tooth Fairy is real. 

Two young people in Jackson Hole have come up with a compelling project to help save elephants. You may have heard that elephant poaching increases even in the face of stepped-up preservation efforts. The reason: ivory from elephant tusks. The market: China, which seems to have an insatiable appetite for the stuff. Here's the project:

THE TOOTH FAIRY PROJECT presented by Elephant Daze and WILD SCIENCE

October 4-5 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Center Theater Lobby, Jackson

- Elephant photography exhibit by Joachim Schmeisser and Kate Brooks
- Elephant Art Contest (awards announced Oct. 5 at 4 p.m.)
- Elephant Lifespan Exhibit
- Activism: Kids write letters asking the Tooth Fairy to send his baby teeth stockpile to China where 70 percent of elephant ivory tusks end up and where 70 percent of Chinese citizens believe elephant tusks FALL OFF and REGROW. This provocative and endearing community activation message will engage the public and the press to advance our mission: to garner media attention to save the elephant by ending legal (and illegal) ivory trade and carving in China.

The Tooth Fairy Project is supported by two young Jackson Hole activists: LILY MARVIN (11) and ALEX FRENCH (9), who are working hard to save the elephant, which they know also saves you and me.

With national parks closed, Jackson Hole quiet on the eve of ski season

When I was in Jackson Hole over the weekend, people were plenty sore about the Republican-spawned national park shutdown. Hotel reservations have been cancelled and tour buses rerouted to other parks, notably those in neighboring Colorado and Utah reopened by state funds. In Wyoming, alas, the constitution forbids state funds going to federal government operations. The tourism industry made an appeal to Gov. Mead. Alas, private dollars from Cody and Jackson were enough to plow the roads that got the parks opened in the spring but money couldn't be leveraged for general operating costs. That's fine with me, as I'm content to let Republicans stew in their own juices. Unfortunately, everyone in Teton County, D & R & I alike, is in that same gravy boat.

The newly refurbished Snow King bar wasn't dead, not exactly, but it's a jumping place on sun-drenched summer evenings and frigid ski-season nights. Last Saturday night, with baseball playoffs on one TV screen and an SEC tiff on the other, only a few patrons lined the bar. Most of the rest of the 20-some people were connected with the Wyoming Arts Council's conference going on around town. We made reservations for 10 on Friday evening at the popular Rendezvous Bistro. The place was half-empty by the time we got around to dessert.

Traffic flowed freely and no tourists seemed in danger of getting flattened by an RV; close calls are an every day summer occurrence. There just weren't that many targets (or RVs). 

We heard rumors about a protest by Cody Tea Party types set for Yellowstone's east gate. I don't know if that happened. It was snowing most of the weekend, and that tends to take some steam out of Tea Party gatherings, as most attendees seem to be of advanced years. We did hear about some daredevils sneaking into the park, but they risked getting a ticket from park staff still on duty.

Probably the best quote I heard about the closed national parks came from writer and activist Terry Tempest Williams. She's a Utah native but now lives in Teton County. At an arts conference talk on Monday, Williams spoke about taking a walk "on the periphery of Grand Teton National Park. I was surprised by how quiet it was."

She wondered what the animals were doing and thinking. " 'Frolic' came to mind."

The animals may be frolicking, but the humans, perturbed by Congress's antics, are in a sour mood.

Putting the blame where it belongs for national park shutdown: Wyo's lone congressional rep

Jim Stanford on Oct. 1 at JH Underground:

Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks are being barricaded today, and all public access closed, thanks in part to Wyoming’s lone congressional representative, Cynthia Lummis.

Lummis is part of an extreme faction of the Republican Party seeking to hold the federal government hostage over implementation of the 2009 health care law. She voted repeatedly this weekend and last night to send a budget bill to the Senate that was dead on arrival.

Without funding, all federal agencies, including the National Park Service, were forced to close.

On her website, Lummis said she did so to protect Americans from “the onslaught of Obamacare.”

Onslaught of Obamacare?

Read the entire column here. 

Tim Kaine in Jackson: "Come engage in a real dialogue with a member of the U.S. Senate"

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia may be running for president in 2016 -- but who isn't? Hanging out with a Virginia Democrat will be a darn sight more illuminating that going to Glenrock to hear our own Sen. Enzi, who wants to shut down the gubment due to the fact that America picked Obamacare over Enzicare. One reason for Kaine's trip is to meet some Liberal high-rollers spending the last weeks of summer at their mountainside vacation homes. But one must go where the dough is. And who knows -- maybe newbie Jackson resident Liz Cheney will stop by for some campaigning tips.

