Spring / Summer 2014
Finding Harmony A Locavore-Inspired Menu WILDERNESS LEGEND
GAP PUCCI
SHARED SPACES | TIPS & TRENDS | TREASURED THINGS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
departments 8 TIPS & TRENDS: PROFILES Interviews with landscape architect Allison Fleury, environmental consultant Brian Remlinger, and landscaper Sam McGee
14 TIPS & TRENDS: PRODUCTS Brighten up your summer with gardens that are regionally inspired, vibrant decor tips, and skin-care musts
18 IN THE KITCHEN
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28
Summer Out of the Box
A quest for the perfect locavore-inspired menu BY ANNIE FENN
32 TREASURED THINGS Gap Pucci
From city stonemason to wizard of the wilderness BY DAVID J SWIFT
36 SHARED SPACES
42
features HOME LIVING 22 Bringin’ It! 28 Finding Harmony
To Jackson Hole
Couple finds balance between family, sustainable design, and outdoor living
Self-described ‘gym rat’ finding his way in the outdoors
BY KIRSTEN CORBETT PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID AGNELLO
BY MICHAEL MCCOY PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATY GRAY
TETON HOME and living
BY MOLLY LOOMIS
40 ARTISTS & ARTISANS
Anne Ross, Ross Custom Leather Interview with Best of Show winner from 2013 Western Design Conference
42
WEEKEND WANDERINGS
Sip and See: Wining and Dining in Boise Discovering the Snake River Valley’s viticultural richness BY KATE HULL
ON THE COVER: Welcoming visitors with a warm, red doorway, the Freeman residence, surrounded by breathtaking views, showcases energy-efficient, sustainable design with thoughtful interiors and inviting spaces. Photography by David Agnello 2
Coexisting with our environment
44
HEART & HOME
Valentino LittleWing An unlikely friendship takes flight BY LAUREL A. WICKS
PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAVID AGNELLO, KATY GRAY, BOISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, DAVID J SWIFT
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Wild Neighborhoods
[
HUNTSMAN SPRINGS:
The wonders never cease.
]
Here at HUNTSMAN SPRINGS, children (and their parents) marvel at the many kinds of life flourishing in their backyard. From cutthroat trout to soaring eagles to the skittish grey tail fox – all are preserved in this unique family vacation community. Filling out the picture is a thrilling David McLay Kidd golf course, Wellness Center, and the finest fly fishing in the West. If you are game for discovering an unspoiled family retreat under the Teton Mountains, come out and we’ll show you around. CALL 307.699.0205 AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DISCOVER HUNTSMAN SPRINGS FOR YOURSELF.
Profits from Huntsman Springs will be contributed to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
D I S C OV ER T E TO N VA L L E Y 501 HUNTSM A N SPRING S DRIVE | DRIGG S , ID 8 3 42 2 | HUNTSM A NSPRING S .COM
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Seasonal Brilliance “The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other.”
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— Arthur Rubenstein
PHOTO: BAILEY WATSON
pring is here and the longer, warmer days of summer are right around the corner, and as much as I have enjoyed another powder-filled Teton winter, I am welcoming the new season with enthusiastic open arms. Mornings perusing farmers markets for local produce, afternoons exploring the mountains and rivers, and nights spent on the patio watching the ever-changing Teton sunsets—I can’t seem to get enough. Probably, that is, because I am still getting accustomed to the idea of having four seasons, and the excitement that comes with a dramatic, welcomed, and unfailing change in weather and scenery, rather than the long, scorching summers, hints of fall lacking the awe-inspiring colors, and snowless blips of winter I am accustomed to back in my native Texas. Here, each season boasts a spectacular energy bringing something special and all its own. Summer is no exception: lively colors, different things to discover, abundance of vegetation, and new faces with new stories to tell. Our latest issue welcomes the fresh season at our doorsteps with a journey exploring all things vibrant, original, and distinctive. Our pages tell the stories of Teton Valley characters showcasing a style all their own, take readers on a trip to places dawning a charisma not to be missed, and unlock style tips that will make sure your season has a little extra flair. I invite you to sit back and soak up the qualities that make Teton Valley, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming, like nowhere else. In Treasured Things (page 32), David J Swift takes a trip back in time to a Jackson long gone with a glimpse into the world of wilderness legend Gap Pucci. Find motivation to break a sweat and push your physical limits with Michael McCoy’s Living feature (page 28) where he gets to know notorious fitness guru—now Jackson resident—and P90X mastermind Tony Horton. Find inspiration in the vibrant colors and personal styles radiating within our pages. Kirsten Corbett’s Home feature (page 22) showcases what happens when thoughtful home design meets environmentally sound architecture, creating a home both aesthetically and sustainably built. Next, take your creative juices to the patio, and let Annie Fenn help you plan a locally inspired outdoor fiesta with her Community Supported Agriculture-only menu in In the Kitchen (page 18). But don’t forget to take a moment for yourself. Pour a glass of wine, put your feet up, and let our Weekend Wanderings (page 42) help you escape and indulge in the tastes of Idaho’s most eclectic city, Boise. Enjoy! But don’t blink; the seasons will change again before you know it.
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TETON HOME and living
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CONTRIBUTORS Raised in Lander and Jackson, Wyoming, KIRSTEN CORBETT (Home, page 22) is a “mental composter and synthesizer of ideas,” digital media communicator for Teton County Library, and mom. In 2012, she became a Oneness Trainer and, in 2013, a yoga teacher RYT-200. She works with Oneness Jackson Hole to help people experience greater unity within themselves and in their lives. A co-founder of Teton Literacy Program, now the Teton Literacy Center, her love of words led to her work as an outdoor columnist, book reviewer, and features writer for the Jackson Hole Guide. She now contributes to Teton Family Magazine and Teton Home and Living, and writes a spiritual blog.
After twenty years of delivering babies in Jackson Hole, ANNIE FENN (In the Kitchen, page 18) traded in her surgical gown to write about food and life at the base of the Tetons. So far, her writing-career highlight was interviewing Michael Pollan at Walk Festival Hall in 2012. Annie frequently contributes to Teton Home and Living, Teton Family Magazine, and Edible magazine. Her “Beyond Power Bars” column appears on the Dishingjh.com blog. Annie divides her time between Jackson Hole and Felt, Idaho, with her über-active husband, two teenage boys, and hunting dogs, Orzo and Rosie. Follow her stories on mountain life, with recipes, at jacksonholefoodie.com, and on Instagram @jacksonholefoodie.
MICHAEL MCCOY (Living, page 28) is the former editor of Jackson Hole magazine (2000–11) and the current editor of Teton Valley Magazine. He has been writing about history, adventure sports, and the Northern Rockies for more than thirty years; his host of clients have included, among others, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Powder, National Geographic Book Division, Fodor’s, and the Lyons Press. Mac is also the author of a dozen books, including Classic Cowboy Stories, Insiders’ Guide to Glacier National Park, and Cycling the Great Divide.
It was 1953, a typical summer day in suburban Southern California—hot, smoggy, kids playing baseball in the street—when the letter arrived. It bore news to Joseph and Mildred that their son, DAVID J SWIFT (Treasured Things, page 32), had been accepted into the kindergarten program of Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Compton, California. The lad’s educational agenda proved salutary so he continued, achieving levels of tutelage such as the third grade, the ninth grade, and more. He remains educated to this day, leveraging that stuff as a photographer, writer, filmmaker, and musician.
LAUREL A. WICKS (Heart & Home, page 44) has begun the next incarnation of writing about the world of elders, sharing insights and new perspectives gained since the publication of her book, Lessons from a Caregiver, Caring for an Elder with Love and Compassion. She is about to leap headlong into blogging on her website, ComfortCareandNourishment.com. Laurel still loves cooking and caring for clients, birds, and other tiny friends. She is enjoying life and looking forward to the return of the green seasons.
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TETON HOME and living
SPRING/SUMMER 2014 Editor Kate Hull kate@tetonmediaworks.com Art Director Colleen Valenstein Copy Editors Pamela Periconi Michael McCoy
Properties that are a World Apart.... ...Service that is World
Advertising Sales Dawn Banks dawnb@tetonmediaworks.com Mollie Flaherty mollie@powdermountainpress.com
Contributors David Agnello Kirsten Corbett Annie Fenn Katy Gray Meghan Hanson Sophia Jones Kisa Koenig Molly Loomis Michael McCoy David J Swift Laurel A. Wicks Publisher: Kevin Olson Brand Manager: Amy Golightly Director of Advertising: Adam Meyer Distribution: Kyra Griffin, Pat Brodnik Hank Smith, Jeff Young
Serving Buyers and Sellers in IDAHO and WYOMING Two convenient locations! Main Gate—TETON SPRINGS
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Teton Home and Living magazine is published twice yearly.
“Dear, this chandelier is the perfect finishing touch. Don’t worry, we will hang it high enough so the kids can’t swing from it.” P.O. Box 7445, Jackson, WY 83002 (307) 733-2047 tel www.LifeInTheTetons.com Printed in the U.S.A. © 2014 Teton Media Works. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine’s original contents, whether in whole or part, requires written permission from the publisher. We welcome letters to the editor. They should be emailed to kate@tetonmediaworks.com or sent to the address above. Letters to the editor should be marked as such, and will be considered for publication upon verification of their source. (Please include your name, address, and phone number.) Submissions for the Tips & Trends department should be sent to kate@tetonmediaworks.com. Both letters to the editor and Tips & Trends items should be submitted at least eight weeks prior to the publication date of the issue for which they are intended. We will consider all submissions, but make no guarantee of publication. Advertise. Teton Home and Living reaches the region’s most involved and enthusiastic homeowners and visitors. For advertising information, call (307) 7332047 or email dawnb@tetonmediaworks.com. Contribute. We’re always on the lookout for talented writers and photographers who share our passion for the people, homes, and places of the Tetons. To learn more about our editorial needs, send an email to kate@tetonmediaworks.com. Spring / Summer 2014
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PHOTO: KISA KOENIG
TIPS & TRENDS
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TETON TETON HOME HOME and andliving living
ALLISON FLEURY
Inside Out Landscape Architecture, LLC
I
f Allison Fleury had it her way, each of her projects would overflow with perennials and showcase the beautiful plants of the region. But at least there is always her yard to explore the endless combinations of each season. As part of her one-woman landscape architecture business, Allison brings a seasoned career and one-on-one attentiveness to each project, creating artistic, sustainable, and livable outdoor spaces. As the business name implies, Allison loves to make a space cohesive, from the interior of the building to the design of the landscape. Since moving from her native Toronto to Jackson in 1996, she has worked in the landscape architecture industry while juggling jobs in other fields, until finally going out on her own in 2008. From her office in Wilson, Allison works with clients on projects ranging from impressive residential site planning and design projects to smaller residential landscape projects. Most recently, she has been working on the design of outdoor spaces and playgrounds for school campuses around Wyoming. TH&L: How did you come up with your company’s name? AF: When I first went out on my own, I was just trying on different words to see what stuck with me, as to what I thought landscape architecture meant. There are a lot of surname-design firms, which is great as soon as you know the person, but until you know the person, it needs to speak to the philosophy. Mine has always been that the landscape architecture, site planning, and actual plant design is tied in with and an extension of the architecture, so bringing the outside in and bringing the inside out. To me, the whole property needs to be one cohesive unit.
