Uncategorized

Wyoming sage grouse slumped in 2026, as long-term trend line also points down Mike Koshmrl WyoFile.com Biologists, wardens and volunteers who monitor sage grouse documented fewer males strutting this spring at their Wyoming leks. That cyclical downturn indicates that population highs keep falling for a sagebrush-dependent species that continues to fare poorly in its largest stronghold. The 2026 decrease at leks — where birds gather to display and attract mates in the spring — was expected: Wyoming’s population cycles every nine years or so, and those swings are natural and part of basic sage grouse biology. More significantly, the slump downward signals that the statewide population topped out in 2025 at a level that was 26% below its 2006 peak and 15% below its 2016 peak. The trend line for these cycles points noticeably downward, and since the turn of the century, the average number of male sage grouse gathered at active Wyoming leks has fallen from 29 to 23 birds, a roughly 20% drop. “The reality is, there’s fewer average number of males per active lek at each of the [cycle] peaks,” said Nyssa Whitford, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s sage grouse and sagebrush biologist. What exactly to make of the numbers is up for debate among experts. Some metrics — like lek counts during troughs in the cycle — look better for Wyoming sage grouse. Yet other metrics signal sage grouse population declines over the last quarter century. Game and Fish tracks the “peak males” known to exist — it’s a measure of the highest number of males observed at all leks biologists surveyed, even if grouse counters made only a single visit. (Not all leks are visited, but the agency’s goal

The Miss America Competition will take place August 28–September 6, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida, in The Palm Beaches — known as “America’s First Resort Destination®” — with key events hosted at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, and the Hilton West Palm Beach. The iconic competition will commemorate 105 years of Miss America and culminate on the evening of September 6th in the crowning of the 99th woman to wear the crown, as the new Miss America!

Pálinka is a traditional Hungarian fruit brandy, and unlike a lot of spirits with romantic backstories, this one actually earns its reputation.  It is a fruit eau-de-vie, traditionally made by fermenting and distilling fruit. The most classic versions use plums, apricots, pears, cherries, or apples. It is generally clear, intensely aromatic, and often around 40–50% ABV, though stronger bottlings exist. What makes pálinka different The important distinction is that genuine pálinka must be made from fruit and produced in Hungary or certain designated Hungarian regions of neighboring countries under protected rules. It isn't simply "Hungarian-style fruit brandy."  The fruit is fermented, then distilled, traditionally in copper stills. Good pálinka retains the character of the fruit rather than tasting primarily like generic alcohol.  Barackpálinka, made from apricots, is probably the best-known style internationally. Szilvapálinka, made from plums, is another classic.  And then there is the Hungarian tradition of drinking it before a meal, after a meal, at celebrations, when visiting someone, when leaving someone, and apparently whenever two Hungarians happen to be standing within several feet of each other. How to drink it Traditionally, pálinka is served neat, usually in a small tulip-shaped glass that concentrates the aromas.  It's generally best not ice-cold. Around room temperature, the fruit character becomes much more apparent.  Take a small sip rather than treating it like a shot. A good pálinka should taste unmistakably of the fruit from which it was made.  And that is really the charm of it: fruit transformed, not disguised.

Separate corporate giants (like L'Oréal, LVMH, Coty, and Puig) buy the finished formulas, add alcohol and water, and handle the bottles, marketing, and retail distribution.  A few historic houses, like Chanel and Hermès, employ exclusive in-house perfumers to maintain control over their signature lines.   So, I figure, as a guy you might as well buy a Proctor & Gamble Old Spice type drug-store scent, or go big with Chanel or Hermes. A professional nose offers this critique of Hermes Equipage Geranium, which was new in 2013 for a limited time, https://theblacknarcissus.com/tag/hermes-equipage-geranium-review/, and he writes: Surprisingly, given how awful most reformulations or ‘reimaginations’ of classic, discontinued scents tend to be on the whole, Jean Claude Ellenas’s remixes of the classic Hermès masculines are more successful than I would have imagined. I was happy to reacquaint myself with Bel Ami Vetiver again recently- a beautifully rich and elegant scent that seemed like a real Duncan contender to me when I smelled it the first time, and better than the current formulation of Bel Ami which feels a bit doctored. (The original was great -like a hairy, gay 70’s porn star having a quiet night in at home in his leather dungeon) but I personally find it, now, a bit other era – only someone really working the theme with confidence and with the appropriately hirsute physique  could properly carry it off, in my opinion. The vetiver remake – more held together and now –  is more up to date, modern and more easily worn. Another classic by the house, Equipage, by Guy Robert (Calèche, Doblis, Madame Rochas) was already the epitome of male elegance for me – one of the most appealing of the traditional cigar-smoking, properly

