Mosaic Monday #39: Summer Days, Drifting Away

Female Nokomis Fritillary butterfly on bee balm in my garden - thanks to
David of Travels with Birds for the identification

"August is like the Sunday of summer."  Unknown.

Well, folks, I don't know about you, but I am not even close to ready for summer to flit on by, so we are going to ignore for the moment that the calendar page has inexorably flipped to August.  Instead, we shall linger in those lazy (well, maybe not so lazy), hazy (well, we actually have crystal blue skies here in Montana) days of July 2019.

Evening light at our lake

How did you spend your July?

It will come as no surprise to you that I treasure the long light of summer.  It enables early mornings on the deck, with coffee of course.  Or twilight walks to the lake at the bottom of our property.  And sunset kayaking with my dear neighbor friend on her lake.  

Early July saw regular rainfall, and I reveled in pulling on my wellies and wandering a sparkling fresh world.

Storm clouds gather on the western horizon

The naturally occurring plants on our property provide unending entertainment and photo opportunities for me.

Left: Showy Death Camas    Upper right: Blue-eyed Grass

Lower right: White Spirea

On one such outing, my little eye spied something white in the dead branches of a lodgepole pine.  Can you see it?  Hmmm .... what could that be?






Upon closer inspection, it was easy to identify a mushroom, impaled on the branch.  Now, how did that GET there?  Why, your local neighborhood squirrel put it there.  

Being off the ground helps the mushrooms dry quickly and become tough and brittle.  These dried mushrooms resist decay and the squirrels stash them away for winter snacks.  For me, this falls in the category of "Now I have seen everything!"

Everyone knows the saying "Make hay while the sun shines," and now Spousal Unit and I have a new appreciation for it.  My dear neighbor friend and her entire family engage deeply in the haying process during the summer.  When conditions are right, it's all hands on deck for this labor-intensive operation.  That's how we found ourselves at the farm, helping where it was needed most.  (Actually, my role was observer and photographer.)  

Mowing.  Mown hay has to dry thoroughly before it can be raked and baled.

Raking - Spousal Unit is driving the red tractor, a 1959 Ford

Workmaster 641 - suffice it to say he was like a kid in a

candy store!

Baling - hubby of my dear neighbor friend drives the

tractor while his grand-daughter drives the baler

under the careful oversight of her dad

Looks simple and organized, but the bales to the left and the mown hay to the right - a gargantuan team effort

Spousal Unit loads bales onto the sled while my dear neighbor friend

drives the tractor

Spousal Unit moves bales from sled to elevator, which takes them to

the hay loft, where dear neighbor friend stacks them

Hay loft.  This hay is kept for the farm to use; the

rest is sold and goes direct from the field to the customer.

Work hard, play hard.  That could be Montana's motto.  So, when my dear neighbor friend needs to relax after all that haying, she kayaks on the lake.  And sometimes I am along for the ride.

We got this close to the loon nest only after concluding that the eggs were unlikely to hatch.  And wrong we were -
2 weeks later the eggs lay broken in the nest and the young ones were bobbing about

Stuffed breakfast biscuits

The family summer vacation is as iconic as motherhood and apple pie, and during July we were glad to welcome friends from Cleveland, along with their twin sons.  In his usual fashion, Head Chef fed them well.

A highlight of the visit was our hike along the Highline in Glacier National Park.  But that's a subject for a future post.  For now, I will tease you with a picture taken by one of our visitors - this year is a bumper crop of beargrass!

Of course, there's nothing like a summer night to light a fire and host neighbors and friends for chit-chat and s'mores.  When the last guest has gone, and the stars are sprinkled on the night sky like so much glittery confetti, we linger by the fire.  And we give thanks. For our dream home.  For excellent health, to enjoy the glorious world on our doorstep.  For good neighbors.  And for long summer days, even as they drift into the past.  

 

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.
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