TH&L: What inspires you? AF: Great art, colors, textures. I really try to get a feel for what the client’s artistic sense is like. If you can get an idea of what they like on the inside of the house, you can translate that to the outside. I also like clean lines, nothing too busy, or nothing fussy. I love perennials; my weakness is, since I love them all, that I want to use them all. But I have to narrow down the palette a little bit. TH&L: What do you most enjoy about the landscape architecture industry? AF: I love just seeing the client’s desires and vision—even if they don’t know what exactly it is at first—come to life. Even when they don’t know exactly what they want, I enjoy seeing that satisfaction and happiness when it is done, when it is even better than they could’ve imagined. I also love the design part, just sketching on trace paper. TH&L: What advice do you give clients when trying to consider their surroundings? AF: The more they can be aware of their environment, the better. Knowing the solar orientation and where the wind is coming from, for example; it can make such a huge difference if they put their garage doors on the north side versus the south side or walkways under the drip lines. TH&L: What makes your business stand out? AF: I think that since it is just me, and maybe someone else helping out, when you work with [Inside Out Landscape Architecture], it is me doing the design, me on-site, and it adds a very personal touch to the process.
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Spring / Summer 2014
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PHOTO: KISA KOENIG
TIPS & TRENDS
10 TETON TETONHOME HOMEand and living living
All the pleasures of home and garden
BRIAN REMLINGER Alder Environmental, LLC
G
rowing up in the hills of Southern California, spending his boyhood days constantly exploring nature and playing in the creeks, the outdoors is in Brian Remlinger’s blood. This sense of connection and enthusiasm for the natural world took him to a career in environmental consulting and, eventually, to Wyoming, where he is the founder, principal, and senior scientist at Alder Environmental, LLC. He still spends his days exploring creeks and nearby wilderness, but this time performing water-quality samplings and wildlife habitat assessments. Along with his team, environmental scientist Jonathon King and ecologist Megan Smith, Brian and Alder Environmental are going on four years serving western Wyoming and eastern Idaho’s environmental consulting needs. TH&L: What types of projects define your firm? BR: I would say wetland water resource and wildlife projects define the firm. Within that umbrella, we have projects where we restore a stream that has been degraded to bring it back to its natural potential for trout and habitat. We do the same with wetlands. We also assist developments with completing their project to comply with federal, state, and local regulations. … The other thing under that umbrella is conservation efforts and working with land conservation organizations to place large tracts of land under conservation easements, a mechanism that protects a piece of property in perpetuity. TH&L: What makes your firm stand out? BR: I am a very detail-oriented person. I am involved with projects from start to finish, as the principal. What makes us stand out as a company is that we have a great, very knowledgeable team. I also think one of the things people appreciate is our ability to deliver projects on time and to expectations.
TH&L: What kinds of projects make you excited? BR: Being a part of a larger conservation effort is rewarding. The other thing that is really rewarding is to be able to see a restoration project go from the planning phase to construction, from where it is completely torn apart as a landscape and to see it grow back as planned, maturing and providing habitat. To see a hundred waterfowl on a wetland that wasn’t there before it was drained, those are the tangible things. There is nothing like seeing water flow and plants grow. TH&L: In an environment like Jackson, what advice would you give potential clients when thinking about their project? BR: The one thing I make sure clients understand is that the natural environment is always changing and very diverse, and can be unpredictable. Part of my work is to understand that natural environment so we can have success and progress, and try to provide some predictability to projects. People have expectations. They may want a freestone, cobblestone, and perfect stream, but the reality is you are working within the confines of that stream and it may not be a perfect stream. Expectations are important for projects from the client’s perspective. TH&L: What do you most enjoy about working and living in Jackson? BR: I am so fortunate to be a part of this community and able to provide these services, have a business, and raise a family here. I think a lot of the time it is so easy to get caught up in the everyday and forget how fortunate we are to live in such a fabulous place: a place to recreate, enjoy the views, with fresh air and clean water.
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Spring / Summer 2014 11
PHOTO: KISA KOENIG
TIPS & TRENDS
12 TETON TETONHOME HOMEand and living living
SAM MCGEE
Frederick Landscaping, LLC
F
TH&L: What inspires you? SM: The natural world and unique design have always inspired me. I like to incorporate artistic design in a way so that it blends into the natural world.
With six employees and an expanding clientele base, Sam stays busy with Frederick Landscaping. But despite the task of owning a business, you can still find Sam out on project sites, behind the tractor—or getting his hands dirty, the part he calls his favorite.
TH&L: What are some of the challenges of working in a seasonally diverse area like Jackson? SM: The seasonality of it I see as more of a benefit than a challenge. It makes every season fresh. Our winter season enables us to start back renewed every spring. We come back in the spring ready to go again. The more challenging difficulty in our environment is simple things like topography of the land and our Teton “topsoil” being nothing but rocks. It is definitely a harsher environment that needs more attentive care. You need to treat each plant with a lot more love than in the South. Here, you have to really nurture it.
TH&L: What makes Frederick Landscaping stand out from other companies? SM: We are unique in our level of customer service and our quality and scale. I have kept it really small and focus on installation; I am one of the few landscaping companies in the country that doesn’t own a lawnmower. We plant trees, build patios, and create ponds. Some other companies do that as well, but not many do that solely. Some companies make their bread and butter on mowing lawns and installing when they can; but [installing] is all we do, which keeps it creative, interesting, and every job new and different throughout the season.
TH&L: What can we expect from Frederick Landscaping in the next year? SM: It is growing into a business where there is too much office work for me to handle by myself. I truly enjoy being on-site and being in the tractor and making sure the installation is going the way I dreamt it up; so, one of my employees, Ryan Haight, is going to start helping me with communication, estimates, and keeping the books. He has been with me all seven years I have owned the business. He knows the company through and through. This will enable us to keep our finger on the pulse of where we are, every step of the way, and keep clients updated.
rederick Landscaping was established by Bud Frederick in 1976, the same year current owner Sam McGee was born. Fourteen years ago, when Sam, a South Carolina native, threw a dart on the map and ended up in Jackson, his interest in landscaping and degree in agricultural mechanization and agribusiness quickly led him to being hired by Bud. The rest is history. The two built a lasting work relationship and personal friendship resulting in Sam taking over the business after Bud retired. “Slowly, we have grown the company back in the direction he had before retirement, and built upon the great reputation he created,” Sam says.
Spring / Summer 2014 13
TIPS & TRENDS
Like fashion, art, and food, home decor is often met with questions of “What’s in?” and “What’s not?” This summer, Teton Home and Living invites you to welcome the warmer, longer days of summer with the latest style: yours! Say sayonara to drab and lackluster, and introduce patterns and colors that reflect you and your home. Jackson-based interior designer Jennifer Visosky, owner of Grace Home Design, is not afraid to let her space reflect her passions and encourages readers to, “Make it personal! Interiors are nothing, if not personal.” “My design studio is filled with art I love [who can resist artist Kollabs’ Thorton?] and color and pattern combinations that make me happy,” Visosky says of her newly redesigned space. “I paired a wild Christian Lacroix pattern with a bright pink velvet onto old-school wingback chairs.” Draw inspiration from your individual, unique tastes, and don’t be afraid to be brighter and bolder than the norm. “When you design for your space or hire an interior designer to do it for you, the space should reflect what you are all about,” she says.
14 TETON HOME and living
PHOTOS: DAVID AGNELLO
WELCOME SUMMER WITH YOUR STYLE
RETAIL THERAPY AT YOUR DOORSTEP
PHOTO: COURTESY BIRCHBOX
With high-altitude, dry climates doing less than wonders on mountain town-dwellers’ skin, sometimes the search for the perfect beauty remedies and skin products is no easy task. Add the lack of national retail storefronts into the mix, and, well, the search just got tougher. Although Teton Valley is home to numerous chic beauty boutiques, the pursuit can amount to numerous shopping trips and too many sometimes-pricey guess-and-checks. Too bad we can’t sample everything! Well, take a collective sigh of relief: Now we can! Thanks to New York City-based Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna, and their innovative company, Birchbox, consumers can try the best beauty, grooming, and lifestyle products each month through a personalized delivery of deluxe samples. Known as the “try, learn, buy” model, Birchbox brings the samples to the user, allowing women and men to test each product and buy what suits them best. For $10 a month, head to birchbox.com, customize your style, and try their products out. When you find the perfect exfoliator you are over-the-moon about, purchase it online or find it at area stores. For an added treat, stylish extras are included, too, like organic teas, vibrant scarves, or elegant stationery.
Spring / Summer 2014 15
TIPS & TRENDS WILD GARDENS: EMBRACE THE ENVIRONMENT
STOVETOP STYLE
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF COACTION PUBLIC RELATIONS; ALLISON FLEURY
Contrast neutral kitchen tones with fun, festive cookware that doubles as decor. Whether hosting a summertime bash or just cooking up some food for the family, statement cookware pieces like Le Creuset’s brightly colored French ovens add cheerfulness and an extra pop to any kitchen. Yes, a French oven, as Le Creuset likes to say, is the same as a traditional Dutch oven, but whatever the name, the one-pot, enamel-coated cast iron is as versatile as it is stunning. Don’t worry about storing it: Use the cookware as an accent piece on the stovetop for a hint of color. The classic round or oval French ovens range from one to thirteen-and-a-quarter quarts. Mix the cherry red with oranges and yellows, or the latest green hue Palm, for a bright range of colors in your cast-iron collection, or match to your dinnerware. For larger family gatherings, grab the fifteen-and-a-half-quart goose pot in green. Perfect for any season, the piece can be the focal point of an outdoor table setting to showcase the main dish. Find the goose pot and more at Jackson’s home decor and kitchenware store, Belle Cose, bellecose.com.
