March Melange

Time waits for no woman - hence the diary page twitches to March 9 without my having paid homage to the thrills and frills of February!  It just will not do. So I bring you my melange, my medley, my potpourri of happiness and happenings.  I care not if I hop like a bunny from March to February and back again - if it will bring you even a smidgen of joy, my job here will be done!

Speaking of bunnies, this little one posed motionless outside my bathroom window, less than three feet away, for at least 15 minutes.  Do you suppose it thought it was invisible?

Snow - an amazing miracle.  Have you ever really thought about it?  All those teensy individual flakes, piled up, one upon another.  Strong enough to support a bunny, a cross-country skier, a snowmobile.  (It is still at least a foot-and-a-half deep on our property.)  And the sculptures it can create.  The scenes befitting of a Currier and Ives plate.  I never tire of its beauty and I hope you don't grow weary of my snow photos!

The next photo is closer to home - our "side yard"!  I love how the (rare) sun is casting long shadows of the trees.  The sun is still low at this time of year, but at least the days are lengthening!

I celebrated another revolution around the sun last month, and of course snow sports were part of the festivities.  Here I am posing with the "snow ghosts" at Big Mountain on my birthday.  This phenomenon is the result of layers of rime ice accumulating on the trees throughout the winter.  For more information, check out this link for a quick read.  

(Note: the name of the mountain is Big Mountain - the ski area is called Whitefish Mountain Resort.)

I am grateful for all the warm greetings, cards and gifts I received.  Spousal Unit took me out for dinner, followed by a winter film festival.  It is thrilling to watch other people ski/ride off cliffs into deep powder!  

In late February, we took a trip to Portland, Oregon for a Bruce Springsteen concert.  A few days before we arrived, Portland had over 6 inches of snow and then temperatures plunged into the teens.  It left roadways, parking lots and sidewalks quite treacherous.  We had to forego some of our planned sightseeing (parks and other outdoor venues) because we feared falling and suffering serious injuries.  But we could not resist visiting several of the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, made all the more spectacular for the ice around them.

Check out these videos.

 

You could spend days exploring the street art scene in Portland.  As I already mentioned, the icy sidewalks rendered lengthy walks out of the question, so I only captured three murals that I saw during one brief stroll.  If I went back again, I would make it my mission to scour the Central Eastside Mural District and the Alberta Arts District.

(The Blanchet House mural was especially poignant in light of the homelessness crisis in Portland.  Everywhere we went, tent cities dominated the landscape.  Blanchet House was founded in 1952 by a group of University of Portland alumni as a house for hospitality in the model of those established by the Catholic Worker Movement.  With an original focus on feeding the unemployed, Blanchet House has grown to provide clothing, hygiene items, community, and transitional recovery programs to thousands of people every year.)  The subject of homelessness cropped up in most of our conversations that weekend; we did not identify many new solutions, but we sure agree that our country can do better than this! 

If you search for "things to do in Portland", you can be sure that Powell's City of Books will be near the top of the list.  Covering an entire city block, Powell's has grown into a Portland landmark and the world's largest new and used bookstore.  The place was teeming with people and so many books that I might have been forever discouraged from my on-and-off again thoughts of writing a book.  I did make note of several books that I would like to read!!!

Would you be surprised that donut shops would also make the list of must-dos?  I can't tell you how many boxes of "Voodoo Donuts" that we observed as we gingerly picked our way along the sidewalks of the Pearl District.  It made me wonder about the blogger that recommended Blue Star as the donut of choice.  I can tell you that I sure savored my Lemon and Lime Curd Donut!

As we maneuvered our car to a new parking spot (time limits on parking,ok?) we spotted a World Market.  Oh my.  I don't know (and I am not sure I want to know) how much more the population needs to grow in our area to merit a World Market, so we go and salivate at every installation that we come across.  Just look at these tulips!  (but no, I did not buy them.  We did find some Tete de Moine cheese.  Ooh la la!)  We had an early dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish Restaurant - yum!

And what can I say about Bruce?  The man is 73 years old.  He has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature the E Street Band.  And I swear that he did not break a sweat during the 2 hours and 45 minutes that they played!  Young folks, take note!  

 

Back at home, I launched into March with a shamrock frenzy.

 

Meanwhile, the critters confront the daily challenges of winter.  Twenty Elk waiting to cross on Big Mountain Road.