If anyone sees Sen. Barrasso shoveling snow off of the Yellowstone roads, I want a photo

Snow plowing at the east entrance to Yellowstone near Sylvan Pass in spring 2011. National Park Service photo.

Instead of urging its Republican Congressional delegation to remedy the federal budget sequestration, Wyoming's leaders have discovered an opportunity to brand road plowing in Yellowstone with a conservative "Code of the West" stamp.

First of all, just what is the "Code of the West?"

It's a list of 10 precepts invented by author and retired Wall Street investor James P. Owen. He now lives in Austin, Texas, and founded the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) foundation. His book credits include Cowboy Ethics (2004 and Cowboy Values (2008). Owen ccoined the phrase “Cowboy Ethics” and wrote his book distilling the unwritten Code of the West into “Ten Principles to Live By.” In 2010, the State of Wyoming adopted the Ten Principles of Cowboy Ethics as its official state code.

To sum up, the state code admonishes residents and lawmakers to live courageously, take pride in their work, finish what they start, do what's necessary, be tough but fair, keep promises, ride for the brand, talk less and say more, remember that some things aren't for sale, and know where to draw the line.

You got that? Somehow, this translates into using state equipment driven by my fellow state employees to plow snow-clogged roads in Yellowstone, roads that were set to open late because of $1.8 million in sequestration budget cuts. These are the same budget cuts that Wyoming's Congressional delegation has proudly trumpeted as necessary and good for the country.

Nobody has seen Sen./Dr. John Barrasso out in Yellowstone shoveling snow off the road to Old Faithful. We should put him to work during his two-week spring break.

Here's the recent press release from the Wyoming Office of Tourism:

YELLOWSTONE OR BUST!

Thanks to a collaborative effort between state, federal and private entities, Wyoming ensures America’s National Treasure will open on time

(Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 21, 2013) – Wyoming has set an example of how to deal with federal budget cuts by putting into action the “Code of the West.” Simply put, this “Code” consists of behaviors and rules that center around hospitality, fair play, loyalty, and respect for the land.

As Yellowstone National Park struggled with the nearly $1.8 million budget cut due to sequestration and ways they could alleviate the impact on visitors and gateway communities, they chose to delay plowing roads this spring; which in turn would have delayed the opening of the East Gate from Cody and the South Gate from Jackson by two weeks.

“The delays would not have been good for our local or state economy,” said Scott Balyo, executive director of the Cody Chamber of Commerce, “Almost immediately upon hearing that the East Gate would not open on time we began working with local and state partners to find a solution.”

Governor Matt Mead along with mayors and private businesses in the gateway communities of Cody and Jackson met to discuss possible solutions. Collectively they agreed that the potential revenue loss from a delay would have real financial consequences, especially on small business owners.

Governor Matt Mead led the discussion by saying, “We value our national parks as the true assets they are, not only to Wyoming’s economy, but to the nation’s economy. Yellowstone is internationally recognized and by delaying the opening we not only lose the opportunity to generate millions in revenue but we lose the opportunity to host visitors who might be experiencing this natural wonder for the first time.”

Gateway communities in particular are an integral component of the national parks system and rely heavily on the traffic generated from their national and international draw. In addition to providing a supporting role, these communities provide air service, lodging, restaurants, outfitter and guide services and other activities that enhance and enrich the national park experience.

Jeff Golightly, executive director with the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce reiterated, “Jackson Hole as a community takes stewardship of our national parks very seriously.  The idea that our nation’s first national park would not open on time for the world to enjoy was something we felt compelled to avoid. The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board and the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce felt it was our responsibility to protect our local tourism economy so we backed the plan right away by committing one time funds.”

Governor Mead offered equipment and personnel to assist with plowing efforts while the gateway communities pooled their resources, began fundraising and came up with money to fund the operation.  Wyoming’s entrances to Yellowstone National Park will open as previously scheduled. The East Gate from Cody will open on May 3, 2013 and the South Gate from Jackson will open on May 10, 2013.

Superintendent Dan Wenk agreed to start plowing from inside the park while Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) crews make their way from the east and south gates to complete the snowplowing operations.  WYDOT plows will be donning a large banner that reads “Yellowstone or Bust” based around a summer road trip campaign that the Wyoming Office of Tourism is currently rolling out.