Trying to maintain a formal, manicured garden in a mountain environment would be like trying to hike in heels. It looks just as unnatural as it feels. This summer, take the pressure off that green thumb, or lack thereof, and let your garden blend with its surroundings. Using stonework and longer grass, letting those hedges grow out, and using a wider range of regional vegetables and perennial flowers will allow for a lush, vibrant garden that’s easier to maintain and provides a welcoming, natural outdoor space. Consult a local landscape architect, like Inside Out Landscape Architecture, for tips on how to help your garden reflect the quality of your home and its surroundings. Enjoy the relaxing shade of aspen groves lining your yard— their vibrant fall colors are breathtaking!—and give your flower bed an extra pop of color with peonies and lupine.
16 TETON HOME and living
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CHELLEE LOWDER
LOCAL ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: CHELLEE LOWDER Maybe you have seen her at the local farmers markets or Art Fair Jackson Hole, or maybe you admired her paintings hanging on the walls of Range restaurant in Victor’s Teton Springs, but whatever the case, Teton Valley, Idaho, artist Chellee Lowder is not one to miss. A Durango, Colorado, native, Chellee has been selling her watercolor paintings for more than twelve years and works as an artist full time. She calls her art a “combination of tight details and wild, loose, and vivid colors, giving each piece a dreamlike feeling to the viewer.” Depicting Teton landscapes, intricate close-ups of horses, and moose in a vibrant bed of wildflowers, Chellee’s style is the perfect addition to any mountain home. Visit her website, chelleelowder.com, to peruse her full gallery of wildlife, landscape, and lifestyle art. Or, combine your idea for the perfect painting with Chellee’s unique style to create a commissioned piece.
Spring / Summer 2014 17
IN THE KITCHEN
Summer Out of the Box A quest for the perfect locavore-inspired menu
STORY BY ANNIE FENN PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATE HULL
T
he pigs lined up to greet me with upturned snouts and boisterous snorts as I drove up to Cosmic Apple Gardens farm in Victor, Idaho. These pigs are accustomed to a diet of sweet milk and vegetable scraps from the organic, biodynamic farm occupying thirty acres at the base of the Tetons. Their enthusiastic welcome had everything to do with whether or not I had something good to eat. I was shopping for a pig that was the right size to feed a crowd of forty. I had enlisted Jed Restuccia, farmer and owner of Cosmic Apple Gardens since 1996, and butcher Derek Ellis to find me the perfect pig. Thankful that I had outsourced the choosing of which adorable pig would end up in my roaster to the professionals, I wandered around the farm with my camera, while Derek and Jed got to work. My pig roast was to be a late-summer celebration of the abundance of local food. My weekly farm share from Snowdrift Farm, also in Victor, would contain more than enough fresh produce to round out the menu. The pig is always the star at any pig roast, of course, drawing guests to gather around the aroma of roasting meat. The ritual of flipping the pig on its bed of coals is a spectacle that begs participation, as well as spawning much discussion of pig-roasting tips and lore.
18 TETON HOME and living
The summer season brings crowds to local farmers markets, where an abundance of greens, hearty cabbages, and an array of crisp carrots are up for grabs from area farms. Chef Annie Fenn created a locavoreinspired pig roast with the spoils of local crops found in her Community Supported Agriculture share.
The anticipation of pulling that fork-tender pork from the side dishes to accompany the decadence of feasting on a whole bone and folding it into a soft corn tortilla makes everyone pig. Chunks of cucumber, mango, and jicama threaded on crazed with hunger as they wait—sometimes for hours—for skewers and dusted with chile powder made a fun appetizer. the pig to be done. This is why the side dishes served at a pig The ripe Snowdrift tomatoes needed only to be sliced, topped roast are just as important as the pig. I hoped to appease my with fresh cheese and cilantro, and drizzled with olive oil for a guests’ hunger pains with platters of Mexican take on the Caprese salad. A vegetable side dishes, an irresistible radicchio and Napa cabbage coleslaw MEXICAN QUICK-PICKLED CARROTS guacamole laced with bacon, and a huge seemed like a good idea, too, especially stockpot of margaritas. when tossed with a creamy cilantro When my CSA share is overflowing with When I picked up my share at dressing pureed with a whole jalapeno sweet carrots, I like to make a double Snowdrift that week from farmers Erika for added spice. batch of these quick pickles, which are just Eschholz and Ken Michael, I was Perfect pork tacos are all about layers like the condiments served at taco stands all over Central Mexico. thrilled to see the box overflowing with of flavor juxtaposed with layers of all the perfect fixings for a pig roast: texture. The soft tortillas and the crispy Makes enough for at least a dozen tacos cucumbers, tomatoes, Napa cabbage, pork need a variety of toppings: sweet peppers, onions, radicchio, something creamy (wild mushroom 2/3 cup rice wine vinegar + 1 cup water zucchini, cilantro, parsley, tomatillos, queso fundido or chopped avocado), 1 bay leaf 1 sprig fresh thyme garlic, and a huge bunch of sunflowers. something tart (quick-pickled carrots 1 teaspoon sugar Russet potatoes were starting to come and red onion), and something with 1/2 teaspoon salt in, too, as were some other root heat (salsa verde, inspired by my 4 cups carrots, peeled and cut into vegetables, like tiny purple potatoes and Snowdrift Farm tomatillos). matchsticks sweet red, white, and magenta carrots. For dessert, I made dozens of 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced 2 jalapenos, sliced into thin rings, optional My share also included eggs from their miniature empanadas—those irresistible pastured chickens, a wedge of Paradise flaky turnovers found everywhere in 1. Combine the vinegar, water, bay leaf, Springs cheese, and a fresh loaf of 460° Mexico, often stuffed with corn, meat, thyme, and sugar in a 3-quart saucepan, Bread, my favorite Idaho bakery. potatoes, or pineapple. I stuffed mine and bring to a simmer. As a person who loves to cook, when with chunks of caramelized apples—to 2. Place the carrots, onion, and jalapenos in a bowl, and pour the hot vinegar I peer into a box of veggies I can’t help celebrate the first really good apples to mixture over them. but start thinking up recipes and arrive in the valley—and served them 3. Cool to room temperature, and pour into planning a menu. Food this fresh needs with dulce de leche for dunking. a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. The little preparation, so I came up with a Buying a share in a local farm, known pickles will keep for up to two weeks in handful of healthy Mexican-inspired as Community Supported Agriculture the refrigerator. Spring / Summer 2014 19
With a mouthwatering spread of bacon and tomato guacamole, pork tacos, and all the fixings, guests sipped margaritas and enjoyed appetizers while the star of the feast, the locally sourced pig, was roasted.
MAKE IT! LifeInTheTetons.com More seasonal recipes
or CSA, is the best way I know to be fully supplied with fresh a CSA shareholder, I’ve been constantly amazed by the farmers’ vegetables, herbs, and flowers from June until October. Shares ability to outsmart the fickleness of Mother Nature. My first are typically purchased at the end of the growing season for share arrives as early as April, with the welcome sight of bags the following year. Come spring, shareholders receive a box of of baby lettuces from the greenhouse. Extra shares offered for just-picked produce that grows each week as the gardens put Thanksgiving and Christmas contained a winter’s worth of out an increasing variety of what’s in season. Erika and Ken, who have since moved BACON AND TOMATO GUACAMOLE on to start their own Full Circle Farm in Reminiscent of a BLAT sandwich—bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato—the addition of crisp, Driggs, share my enthusiasm for the smoky bacon and ripe tomato makes this guacamole an American twist on a Mexican classic. harvest; they are always on hand each If you’ve never cooked with canned chipotles en adobo, be aware that they can add a lot of pickup day to answer questions, explain heat! It is important to scrape out and discard the seeds and any veins. Start with just one or any unusual vegetables (bundle of two chilies, and taste the guacamole to gauge the spiciness; you can always add more. sorrel?), and give updates from the Makes about 3 cups, easily doubled or tripled for a crowd farm. Besides assuring that you never run 5 strips medium-thick smoky bacon, such as Benton’s out of salad greens, purchasing a CSA 3 medium ripe avocados (about 1 1/4 pounds) share has numerous benefits for you, for 1/2 medium white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces your local farmer, and for the 2 or 3 canned chipotles en adobo, to taste; removed from the canning sauce, stemmed, split open, seeds scraped out, and finely chopped environment (see sidebar “Perks of 1 medium-large ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces Owning a CSA Share”). 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro (thick bottoms cut off) coarsely chopped, plus extra for garnish As Jed puts it: “Buying a CSA share is 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice the most important thing you can do to Kosher salt, to taste support your local farmer.” 1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy and browned, about 10 minutes. Drain on It is a leap of faith to own a piece of paper towels and coarsely crumble. your favorite farm; shareholders 2. Slice the avocados lengthwise, and twist the two halves apart. Remove the pits, and scoop participate in the farm’s failures, as well out the flesh into a large bowl. Using a potato masher or a large fork, mash the avocados as its successes. The pitfalls of growing into a coarse puree. food at high altitude—hailstorms and 3. Place the onion into a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water. Shake off all the water and add to the bowl of mashed avocados with the chipotle chilies, tomatoes, and cilantro. high winds, excessive rains, and Fold in about 2/3 of the bacon bits, and taste for salt. I usually add at least 1/2 teaspoon of drought—could have a direct effect on salt depending on the saltiness of the bacon. Add 1-2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and the amount of produce that comes in gently stir. your CSA box. 4. To make ahead, cover the guacamole by pressing plastic wrap directly over the surface. Just And yet, in the twenty years I’ve been before serving, sprinkle with the rest of the bacon bits and garnish with cilantro leaves. 20 TETON HOME and living
PERKS OF OWNING A CSA SHARE
root vegetables, jars of sauerkraut, pesto, pumpkins, winter squash, and bundles of dried herbs and chile peppers. Dale Sharkey, Jed’s partner in Cosmic Apple Gardens, even provides a weekly market of pork, beef, cheeses, eggs, and other farm goodies throughout the winter. As a CSA shareholder, it is likely that in some weeks you’ll receive more perishable food than your family can consume. It helps to know how to pickle, can, and preserve all that produce to keep you supplied with local food year-round.
