Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: February 2022

"What's another word for 'mish-mash'"? I asked, peering over my glasses at Spousal Unit. "Context?" he parried back. "I am composing my blog about a mish-mash of events from January and February ..." I explained. "Gamoosh," he proposed. Pausing, he added "Hodgepodge. Random ruminations." Eureka! That's it! What word or phrase would you have suggested?

Since I started this post with a birthday photo, I might as well continue the theme! I was feted with many texts, phone calls, cards, comments on my FaceBook timeline and more. Each of us deserves a day when we are showered with love, and I certainly felt that on my birthday!

Spousal Unit took me out for dinner at a local steakhouse, which is also a treat for him since it is a night he doesn't have to cook!

A former HR colleague scheduled a Zoom call with several fellow members of the team, and for 30 minutes we caught up with each other, and had some good laughs reminiscing about our time working together. We may be fatigued from Zoom and Skype and FaceTime, but these tools to stay connected are surely a silver lining from the pandemic.

I asked for a drone, and my wish was granted. I have begun watching "how-to" videos, and soon I will be ready for my first flight. We'll have to go somewhere that has some wide open spaces!!! #1 Son surprised me with these new reels - perfect for my ski pass - and snazzy bright ski socks. Too bad they get covered up by ski boots!

Thoughtful gifts require some creativity, and knowing what's important to someone. My Dear Neighbor Friend surprised me with this gardening shovel - she knew I "needed" one after she helped me transplant some juniper last fall, and saw that I was trying to dig them up with a spade!! And of course, her cinnamon rolls never come in wrong!!!

On January 23, I wrote about our trip to Idaho Falls to help #1 Son make the move to his new job. Along the way, we stopped at the Dell Mercantile, and although it does not look like much on the outside, it contains an eclectic collection of gift items. I could have taken a dozen pictures of amusing sayings printed on different objects.

And I loved this mural/quote in the ladies' restroom - I had to work to get the whole mural in the shot.

Speaking of decorations, I switched over to a red/Valentine's theme when we disassembled the Christmas tree and packed away the holiday decorations.

I enjoyed drawing this birthday card for my oldest sister.

As I write this post, we are under a Winter Storm Watch - by Monday morning, we could have 3 - 5 inches of snow, with 6 - 12 at the higher elevations. Of course, for us winter sports fans, this is welcome news. More white stuff makes for better cross-country and downhill skiing!

One of the great privileges of serving as a Mountain Ambassador is participating in the Whitefish Winter Carnival parade, representing the Resort. I have written about this before - 2/16/2020. This year, the theme was 80's Re-wind, and the Resort float was designed around the Ghostbusters movie. (On the mountain, we have snow ghosts, so it seemed fitting!)

I haven't shown you enough food in this post ... one night after "work", we had the mountain of nachos at the Craggy Range.

We have endeavored to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet via smoothies. But sometimes your Spousal Unit spoils you with a huckleberry Danish!

This week, Head Chef made a salad that was out of this world. Mixed greens, freshly cooked beets (still warm), tomatoes, grilled chicken (still warm), pecans toasted with Cajun spices, grilled red peppers and feta cheese. So many flavors - very satisfying!

At the end of January, we tried Mercantile Steak in Kalispell, and we would highly recommend it. It is pricey, but as a treat it is worth every penny, starting with the gigantic popovers sprinkled with Gruyere. So tasty!

Two final, random ruminations. Close to running out of milk one day, we stopped at the gas station for a half gallon, and I was thrilled to read that Horizon Organic has a goal to be the first national dairy brand to be carbon positive by 2025! Buy Horizon Organic! Meanwhile, Spousal Unit was refilling the washer fluid in his truck when he found this critter nest under the hood. The question is: where did all this material come from? I suspect we won't find out until we give the garage its spring cleaning!

***due to a trip to Idaho Falls/Utah next week, I will not be hosting Mosaic Monday on February 27. Come back March 6!

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.

Spring is flitting among my thoughts, a butterfly alighting here and there, only to whisk away again on gossamer wings. I just came in from snow-shoeing; the warm caressing breezes are more akin to early April than February 13. I could have managed with a robust sweatshirt rather than my ancient ski jacket, and the lake that I circled shimmers with puddles lying on its icy surface.

The arrival of the Prairie Moon Nursery catalog (specializing in native seeds and plants for gardening and restoration) goosed my Spring daydream, and prompted an eye-roll from the Spousal Unit. With more than 30 years of marriage under his belt, he (wisely) said not a word. Trying not to salivate on the glossy pictures of pollinator gardens, mix and match trays and host plants, it occurred to me that my garden will be waking up while we travel to the UK and to Grand Cayman. My mind raced ahead. What will happen without me here? Can I put protection in place before we go? Will it be too cold to install our sprinkler defense system?

I finally found a few stolen moments to study my garden journal, and I have formulated the beginning of a plan. The last two weeks of April will find us in the UK; in 2019, the first notes in my journal are from April 21. On April 8, 2020, I wrote "Planted columbine seeds in front driveway flower bed and several other places in front of the house." Judging from two years of data, ground squirrels can emerge from hibernation (ravenously hungry, mind you!) anywhere from mid-April to early May.

Weather permitting, the following tasks need to be completed before our UK trip: 1. Guard Strawberries, Stonecrop, Columbine, Nodding Onion, Chives and Goldenrod with chicken wire 2. Plant Columbine seeds

One worry? Covering the Sand Cherries in the event of frost. It would not be healthy to wrap them for two weeks, so I might have to ask one of my neighbors to pitch in!

We will be home for two and a half weeks before we fly to Grand Cayman mid-May. This will be perfect timing to: 1. Install sprinkler defense system 2. Remove dead stalks from plants 3. Fertilize trees and shrubs 4. Guard Penstemon, Aspen Fleabane, Paintbrush, Poppy and Aster with chicken wire 5. Plant Blanketflower seeds.

By the time we return from Cayman, the garden could look like this.

All the while I am in this daydream, reality keeps tugging me back, like gravity pulls the moon toward Earth. I am not ready to let go of winter - the window to enjoy winter sports is already short enough (and getting briefer). So, for now, you will still find me on the slopes with Spousal Unit and cross-country skiing in the meadow with Dear Neighbor Friend and her dog. Pray for snow!