Diane Shober, Director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism attests, “Wyoming represents the iconic cowboy and not just because we’re a Western state, but because cowboys stand for something, they are entrepreneurs and they live by the simple basic values that lie at the heart of the cowboy way. This is what the “Wyoming, Forever West” brand is all about.” As the Wyoming Office of Tourism gets ready to launch their national summer campaign, the goal remains to promote Wyoming as a vacation destination to domestic and international visitors while increasing revenue for stakeholders and the state of Wyoming.

ABOUT

·         Yellowstone National Park (YNP) received 3.4 million visitors in 2012. Source: National Park Service reports
·         Traffic through the East Gate in the first two weeks of May in 2012 totaled 11,500 people in 4,200 cars. The estimated local economic impact for Cody is $2 million for that time period.
·         At the South Gate in Jackson, 17,553 visitors passed through during the entire month of May generating an estimated $2.3 million.
·         Tourism is Wyoming’s second leading industry. In 2012 travelers generated $3.1 billion in direct expenditures to the State of Wyoming.  Source: 2012 Economic Impact Report
·         Xanterra Parks & Resorts of Yellowstone will open all lodging and visitor services as scheduled
·         East Gate from Cody opens May 3, 2012
·         South Gate from Jackson opens May 10, 2012

Yellowstone is saved. Tourism is saved. Thanks, "Code of the West."

No telling yet how many park rangers will be furloughed or how many park restrooms won't be cleaned or how many other services will be curtailed due to the cuts. In Cheyenne, some 410 National Guard and 700 Warren AFB personnel have received notices about one-day-a-week furloughs. That's a 20 percent cut in their pay. That's 20 percent less dough that won't contribute to the Wyoming economy (OK -- some of it goes to Fort Collins and Denver).

BTW, my favorite month to travel Yellowstone is May. Nothing quite like navigating the East Gate road to Lake Yellowstone flanked by 10-foot walls of freshly-plowed snow. No traffic. No bear jams.

If anyone sees Sen. Barrasso, snow shovel in hand, out on the road near Fishing Bridge, take a photo. I'd love to post it.

Deadlocks and Jalan Crossland perform Dec. 21 for Save the Hoback benefit

The Deadlocks and Jalan Crossland perform a benefit for Save the Hoback on Dec. 21 at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. Money will go to a fund to stop energy exploration in the Wyoming Range south of Jackson, which is home to the Hoback headwaters. Tickets are $20 or $100 for VIP with food and cocktails. More info at jhunderground.

If this is December in Wyoming, it must be time for Kickstarter gardening projects

I grew a few herbs last summer. Rosemary, basil, oregano. They grew in a pot next to my gas grill, handy for throwing into marinade or tossing on the fire for some extra flavor. Most summers, I have tomatoes and squash and zucchini and broccoli and pole beans and Chinese pea pods and spinach and a variety of lettuces. My garden (and my roof and my car) got slammed by hail twice during the wet summer of 2011. Golf ball size. I was out there trying to shelter my plants, getting pounded by ice balls the entire time. Good thing I was wearing my lucky Broncos caps or my noggin would have been perforated.

So I went on a gardening hiatus during the summer of 2012. I plan to be back in the fray come spring of 2013. We high altitude gardeners are gluttons for punishment.

But there is hope for us. I came across the web sites of two new gardening projects located at opposite corners of Wyoming. Coincidentally (or inevitably) they both have active Kickstarter projects. The first touts the "Spring System" by Laramie's Bright Agrotech. It's a self-contained growing tower that addresses the need for portable gardening systems. This aids the growth rate of plants. It also allows you to fetch your veggies in out of ice storms with relative ease. Here's a description:

We designed a special production system based on our patented vertical towers that allows us to grow more produce using less space, and then transport the unharvested towers to market.  It allows us to sell "You-Pick" vegetables at the supermarket, letting the customers pick exactly how much they want.

Whenever we would talk about growing towers of greens or herbs or flowers, or when folks saw our towers at the supermarket, people would always ask when we would make a model for home use. This got us thinking:  What if we could take live towers directly to people’s homes - kind of like a "You-Pick" Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in your own kitchen? Or what if people could just grow their own produce, easier, and with less space than a garden?  What if people could do both?  The more I thought about it, the more I knew this product would help enable the kind of future I want to live in.  So, we decided to make a kit that allows folks to grow their own vegetables, or participate in live tower CSAs.

