Spring is HERE!

It's been a great early spring weekend! Friday was a perfectly sunny day. It was still cold, but there was a spring feel to the crisp air. I wanted to go on a photo safari but I also had our weekend grocery shopping to do. Instead I took a long, rambling drive into the city. The terrain around our new home is not what I had expected before we came to Wisconsin. I'd thought it was all flat. The area we settled is on the edge of the Driftless Area. It feels a lot like Western PA.



After shopping I ran into Freja's preschool early. It was fun to spend some time there with her. She spent most of it showing off for me, riding a tricycle around and around. I never knew she could move so fast on one!



On Saturday the temperature climbed almost 30°! The winds were also too strong to spend a lot of time outside, so we just relaxed around our apartment. In the early afternoon we walked to our favorite place in town, The Grumpy Troll. We really love their Baltic Porter!




Today, Sunday, the weather was truly the first day we felt that winter is OVER! Warm sun, no need for jackets, and mostly dry ground to hike on. After a leisurely morning we went to nearby Pleasant Valley Conservancy. This is easily becoming a favorite place to go and just relax. Today we also met the land owners, and found out more about their organization. I'm tempted to volunteer there.



As we left the apartment, I outfitted my camera for shooting birds. I had a feeling this would be a good day for it. The very first thing we encountered was a pair of newly returned Sandhill Cranes! Then the owner of the conservancy alerted me that she'd seen a Red-headed Woodpecker. We have so many woodpeckers back in PA that I truly thought it was going to be a species I'd seen before. It was a great surprise to find out I hadn't.




SPRING!!

Pine Relict Forest Adventure

Today Teri & I were able to go exploring, just the two of us. We've found a really nice local girl to baby sit for the day. The weather was sunny, cold and there was a fresh coat of snow on the ground. We loaded up the snowshoes and cameras, and then went to see what we could find in our new home range.

Our first stop was a short drive to the nearby town of Blue Mounds. There's a very, very special bakery there called the naked elm bakery. It's just the kind of place we love! We met some really nice people, enjoyed food that made us happy, and the coffee was good too! I can honestly say this is how I've always wanted to have breakfast when I go out. Just a relaxed atmosphere with a meal that doesn't disappoint. I also really loved meeting the guy running the place this morning, Mat. He reminded me a bit of myself when I was a young buck...



After leaving there very content, we headed to the nearby Ridgeway Pine Relict. It's a state owned natural area, but not a developed park. We studied maps and satellite images until we figured out were to access it. It's not a straightforward, "park here, follow that trail there" kind of place. We loved it!



When we first thought about moving to Wisconsin we both pictured endless miles of flat terrain, covered in pastures and corn. It does have a lot of that, but there are also these gems of geological beauty. Best of all, they're close to where we live! To think, there's so much more out there for us to explore!




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Waiting for Godot, the Lutz version

It's been a while since I've written anything. Trying to get our old house done so I can be with my family again means no time for processing and writing. Also, around Halloween, the ghosts can get to you a bit.

I did get to go spend some time over the spooky weekend with my family. Teri made a red-kneed tarantula, costume for her. I was amazed! I knew she could sew, but this was amazing! I didn't see it finished, so only have this one shot of it just before it was done.



Now I have an idea for a giant "Ron Troll" costume...



I've been thinking about my life with the two of them almost constantly. It's hard to believe that I've been so fortunate in meeting Teri, becoming her husband and raising a child with her. As I work on the house I'm always trying to focus on the fact I'll be with them soon; and not so much on the memories of living here. Which can hit me hard sometimes.

Take today for instance. Painting the trim in the bathroom I suddenly recalled the time Teri I took a special photo of ourselves. She'd just taken a pregnancy test we'd bought on our way home from spending Easter at my father's. It was one of the most bizarre drives we've had. Suddenly, after eating enough radishes to make her glow, she'd begun to uncontrollably belch out a demon stank worse than anything that ever came out a troll's arse. I'm not exaggerating. So as not to torment my family we left immediately. Even before we drove away, her window cracked, face pressed against the opening trailing a cloud of ichorous wrath, we both had a feeling as to the cause.