Of course, you could always have several dozen friends over for a pig roast, like I did last summer. When my Cosmic Apple Gardens piglet was finally ready to be pulled from its roasting box, we placed it on the picnic table, armed the guests with forks, and let them shred the meat from the bones. As everyone lined up to create their own perfect pork tacos, I put out the salsas, the queso fundido, and the pickled vegetables. All the other fixings had happily disappeared. The pig was good—really good—but the vegetables from my CSA were the star of this roast.
Never run out of salad greens. A sixteenweek supply of the freshest produce available keeps you stocked up without having to go to the grocery store. You just might fall in love with a new vegetable. Last summer, I couldn’t stop eating the little white turnips that came in my share. Dipped in honey and sprinkled with sea salt, the raw turnips became my favorite snack. Not just veggies. Many CSAs provide other local goodies in your share, such as fresh 460° Bread, pastured, organic eggs from the farm, local cheeses, pork and beef products, and even maple syrup. Direct support of local farmers. By purchasing shares in advance, shareholders provide a much-needed infusion of cash to a local farmer, who is likely struggling with the high cost of land, transporting food to markets, and operating expenses. Sustainability. Buying food locally avoids the fuel and transportation costs, as well as the environmental pitfalls, of trucking food from afar. Land stewardship. Nonindustrialized farmers are trusted stewards of the land and the water supply, using farming practices that won’t decimate the soil or leach harmful chemicals into the groundwater. Responsibility. Shareholders are required to pick up at a designated time and place each week, or their share will be forfeited. This system may not work for those with busy schedules that often take them out of town. (If your eating schedule is erratic, it may make more sense to buy local produce at the farmers market or grocery store. Or buy direct from a farmer like Paul Grutzmacher at Leaping Lizards Farm in Felt, Idaho. Get on his mailing list and buy only when it’s convenient for you.)
CSAs and farmers who sell direct in Teton Valley, Idaho: • Cosmic Apple Gardens in Victor; Farmers Jed Restuccia and Dale Sharkey: cosmicapple.com, (208) 787-2082 • Full Circle Farm in Victor; Farmers Erika Eschholz and Ken Michael: tetonfullcirclefarm.org, (208) 201-1593 • Leaping Lizards Farm in Felt; Farmer Paul Grutzmacher: llizard@ida.net
CSAs near Jackson, Wyoming: • Evergreen Farm in Smoot, Wyoming; Farmers Shain and Tara Saberon: myevergreenfarm.com • Painted Sage Farm in Daniel, Wyoming; Farmer Maggie McAllister: paintedsagefarm.com Spring / Summer 2014 21
HOME
FINDING HARMONY COUPLE BALANCES FAMILY, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, AND OUTDOOR LIVING BY KIRSTEN CORBETT PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID AGNELLO
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Spring / Summer 2014 23
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estled on a hillside on the edge of an aspen grove outside of Driggs, Idaho, the Freeman residence welcomes visitors with a red front door and farmhouse awning. A mix of rooflines presents a modest entrance to this 2,560-square-foot, reclaimed timber-frame home, which sits amid the topography such that it feels like a natural extension of the surrounding alfalfa and barley fields. Built by two environmental educators with three young children, the home is a thoughtful, almost meditative balance of family spaces and sustainable function. Ben and Jennifer Freeman, who are based in Vermont, began the building process in 2009 by selecting an experienced, local team to inform them about their site and the region’s cultural heritage and traditional structures. “We wanted to make sure we built something that fit into the area, rather than imposing our ideas from another place,” Jennifer says. The couple first met John McIntosh, owner of Snake River Builders Inc., who connected them with Meghan Hanson, principal at Natural Dwellings Architecture. Hanson finds that sustainable building is most successful when all the key members of the team, including owner, architect, and builder, are active from the beginning. “The whole team worked so
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Although the family is not looking to get LEED well together, everyone chipped in and helped in every certification, they built with those guidelines in mind, aspect,” Hanson says. Ben’s father, Jeff, an architect as so that the structure would use as little energy as well, also collaborated on aspects of the design. possible. To determine the optimum orientation for Since the sixty-acre site is protected by a conservation passive solar gains, McIntosh and Hanson conducted easement with the Teton Regional Land Trust, three a solar study. Hanson created a 3-D computer model building envelopes were available. To decide where to that allowed them to track the locate their home, the Freemans sun’s progress through the year pulled out their sleeping bags. Clockwise from top left: With Paperstone and at all times of the day. She “We thought we wanted to be counters and Lyptus cabinets, the kitchen also used this information to tucked down, but realized we is styled with healthy and environmentally calculate the length of overhangs preferred to be more elevated. By conscious details. Inviting interior pieces help that would allow winter light in, camping on the site, we chose a define the big room’s distinct living, dining, and while shading the interior from different envelope,” Jennifer says. kitchen spaces. A long view down the north wall brilliant summer sun. The view from the elevated ends with a glance into the master suite. Having spent time in the home encompasses the Big house in both summer and Holes, the Tetons, and Teton Valley leading south into the winter months, the Freemans Snake River Range. It also turned are pleased with the results. “The out to be perfect for a sustainable house has passed the test of use, design. “This site was so exciting and indeed passively heats and because the views aligned with the passive solar design. cools in a wide range of temperatures,” Jennifer says. It’s great to have the opportunity for both and not have The results are evident in the family’s main room. to choose [one or the other],” says Hanson, who also An open area with zones for cooking, dining, and living, it boasts a thirty-eight-foot-high wall of southholds a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and facing windows. Whether standing at the kitchen sink a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or snuggling into the room’s day bed, natural light Accredited Professional (LEED AP) credential. Spring / Summer 2014 25
Built-in spaces, such as this cabinet for dining ware, create functionality, while visually breaking the continuous north wall.
brightens the space, which coolly dawns an array of primarily neutral shades. The eye is naturally drawn to the extraordinary views. With the aid of a geothermal heat-pump system, even an overcast, sub-zero December day feels warm and cheerful. Hanson says that the geothermal system makes the home’s mechanical operations about three times more efficient than standard home-heating systems. A soapstone Tulikivi masonry heating unit adds an element of radiant heat, as well as a cozy place to sit beside and read. Meanwhile, a high band of clerestory windows contributes visual appeal. Opening these windows on warm summer nights also lets fresh air in to flush and passively cool the structure. At its peak, the off-center ceiling reaches seventeen feet high, with exposed, reclaimed fir timbers and light-colored hemlock paneling that reference the aspen trees outside. It’s a human-sized, proportionate space, not cramped but not unnecessarily large, either. As Hanson says, “You want to find the sweet spot that’s the human scale.” The main room’s north wall spaciously holds utilitarian areas such as a family desk specifically engineered to hold the weight of curious kids, a message center, and pantries for storing everything from wine glasses to games. Recessed portions of the expanse are painted sage green, breaking up the long span. Outside, snow can pile up against the northern wall, providing the structure with natural insulation, while the base of the house is sided with an oxidized steel exterior for protection from the elements. Vitally important is how the main room invites dwellers to go outside. Adjacent to the dining area, where a beautiful cedar table built by McIntosh’s crew holds court, double glass doors open to a stone patio and natural grass field. “I just wanted to offer fun and joy for people and lead people outside. Last summer, we hardly ate inside,” Jennifer says. A natural downslope in the site provides the perfect place for a two-story bedroom wing—hosting three bedrooms and an additional bunkroom—and cleverly conceals its height. The connector and placement of this 26 TETON HOME and living
part of the house were also designed to fit a natural curve in the hillside. Landscaping details such as a crush of boulders cascading down the hill to a second stone patio create ideal hangout, barbecue, and play spaces. Retaining walls, built with stone extracted while excavating for the gravel road leading to the home, help define the lower patio. “We didn’t move a lot of earth to make the house; the earth worked with us,” Jennifer says. Inside, a split staircase leads up to a master bedroom and guest room, while a bunkroom and third bedroom can be found by going down. Two of the bedrooms are set off with custom-designed, barn-style sliding doors crafted from reclaimed cedar that McIntosh sourced from a naval base in Washington State. This allows the bedrooms to sometimes be open to the main room, and at other times, remain private. “Being together in space is what it’s about as a family and a community; we didn’t create many separate spaces, just the bedrooms, so that people could spend time together,” Jennifer says. A set of well-placed corner windows in the master bedroom opens directly to a view of Teton peaks. The
The red, warm entrance will McIntosh’s crew also made the builtFreemans brought cherry wood bed one day be revealed through in cubbies and long cedar bench in the frames from Vermont for some of the a small aspen stand. spacious mudroom that’s perfect for an bedrooms, and Jackson-based interior outdoor family with backpacks and designer Jessica Travis of Inside Design skis. A third barn-style cedar wood door Studio softened the wood surfaces with closes the entry off from the main room, wool rugs decorated with leaves and allowing less heat loss during the winter, other motifs. The master bathroom is and providing a place for wet boots to be concealed. equipped with a steam shower highlighted with small Black Vermont slate floors reference the owners’ glass tiles. Even the smallest bedrooms maintain two Northeastern roots. natural light sources, making them inviting and cozy. Right now, the only other structure on the site With the health and sensibilities of the family in mind, is a one-car garage with attached woodshed and all interior finishes were environmentally conscious living green roof planted with natural grasses. This choices. They include recycled Minerva concrete and organic element helps the shed blend into the hillside glass countertops, Marmoleum flooring, Bioshield and as drivers see it when approaching from the west. Vermont Natural Coatings wood finishes, and zeroUltimately, two more structures, such as a barn and a VOC paints. In the kitchen, Paperstone countertops and Lyptus cabinets round out the selection of choices. guesthouse, could be built on the property; for now, Attention to such details is a specialty of McIntosh, however, the Freemans are content. They are able to whose work is always client-driven. He offers many settle with friends and family into a thoughtfully built vetted and green materials and practices in his customhome that will no doubt stand the test of time for the building services. generations ahead. Spring / Summer 2014 27
LIVING
28 TETON TETONHOME HOMEand and living living
BRINGIN’ IT! TO JACKSON HOLE
SELF-DESCRIBED ‘GYM RAT’ FINDING HIS WAY IN THE OUTDOORS BY MICHAEL MCCOY PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATY GRAY
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ony Horton is the face, body, and gagman behind the ultrapopular P90X (Power 90 Extreme) fitness program. Even if you haven’t worked out to his DVDs, you’ve probably seen his pitches for them on TV. A cross-training mix—or “muscle confusion”—of weights/resistance bands, cardio, martial arts, yoga, calisthenics, and plyometrics, the home exercise regimen promises to get you into the best shape of your life. An estimated 3.5 million copies of the DVDs have sold since the release of P90X in 2004 and subsequent introduction of P90X2 in 2011. Tony Horton has sweated his way to riches. Which brings him, and us, to the Tetons. “I started coming to Jackson Hole [regularly] seven or eight years ago,” Tony told Teton Home and Living last July at his home in the Timbers at Granite Ridge in Teton Village. For years, he says, he’d been traveling to different places in the winters to ski—Telluride, Mammoth, Alta, Tahoe, Canada—first visiting Jackson in the spring around eighteen years ago. “The conditions were funky,” he says, “but still I knew it was something special. I loved the people, the scenery, the look of the town, the setting, the vibe, the cowboy culture. It’s where the deer and the antelope play—and I’m there!” An Army brat—which may help explain why these days he often does gratis training camps at military bases—Tony moved seven times before the fifth grade, when the family finally settled in Trumbull, Connecticut. He’s been skiing since age five. “We were a middle-class New England family, so that’s what we did. I’ll take a mountain view over an ocean view anytime.”