Horses teach us a lot. Very little of it has to do with horses. What Horses Teach Us About How to Live Horses teach us a lot. Very little of it has to do with horses. Spend enough time around them and eventually you realize that the horse is rarely the most interesting thing happening. The lesson is usually about you. A horse has a remarkable way of exposing the difference between what we think we are doing and what we are actually doing. You can tell yourself you're calm, confident, patient, or in control. The horse will quietly provide a second opinion. And horses are not particularly diplomatic. Be Present Horses live almost entirely in the present. They don't care what happened yesterday, and they have no interest in your plans for next Thursday. They respond to what is happening now: the sound in the distance, the movement beside them, the pressure of your leg, the tension in your hands. That makes them remarkably good at reminding us how rarely human beings do the same. We spend an astonishing amount of time replaying the past or rehearsing the future. Meanwhile, the actual day is happening right in front of us. A horse brings you back. Pay attention. You Cannot Fake Calm Horses are extraordinarily sensitive to tension. You can tell yourself you're relaxed. You can even announce that you're relaxed, which is generally a reliable indication that you are not. The horse will notice the clenched hand, the stiff back, the shallow breathing. They respond to what you are, not what you claim to be. There is something useful in that. The people around us often do the same thing, although they

We do what we want to do. We go where the day takes us. No schedule. No itinerary. No one telling us what comes next. Almost no one lives this way. We do.

The Plume et Pallette shop in Disney Epcot is home to designer French fragrances from Chanel, Escada, Givenchy, Lacoste and more. In La Signature, you can choose from over 70 different French cosmetics and fragrances, including Guerlain.  You can get a bottle of my daughter's favorite, Miss Dior or Bergamote Calabria custom etched by a glass artist there.  No you won't need a trip to 68 Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.   Guerlain has occupied that landmark address since 1914 and remains open today as a flagship boutique and heritage site.  If you are in the mood to recreate such a trip down memory lane, stop in The Plume et Pallette. Miss Dior has one of the more moving origin stories in perfumery, tightly bound up with WWII and Christian Dior's relationship with his younger sister.  Miss Dior launched in 1947, the same year as Christian Dior's debut "New Look" couture collection — Dior wanted to be as much a perfumer as a couturier, and created it alongside his very first fashion line. The name came about almost by accident: during a meeting, his sister Catherine walked into the room and Dior's muse, Mitzah Bricard, greeted her with "Ah voilà, Miss Dior" — the phrase stuck. Catherine was more than a namesake. Born in Normandy, her family was financially ruined during the Depression, and by 17 she'd gone into exile with her father in Provence before eventually becoming a French Resistance fighter. Her wartime service came at enormous cost — she endured brutal conditions at Ravensbrück concentration camp, an explosives plant in Torgau, a potassium mine in Prussia, and an aviation factory in Leipzig, emerging emaciated after aging what felt like a decade in under a

When we are in Paris, we often make a trip over to Hermès, which was founded in 1837 as a Paris harness workshop, and it quickly became synonymous with the equestrian world, producing saddles, harnesses, and other riding equipment. Horses have stayed central to the house ever since — for six generations, the horse has guided the company, and the saddle-making workshop at 24 Faubourg Saint-Honoré remains its reference profession.  I picked up a bottle of it's first scent for men, Equipage, and we promptly named our polo team after the inspiration we felt by this word, meaning "team," back in 2004.   And, in 2026, we don't have to make the trek to Paris anymore, as Hermès has a store in Denver now, with one saddle in the shop.   Ok, well, it's not going to replace the flagship store in Paris anytime soon.  But it is a local source now for my favorite scent, Equipage by Hermes.  Too bad they don't have the saddle shop like they do in Paris.  Oh well, at least they have Equipage, which is my favorite scent, so much so that we named our polo team after it. There are a few variations of the Equipage line, as the scent has been around since 1970, such as the square bottle with the black cap and white dot is the older version made between 2003 - 2013. The one on the right with the lantern cap is the newer version from 2013 onwards.   There is an older bottle from 1970-2022 and it is said that this version of Hermes Equipage is the best.  I have vintage bottles of Equipage, as well as a bottle with the white dot. Although the

Levi Strauss & Co. doesn't have a specific tradition tied to polo, but there's a horse connection (Ride & Tie, plus the "Two Horse" trademark logo on their jeans, which is about two horses pulling on a pair of pants to show durability).   Plus, a lot of guys wear polo jeans for playing polo, as before modern breeches and jods made specifically for polo, such as those by Ono Polo, there were elephant ear breeches in white, used for polo and hunting, and in between there were white Levi's.