To start, we found some brilliant engineers, stayed up late, and designed a reservoir that would let us do all of the above, and most importantly, makes it simple and easy for people to do vertical farming in their own home, or on their patio, or wherever there’s room. 

Sounds good to me. To contribute, go here. It's a $20,000 project; Bright Agrotech is about 25 percent along the way. Why not kick in a few bucks. 

The second project comes to us from Jackson. The ski town has a parking garage that nobody parks in. Wyomingites would rather park in the street or on someone's front lawn. Its south side is just sitting around doing nothing, just gathering the warming rays on the sun of the mountain sun. 

Here's where Vertical Harvest comes in. The idea is to build a three-story greenhouse on the garage's south side. The greenhouse would grow veggies year-round, nurturing the caldera's many vegans and those of us who like to have some greens with our bloody meat. Tending the gardens would be special needs teens and adults. Organizers have held fund-raisers and have already got some money in the bank. Here's a bit more about the project:

Vertical Harvest will be the first of its kind: A three story vertical farm built on an infill piece of land that will grow fresh, local produce in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, extending its four month growing season to all year round. What makes this project truly unique is that we will develop an innovative hydroponic growing system that can be used in vertical greenhouses of all configurations. This innovative mechanism will maximize efficiency by dramatically increasing the amount of produce that can be grown in the greenhouse and will also use less energy to grow produce. In addition, this growing carousel is also specifically designed to provide a safe and meaningful work environment for adults with developmental disabilities, the employee base of Vertical Harvest. With this technology, Vertical Harvest will wrap agricultural, architectural and social innovation into one project that will be a critical milestone in urban agriculture. Go to www.verticalharvest.org

VH's Kickstarter goal is $30,000. The organizers just started today. Contribute here. Pledge $50 and get a "swanky Vertical Harvest T-shirt."

We have some creative people in this state. What's your big idea to help us all eat locally year-round?

Iraq vet and writer David Abrams returns to Jackson with his novel "Fobbit"

I'm always a bit dubious when a new novel is compared to Catch-22 or M*A*S*H or is labeled "definitive." However, I am always ready for a new reading adventure, especially if the book features a darkly humorous take on war, any war, and the author is from Wyoming.

So here's some info on Jackson Hole H.S. grad David Abrams and his new novel, "Fobbit," and the author's upcoming appearance in his old stomping grounds:

The Jackson Hole Writers Conference & Teton County Library Present: David Abrams, 7-8:30 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 2. David Abrams, who graduated from Jackson Hole High School in 1981, spent 20 years in the Army and then came back to the states to write what is being acclaimed as the definitive novel of the Iraq War. His novel about the Iraq War, "Fobbit," was published by Grove/Atlantic in 2012. Location: Center for the Arts, Dancers Workshop, 240 S. Glenwood Street, Jackson, WY 83001. Free. Adult Humanities Coordinator, Oona Doherty, 733-2164 ext. 135, odoherty@tclib.org. 

From the author’s web site:

In the satirical tradition of Catch-22 and M*A*S*H, Fobbit takes us into the chaotic world of Baghdad’s Forward Operating Base Triumph. The Forward Operating base, or FOB, is like the back-office of the battlefield – where people eat and sleep, and where a lot of soldiers have what looks suspiciously like an office job. Male and female soldiers are trying to find an empty Porta Potty in which to get acquainted, grunts are playing Xbox and watching NASCAR between missions, and a lot of the senior staff are more concerned about getting to the chow hall in time for the Friday night all-you-can-eat seafood special than worrying about little things like military strategy. Of all the fobbits stationed at Baghdad’s Forward Operating Base Triumph, Staff Sergeant Chance Gooding is the fobbitiest. His M-16 is collecting dust, he reads Dickens and Cervantes instead of watching NASCAR with the grunts, and the only piece of Army intelligence he really shows an interest in is the mess hall menu. Gooding works in the base’s public affairs office, furiously tapping out press releases that put a positive slant on the latest roadside bombing or strategic blunder before CNN can break the real story. Another soldier who would spend every day at the FOB if he could is Captain Abe Shrinkle, but unfortunately for him he’s a front-line officer, in charge of a platoon of troops. Abe trembles at any encounter with the enemy and hoards hundreds of care packages, brimming over with baby wipes, foot powder, and erotic letters from bored housewives. When Shrinkle makes a series of ill-judged tactical decisions, he ends up in front of his commanding officers, and Gooding has his work cut out trying to make everything smell like roses--and that’s just the start of the bad news.