Mosaic Monday #35: Montana Freedom

By the time this post is published, another Fourth of July will be history.  The pop-up fireworks stalls will be shuttered.  The left-over hot dogs will be cut up for lunch-time mac and cheese.  The strains of America the Beautiful, performed by a myriad of orchestras to outdoor audiences, will have drifted away into the starry night.

But the pride we feel remains.  The heart-swelling, tear-inducing, got-you-in-the-gut emotion lives on.  I reside in a place that offers freedom on many levels: to recreate on public lands, to practice my religion without fear, to leave my house at any time and be surrounded by the splendor of God's bounty.  I am so grateful, and what better way to say thanks than to show you what this has meant for me during the month of June?

MUSHROOM HUNTING

Montana folks are neighborly to start with, but when a man shares his prime mushroom gathering site, it means something.  I was working my normal volunteer shift at the museum, and helping a gentleman with his historical queries.  Out of the blue, he says "Do you like mushrooms?"  "Why, yes," I said, wondering what this had to do with the history of the Stillwater Valley.  "Morel mushrooms?" he asked.  "The best," I said.  And then he proceeded to give me the directions to a spot that had already yielded pounds of this pricy fungus.  "Don't worry," he said.  "There will still be some for you."

And boy, was he on the money.  Morel mushrooms grow best after a forest fire (a silver lining if there ever was one), and I must admit a bit of skepticism when we pulled up to this view.

But within a few hours, Spousal Unit and I had gathered six pounds between the two of us, a market value of $120.  Well worth the gas it cost to get there!  Spousal Unit has become quite the expert on preserving this valuable commodity, from drying them on strands of embroidery thread to coating large morels in flour and freezing them (the flour prevents them from sticking together).  And, by the way, he returned a week later and collected another 6 pounds by himself in less time, which is NOT a comment on my ability!

By the way, just across the road from the fire site is a meadow packed with alpine flowers.  What a difference a few feet and courageous firefighters can make!

FINE DINING

Well, you have to do something with all those 'shrooms.  Top a steak.  Put 'em in an omelet (which is already a glorious dish seeing as it's made with farm-fresh eggs courtesy of our neighbors over the road).  Make a risotto.

And if your Spousal Unit happens to go to Missoula to pick up his early birthday present and passes the Windmill Bakery on the way, he just has to snag a donut or two.  What does this have to do with mushrooms?  Nothing.  But it sure is fine dining!

WORKING PLAYING IT OFF

So you may be wondering how I maintain my svelte figure with all these gourmet meals.  Faithful readers could answer this one: running, gardening, hiking, kayaking, and walking.  It gives me great joy and peace to stroll our back 40. Joining my dear neighbor friend for a walk in the woods or a paddle around her lake burns some calories, and her delightful company is a bonus.  Nature presents an ever-changing palette of plants, animals and skies.  Here's a selection from the month.

All of the above pictures are from the trail camera

Upper left: Prickly rose; Upper right: Willow - not sure what type      Bottom: the turquoise of Ashley Lake

This sandhill crane is "owning" my neighbor's driveway as its own personal runway

Top: Yours truly kayaking with my dear neighbor friend

Middle: Twinflower

Bottom: Bunchberry

ONE BEAR, TWO BEAR     (all pictures are from trail cameras)

Top pictures appear to be a skinny yearling black bear

Bottom pictures are a LARGE black bear

Upper left: Willow now in catkin stage     Upper right: dusk reflected in the lake at the bottom of our property

Bottom left: young pike was flipping about in shallow water on the WRONG side of the dam until I threw him back

Bottom right: a gift from neighbors - perfect for me!

Upper left: fawns are never far from Mom - she is just out of the frame 

Upper right: Buck seeking shelter from the hail         Bottom: a fine young bull elk

All above pictures from trail cameras

Some of the pictures above would not be possible without a drone (which I don't have) or a pair of rubber boots (which I now have, a marvelous gift from my dear neighbor friend).    After tromping around in the woods together, she just decided it's what I needed.  Isn't that what true friends are all about?

As we know, all play and no work makes Jill a dull girl.  Yes, the month brought its share of garden projects.  Major weeding - always!  But there was more.

In a previous post, I shared the construction of our jackleg fence.  In June, we added flower baskets to several sections of the fence.  Chicken wire, coconut fiber, potting soil and plants.  Voila!

Boy yellow marigold; Antigua mix marigold; New Look Dusty Miller;

transplants of coreopsis

Digging drainage ditches that conform to Mother Nature, as she tends to show us during major rain storms.

We completed this on June 23, 4 days before the almighty hail storm.  It was not up to the task, sadly

Self-seeding can be wonderful, as in the case of this coreopsis.  But it can also benefit from shaping.

Left: mid-June - a riot of growth         Right: a little separation creates a sense of order

PAYING IT FORWARD

Of course, with freedom comes responsibility.  At the beginning of June, I organized the clean-up of the six miles of Highway 2 closest to our neighborhood.  Of course, this translates to 12 miles since BOTH SIDES of the roadway need attention.  Over the course of two Saturdays, and some additional time on the part of Dear Neighbor Friend and yours truly, we collected over 110 bags of trash.  My heartfelt thanks to all those who participated.

Not pictured: Dear Neighbor Friend and Yours Truly!

AND YOU?

Regardless of where you live, how have you enjoyed your freedom lately?

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

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