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to Tom Petty, who wanted “I injured my knee skiing help getting in shape for an when I was a sophomore at the upcoming tour. That led to University of Rhode Island,” gigs with other celebrities he adds. “I was at Smugglers’ and, eventually, a job as a Notch in Vermont, when it spokesman for NordicTrack. shouldn’t have been open. It Finally, he met infomercial had snowed ten inches on top maven Carl Daikeler, the of rain. What I thought were founder of Beachbody. The moguls were actually stumps.” rest is P90X history. Tony moved to Southern “After finally enjoying California in 1980 after Horton released the third installment of his megasome success with P90X,” college, chasing a dream. “I popular fitness regime with P90X3 in December. Tony says, “I found I could was an actor and part-time He continues to add to his enterprise with his buy a place in Jackson Hole. shitty comic,” he says. “I prepared food program, Tony Horton Kitchen. I owned at [Hotel] Terra for wanted to be Jim Carey, but two and a half years, then it didn’t happen. I lived in bought this home.” Which, the same L.A. apartment for surprisingly, has no exercise room. “But I’m thinking twenty-one and a half years. I had a view of a convalescent about putting in a pull-up bar, setting something up in home. I figured if I lived there long enough, I could just go the garage,” he says. down the stairs and into the convalescent home.” Tony likes that Jackson Hole isn’t Aspen, which, he He worked various jobs, from mime to handyman, explains, is like “L.A. meets New York in the mountains. dishwasher to Chippendales dancer. He also began Not that there’s anything wrong with L.A., but that’s just frequenting the gyms that are so abundant in Southern not what I was looking for.” He also appreciates that the California, and getting fit. Tony sort of fell into a career people he has met here force him to get outside. as a personal trainer when a colleague introduced him 30 TETON HOME and living
PHOTOS: COURTESY DUNN PELLIER MEDIA
Admitting to only a weakness for dark chocolate and almonds, P90X’s Tony Horton is breaking out of his “gym-rat” ways and exploring the adrenaline-filled outdoor activities rampant in Jackson Hole, where he now owns a home.
As a kid, he says, he was a sorry athlete and poor employable. Obese people are a problem, a burden. The student with a speech impediment. Now, at age fifty-five things required for people to be the best they can be: and much changed, he’s trying to catch up on some of the do not plateau, do not get injured. To stay healthy and outdoor activities he has missed out on—by hanging out uninjured, you need quickness, balance, range of motion. in Jackson Hole. Up the ante. Consistency. Five days a week, minimum. “I’ll spend seven days here Two days a week? You might on this trip, and will be back as well lie on the couch the last week of September,” watching reality shows. Mix Tony says, “and the entire it up. Work on both strengths month of March. It’s my and weaknesses. Get off that second home. I would stay ridiculous elliptical. OK, so all the time if I could. In the it’s better than smoking crack, Northeast, the mountains are OK for rehab, but otherwise, hills. Here, I look up at the set it on fire.” Tetons and still see snow in Junk food? The only July.” But it’s not all playtime weakness he would admit to “I’m always moving, creating,” P90X creator when he’s in the valley; for is one for almonds and dark and fitness personality Tony Horton says. “Other exercise gurus have thought they would instance, he conducted a chocolate. Even so, “There’s live off royalties. You have to adapt.” One way clinic at Teton Mountain no cooking here by me, not he adapts and keeps the royalty checks coming Lodge where participants much in [the] fridge, and I is by designing new products and programs, included Connie Kemmerer, would never leave the place like P90X3, released last December. an owner of Jackson Hole if I had Tony Horton Kitchen Unlike Tony, I’m an outdoor rat. I dislike exercising indoors. All the same, I’ve tried a Mountain Resort. delivered [see sidebar “A couple of times to get into P90X, but never “I’m an indoor training guy,” Shorter Path to Fitness”]. have stuck with it. I think that’s because the Tony says, “a gym rat. My Some of my favorite local workouts are so long, up to an hour and a half. only outdoor activity really restaurants are Snake River I received a copy of P90X3 in December, and is skiing in winter. At home, Grill, Terra Café, Sudachi, I’m having better luck with it. The workouts are just a half-hour in duration, so that still leaves near the Santa Monica Pier, I’ll Nikai sushi, and Osteria, me time, even on workdays, to do a quick hike, do an outside workout in my where I have to customize, ski, or bike ride. (It’s too soon to tell if I’ll be backyard. But now, I’ve hiked cuz it’s pretty rich, but willing to send in my before-and-after pictures up the mountain to the tram. they’re great about it. And the at the end of the three-month program.) I have my unused mountain vegetarian at Lotus.” Other new products include Tony Horton Kitchen (tonyhortonkitchen.com), billed as bike in the garage. The whole Anything else? “Delicious, Nutrient-Rich Meals Delivered idea of buying here is to explore “OK, ‘The P90X guy has To Your Door.” The highlights, Tony says, are more of the outdoor options. shih tzus,’ ” Tony says, in free shipping anywhere in the U.S.; organic The more I hang out with guys mock self-deprecation. (“But and GMO-free; and vegan, vegetarian, and like Rob [DesLauriers], the I grew up with collies!” he “flexitarian” options, as well as carnivore choices like elk steak and grass-fed beef and more time I spend outside. I’m protests.) “Benny is a full shih buffalo. “We’re trying to get in at 7-Eleven,” curious about bears. I want to tzu and Teddy, half shih tzu/ he says. “That would be a great PR move for experience the lifestyle. People half Lhasa. One came with them.” look at me and say, ‘He’s a fit my girlfriend from Scottsdale, Additional projects include a new guy.’ But the guys who do that the other was going to be smartphone app, which Tony calls “the Instagram of fitness.” His third book, The Big mountain stuff, [with them] put down. I can see bringing Picture: 11 Laws That Will Change Your Life, I’m so far out of my comfort them here—off they go in the came out from HarperCollins in February. He’s zone ... but that’s good.” eagle claws. also working on a clothing line, a sunglasses The evangelist of exercise “To make a long story line with Pilla, and “something” with Asics, seemed slightly annoyed short,” he summarizes, “we which supplied product for P90X3. We hope he can find time to dust off that when asked if he ever falls created P90X. People sent unused mountain bike and go for a spin! off the workout wagon. in real before-and-after “No!” he says. “I never take photos, which we used in the – M.M. more than two days off in a infomercial. It worked. I was row, sometimes three if I’m forty-six, now I’m fifty-five. I traveling or sick. have homes I never thought “Two things you can control I’d have. are food and exercise,” Tony “Month after month, royalty adds. “Healthy, fit people checks!” he says. “I’m the are more productive, more luckiest man in the world.”
A SHORTER PATH TO FITNESS
Spring / Summer 2014 31
TREASURED THINGS
Gap Pucci From city stonemason to wizard of the wilderness STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID J SWIFT
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I
Gap leaves his Ford tractor idling and says, “C’mon, you t has snowed a few inches. We barely make it up Gap gotta see this.” A short hike up the hillside reveals the contents Pucci’s two-track. Ten feet to the left of the gate, the red rib of the bench above Gap’s ranch: easily one thousand head of cage of a juvenile elk pokes from the new snow. On the elk. Bulls in the herd tense as we humans hillside beyond, Gap Pucci, seventy-nine, is appear a half-mile away. “See that? They’re tractoring bales of hay to his string of Outfitting legend Gap Pucci began scared. See the wolves?” Pause. “Well, wait Morgans. “You see the skeleton by the gate?” caretaking the famed Granite Hot and you’ll see wolves.” he says. “Wolf pack got him last night.” Springs in 1974 with his young family Gap came to Jackson Hole in 1964. There In the early 1950s, Gaspari Pucci was a amid seemingly impossible snowy was the standard ranch-to-ranch wrangling teenage Sicilian stonemason in Philadelphia, conditions and little to no modern breaking and tossing chunks of marble onto of the young cowpoke until 1974. He and his conveniences. In his homestead up new wife, Peggy, took a job running Granite trucks. Such labors buffed him into a Camp Creek, he has come a long way. champion bodybuilder and winner of, as Hot Springs over the winter. It was a remote, they called it then, “physique contests.” He’d snowbound affair. Drinking water was been hunting since he was a boy; “Sicilians chipped from ice; trespassing hippies were have always been very good with guns,” he says with all due chased off with a pistol. waggishness. In 1958 and ’59, he served in the Army on a Gap and Peggy Ann Pucci had two daughters and, for forty strike force stationed in Alaska, “scattered all over the years, carved out a living as the owners of legendary Camp mountains to hold back a Russian attack.” Creek Outfitters. Not ones for the local social circuits—Gap Spring / Summer 2014 33
Since retiring from high country outfitting, Gap Pucci still lives in his 1910 cabin above the Hoback River. Gap published his first book, We Married Adventure, a memoir of high country tales, and is working on his second.
