Meet Me in Montana!

I've mentioned before that Hawkeye Sarah's heart is in the West. She and Todd lived in Denver for about eight years where she honed her wildlife photography skills and practically lived outdoors whenever she could. They loved it.

A few years ago, work took them back to Iowa City. To my surprise, she was able to continue filming wildlife and even began monitoring several bald eagles' nests for the DNR.

This summer she entered several of her Iowa wildlife photos in the Iowa State Fair.

Second place in Adult Color for Animals/Insects/Wildlife

and an Honorable Mention in Black and White Wildlife.

Well, life changed again for them. Todd's job offered him a position in the state where Sarah and Todd have always said they wanted to live - Montana.

With Trinity's help, they put their house on the market, packed up their home and loaded it onto a truck, and headed west.

Todd's new position began August 1 so there was some immediacy to the move. Sarah stayed behind in Iowa to wrap up her job and sell their home. 

Trinity, a newly minted nurse, decided to move to Montana, too, and found a job at a hospital about two hours away from her parents. She's moved into an apartment and starts working right after Labor Day.

Rather than make a snap judgment about where to live, Todd and Sarah have rented a home for a year. Once Sarah has finished in Iowa and moved out, then they will look for a permanent home.

No surprise, they are living very close to one of Yellowstone's main entrances so that they can hike and take wildlife photos.

Todd has always done a lot of hiking or running, and already he has been hitting the trails all around them.

He took these photos on one of his hikes the other day. I have no idea where he is except that he's somewhere in Montana! LOL

Such a beautiful place to live! The harsh winters won't be a surprise to them, not after their years in Denver and Iowa. (Want to read some chilling history about pioneers and what they endured? Focus on Iowa - you might be surprised at the hard winters they have.)

Congratulations, Sarah and Todd, on this new chapter in your life!  I am hoping that I will get to meet you in Montana for a visit soon!

Goodbye, Tatanka

First Post of the Day

This weekend, Hawkeye Sarah surprised me by asking, "Mom, will you put my name on the tag of your white bison?"

My reaction? "Wait, what? You mean Tatanka? You want him?"

She sure did. And if our kids would like to have something (as Mila put it so delicately once, "When you're dead, Grammy?"), then I label on it or mark it some way. In the case of my collection, I put the name on the model's tag.

Not this time. I pulled Tatanka right off the shelf and handed it to her. 

It was Sarah's turn to be surprised and she protested a little about taking away a piece of my collection. But I was so delighted that she wanted it, there was no way I was going to keep it. My collection certainly does bring me joy, but it makes me even happier to know that a family member wants to have a piece from it.

And, Sarah is a wildlife photographer, a good one. She has taken many photos of bison during her travels around the western United States. Here is a look at a few of them:

Bison are one of her favorites to photograph.

She has a knack for being in the right spot at the right time with the right angle of the camera.

And, she is a year round photographer - she loves seeing wildlife in all their seasonal environments.

A rare white bison was born a few years ago and Sarah was lucky enough to be able to photograph it. 

My Tatanka is a nice connection to it. That, and her love of bison, were reasons why she asked if she could have him.

I am delighted that a piece of my collection, one that has personal meaning to both of us, will be with her when I am not.

So, yes, Sarah, you take my Tatanka home with you.