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Early in October, the sun was shining, leaves were a vibrant gold and pink and I walked around without a shirt almost daily.

Then the terror struck.

Two separate snow storms resulting in the city’s most prolific snowstorm in October left us in a daze. Honestly, who rakes up trees killed by snow only to see a tree be planted later that month in sunshine with little or no visible snow?

I wasn’t so mad about the ridiculously windy and snowy days. No, they were minor… relegating me to wear a shirt, however, what a joke. Mostly, the erratic patterns were mind boggling. Shirt or no shirt, mittens or no mittens, pants or no pants.

Come on, give me a hint!

Seriously, I haven’t been this confused since my father decided to become a woman… well, he really didn’t, but it’s probably about that confusing.

If you’re like me and almost lost your mind due to the inconsistency of the past month, then join me in my quest to get government funding for weather-related anguish.

Measures are already being taken to help alleviate some of the problems created in the past month.

In a joint effort with the city, an expert (namely me) has suggested building a fireplace in my house to help combat cold days. A nominal tax would ensure that I would have plenty of wood to burn in the event that my toes became too cold and my nose too runny.

Conversely, funds are also being raised to procure a swamp cooler or Central Air for extremely warm days.

Write your local politicians to keep me up to speed with the ever-changing Wyoming climate.

Click “continue reading” below for more photos.

Thanks for looking and enjoy the Wyoming Tribune Eagle photo staff’s collection of the peculiar month of October.

(continue reading…)

Jerret Raffety first came to Wyoming in June of 2007 to accept a position as a staff photographer with the Rawlins Daily Times in Rawlins, Wyo. After spending two years learning community journalism in a town where it’s valued most, he accepted a position as a staff photographer with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in July of 2009.

Raffety studied journalism and photography at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities for his undergraduate degree. While taking college courses, he was a contributor to various local publications such as the Southwest Journal, Skyway News and the Pulse of the Twin Cities while holding staff positions with the Minnesota Daily and The Wake Magazine.

Raffety is a native of Milwaukee, Wis. and enjoys exploring the West and all of its wonders as much as possible.

Looking back on this month, it was not really filled with the ups and downs of previous months. Though nothing stands out above the rest, nothing really falls below either.

Across the boards, it was pretty consistent here. A guy attempted to jump off of a viaduct, the legendary Hitching Post Inn was closed, the Cowboys football team hosted No. 2 Texas and staff chief Michael Smith took a “hands down winner” of water droplets.

Looking back, I’m glad it’s now October; if only for the costume factor and pumpkin bread.

Thanks for looking.

-WTE photo staff

August officially ends summer, though September is technically the finally month to host summer’s presence… But this is Wyoming and summer never really started, so let’s not kid ourselves.

This month was filled with a great deal of downtime as the Daddy of ‘em All (Frontier Days) pretty much wiped everyone out last month. As a result, we did a lot of feature hunting on the photo desk this month and we seemed to make the best of it.

School started for many (not for staffer AAron Ontiveroz for the first time since 1989 and he is grateful), so we shot that. Photo chief Michael Smith had the opportunity of a lifetime when he shot rabbits wearing clothing. Odd as it may sound, he considers it his greatest achievement to date (kidding). Also, we again used rock-solid Shauna Stephenson as a fill-in and she killed it per usual.

Last but not least, our newest staff member, Jerret Raffey, completed his first full month at the WTE and he didn’t quit. Way to go.

Anyway, this is the start of a new season and a busy 10 months for the photo desk. We’re all looking forward to next summer when Mother Nature will grant the people of the high plains a few days of sun, fun and little to no wind at times.

Thanks for looking.

-WTE Photo Staff

Wyoming Tribune Eagle photo editor Michael Smith, managing editor Brian Martin and assistant managing editor of production Kiah Staley speak about the daunting task of choosing photos for the Frontier Edition, which is published daily during Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Among their many daily tasks, this trio must edit from among thousands of photos to pick the appropriate pieces of art for each story that runs during the two weeks of CFD.

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