July Hijinks

Summer - just the word evokes deep memories - devouring still-warm tomatoes from our garden, juice running down my chin; the enticing aroma of hot dogs on the grill; dashing through the sprinkler in the back yard, with bits of cut grass stuck between my toes.

Sunset on Whitefish Lake - July 4, 2018

I may be a bit older now, but I still love the traditions of summer, and the boundless opportunities it offers to be outside in Nature's glory.  Here are some warm-weather highlights from July.

ONE: PET-SITTING
Everybody takes at least a short vacation or summer trip, and so I was delighted to accept my neighbor's request to look after her cat while they went to California for a family wedding.  Isn't Katniss just a darling?

TWO: PIE-MAKING
It may seem a bit late in the season for rhubarb, but I had a hankering that would not be denied.  Early in the month, we visited a local farmer's market, and I was thrilled to find one stall with massive bunches of rhubarb.  Result: two mouth-watering pies.  Here is a link to the recipe.

THREE: STITCHING
The slower pace of summer (sangria on the porch, anyone?) lends itself to naps wrapping up projects. I am delighted to report that my tea towel project is complete!

FOUR: GROWING THINGS
No, not me - God and Mother Nature.  My role is simply to capture the beauty, and there sure is plenty of that to go around …

Upper left: Pinedrops; Upper center: Bee balm; Upper right: Death Camas

Bottom: Petunias

From Left: Bog Orchid; Lupines and Blanket Flower near Many Glacier; Beargrass; Sticky Geranium 

Very creative lollipop gift from a neighbor

FIVE: ENJOYING FAMILY AND FRIENDS
We have been blessed this month to host my in-laws from the UK, as well as my youngest brother and his wife.  And we held two large parties at the house - one to honor all those who made our log home dream real, and one for Spousal Unit's 50th birthday.  Yep, we made a few new memories this month!!

Upper Left: Swiftcurrent Lake; Bottom: Hidden Lake; Both in Glacier National Park

Swiftcurrent Lake at Many Glacier, Glacier National Park

Upper right: my in-laws marveled at the size of  "2 scoops"

Middle right: Hand-made gift from a neighbor

Lower right: Bird seed house gift from in-laws

Left: Mountain near Many Glacier

And now I am writing this from the UK, where we are visiting my in-laws in advance of the wedding of Spousal Unit's only cousin.  Despite the many years of summer holidays here, we can still find new places to experience.

Top and bottom: Royal Border Bridge in Berwick-on-Tweed, completed in 1850

Middle: Millennium Window - Church of the Holy Trinity

Walking the Coastal Path near Berwick-on-Tweed

Quarry Garden at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens; in ravines cut out of rock, a micro-climate allows for many

unique plants to flourish; this garden is one of only two quarry gardens in the UK

BONUS: 
And just in case you have been longing for some new trail cam photos, here is the best of the bunch from July: a cow elk with a baby at her side.  Now THAT'S a new summer memory to be treasured.  What is your favorite summer memory?

Linking to:
All Seasons

Feline Friday

Floral Friday Foto

I Like Thursday

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Our World Tuesday

Saturday's Critters

Sharon's Photo Souvenir Blog Hop

Skywatch Friday

Wandering Camera

Willy Nilly Friday

My Hiking Journal: Entry 14

Clements Mountain with Highline Trail on left-hand-side of photo, with

Going to the Sun Road in the middle of the photo

Our boots could tell you some tales, we have hiked so much.  And yet, some trails stand out in our memories, the colors still as vivid as on the day itself.  Such is our recollection of the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park, which we hiked on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, along with 100 of our closest friends (read: it's a popular trail).

Beargrass and snow on the Garden Wall

Although the trail is 11.6 miles one way, you have the option to start at Logan Pass and finish at the Loop, with very little elevation gain.  The trail follows the Continental Divide below the sawtoothed Garden Wall, and since it is above treeline for most of its length, it offers dramatic views of the power of glaciers to sculpt the land.  

The day started when we left the house at 6.45 am in order to ensure arrival at the Loop around 8 am.  This in turn was meant to ensure that we could catch one of the first (if not the first) shuttle going to Logan Pass.  At the Loop, we found 8 people already in line in front of us.  (While we waited for the shuttle, we enjoyed breakfast tortillas prepared by Man with Hat before we left.)  After 2 shuttles, only 4 people had been able to get on, and I decided it was time to start appealing to the better part of human nature - I stuck my thumb out!