 

 

                         

Bald Eagles fishing at Hodge Lake.

And my favorite - the Ermine bounding along the front edge of the house.

Maybe they should take a page from these pink beauties and be a greeter at Hobby Lobby.  (LeeAnna - this is for you!)

 

This week, LeeAnna's prompt is "What would you like to have in a dream studio space?  Have you ever seen a studio space you wish you had?"  In this post from two years ago, I wrote about my new standing desk in our loft.  It satisfied much of my dream studio wish list - a terrific view, lots of light, a standing desk, large working surface.  The one thing it lacks is adequate storage for oddly shaped craft items such as rolls of cross-stitch fabric.  My sister-in-law in Utah has a large room she uses for quilting - the previous owner was into card-making and had specially designed cabinets for card stock - turns out they are perfect for fat quarters.  I would love to have her storage options!

Hop on over to I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color to hear more!

Linking to Monday Murals

Joining Eileen for Saturday's Critters 

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday #12: Glory Days

False Hellebore

I miss the light of summer.  Don't get me wrong; winter here delivers bountiful snow and a magnificence all its own.  But lately, I have seen a few posts from you, my fellow bloggers, featuring summer vistas that launch me into daytime reveries about a sun high in the sky.  A sun that dapples everything below it, even revealing the veins of leaves, pulsing with chlorophyll.  A sun that pulls plants out of the earth, turning all flower heads in her direction.  A sun that warms reptiles basking on rocks.

Bog orchid

So, here I am, re-winding the clock to a hike we completed on July 25, 2017 - My Hiking Journal: Entry 17.  As Bruce Springsteen croons: Trying to recapture a little of the glory of … Glory Days.

Clayton Lake (our destination) sits on the northeastern edge of the Jewel Basin Hiking Area (links to previous Jewel Basin Hikes: One, Two).  Since most people access Jewel Basin via Camp Misery and never make it as far as Clayton Lake, this is generally a quiet hike even on weekends in the summer.  Even better when it's a Tuesday!!!   (We didn't see a soul even though there was a van parked at the trailhead.)

Clayton Lake with aged beargrass in the foreground

Cow parsnip

The trail climbs through a more recent burn (the snags are bleached out but are still standing) which has opened up the area for views all around.  It was quite brushy along the trail with elderberry and cow parsnip.

Elderberry

The trail gradually ascends, following Clayton Creek, for almost 2 miles.  After a creek crossing, a couple of switchbacks and a steep quarter of a mile, the trail flattens and meadows open before us with the lake beyond.  Nirvana.  I look back at these meadow pictures, and I tell you that none of them do it justice.  An abundance of wildflowers, in a jumble the defies description or a capture by a camera.  You'll just HAVE to hike it!

Fish jumped at random throughout the lake, but Man with Hat came up empty.  I don't think he minded, too much.

This hike is 4.8 miles out and back, plus 1.6 miles if you go around the lake (which, of course, we did)

A hummingbird flew up to me nearly striking me in the face.  Could it have been my reflective sunglasses that looked like a flower?  Or maybe it saw me as competition since I was spending so much time among the blooms.  

Top: Fleabane and Paintbrush

Middle left: Spotted Frog  Middle right: Unidentified butterfly on Pearly Everlasting

Bottom left: False Hellebore  Bottom middle: Fleabane and Groundsel Bottom right: Willow

Clockwise from top: Fireweed and Man with Hat; Yellow Columbine; Death Camas, Monkeyflower, Groundsel

Showy Aster.  Center: Garter Snake

Lupine seed pods

It's hard to wrap your mind around the accelerated life cycle in these mountains, at these elevations.  In early May, only the glacier lilies are blooming.  But now, 10 short weeks later, some plants have grown, bloomed and are already in seed.  Rock on!

Fleabane and Paintbrush along the trail

Glory days well they'll pass you by


Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye


Glory days, glory days
- Bruce Springsteen

Maggie of Normandy Life once asked me when a walk becomes a hike.  I think it's about purpose and environment - walking to the bus stop is not a hike.  But walking among the splendor of northwestern Montana, to experience the glory of its flora and fauna - that will always be a hike.

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.  

FYI - InLinkz has made some changes to protect your personal information.  Before you submit a link, you need to verify your entry, which only takes a few seconds and you need to do it only once. After verification, you can add links to all InLinkz link parties without the need for re-verification.  I am sorry for any inconvenience.

