Hodgepodge 210/365 - Wedding

Today my SAR friends Miranda and Tim tied the knot, after having met ten years and two weeks ago. They met in Search & Rescue, and it was so nice to get to celebrate their marriage along with several other of my favorite fellow SAR team members—and dozens of other folks, many of whom I've heard about over the years. The ceremony was held in Carmel Valley high on a hilltop with a killer view, and the reception was at a favorite spot for parties and concerts, Hidden Valley. Innovative cocktails (I had the "blushing bride," made with bourbon, grapefruit juice, red clover, and rhubarb, with a sprig of elder flowers as bitter garnish—yum), delicious salmon and chicken with all the fixins, and dancing to the Sanddabs, a really good cover band. Miranda and Tim throw a great party.

Miranda asked me to take pictures, but I totally fell down on the job. It was okay, though: plenty of people had their cameras poised. I hope someone got the beautifully appointed arbor that Tim built, draped with white and sporting a large spray of white flowers. And Miranda's bouquet, which featured dried flowers, supplemented by a few turkey feathers. Here's one decent shot I managed to capture. She looked stunning. But then, she typically does. Even when she's grubby after a SAR mission.

Here are a few other photos I've taken of Miranda over the years. She's lovely, and although we don't see much of each other lately, for various reasons, I'm so glad to count her as a friend.

Miranda is a search dog handler, and her
amazing border collie Marcy specializes
in human remains; occasionally Miranda
scores some interesting stuff to train with.

Marcy when she was still a pup, in training (2008). She's
still working hard—in fact, Miranda and Marcy are
about to set off on what might be the adventure of a lifetime:
searching for the possible remains of Amelia Earhart.
Yeah, they're that good.

Man-tracking training

With her now departed search dog Izzy—being silly

Miranda makes slacklining look easy. (It's not.)

That's Tim behind her. I figured I should include
a picture of Tim here too . . .

Okay. Here's a better one.

At a ropes training. With our now–team leader Jesse.
A couple of goofs :-)

With Tim's border terrier, Doc (age 15 weeks)

On a search in Gilroy: that's Marcy in the shadows

Vertical rescue training in Big Sur

A quiet moment at Nepenthe in Big Sur

And finally, here is a little video I took at Salmon Creek Falls—mostly the falls, but you can see and hear Miranda at the end. She's a firecracker. I wish her and Tim consummate joy as they continue on as husband and wife. No worries there, though: they know exactly what they're getting into.