lived in the high country six months of the year—the Puccis still knew how to promote nationally with how-to big game hunting videos. “I had a great determination,” he says. “There’s never any quit in me. When you’re up in the wilderness, you’ve got to be able to handle it all.” The key, he adds, is veterinary experience, not only for treating animals in remote locations but the occasional unfortunate human. Living alone now, Gap’s spread includes weathered outbuildings and trailers neatly interspersed with a series of small corrals. Country-gospel tunes emit from a wellbeaten shed at its final angle of repose. His horse herd, once over forty-head, is now ten. Livestock includes twenty-five peacocks, a barky new shepherd pup, a tall and handsome goat named Valentino, a rooster named Frankie, and, on occasion, mountain sheep that like to dine with his horses. Gap introduced me to his oldest horse, Silver, age thirty-three. Gap is fond of saying, “Well, they made a living for me and my family. They took care of me, and now it’s my turn to care for them.” He pulls treats from his pocket for Silver, the same Morgan his daughter used to barrel race. Silver nuzzles him back. A bit teary, Gap Gap came to Jackson Hole in 1964 from Pennsylvania. There, he says, “Silver saved my life several times, getting me back was a teenage Sicilian stonemason and champion bodybuilder. His in snowstorms where I could not even see my face.” home boasts the trophies to prove it. We repair to his cabin. Gap’s homestead up Camp Creek above the Hoback River was settled in 1910. He chuckles at the improvements he has made: “central 34 TETON HOME and living
heating, running water, electricity. I’ve come a long way.” His cabin is a tidy and startling affair, filled in equal parts with Old World curios, Catholic iconography, and an A-to-Z collection of stuffed or berugged Western mammals. A one-hundredyear-old lead crystal and brass chandelier, gleaming and dust-free as if brand new, illuminates the cabin’s main room. Gap has a five-inch plate in his neck, a hip replacement, and gnarled, rope-broke fingers, yet here he comes holding your grandma’s daintiest white candy dish. It’s filled with obsidian arrowheads, casual finds from his fifty years of guiding in the backcountry. And here comes a cannoli, a rich Italian dessert. A bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna, a red wine from Sardinia. “For the oxidants,” he says. Provolone piccante cheese from Italy, so sharp and flavorful you must eat it in BB-size bits. A hard, deep red salami from his old Philadelphia neighborhood. A can of pizzelles, delicious waffle cookies of mostly egg and butter. This cowboy, still dressed in a grimy quilted vest and clean blue silk scarf, takes on the topic of tomatoes, how generations of Sicilians pretty much perfected tomato sauces in terms of both nutrition and culinary zazz. Lowering his voice, he addresses the tragedy of calamari at Jackson Hole restaurants. “It’s like eating rubber bands,” he says. “They don’t know how to clean and cut squid. Anywhere.” The legendary big game hunter launches into a detailed description of how squid should be skinned, trimmed, and, above all, remove that ink sac. “Outfitting isn’t just going out and killing stuff,” he says. “You got to be able to do everything and, of course, cooking is one of those things.” His kitchen table is neat with its folders of historic photos and a fourinch stack of yellow legal pads. Gap’s 2011 book, We Married Adventure, an infectious memoir of high adventure tales—with recipes—did so well that he’s writing a second book. Like the first, he’s writing it in longhand. It’s dark. We have to go. Gap has to check his horses. Mindful of wolves, he packs a pistol. “I can tell when they’re going to murder something,” he says with a huge laugh.
Distinctive Interiors Made Easy
1705 High School Rd. Suite 120, Jackson, WY • 307.200.4195 108 W Center #4, Victor, ID • 208.787.7100 www.tetonfloors.com & www. tetonblinds.com
Spring / Summer 2014 35
SHARED SPACES
36 TETON TETONHOME HOMEand and living living
Wild Neighborhoods Coexisting with our environment STORY BY MOLLY LOOMIS ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGHAN HANSON
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oose drowning in partially frozen subdivision ponds; a black bear killed after getting into one garbage can too many; a human-triggered wildfire scorching 3,373 acres and endangering multiple homes. These are the true stories that all too often get glossed over as homeowners extol the virtues of living close to nature in a place like the Tetons. This summer marks the second year of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance’s Wild Neighborhoods program, dedicated to educating Teton homeowners on the challenges (and joys) of living in a region where a den of wolves might be your closest neighbors. “We need to educate and train people how to live around wildlife, especially as more and more big predators are coming back into the ecosystem,” explains the Alliance’s Zeenie Scholtz. A recent poll conducted by the organization revealed that very few people consider wildlife a threat, but what pollsters are forgetting is that predators follow prey, very quickly changing the parameters of the equation. With an increasing number of elk, grizzlies, and wolves moving south, the Alliance recognized the potential threat of dwindling public tolerance for wildlife-human encounters, and the importance of fostering support and positive interactions among Teton homeowners for their four-footed friends. Spring / Summer 2014 37
Inspired by Canmore, Alberta’s WildSmart program, the Alliance began developing its own iteration, specific to Jackson Hole. But rather than eliminating habitat, one of the tactics WildSmart is employing with service berries, the Alliance has opted to focus instead on changing human behaviors. Teton County already has many wildlife and wildfire measures in place, so rather than push for more topdown rules and regulations, the Alliance is emphasizing education and participation from the bottom up. Wrangling together a group of ten different nonprofits and organizations like the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the Murie Center, and Grand Teton National Park, the Alliance has developed a voluntary assessment process for homeowners associations (HOAs). “The Alliance did a very good job making sure that all the stakeholders had a say,” says Kathy Clay, Jackson Hole Fire Marshal. Along with other participating agencies, Clay wanted hers to help make sure homeowners were receiving consistent advice and avoiding information overload, which can often lead to confusion. For example, some shrubs that are beneficial to wildlife can also be a fire hazard. Homeowners participating in Wild Neighborhoods receive a confidential evaluation of their property performed by a team of local experts. A summary report of what the subdivision is doing well, and what can be improved on, is then given to the particular homeowners association. Although the advice is nonbinding, the Alliance hopes it will inspire HOAs to implement changes and work them into their CC&Rs. “It’s a community problem, so it needs to be a community solution,” say Mark Gocke of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. While precautions like bear-secure garbage cans and fire lines are second nature to many Teton residents, the number of still-existing wildlife lures like salt licks, feeding stations for deer, and ill-placed bird feeders is surprisingly high. Likewise, noncombustible roofs, thinning and pruning of trees and shrubs, and the proper storage of firewood doesn’t always happen, despite the danger of wildfires. Although convincing HOA members to collaborate can often be harder than herding cougars, the Alliance says, typically, fire and wildlife faux pas aren’t deliberate. 38 TETON HOME and living
BE FIREWISE With the growing effects of climate change, fire will be an increasing concern for homeowners living in the wildland-urban interface, as is the case with many Teton homes. Currently, only 16 percent of the wildland-urban interface is built out and, of that, 43 percent of those buildings belong to second homeowners. That means the potential for increased risk is tremendous. “The provocative question that we’ll be forced to look at more and more is, should we be building on those lots?—because the cost of protecting homes in the wildland-urban interface is significantly higher,” says Jackson Hole Fire Marshal Kathy Clay. Clay shares a few of her top tips for owners of homes in the wildland-urban interface. Visit www.tetonwyo.org/fire for more information. 1. Recognize and Understand the Dynamics of a Wildland Fire A burning ember can travel as far as half a mile. What happens if it lands on that comfy, overstuffed lawn furniture in your backyard? Clay recommends the following links for better understanding the domino effects of wildland fire: firewise.org/ wildfire-preparedness.aspx and wildlandfirersg.org/. 2. Understand What Burns and How Easily it Burns The decorative bark in your flower bed may look pretty, but it’s just waiting to go up in smoke. Some of the shrubs you’ve planted to attract wildlife may also be wildfire-friendly. 3. Consider Replacing Wooden Shake Roofs with a Noncombustible Roof Material The reality is that the harsh weather and UV rays in the Teton region break down the fire-resistant properties of shake roofs in as little as five years. 4. Plan Accordingly for the Four Different Types of Landscapes and the Relative Hazard Fire prevention shouldn’t start once your home is complete. There are four different landscapes that are your responsibility as a homeowner to maintain: 1) A lot that is vacant; 2) A lot that is going to be built on; 3) A lot that is built on; 4) A lot that has burned. 5. Understand the Risk Analysis That Firefighters Run Through Simply put, sticks and bricks aren’t more important than the lives of firefighters. 6. Fire is a Natural Event in the Landscape “We should be able to live with wildfire; that’s the ultimate goal,” says Clay. “It’s just like a big winter event—we don’t try to stop the snow.” 7. Have a Means to Close Off Ventilation If a building has ventilation, that means it’s going to suck in embers. For example, soffits can be closed off with shutters or some sort of noncombustible material.
LIVING WITH WILDLIFE Human-wildlife conflicts keep local game officers hopping year-round, the variety of the problem only changing with the season. Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Mark Gocke says his office, responsible for the Jackson and Pinedale region, receives at least one call a day. “Dealing with wildlife conflicts has increased exponentially over the course of my career,” he says. “More people is what it boils down to, and the development that comes with it.” Here, Gocke offers some tips for minimizing conflict: 1. Preventing Large Carnivores from Being Attracted to Your Home The big-ticket ways to keep predators away is to properly store garbage—that means in a proper container and not putting it out the night before pickup— and following the guidelines for proper installation of bird feeders. A specific height and distance is actually required in some of Jackson’s hot spot zones per county ordinance. 2. Don’t Feed Wildlife This might sound like common sense, but despite ordinances against non-ag-related feeding of wildlife, moose and deer are still commonly fed around Jackson. Gocke says it’s not uncommon for mountain lions to eventually follow their food. Many people ask why they can’t feed elk if Game and Fish can. “Wyoming Game and Fish feeding practices draw the elk away from conflict like cattle-feeding lines and the highway,” Gocke says. “They’re in strategic locations. But when people feed them [around homes], it draws them into conflict—roads, dogs, all sorts of things.” 3. Think Like a Moose As the winter wears on and the number of uncomfortable winter ticks covering a moose’s hide increases, the animal becomes more and more cantankerous and stressed, tending to more readily charge people and dogs. Gocke emphasizes the removal of anything a moose could get caught in, like Christmas tree lights, hammocks, and fences. Some people also recommend aerator pumps to provide an exit for moose venturing onto ponds in the wintertime, should an animal fall in. 4. Consider Your Home’s Exterior Outdoor lighting can deter animals from approaching your house at night, which can lead to an unexpected bump in the night (just keep in mind dark-sky ordinances). Gocke also recommends either not having shrubbery close to the house or carefully selecting shrubs with spikes and thorns, which are less attractive to browsers.