Upper left: Death Camas; Upper middle: Purple Monkeyflower;

Upper right: Saxifrage; Bottom: Yellow Columbine

According to Man with Hat, I was quite entertaining for the crowd that was also waiting for shuttles.  After 15 minutes of hitching, a lovely couple called Sam and June from Memphis, TN, stopped to give us a lift.  We heard later from others in line that this simple gesture started the ball rolling for others to do the same.  As Sam drove up to Logan Pass, we gave them some tips on Glacier since this was their first visit.  By 9.30 am, we were at the Trailhead.  Initially, it was very crowded, but over time groups spread out and we could almost pretend we had the trail to ourselves.

We had strategically chosen this day since it was forecast for cooler temperatures, and the weatherman delivered.  I hiked most of the day in pants and long sleeves.  Glorious!  A bumper crop of beargrass (remember from a previous post that beargrass does not bloom every year)!

Mountain views at every turn. 

Alpine meadows teeming with flowers.  

Bountiful waterfalls, big and small.

No trip to Glacier would be complete without some wildlife of the four-legged variety, and this day did not disappoint.  Hoary marmots are rodents that inhabit alpine areas, surviving on grasses and forbs in rocky areas.

This mountain goat was determined to hike with a group of us.

While at the Granite Park Chalet (arrived there at 2 pm), the sky spit out a little bit of rain as we enjoyed our lunch of rice, beans and corn with salsa, seated at one of the picnic tables outside.  You could see the rain coming down over Lake MacDonald, and the clouds moving in our direction.  

So we did not  linger and were back on the trail by 2.25.  We saw more clouds to the north, accompanied by some thunder and lightning, but we avoided any rain while collecting more visual treasure along the way.

Top: Penstemon; Middle left: Paintbrush; Middle center: Sweet Vetch; Middle right: Pink Mountain Heather

Bottom: Hollyhock

Playing peek-a-boo among the beargrass

We were back at the Loop by 4.15, which seemed long for the alleged 4 miles from the Chalet to the Loop.

Upper left: Hollyhock; Upper middle: Phacelia; Upper right: Unidentified

Lower: Shrubby cinquefoil and Alberta Penstemon

Once again, a long line of people waited for the Logan Pass shuttle. While we could not help them, we did give Wyatt from Michigan, summer boat captain at Two Medicine, a lift down to Avalanche.  He said he planned to go back to the Loop and give people lifts up to Logan Pass 'because I have nothing better to do with my day'.  Must be something about the Earth's beauty that brings out the best in all of us.

Linking to:

All Seasons


Floral Friday Fotos


Mosaic Monday


Nature Notes

Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Grasmere (Showing Off a "Small Island" Part 9)

"I wandered lonely as a cloud," mused Spousal Unit (to-be).

"What?" I queried.

"We learned it in school," he replied.  "You know, William Wordsworth?"


"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."

It was 1990, and the first time I had ever been to Grasmere, England.  And my Spousal-Unit-to-be is quoting William Wordsworth.  (Actually, I am not sure he got past the first line.) But ever since, I have been in love with Grasmere, and this is one of the many events that made me fall in love with Spousal Unit.  Of course, it was on the must-see list for my sister and her husband during their visit last summer.  (See (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8) for previous posts.)

William Wordsworth (1770 -1850) was a major English Romantic poet who helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature.  William lived in Grasmere for 14 years and called it "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found."  William and his family are buried in Grasmere, in the cemetery of St. Oswald's Church.

I took advantage of this visit to St. Oswald's to capture more hand-stitched kneelers (see my previous post on this topic).

We 'wandered' on, and the winding road, ever hemmed in by dry stone walls, took us to Keswick, a market town in the Lake District.  We checked in to our B&B, and taking our hostess' advice, walked to George's for an early dinner.

Although we all felt like falling into bed, it was much too early for that. So off we went for a stroll in Keswick on a rainy summer evening.  It may not have been ideal, but for me it brought out some Keswick character worthy of a few photos.

And I found a B&B I am just dying to stay in next time, the next time I am 'wandering lonely as a cloud.'

Linking to:

All Seasons


Mosaic Monday


Our World Tuesday


Sharon Photo Souvenir Blog Hop