Anyway, she tried oh so nonchalantly to call me in to see the EPT test results.



I can't even begin to describe how much I miss being with my wife & daughter.

Involved Alright!!

My wife just pointed out that my previous two posts made it seem like she wasn't involved in the raising of our daughter to this point. Nothing is further from the truth! When my wife is home from work, she is completely involved. In fact, when she is home I get little time with Freja as she all she wants to do is be with mommy!



While Teri did work a lot of crazy hours, one week for instance she put in around 90 hours, when she was home, she truly was home. Her commitment to our family, and how loving and nurturing she is are part of the reason I'd married her. I can't think of anyone better suited to be a parent. As I write this I miss her so terribly much and cannot wait to finish with our old house!

Also, she says the frogs were her idea. I'm sure she's right. My memory isn't always as accurate as it should be!

How I Met Teri - Part 3 - Gonna Take it Out

As soon as they released I drove strait out of there. I knew I had some quick changes to make. It was time to stop messing around with stupid things. From the way they all looked at me, from the medical staff to other patients, I knew this just might be it. One of the first things I did was make it a priority to spend time with my family and closet friends.

To me, there's nothing more important than family, and I'd never spent enough time being with them before. When I was in my twenties I was too focused on my own brand of crazy, and married to my first wife to boot. My thirties where my "bachelor years," and that's all I need say about that. Thinking the clock was ticking I could no longer waste time.



It was also comforting beyond explaining, especially after they told me it looked like I had aggressive stomach cancer. Instead of scheduling a biopsy, they set up to carve into me and take the whole thing out. I had less than four weeks until surgery from the time they found it. I was told that, worst case, I'd be dead in around 6 months. Also, that in removing it, they may have to take out my entire stomach. So, even if it's not cancer I could end up not being able to eat ever again. I appreciated the blunt worst case appraisal. I allowed me to prepare myself.



I will never, ever be able to repay all the love and support I received from friends, family and even strangers. There are too many to name individually, but if any of you read this, thank you.

How I Met Teri - Part 2 - A Fel Wind Blows

So how did my shooting a crazy, late winter jaunt into the world of indoor arena bull riding lead me to marrying this amazing woman? Let me see if I can explain something about myself as I illustrate how one lead to the other.

The Monday after that shoot I went back to work at the museum, like I had for going on 15 years. That's not quit accurate, buy this time I was well underway in trying to find a viable avenue out. I wanted to be a shooter, and I carried my Canon 10D everywhere I went. I'd also made friends with a proshooter, who seemed interested in giving me pointers and advice. We'd even begun to talk about long range business goals. Of course, I also had a major dose of the excitement I usually get when I'm on the cusp of a new direction. In the past, it's been know to cause headaches.

So anyway, two weeks passed and I'd begun to feel very ill. More than usual, but being stubborn I kept pushing on. I'd spend at day working at the museum, then at night spend as much time as possible shooting, exploring. I didn't want to admit I was really feeling down. Then, at the end of those two weeks, I hit a wall.

As I sat in my office I realized I couldn't breath. Seems I'd caught bronchitis from breathing in all those wonderful bluish hazed manure clouds. I called my doctor and they instructed me to call an ambulance. Ambulance? What drama, I don't think so.

I decided I was going to walk. The hospital was only a few blocks away. Unfortunately, I'd neglected to consider it was also uphill. A walk that usually takes all of 10 minutes, if that, took me 45!

So they admit right away when they saw I couldn't breath at all. Security also took my camera, which was in my hand as usual. A short time later an intern is telling me I had bronchitis but he wanted to run a CAT Scan, as routine.