 

Inlinkz Link Party

Mosaic Monday #10 - Under the Tree

If you were expecting a post about our trip to Ohio and my Mother's 90th birthday, you are going to be (temporarily) disappointed.  I won't bore you with the technical details; suffice it to say I am having issues with my photos from the trip.  So, 2019 is already presenting me with an opportunity to exercise my flexibility.  Yippee!

Yes, our tree is still up and decorated!

What better time to show you my treasures from Christmas?  It's a win-win because it's surely time to move them from the under the tree, where most of them have been on display since Christmas Day.  Yes, Christmas Day.  I have good reasons … the day after Christmas we skied all day, and the very next day we traveled to Ohio.  See?

Oh, and yes, life has been chock-a-block since our return.  But you grow weary of the prologue - let's get on with the main event!

It seems appropriate to start with new tools - namely, a new wireless MOUSE!  Josie is not impressed but it sure makes my computer 'work' a breeze.  Thanks, #1 Son!

Does your family give out 'gift certificates' for Christmas?  We do.  A perfect example?  Spousal Unit presented me with a gift certificate good for several Adventures for 2019, dates to be scheduled.  Dog sled ride, dance lessons, Indian dancing event and a Grizzlies football game (that's University of Montana in Missoula, if you don't know).  You can bet you'll hear about our escapades in a future post!!!

Gift certificate, address plaque and spa gift card.  Ooh la la!

Window bird feeder, red sweater,

phone bracket and pillowcase 

with words to our Bruce Springsteen song

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that all of my pictures are taken with my phone.  And in some posts I might have complained a time or two about its limitations when capturing small objects at a distance.  Well, now I have another option - a bracket especially designed to pair with a spotting scope; I can take close-ups THROUGH the spotting scope.  Last year, we saw some spectacular grizzly bear photos taken in this manner.  I am very excited about the potential to share some stunning wildlife pictures with all of you - watch this space!

Window bird feeder installed outside our dining room

And where will I find said wildlife?  On hikes, of course.  The book "Day Hikes Around the Flathead" promises to point us to new terrain and heavenly vistas.  I put the book on my wish list because the author prides herself in writing about hikes she has actually completed, and recently.  I can't tell you how many times we have followed directions to or on a hike, only to find the information is wrong.  And this book contains pictures, such as confusing junctions, with helpful arrows and guidance to ensure you do not stray.  Sounds simple, right?  I call it brilliant.

Hiking book and Botanical Hand-lettering Workbook, with pens

A number of my fellow bloggers are talented artists, and you know that I have admired your creations.  This Christmas I took a miniscule step toward drawing with "The Botanical Hand-Lettering Workbook" from #1 Daughter.  We all start somewhere, right?

"Remember, there are no mistakes in hand lettering - find

BEAUTY in the IMPERFECTIONS."

The workbook provides examples on the left and a blank page for

practice on the right.  I am experimenting with various pens ..

Christmas would not be complete without something for your sweet tooth; in my case, it came in the form of two of my favorites - Licorice All Sorts and Classic Christmas Candies.  Who can resist those chunky ribbon candies or the miniature 'pillows' or the broken stick candy with a shape in the middle?  How it takes me back to my childhood!

What are your Christmas treasures, past and present?

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.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Post #100 - Looking Back at the Spectacle

Heddal Stavkirke, Norway

This is hard.  I figured, with a major milestone such as 100 posts, I should do a "Best Of" post.  Best 10 posts?  Best 10 pictures?  Top 5 Most Popular posts (as defined by some Blogger algorithm?)  It wasn't clear.  So I went back to Post 1 and started reading.  Maybe inspiration would strike like the proverbial bolt of lightning.  Well, no such luck.  Instead, my list of favorite posts AND pictures ballooned like a warren of rabbits left to do what they do best … While reading Post 73 (3/9/18), I realized that it described a thorough analysis that I had ALREADY done of my first 12 months of posts - duh!  And it's probably no coincidence that Post 73 is one of my 5 most popular posts.

Maple leaves, Raby Castle gardens

OK, let's simplify, baby, and focus only on posts since 3/9/18.  Well, I got close, but some of my favorites were just too hard to jettison no matter when they were published - and who writes this blog, anyway?  So, here are MY top 10 posts (and to take the easy way out, they are in date order.  This post needs to get published SOME DAY in my lifetime!)

