Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: February 2021

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Mosaic Monday #120: February Thrills and Chills

I chose to live in Northwestern Montana, so you won't catch me complaining about winter. I certainly won't gripe in light of the struggles recently faced by folks in Texas, including some of my family. In fact, most of the time, I celebrate the snow and the cold -- its singular beauty can take your breath away as much as the bitter wind could. I might even argue that I want MORE winter, preferably in the form of regular snowfall and temperatures below freezing -- all the better to maintain ideal ski conditions! Welcome to my February highlight post, chock full of wintery scenes and the comforts that await us when we come in from the cold!

On a clear day at Whitefish Mountain Resort, you are surrounded by a 360-degree view of Northwest Montana/Southern British Columbia. It is easy to say you are on top of the world!

Whitefish Mountain Resort employs several snow reporters, who have the enviable job of rising extremely early to report on mountain conditions. I was very amused by this recent creative missive from reporter Pat!

On one of our outings, we tried a new Whitefish restaurant, Jalisco Cantina. Upscale Mexican, and so deliciosa!!!

Sometimes, the white stuff (snow) can present its challenges, such as the powder day that caused our normal 1-hour trip to the mountain to explode to 2.5 hours. Of course, a couple of accidents on the mountain road didn't help! But the sun was spotlighting the mountain along the way -- so beautiful!

Fresh snow coats everything, as if a baker spent the night shaking a massive can of powdered sugar. It's a delicious, romantic winter scene, with the warmth of the house beckoning to me across the frozen tundra.

Who doesn't like the aroma of fresh baked goods? To enter the house and be embraced by a swirl of lemon or ginger? #1 Son and I have been getting our baking mojo on!

Mid-month, we had a week of deep freeze temperatures. One day of work on the mountain was cancelled due to wind chills in the minus 30 range, but absent that, we carried on. I took this photo of the car temperature gauge on the way to the ski resort on February 13.

For the second time in three years, the pipe leading to our washer froze up. (The last time was in October 2020, another frigid period.) The only solution is to super warm the laundry room, and run hot water in the kitchen until the ice is displaced. We have some ideas on how to prevent this from happening again. In the front of the house, we have chains that hang from our gutters; they are more attractive than a long down-spout, and, if ice does form on them, it melts faster than ice that is lodged in a down-spout. Toward the end of the deep freeze, the ice on the chain was a sturdy column three inches in diameter.

While much of the Flathead Valley was cold and buried in snow, it wasn't the case in all regions round-about. I gave Spousal Unit a sleigh ride/dinner date as a gift for Christmas, and scheduled it for February 14. Unfortunately, the Cripple Creek Ranch had so little snow that it was a wagon ride instead. But, what can be more romantic than snuggling under a blanket and riding along to the jingle-jingle of the sleigh bells?!?

With Lent underway, Head Chef has built more fish into the menu. These fish tacos, with avocado and a creole aioli sauce, were out of this world.

And another day, a special treat - fondue!

Speaking of fish, the "Circle of Life" continues. The golden eagle has not made an encore, but the bald eagles have been on camera every day. I suspect that the photos represent more than one eagle, but I only have a couple of poor shots with parts of two eagles in the frame. I just can't imagine that one eagle could eat such copious amounts - after I reached 12 fish consumed (in one case, four in less than 15 minutes), I stopped counting. It was hard to pare down the photos, but I thought you deserved to see these!!! (you can click on them to enlarge)

I love the close-up on the beak in the next shot.

Below, check out the shadow on the ground to the right of the eagle.

In the next picture, the wind was kicking up snow all around the eagle. The blurry effect is special to me.

And if you are tired of eagles, how about a wolf? (Or it might be a coyote. Hard to tell at this time of year. Other shots in this sequence have additional shadowy figures in the background, most likely other canines - so I suspect wolves.)

Winter is far from over in these parts, but the days in its grip are waning. The other day, as we left the house for work on the mountain, I realized we didn't need to turn on the porch light. The mornings are lighter and even now, as I wrap up this post on Saturday night at 6 pm, the sun is still hovering, casting alpenglow on the hills. Goodbye to February's chills and thrills!

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. Tuesday (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.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Mosaic Monday #119: Feeding Tummies and Souls

I have been thinking about food lately. Food plays many roles in our lives, beside the obvious contribution to nutrition (hopefully) and energy. Entertainment. A reason to gather. A creative outlet. Comfort. The term "comfort food" has been traced back at least to 1966, when the Palm Beach Post used it in a story: "Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called "comfort food" - food associated with the security of childhood, like mother's poached egg or famous chicken soup."

In October, my sisters moved our Mom from her independent cottage to an assisted living facility closer to my oldest sister. In the process, I inherited three of Mom's cookbooks, which #1 Daughter transported to me when she came to visit for Christmas. It would be an understatement to characterize them as well-loved! The pages are sprinkled with splashes, evidence of cooking in years gone by!

The non-descript orange binder is the greatest treasure of them all. The vast majority of the contents were painstakingly typed on a typewriter. Notes in Mom's distinctive spiky handwriting pop up in margins, on post-it notes and on random sheets inserted throughout the sections, sections such as Bread, Cake, Candy, Cookies, Dressing, etc. It is at once a snap-shot of the 1950's housewife, a record of family recipes, and a chronicle of family gatherings and the associated menu. Who knew she kept these details? In the midst of raising 7 children, when did she have time for this?

Mom is 92, and it would take a lifetime to execute all these recipes, so I began by asking her about cakes. Why cakes? Birthday cakes feature prominently in early family photos. February, April, May and October just for the first four! So, I asked Mom about her favorite cake ... maybe I should not have been surprised to hear it was NOT any variety of layer cake, but rather the Saucy Applecake!

Where to go next? Mom says her preferred cookies were the Famous Oatmeal Cookies, a recipe from her Great Aunt Anna. I look forward to carrying on this fine family tradition, and you can expect to see them in a future post!

Who would have guessed that this little orange binder could feed my tummy, my heart AND my soul? Already I feel closer to Mom, despite the 1,900 miles that separate us. Sometimes our phone conversations have been as dry as a crouton, a by-product of the life of a 92-year-old constrained by the pandemic. Now, the cookbook presents a ready source of conversation topics.

I flip the pages slowly, so many of them sending me into a dreamy reverie of times gone by. Her famous Cranberry Salad recipe, a staple at our Thanksgiving table. A recipe for zucchini bread, a frequent summer treat to deplete the overabundance of Dad's garden. Punch recipes recall the graduation ceremonies of my older siblings, when I barely reached to their knees. It seems rosy from here, some 60 years later, and yet I am sure there were challenging times for Mom, managing a household with nine souls under her care (yes, including Dad). One of my sisters found this poem (author unknown) during the move process.

My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me

I cannot choose the colors He weaveth steadily

Oftimes he weaveth sorrow And I, in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper And I the underside

Not 'til the loom is silent And the shuttle cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas And reveal the reasons why

The dark threads may be needful

In the skillful weaver's hands

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

During this time of Lent, I am reflecting on her self-sacrifice and her love. While my memories may lean to the physical, such as the food she prepared for us, I know she worked hard to look after our spiritual needs as well. Thanks, Mom, for feeding us -- tummies, hearts and souls.