Jackson Hole, WY News

The longer this blasted pandemic goes, the more we need to find ways to ease the stress, anxiety and fear this wily microscopic killer spreads. Last year was such a year of loss — not just of human lives, but also of way too many of our usual modes of human connection — and the losses are bound to continue to mount this year.

Already, we have learned, one of the most effective ways to spread a little relief, spending even just a little quality time in a comfy chair with a furry friend, has fallen prey to the pandemic: As outgoing News&Guide intern Danielle Johnson reported in last week’s Valley + Scene section, Teton County Pet Partners, which arranges for visits for people in need of the kind of therapy only the four-legged can provide, has been suspended indefinitely, for obvious reasons.

On the other hand, some of us discovered there is solace to be taken in things and experiences we might have come to take for granted. Gathering at the table for dinner with our immediate family, for instance, learning a new skill or recommitting to a neglected practice, deepening our appreciation for the beauty all around us — the big kind and the little kind, too.

Freelancer Kelsey Dayton shares a new source of some of that beauty with her introduction to Quent Cordair Fine Art, the latest member of Jackson’s downtown gallery community. Painter Quent Cordair and his wife Linda Cordair offer work they all “romantic realism,” art that is “a celebration of life,” Linda put it, “a celebration of man’s mind and ability.”

“It’s really remarkable what a positive, uplifting artwork can do for your mind, your soul and your spirit in trying times,” she said, encouraging folks to “come in and just breathe.”

— Richard Anderson

In recent years, the News&Guide has produced an annual photo calendar for the coming year and sent it to our subscribers as a thank-you. U…