ONE: Down the Riviera, July 8, 2017

A Young Samurai

Reading this post still makes me break out in giggles, especially when I get to the photo of "A Young Samurai".  Not to mention Quiffy and The Hen.  This post, about my in-laws' allotment (read: garden) in the UK, was a breeze to write because "The Riviera" holds so many memories for all of us.  It is a beautiful haven that I eagerly anticipate each time we visit.

TWO:  Man with Hat, July 14, 2017

Of course, I had to include this one … maybe it will be visited more and put Spousal Unit back in the Top 5 Popular posts - you know, he asks about it all the time!  OK, serious now.  It meant the world to me to incorporate one of our love songs, If I Should Fall Behind, by Bruce Springsteen, into this Happy Birthday post for my better half.  And, importantly, my spouse became forever known in the blogging world as Man with Hat.


THREE: Helping Dreams Come True, September 10, 2017

I love making dreams come true, be they big or small.  It has been done for us, and now we are in the position to do the same.  In this post, I wrote about an epic trip with my Mother and my oldest sister, fulfilling some of their life-long desires.  Yep, it was epic - it took four separate posts to cover it all!

Fairmont Banff Springs

FOUR: Meadows of Muker, September 26, 2017

"An idyllic slice of the world - truly the epitome of the English countryside".  Can you tell I like walking the footpaths of the UK?  This post combined so many of my favorites - sharing the world's beauty as tour guide for others, walking/hiking, the UK, and captivating photos (in my opinion).

Near Muker, UK

FIVE:  Graduate with Hat, May 3, 2018

Pride.  Heart-popping, buttons-on-the-vest-busting pride.  Not that we had any doubt, but we were still pretty puffed up when #1 Daughter graduated from the University of Cincinnati on April 28.  And, of course, as a recent graduate she had the right to inform me that the title of the post, more accurately, should have been Graduate with Cap.  "But I get it, Mom; I get the nod to Man with Hat."  Thanks, sweetie.  I also loved the family time documented in this post, including a birthday meal with #1 Son (20!), and the nostalgic return to Cleveland.  We will always adore our Camelot Drive and Geauga family!!!

Chagrin Falls, Ohio

SIX: Awesome April, May 10, 2018

OK, I think you know by now that I like the outdoors and wildlife.  So this post caught my eye - how much the environment around us was changing in just six short weeks.  And the coyote snapped by my trail cam.  And the antics of an adorable black bear (from a distance) captured by a cam in Glacier National Pak - the whole world was waking up, just like that bear!




SEVEN:  May at Warp Speed, May 31, 2018

Our side deck

OK, I think you know by now that I like to check tasks off my list (even though I am supposed to be letting go of perfection).  Well, May was a banner month for "get 'er done"!  Landscaping, interior decorating, tea towels, the piano move, the list goes on!  At least I could say that putting together the patio furniture was just so I had somewhere to sit to drink my wine!

Lower level guestroom with headboard hand-made by Spousal Unit

EIGHT: Another Day in the Neighborhood, June 14, 2018

OK, I think you know by now that I like the outdoors and wildlife.  (Yes, I know I already wrote that … but I REALLY LIKE WILDLIFE.)  Check out this post for deer, beaver, ground squirrels, turkeys, turtles and our very own black bear!

NINE: Jumpin' June, July 5, 2018

Warning - slight risk of repetition … more "get 'er done" accomplishments and more outdoors photos!  At least this offers ME cooking (for a change) and a badger video.  And mushrooms, if you are weary of flower shots!

Father's Day breakfast in bed; galvanized steel bar tray was also a Father's Day gift

TEN: Hiking Journal Entry 14 - Highline Trail, July 19, 2018

We made it!  Aren't you glad?  Hopefully you read this far, because I do think this journal entry is the best in many ways.  Who wouldn't enjoy hiking the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park with 100 of your closest friends?  Seriously, some trails stand out for me (and we have hiked A LOT); this is definitely in my top 5, ever.  Mountain views.  Abundant flora.  Waterfalls.  Unique fauna (marmots and mountain goats).  And, of course, a day out with Man with Hat.

Linking to:

All Seasons

I Like Thursday

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Our World Tuesday

Saturday's Critters

Sharon's Photo Souvenirs

Skywatch Friday

Wandering Camera

Wednesday Around the World

Willy Nilly Friday