“These aren’t people who are ill-intended,” explains Scholtz. “They just don’t know that there are simple things they can do to minimize wildlife-human conflict or protect their private property from damage from wildfires.” To date, the Wild Neighborhoods program is only available for Teton County, Wyoming. But last summer, the Wild Neighborhoods’ team made it over Teton Pass to Alta, Wyoming’s Forest Edge, one of the first of two HOAs to participate in the process. Allen Monroe’s home, which he shares with grouse, bears, moose, bobcat, elk, eagles, owls, and even a pine marten, was one of the subdivision’s nine homes that a team from Wild Neighborhoods came to assess. A transplant from California, Monroe had never considered that Fire and EMS response time to his home, located near the mouth of South Leigh Canyon, would take so long. Living in a heavily forested area, the threat of fire is of particular concern to Monroe. Monroe recalls several of his neighbors initially being resistant to participating in the Wild Neighborhoods assessment—cool to the idea of someone coming onto their property—but once they saw what the program was about, their enthusiasm grew. Monroe looks forward to seeing creative thinking from the Alliance to help turn the program into an ongoing dialogue between the subdivision and the Wild Neighborhoods partners, eventually expanding to surrounding subdivisions. “If we can broaden this to neighboring communities, that’s where the success lies,” he says. Getting an HOA to agree on inviting an outside organization into the neighborhood may be the hardest part of the entire process. Scholtz suggests that interested homeowners simply throw a party. “Seriously,” she says. “In one subdivision we had a party, and the homeowners invited their neighbors over. We talked about the program and explained that it was confidential. Folks seemed psyched.” Spring / Summer 2014 39
ARTISTS & ARTISANS
WESTERN DESIGN CONFERENCE
best of show 2013
Anne Ross
Ross Custom Leather
40 TETON HOME and living
A
nne Ross of Ross Custom Leather, winner of the Best in Show award at the 2013 Western Design Conference, has made it her charge to preserve the traditional trade of leather braiding, an intricate, timeconsuming process very few leather artists still do today. It has been more than seven years since Anne took a leap of faith and decided to pursue her craft full time, leading her to numerous accolades and many admirers. Today, she can be found exploring new techniques while continuing to hone her traditional craft. Based in Wilsons, Virginia, Anne creates functional works of art, specializing in plaited/ braided kangaroo-hide leather tack, accessories, jewelry, and home accent pieces. Although her work conjures images of a lifetime of studies and experience, Anne did not begin practicing her trade until after many years of exploring different jobs and careers. She spent time in publishing, managed a business, and held other odd jobs, but always felt there was something missing creatively. “I got to a point where I felt like if I just didn’t stop, take the time, and believe in myself and my abilities, I couldn’t expect anyone else to,” Anne says. “I finally made up my mind that I would pursue leatherwork full time and make an honest effort and see where it went.” So, in 2007, she began exploring the traditional crafts of leatherwork and hasn’t looked back. Her work is an act of patience and commitment. Most pieces, like the kangaroo-leather reins that won Best in Show, can take six to eight months to complete, and include more than a quarter-mile of leathers to hand-braid. The love of the craft, and dedication to tradition, is the mantra behind each Ross Custom Leather creation. When Teton Home and Living caught up with Anne in early January, she was busy working on her latest set of kangarooleather reins at her workshop behind her scenic home on a wooded Virginia acreage. Tell us about the reins that won Best in Show at the 2013 WDC. AR: Over 1,344 feet of black, red, and saddle tan kangaroo leather was used to handcraft this set of romal reins. Standard reins are a 20 braid over one-quarter-inch leather core. Romal is a 24 braid over a three-eighths-inch leather core. I manually cut, stretch, split, and bevel leather to ensure a tight, straight, and smooth braid. Kangaroo-leather popper is composed of four pieces of black kangaroo leather. Two filler strips of kangaroo leather have been cut smaller than the exterior to provide weight and contoured definition to the popper. I chose to exhibit romal reins because they represent a traditional
utilitarian object transformed into a functional work of art. How did reins become your topic of focus? AR: Romal reins are one of the most challenging and engaging objects to build. They are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and require a large quantity of leather. A museum/ collector-quality set may require six to eight months to complete. Absolutely everything is done manually. I manually stretch each string three times before cutting, splitting, and beveling. For example, the 20/24 set, which was awarded WDC Best of Show 2013 honors, required over one-quarter of one mile of leather to construct. That means I manually stretched over three-quarters of one mile of leather. Consistent groundwork is essential for proper button duplication, as similar elements must be identical. What inspires you? AR: I have been given the opportunity to produce work I truly enjoy. Therefore, I am inspired and obligated to create leather objects to the very best of my ability at all times ... I think as a society, we have moved a great deal away from the traditional trades. Working with one’s hands and actually producing something; I find that it is important to keep those skillsets and that heritage alive. These are important aspects that built this country. What can we expect from Ross Custom Leather in the near future? AR: Currently, I am studying caning and basketry weave variations. I am interested in different ways to incorporate leather braiding with other mediums. Leather braiding options are limitless. Any exciting shows coming up for 2014? AR: This year, I am planning to participate in the following events: Western Design Conference, Jackson Hole, September 4-7; Washington Craft Show, Washington, D.C., October 31-November 2; and Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, November 5-9. What projects are you currently working on? AR: Currently, I am working on a set of 24/32 braid romal reins. I will be incorporating Australian kangaroo leather with American alligator leather. I expect this set to require approximately one-half mile of leather to complete. After the romal reins are complete, I will be working on fox hunting crops/whips to include traditional deer-antler handle, rolled-edge sterling silver collar, and manually twisted thread cracker. Also, I have some jewelry and home accent object ideas I am developing. Spring / Summer 2014 41
WEEKEND WANDERINGS
Sip and See: STORY BY KATE HULL
I
am no sommelier. Truth be told, the extent of my wine expertise does not extend very far beyond being a devoted consumer. My favorite pairing: five o’clock and a full glass. But despite my lack of vino vernacular, I do know what I enjoy, and I love to explore the tastes, aromas, and styles of wine from all regions. So, when my significant other, Kenny, and I decided to escape for a couple’s getaway with wining and dining in mind, Boise and its Cinder Winery proved the perfect pairing. With barely enough time to sufficiently explore our own Teton Valley backyard, the rest of Idaho has remained on the “We Should Visit” list: steelhead fishing in the panhandle, whitewater rafting on the Payette River, and soaking in Lava Hot Springs. But when I learned that the Snake River Valley American Viticultural Area’s rich, volcanic soils provided prime grape-growing conditions, well ... Boise quickly moved to the top of the list.
42 TETON HOME and living
Boise is an easy, scenic five-hour drive from Teton Valley. We headed there this past February, anticipating the need to haul a few (cases) of our favorites back home in our car. We booked two nights at a hidden gem in downtown Boise, The Modern Hotel and Bar. With a humble exterior recalling its former life as a Travelodge, upon arrival we were slightly unsure why the spot came so highly recommended from Boise locals. But inside, a pleasant combination of modern design and welcoming atmosphere greeted us. Whether or not you are staying in one of the thirty-nine chic suites, the bar is more than worth a stop for a drink or two. Locally sourced small plates—try the Brussels sprouts—and mixologistinspired cocktails, combined with an array of eclectic Boise patrons, make for an entertaining part of a night on the town. The next morning, we met Moya Dolsby, executive director of the Idaho Wine Commission.
PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: BOISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, KATE HULL, IDAHO WINE COMMISSION
Wining and Dining in Boise
We enjoyed breakfast at Boise’s iconic Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro it’s one we enjoy on special occasions celebrated at Forage, the while getting wine insight from an expert. Amid eggs Benedict locavore-lover’s favorite Driggs, Idaho, restaurant. As the name and sweet potato hash browns, Moya shared the ins and outs of suggests, this wine is dry, with grapefruit and peach aromas, the Idaho’s wine region. perfect pairing for rich and creamy dishes. Boasting a high-desert climate and more than 8,000 square The tasting felt more like catching up with old friends, as Joe miles of prime soil, the Snake River Valley’s growing conditions and tasting guru Laura Collett quickly made us feel comfortable are comparable to those of northern Spain and southern amid the casual seating and new-age Tuscan decor, highlighted France—for producing the highest-quality grapes (and no need with rows of bottles lining the bar. for a passport to sample the end product!). Since 2002, the wine Although the Snake River Valley is a lesser-known place in industry of southwest Idaho has boomed from eleven wineries to the world of renowned wine regions (think Napa and Rhone more than fifty, Moya explains. valleys), Joe is hopeful that a new generation of wine drinkers, With so many tasting options at hand, for this trip we decided to who think locally and are willing to give different locations a try, home in on one of our locally available favorites: Cinder Winery. will help put Idaho on the map. Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Joe Schnerr and Melanie Krause (not to mention their adorable infant daughter, Charli, and another on the way), Cinder Winery boasts a hip, modern, and casual atmosphere. It’s located in Garden City—a separate unincorporated city five minutes from downtown Boise—in a 1,500-square-foot warehouse formerly home to a fruit-processing plant. In contrast to its modest, industrial exterior, inside is a welcoming space that beckons wine enthusiasts to sit, sip, and savor each variety. Melanie, the winemaker and virtuoso behind each glass, is a Boise native who attended Washington State University, where she studied wheat genetics and breeding. Later, she went to work for Chateau Ste. Michelle’s “Wine is about place, people, and customs,” he says. Canoe Ridge Estate Winery. Along the way, she met Joe. They “Fortunately, there are wine drinkers learning to be accepting of married in 2006, with plans to move back to Boise and take a new place, and say, ‘Let’s take a chance on this.’ ” advantage of the uncorked wine resources. Shortly thereafter, And that seems to be the case. Cinder can be found in Teton Cinder was born. Valley, not only at Forage, but also at Teton Springs’ revamped “Winemakers are chefs, except their recipes restaurant, Range, and, in Jackson, at Bin22 and take six months to two years to prepare,” says Joe, The Alpenhof, all for approachable prices. Joe Schnerr and winemaker the sales and marketing master behind Cinder, of We left Cinder with our new favorites in tow, Melanie Krause, the husbandhis wife’s love affair with growing great grapes. and headed back to The Modern and to enjoy the and-wife team behind Boise’s Wineries started springing up in the area nearly beautiful sunny weather. Joe had recommended Cinder Winery, are taking forty years ago, Joe says, but he called their winery that we snag two of the hotel’s free commuter the next generation of Idaho part of Idaho’s second generation of winemakers. bikes to see more of the city. We continued our wines to the national arena, “The first generation proved you could do it,” flavorful tour of Boise with specialty sandwiches boasting flavors akin to the he says, “and we are fine-tuning the process and (over a glass of Idaho wine, of course) at the most celebrated varieties. holding quality to the highest standard.” Bleubird, and then enjoyed happy hour at Fork With each sip, this rings true. Cinder produces Restaurant—their mantra is “Loyal to Local,” and ten varieties of wines, including those of their the restaurant is a cozy, perfect place to sip the second label, Laissez Faire. Their crème de la afternoon away. crème lies in the Tempranillo, Viognier, and Syrah Each dish, drink, and encounter left us buzzing varieties, three grapes that Melanie has found to with enthusiasm for the friendly city. We could excel in the Snake River Valley. have definitely enjoyed spending a few more days Kenny couldn’t get enough of the Cinder there. The dining options are ample, and the wine Tempranillo, a Spanish classic known for aromas of cherry, seems limitless, but we soon realized that if we didn’t quickly vanilla, and black pepper. He was unsure if he picked up on return to Teton Valley to work off our caloric endeavors in the any of those tastes, but he does know it’s a simple, perfect match great outdoors, we might succumb completely to the prevalent for most any of his favorite gamey Teton Valley dinners. It’s also wining and dining opportunities. But with Idaho wines, could number one on my list of wines for entertaining. that really be so bad? At least we know there are forty-some-odd As for me, I enjoyed the Dry Viognier, a sentimental pick, as wineries left to try on return visits. Spring / Summer 2014 43
HEART & HOME
Valentino LittleWing
T
he raven leaped upon the table, hopped across it, and started pulling pens and pencils from the jar. Left, right, right, left, left, left, they scattered across the table and onto the floor. To be sure it was empty, the bird stuck its beak way down inside. The kindergarten students shrieked with laughter. The bird walked over to a plate and popped one grape in its mouth, then a second, and a third until the throat pouch bulged. After hopping over to the jar, the bird deposited the grapes. Next, the bird picked up a cracker and placed it atop another, back to the jar with the little stack. Kids’ voices called amid the laughter, “What’s it doing?” The raven picked up a pencil with its beak and maneuvered it into the jar; then another and another were replaced. Apparently satisfied, the bird moved on to another task. The students called out questions. We all laughed together while the bird gobbled
44 TETON HOME and living
bites of watermelon. How had my life come to this remarkable way of spreading joy? I happily explained the story of Valentino LittleWing: One morning, I heard a plaintive cry from the forest floor just feet from the path. The cry became desperate, seeming to say, “I’m starving!” There was no one else around to answer the cries. On the ground below a towering fir was a naked pink bird with a wide yellow beak, pale blue eyes, and spiky pinfeathers, like tiny watercolor brushes. One wing was broken and hanging at an odd angle. Too young to be afraid, it probably felt only hunger. I found a basket and curled a towel around the bird. In its tiny dark cave, it became quiet. I mixed together some bread and water; lifting the towel resulted in frenzied calls and an upstretched neck with open craw (thus the origin of the word “ravenous”). It ate voraciously, immediately followed by a wiggling around on its spindly legs to aim its
PHOTOS: COURTESY LAUREL A. WICKS
STORY BY LAUREL A. WICKS
Top: Artist Thom Ross adorned the fence tiny bald butt over the edge of the basket to expected. I thought after a few weeks, the posts along Skyline curve with wooden poop an extraordinary volume. bird would fly away. “We’ve healed the long cutouts of the wily raven trickster in This thing—small, weak, and damaged— bone, but the damage in the joint cannot be the dark of night before the Pole Pedal mustered enough strength to not soil its healed. This bird will never fly. It can’t be Paddle in 1983 to the delight of the whole own nest. I covered it with the towel. I did released to the wild.” community. Years later, he re-created the feeding routine once an hour until dark. I was already hooked, even when I was the installation with the metal raven I was sure my duties were done. It would be informed that the Migratory Bird Act sculptures, which were sold as a benefit dead by morning. required permits from Wyoming Game and for the Art Association of Jackson Hole. Not so! It was screaming for food from Fish and the U.S. Department of Fish and Bottom: Sculptor Kent Ullberg, the moment daylight appeared. I called the Wildlife to possess a wild bird. Eighty pages accompanied by his grandson, models Val vet. The next morning, the bird was still of paperwork included maps, diagrams, during an educational visit to the National alive, nagging as we arrived at the clinic. letters of recommendation, and descriptions Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole. “This bird might live. Ravens will eat of the bird’s quarters, with specifics about almost anything,” my vet, Dr. Patterson, heat, light, water, ventilation, diet, and told me as he wrapped each wing and then number and shape of available perches. wrapped both against the bird’s body to balance as the bones We gained the privilege of visiting a dozen classrooms, mended. We set up a schedule to come back every other day to museums, and libraries each year. Val and I were quite a pair. change bandages. Val ate well. Watermelon was his favorite, plus pasta, rice, I made a jarful of food mixture each day that traveled with beans, peppers, onions, garlic, eggs, cheese, butter, granola, us. I washed lots of towels. The bird rode to work with me in milk, yogurt, and crackers. He would leap atop a box of Stoned the basket and spent the day in the shade with the car windows Wheat Thins and hammer with that gargantuan beak until down. It squawked each time it saw me coming. It grew glossy access was gained, pile several in a stack, and hop away to hide black feathers. “It” became them. Ravens can remember “he.” Valentino LittleWing, a as many as forty stashes. The valentine from the universe house was filled with them. and the title of a Jimi Hendrix Eddy Cat loved to chase song. Val across the yard. Val loved “This week, you need to to chase Eddy Cat right back teach the bird to perch,” Dr. while I planted flowers. Val Patterson instructed. He held came along behind and pulled the bird above the handle them up. A basin of water was of the basket. The talons irresistible for bathing until grabbed. The bird fumbled every feather was saturated. but maintained balance. We Raven language includes practiced. more than sixty different When the wing bandages vocalizations. I learned those were removed the next week, sounds, and Val learned the news was not what I’d English. When lonely, “Val, Spring / Summer 2014 45
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After every classroom visit, the author, known by her nickname Bru, and Val received envelopes filled with heartwarming thank-you notes.
Val, Val, Val” was repeated until I came to play. “Ha, ha, ha” when amused. “Hello?” when the phone rang. “What?” “Eddy,” in an enticing tone as the bird stood on the stool, continuing until Eddy strolled into the kitchen. Val would pull Eddy’s tail and leap away. Eddy never learned. In the fifth springtime, Val built a nest in his house in the fenced yard and laid four blue speckled eggs. “He” became “she.” Not able to fly, Val hopped up the spiraling perches to rattle each stick into place. She lined her nest with grasses and stuffing from a big cushion in the living room. She sat on her eggs for almost two weeks until she could sense they were not viable. Four years later, she attempted hatching another brood. Sitting on her nest was her undoing. West Nile Virus was in the area. Val was bitten by a mosquito while on her nest and stricken with an encephalitis-like disease. The neurological damage came in waves, wearing her down until there was nothing left but feathers, bones, and will. After the light went out of her eyes and she departed this life, she left a hole in my heart. Pacific coastal tribes say that Ravens gave the sun to mankind. The gods kept the sun in a box while humans lived in twilight. Ravens stole into their lodge and set the light free. This raven surely brought light to me.
y o u r w e s t e r n r e t r e at f u r n i s h i n g & d e s i g n c e n t e r
T he R usTy N ail
RESOURCE LIST Like what you see in this issue? Here’s where you can find it.
Tips & Trends profiles
Allison Fleury, Inside Out Landscape Architecture, LLC: insideoutlandscapearchitecture.com Brian Remlinger, Alder Environmental, LLC: alderenvironmental.com Sam McGee, Frederick Landscaping, LLC: fredericklandscaping.com
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Artists & Artisans
Simply...Everything Interior
208-354-4663 • Broulim’s Shopping Center • 180 S. Main, Ste. C2 • Driggs, Idaho
Anne Ross, Ross Custom Leather: rosscustomleather.com
Home Feature
Snake River Builders Inc., John McIntosh: snakeriverbuilders.com Natural Dwellings Architecture, Meghan Hanson: naturaldwellings.com Inside Design Studio, Jessica Travis: insideds.com
Living Feature
P90X, Tony Horton: beachbody.com
Weekend Wanderings
The Modern Hotel and Bar: themodernhotel.com Idaho Wine Commission, Moya Dolsby: wine.idaho.gov/ Goldy’s Breakfast Bistro: goldysbreakfastbistro.com Cinder Winery, Joe Schnerr and Melanie Krause: cinderwines.com Bleubird: bleubirdboise.com Fork Restaurant: boisefork.com
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4-DAY EXHIBIT + SALE FEATURING ONE-OF-A-KIND CREATIONS IN FURNITURE, FASHION AND HOME ACCESSORIES FROM MORE THAN 130 ARTISTS SPONSORED BY MOUNTAIN LIVING. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ELYSE ALLEN, SUSAN ADAMS, ASHLEIGH BRANSTETTER, KIT CARSON, HENNEFORD FINE FURNITURE, BRIT WEST
Molesworth • Mission Navajo Rugs • Western Americana Native American Beadwork Pottery • Baskets
Fighting Bear Antiques Terry and Claudia Winchell
307-733-2669 or 866-690-2669 • store@fightingbear.com • www.fightingbear.com 375 South Cache • PO Box 3790 • Jackson, WY 83001 Exclusive distributors for Heart Four Ironworks, Jeff and Kelle Morris makers of fine chandeliers, sconces, fire screens and more.