Not long afterward, as I sat in a room with two other folks, I spotted my intern. He was in tow of another, older man and looked worried. Looking into the eyes of the older Doctor I knew it was going to be bad news. After asking me a number of questions, and lots of poking around my chest he said something that changed my life.

"Mr. Lutz, the CAT Scan has revealed a massive tumor the size of a softball under your ribs. I don't want to alarm you, but we're keeping you over night."



When the doctor actually went to get my camera from security I knew he saw a dead man walking. The other two patients, who'd been constantly bitching and moaning before I was told this, were so quiet I couldn't hear them breath. I remember calling my mother...

The only bed they could find me for the night was in the liver transplant ward. After some medication, I could breath again and I was feeling a lot better. I couldn't sleep of course, I never even undressed from my street clothes. I just walked around and around, talking to patients, all of whom were so ill. One poor soul was in for his second tranplant. They'd all ask me what I was doing there. After saying they'd found a mass in my chest, these so very ill people would give me that look. The one that says, "damn, you've had it."



I watched the sun rise over Oakland, Pittsburgh. A section of the city I'd spent nearly 20 years of my life existing. The storms from the previous night, which I'd watched to intently, had blown away. I didn't panic, I just waited until they released me so I could go home.

How I Met Teri - Part 1

So all this alone time, packing up stuff and working on the house has made me particularly reflective. As I wrapped up our art pieces for storage I couldn't help but think about my wife, Teri. Our 5th wedding anniversary is coming up in less than two weeks. The time has gone by so very fast. It's been the happiest I've ever been in my life.

I thought I'd write about how we met. It's a bit of a long story, so I'll break it up into parts. The first part will be a bit of back story and will begin in the oddest of places, a rodeo arena.



In early 2006 I was on the verge of heading off in a new direction in my life. After years of working at the Carnegie Museum in the exhibits department I was ready for a change in career paths. I'd fallen in love with photography and was actively seeking a way to do so fulltime. It wasn't just work related changes though.

My 30's were my "bachelor years." They were adventurous times, with a mixed success rate as far as relationships went. As I approached 40 I'd reached a point where I no longer wished to be in poisonous entanglements. I just wanted to be alone for a while. I had a few different female "friends" and it was all I wanted at the time. I'd accepted I'd be going solo and really stopped worrying about dating, etc. Of course, my friends wouldn't hear it. They started trying to get me to "meet" a friend of theirs.

All of my focus was on shooting, to the point were I was looking for any sort of crazy project I could assign myself. Through I friend I was invited to spend a weekend traveling with an ex-Omish bull rider. Who knew there was an entire indoor rodeo culture here in Pennsylvania? I sure didn't!



I spent a couple of days traveling with an ex-Omish rider named Aaron and his girlfriend and buddies. It was quite the adventure into the PA cowboy culture. I swear, I had no idea there was one! Indoor arenas filled with blue smoke, smelling of manure and chewing tobacco, carousing in bars after an arena event, crazy antics late at night on small farms, and the sounds of people "knocking boots" filled my weekend in very unusual ways.



Needless to say it was a weekend I'll never, ever forget as long as I live. I met some interesting people, as well as saw a lot of interesting things. It was a trip into a culture I hadn't experienced before and I felt honored to have been given such intimate access to.

How does this relate to how I met my wife? I'll explain that in a later post...

The Last Two Weeks

While there we actually set a move date and came up with an action plan. The next two weeks were some of the busiest and most stressful as a couple. Thankfully we held it together and were able to make our move date.

As the two weeks went by I have to admit I began to feel a sense of sadness. While I never felt any ties to the Greensburg area, having only moved here a couple of years ago, I was the happiest here. I've felt such a simple joy at being a father and husband. Since I've met Teri I've found that intangible something I've always glimpsed over the horizon. Now I bask in that light.

The mother of my child.

I'm very proud of her not being timid in her decision to leave her old job. She'll always have my support! Besides, we always talked about this sort of scenario when we met. It's going to so exciting to explore, absorb and try to flourish in a completely new environment with her!