THEN AND NOW
Three years ago, the pandemic raged around the world. In the Wood River Valley, all of us were locked down, only left our homes to get take-out food and groceries, wore masks everywhere, washed our hands 4 or 5 times a day, and used hand sanitizer to be sure we weren’t spreading the virus. Baldy had closed down in one day, and the snow melted by April.
We attended zoom meetings to learn how the people in our towns got along, how many people checked into the hospital, and who had died. All the people in two choruses came down with Covid-19. A wedding party from Seattle brought the virus to our valley in March, and it had spread like wildfire—a phenomenon we were all familiar with, having lived through several large fires in the recent past.
Evenings, we stood on our porch facing west and banged pots and pans and shouted, “Thank you!” to the nurses and doctors who managed the front lines at the hospital, the grocery workers who braved the store customers, and ambulance drivers taking patients to Twin Falls and Boise. I put together 1000-piece puzzles, one after another.
Sometimes, I wrote, but the steady stream of bad news interfered with Nellie’s jaunts through forests and ghost towns. More dangerous and deadly situations cropped up in MOON BONES than might otherwise have occurred. By the time I finished in mid-2021, though, I could bring in a happy conclusion. And vaccines succeeded and we bared our arms for all.
Before the pandemic arrived, we worked with a talented local designer, Shawn Phillips, to put together our collaborative book, The Magical Universe of the Ancients: A Desert Journal. We found a helpful consultant in Denver who found a printer in South Korea and helped with myriad logistics. In June of 2020, we released the book to the public. Unfortunately, publication during the pandemic curtailed our distribution efforts. We did not do our usual book tours and presentations. Our local libraries supported us, and we presented in Ketchum and Hailey—to cameras and no audiences. Speaking to a camera on a wall was a strange experience. I just watched one of them and invite you to do the same. https://vimeo.com/showcase/tcl-archive. Seek Magical Universe. http://www.bigwoodbooks.com
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Now, the second half of 2023 has just begun. We’ve had a spring full of rain, electrical storms, and sunshine. A super-bloom of wildflowers colors our slopes with yellow, purple, white, blue, and pink. Arrowleaf balsamroot spread its daisy-like blossoms up and down our mountains, trails, and fields. Bitterroot flashed their magic on rocky slopes.
Mules’ Ear flowers fill fields below the Boulder Mountains. Yarrow, fleabane, penstemon, yellow lupine, and Russian sage fill the empty places behind the dimming early flowers.
Even as I write, buckwheat blossoms are taking the balsamroots’ place behind our home.
Another Nellie Burns and Moonshine mystery rises under my fingertips, either in my writing notebook or on my computer. This one requires extensive research, and I am having difficulty finding just the right resources.
We heard Luis Alberto Urrea speak at the Community Library, giving the annual Hemingway Lecture. He inspired me with his talk about story and how essential it is to all of us. And so, I return to telling Nellie’s stories, encompassing the stories of Sheriff Charlie, Rosy Kipling, and some new characters: Janie the nurse, Frankie the pretend gangster moll, and assorted villainous other characters.
Book Recommendations:
Fiction: Good Night Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea – a wonderful story about Red Cross volunteers during World War II in Europe, based on his own mother’s adventures. I highly recommend it.
Ms. Demeanor by Elaine Lipton – a hilarious story about two people confined for 180 days to their homes for various misdemeanors in New York City.
Lost in Paris by Betty Webb – an absorbing story set in the best city in the world, of course, and the beginning (I hope) of a new series by this prolific mystery writer.
The Way of the Bear by Anne Hillerman – another in her series set in tribal Southwest. Her best so far, I think.
Nonfiction: Solito by Javier Zamora – Maybe the best nonfiction book I’ve read all year. A true story of a 9-year old boy struggling to get from El Salvador to his parents in the US – alone.
No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts – climbing stories to keep you awake and turning the pages. Highly readable.
Tracing Time by Craig Childs – Stories of rock art, both pictographs and petroglyphs, in another of his mostly Southwest series of books. Begin with this book and go on to all the rest.
Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler – A story of ancient carvings in China found in contemporary China. This book gave me insights into the Chinese world today.
Also check out Everyman a King by Walter Mosley, Exile by Jane Harper, Another Way Over by John Michalik, Night Flight to Paris by Cara Black, City Walls by Loren Estleman. So many books, so little time.
Puzzle photos by me. Flower photos by Gerry Morrison
Wonderful post, Julie. Those early Covid days were awful. We didn’t suffer as much as some, but it was an awful period for so many. Thanks for including me in your blog list.
Thanks, Mary. It does seem like yesterday instead of three years ago. We have been lucky to live where we do and have the vaccines, but nature has been the best healer.
Aloha Julie! Thanks for the blog!! Keep them coming! Also like the Duo book of photos and words I picked up last year at Papoose Club sale!! Love that you did puzzles! I am a puzzle lover too but so far life never seems to give me space and time to do them! Been submerged in Grandbabies this year! Just home from Kona meeting my son Cody’s new baby, Zeplin. (2 months old!) and Cassidy’s new daughter, Lupin is 7 mo old already! Kitt’s Little Davey is almost 3 and another on way this October. Since they all live out of the valley (SLC,Santa Barbara, and Kona) I go to them!
A book to add to your list: Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead”. She can be hit or miss but this is like her “The Lacuna”in feel which I liked too. This new book is about Hillbilly life – insights that blew me away with new knowledge!
Pam, thank you! I saw that you were home from Hawaii and the darling pic of your grandson. Thanks for the suggestion of Demon Copperhead. Many people really like it. I had a harder time than usual with Barbara Kingsolver, whose writing I usually enjoy so much.
Julie – I keep meaning to post a comment. Just lazy I guess but wanted to tell you that I gave myself your two latest “Moon” books for Christmas. I just love them. The mysteries are so intriguing and I love the characters. It takes me back to my childhood (no, not as far back as Nellie) and they are such a wonderful depiction of the Idaho I know so well. Keep on writing that series!!
Hi Susan! I’m so glad you are enjoying my “Moon” books. One of these times, I’ll have Nellie and Moonshine end up in McCall, my favorite place! So nice to hear from you. xo
I was just thinking about that lockdown time, too, Julie. And how horrible people were here in Stanley that summer, I’ve never had to deal with so many rude people. I guess the stress of illness and the unknown brought out the worst in some.
As far as recommendations, I can’t recommend The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese enough! It literally took my breath away, I had to consciously take a breath! I am so excited to hear him speak at the Writer’s Conference. Will you be there?
Thanks for writing, Jane! I’ve heard The Covenant of Water is excellent. I will follow your advice and read it soon! We will miss the Writers’ Conference this year, attending an all-class reunion in Kellogg. I hope we will get up to Stanley this fall, after the hordes have left. 🙂
Dear Julie,
Your blog is so creative and inspiring. Thank you! My reading list grows longer and longer with your wonderful recommendations!
Thank you, Christiane! Enjoy reading!
Julie
Hi Julie, I enjoyed your blog as usual. Where I grew up in NW Montana and Idaho, Libby and Bonners Ferry, few skied. Some cross country, but no ski resorts in the area then. When I married Ron, my forever love, we moved to his hometown in Kansas. No ski resorts there. You wrote about covid. Ron passed in 2018 and began within hours to let us know, he was still with us and within a few months began working on me to write a book about my life that would expose that I have some extra sensory perception, my first remembered premonition at age five, the terrifying knowledge that our daddy was soon to leave us. I resisted Ron’s efforts for I was not willing to reveal my oddities to the world, but eventually he got me to try. So it was that in bits and starts I had most of the book written, but still I resisted. Then I was exposed to covid and when my quarantine was up, Ron “fixed it” so I had to stay in longer, see chapter 30, and I started writing again and this time I finished the task. My book, titled This Thin Veil Between US, is available on Amazon and can be ordered through bookstores. It’s premise: Our passed loved ones are so much closer to us than we realize. By the way, Ron’s still active in my life. Another book? Probably not. Eighty-six is getting a little long in the tooth.