Till next year

Embracing the color nature provides before the snow flies.

These pictures were taken early September

picking (mostly eating) huckleberries amongst the pearly everlasting, fire weed and aster.

 Its been one heck of a gorgeous summer- free from the wild fires that raged our forests last year

can't complain

Oh summer- my favorite time of year

you will be missed

Till next year.

Of the north

Living in the north is a blessing

 mountains surrounding in every direction

 there is comfort in seeing the tips touching the sky

sometimes sheltered from the storms that roll in

 and from the world, mostly.

Montana can be a very lonely place, quiet if you let it

a place of solitude

 Of the north I grew up in the mountains and by the sea

 here I am fortunate to live in the mountains once again and the ocean is replaced now by lakes.

It still feels raw and untouched in some places

I climb the mountain.

These peaks offer fresh perspective and champagne air.

Removed from the sea of noise that people make,
 breathing deeply, listening to the wind whispering softly
as it caresses my cold face

In the midst of pines, moss and grass

it all grounds me and I feel part of the earth 

Surrounded by these huge mothers of mountains gazing down into the valley,
 in the distance I see the one we live under - how small I feel.

 a squall passes through in the west

 I have learned the art of storm bending in Big Sky
storms clear the mind
 and clears the slate

my compass led me to the north again

on this mountain I think I can see all the way to the Pacific if I stand on my tip toes

but I don't

   the wild of the ocean

  I miss

tucked far away in these blue mountains with the heavy skies above

a place I have grown to love with all my heart

Of the north
I stand tall today
grateful to be here

A new path

This spring I set out to explore

in much need of inspiration and creativity as I was feeling stagnate

 searching for a new path

I went  to university for a semester, studying psychology and fractal geometry (which was actually pretty tough)

Stepping outside my comfort zone really helped open my mind and heart

 but the shoe still didn't fit

 Early May I almost lost my horse Bella to colic- she had to go to the hospital for a week and lost over 200 lbs- which is pretty grave for a horse.

Nursing her back to health which included

medication and feeding her every 2 hours for the first 10 days,

talk about reliving mother hood all over again.

Bella is once again her happy horse self and gained all her weight back.

Panicked doesn't even describe what I went through.

Waves of gratitude washed over me that her life was saved.

 Amerced myself in a lovely summer here in Big Sky country- lots of swimming, sup boarding, floating on the rivers, fly-fishing and hiking with family and friends.

Summer is like an elixir

Hard when it abruptly comes to end.

Canadian geese fly over head reminding us the cooler weather is arriving 

and fall descend upon us once again in the mountains.

My oldest headed out to college in Missoula and our daughter started college locally

wasn't it just yesterday that they started first grade?

 During the summer we built a little studio in the back of our house.

No longer  allowed to dye yarn in the kitchen, my husband kicked me out! 

Wiping down splashed granite counter tops and mopping up color stained wood floors was probably not the best solution.

This will be my own little creative space

where I can be messy and dream up beautiful colorscapes for yarn again.

I'm back to photography and I'm back to blogging- oh how I have missed it!

Time is what I needed

 think thoughts through

clear my head

away from routine

open my mind and brighten my heart space.

the road leads me back again

all I needed was a few degrees of adjustment in order to find the right path

home again.

I hope you all are well  - wishing you peace and love.

 Until next time.

Look down

As a kid I was always told to look up

 watch your step

 don't look down or you'll trip and fall

grownups say the stupidest things

 often what was on the ground was more interesting than then the surroundings!

forever an expert at avoiding the cracks in the pavement

skipping or jumping over them

 

There are all kinds of cool stuff on the ground

bugs, bottle caps, rocks, feathers 

 not to mention money

money to buy a piece of candy at the kiosk

 these days I find dimes on the ground

aware that dad drops a few from heaven 

so that I know he's watching me

Magic

Reading Pippi Longstockings as a child and to my kids

a particular chapter I loved- when Pippi taught Annika and Tommy to become a "thing finders"

when out with my kids and the distance became to long for their short little legs

I challenged them to become "thing finders"

which turned the whole walk into something fun

scouring for treasures

These days I do it for myself especially when my camera takes me for a walk

 Montana is still really grey makes the surroundings rather bland

so I look I down.

On my walk I found rocks displayed into interesting designs

compliments of mother nature

Lichen, delicate yet rugged

the perfect balance

the lime blends so beautiful with the greens and teal-

I get inspired to knit a sweater when I see the colors and texture it offers

contrasting with pretty whites and pinks of the birch tree

Lilly’s soft cream colored tail against the brown pebbles and the debris

The pitter patter of rain drops on the asphalt – also a secret favorite smell of mine

wet asphalt

I found a spot where fairies live in the “Moss Woods"

snuck up on one or two as they were gathering some fire wood

my last shot do you see what happened?

A Viking split a stone in two while in  fierce battle

..it's all true.

look down you might see some magic too

Up the road

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.- Lewis Carroll

It was one of those days, grey winter days in Montana. Earth still frozen and too cold to do anything in the garden, itching to be in nature and too restless to sit inside by the fire. We took a drive up the gravel roads up the North Fork, enjoying the view and talking about how spring feels like it's almost around the corner, new hikes that needed to be explored. I found some new fishing holes it's easy to walk the river beds as the snow is still holding strong on the mountains, finding these new spots and visiting these views always remind us how we are in search of a cabin of our own up here for our family...one day.
I have come to the conclusion no matter how bad it is inside - going outside makes my insides feel better...always. When "grey" is the weather forecast, nature always has something to new up her sleeve to draw you outside and explore. In Montana all you have to do is take a road, any path or trail it will lead you to peace of mind a place of contemplation and appreciation. Nature and wilderness is where it's at and in Montana that's what's it all about.

But love of the wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had eyes to see."

Edward Abbey

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.