Fjord Girl: glacier park

2/27/16

Polebridge Mercantile

It's Saturday morning it's snowing, no it's raining...the weather is crappy, hop in the car and drive up the North Fork to Polebridge and get a Huckleberry Bear Claw!

Sounds like a good idea.

So we did.

Drove on the gravel road some 30 + miles

past rivers, mountains and little cabins in the woods

nothing like putting a little gravel in your travel.

Sun was shining when we got up there.

Devoured a few pastries and coffee while chatting with the baker and the owner.

They show us their kitchen

and tell us how much the love the "North Pork" ( a pulled pork sandwich)

we make at the café.

Life is funny, chef tries to get away from the kitchen and ends up in theirs

Much show and tell about the new solar panels they put up-

pretty neat that the whole place is run on the sun (sorry couldn't help myself)

they even sells extra power to saloon, only open seasonally.

" The Merc" is a cozy place with the wood stove burning

all kinds of Montana décor- some more useful than the other.

It's rustic, it's simple - just the way we like it.

Good to get out shoot the breeze with your faraway neighbor

and eat a little huckleberry goodness.

1/24/16

Seasonal color

The seasons each have their own colors.

Not completely in tune with father winters color palette- however softly falling snow and skiing has it's perks, white can be a GREAT color.

I love snow!

Sunless for several weeks is beginning to ware on us

I get lost in nature and try to find as much color as possible.

Movement lifts my spirits, moving away from darkness of any kind (interpret that as you wish) is very important to me and color- it has a profound influence on how I feel.

Lack of both

well, winter gloom sets in.

Hence the outdoors,

the dogs, hubby and whoever wants to join in of the family-

unfortunately for Foghorn who's 10 - doesn't have much choice.

Cruising through the woods I walk on the beaten path that snowshoers have tracked

avoiding the xcountry ski tracks... holy to those of us that ski.

I notice the range of color that mother nature left for us to enjoy during these frozen season,

maybe to to assist father winter with his rather mundane color choices?

- white and grey.

Green cedars and pine take center stage, some adorned with beautiful pearls,

melted snow drops,

I lick them off the needles with my tongue- refreshing and "piney"

Sheltering us from the weather the old cedar branches her arms of fresh greens and warm reds

like a soft cloak, I enjoy this view

Comforting from where I stand underneath.

Blue mountains, softly frosted with snow, peak thru the forest,

quiet and dense they sit- old and wise to the world they are.

Looking up to their peaks time almost stands still,

frozen.

A welcomed splash of lime colored lichen hangs from the lodge pole pines

adding a little zest to the season.

Brown bark, broken and rough from weather

melted sap covering it's growing pains

I savor it's familiar smell

Down the road is an old cabin- a beauty, wishing it was mine,

rustic yet cozy the keeper of many memories

it has seen nature change it's seasonal colors.

And the lake softly resting against land- not frozen,

a deep blue almost black

cool, refreshing glacier water on our sun burned skin in summer

an elixir

Small waves rhythmically wash in to shore from a little fishing boat.

There is no place quite like this.

Multi colored rocks that make up the shoreline contrasts the white of the snow,

against the dark colored sand

Lilly walks between the two.

Deep green forests hug the cold blue mountains which ascends to white winter skies.

It's good to get lost in nature,

let it's beauty sweep you away

life has way of falling into place in nature,

Questions I seek from within are often answered outside.

Reluctant to go home,

I think of a warm cup of cocoa, a cozy fire and letting the day sink in

makes it easier to return

Sometimes I have to search for it... step outside

explore

breathe in that mountain air to feel alive.

finding a little seasonal color

making this season brighter.

8/12/13

When I was a kid I wished Neptune was my dad, so strong & brave and had the ocean as his kingdom. Fascinated with the ocean, Jacque Cousteau of course was one of my hero's - following along on his new adventures and discoveries. In high school I saw Big Blue and was completely smitten - l.o.v.e. These days every vacation we plan is around water- the ocean is always the highlight....always. First thing I do is, dive in.

The other day Fog horn was sick, stomach flu- head cold the whole thing. Little guy asked if taking a bath would help - getting in the water. I said that would most likely make him feel much better.

He spent the whole day in the tub, in the water- playing Legos, reading, playing battle ship or just lying still - he had tea and ginger ale served "tub side". The water made him feel better.
I spoke to mom a few days later on the phone and told her about how Foghorn felt better in the tub...she told me of course he would - not surprised at all....that is what you used to do as a kid- every time you were feeling sick or ill you would submerge yourself in water- weather it be the tub or the pool.

It's in the water...

Do you have something that you are drawn too in nature- makes you feel better?

8/9/13

...a lake in the mountains

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains...”

Diane Ackerman