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!
Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme
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Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
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Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your
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Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.
Hello, my dear readers. I am grateful to report that this week I have celebrated another revolution around the sun. No, no need to know how many that makes!!! (And those of who you do know, no need to share my secret in the comments!!!)
Once again, greetings from far and wide have blessed me - don't we all need at least one day a year to be in the spotlight and to be spoiled? Family, former work colleagues, former and current neighbors - each wish for a happy birthday was a little ray of sunshine, adding up to a whole lot of warmth! And these days, salutations come in so many forms - e-cards, FaceBook comments, email, texts and even cards that come via the US Postal Service!!!
It's even better when the celebration extends either side of the day itself. Why limit the fun to just one 24-hour period, when it can last a week or two? Cards began arriving a week before my birthday, and my Dear Neighbor Friend showered me with gifts four days early. She gave me enough cinnamon rolls to feed an army; a wise move given that #1 Son and Spousal Unit have access! You might recognize the moose bar of soap - it was in my 1/24/2021 post. So thoughtful to get it for me - she knows I ADORE moose! The slim box with "Thank You" on the front contains printable card stock and envelopes - perfect for the card-making I love to do! And the Nature Valley granola bars are "payback, with interest" on one that I gave her a while back. We had a good laugh over that one!!!
Around the time of my birthday, I can also be fairly expansive in my definition of "gifts". A couple of days before my special day, a deer began to pass through the "back yard", pausing under the birdfeeders to snack on fallen sunflower seeds. Yep, that display is just for me!!!
I can ski for hours in cold temperatures, but when we get home, there is no substitute for a fire and a warming cocktail for me/a bourbon for Spousal Unit!
We've had quite a bit of snow lately (good news around these parts) and that "gift" meant I needed to pull out my snowshoes for the first time this winter. The 'shoes have special meaning for me since they were one of my retirement surprises from my team four years ago. What a joy to climb the hills, to gain a new vantage point, to see pure white snow broken only by my tracks.
My birthday began as it should, with breakfast in bed! Later, I moved to the great room and alternated between stitching and gazing out the window. Spousal Unit and #1 Son indulged me by joining in a snowshoeing venture around the back forty. (In the collage below, Spousal Unit and I are standing on the ice in front of the beaver lodge.)
When we returned to the house, I stopped to fill up the birdfeeders, and asked Spousal Unit to snap some shots while I fed a few by hand. The mountain chickadees are fearless, and the black-capped chickadees are starting to get into the game. The nuthatches wait patiently among the aspens. Here I am with a black-capped chickadee.
By the time I got inside, the boys had placed cards and gifts around my spot at the table, and lit the candles on my cake. I had to puff a couple of times to get all the candles out! Oh, that carrot cake sure hit the spot after our walk in the woods.
Not pictured below is a certificate for a massage, and a new trail cam that is on back order. I am quite thrilled about this trail cam, which will allow me to retrieve photos remotely! I will have so many more options for placement of the camera - watch this space for (more) exciting wildlife photos! Oh, and we decided to call the latest addition to my moose collection "Lord Mountbatten".
We played a few rounds of Rummikub, and then we ate a home-made version of Skyline Chili, my requested birthday meal. Can you say food coma?
I could go on and on through time, counting my many gifts, but even I have to close this birthday chapter, for now. What better way than to come full circle to my DNF, and our cross-country skiing excursion, the day after my birthday?
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While I have been busy celebrating another year of life, many others have not been so blessed. As of the date of this post, 496,208 US residents have died from COVID, and the world has lost more than 2.3 million souls to the pandemic. Closer to home, I recently became aware of the suicide of a 24-year-old man who was the brother of an Olympian from Whitefish, Montana. Back in November, a 27-year-old woman attempted suicide by crashing her car at a high rate of speed into the train depot in Whitefish. Unfortunately, I could go on. According to the CDC, in 2018, suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 in the US; there were more than 2.5 times the number of suicides as homicides. Stay close to those you love; if you think someone is in crisis, or you need to talk to someone, in the US you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK(2855), 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
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.
January 2021 is treating me well. From winter recreation to Whitefish Winter Carnival merriment to the invigorating inauguration of President Biden, I have a myriad of reasons for celebration.
La Nina may not have delivered the mounds of snow that we expected, but we have enough to support our winter sports, including downhill and cross-country skiing. And it's only January 24; lots of "winter" remains!!!
Last week brought a wild wind storm that tumbled trees and power lines, knocking out power across the valley. We were fortunate to be without electricity for only a few hours; some waited a couple of days! We have newly resolved to purchase a generator.
Whitefish has been the home of the Whitefish Winter Carnival for over 60 years, and I have been fortunate to be involved since the fall of 2019. My main responsibility has been the design and sale of the Carnival buttons, a role I share with another Board member. This year, none of our traditional events will be held as a safety precaution. (If you need a refresher, I wrote extensively about the final weekend of 2020 Carnival in my February 16, 2020 post. My March 2, 2018 post explains many of the other traditions.) This presented an opportunity for the Board to find creative ways to keep the spirit of Carnival alive. The theme SURVIVOR was chosen, and this opened the door to brainstorm "challenges" that could be entertaining and safe. (If you have ever watched the show, you know contestants have to participate in various challenges.)
The community has enthusiastically responded - businesses have helped create and conduct challenges, and people have jumped at the chance for distraction and prizes! To mention just a few: The Great Toilet Paper Challenge required participants to guess the number of toilet paper rolls in the shop window at Imagination Station. The Virtual Penguin Plunge raises money for Special Olympics; by February 6, teams will film themselves "freezin' for a reason" - I surmise this could take many forms! The Stumptown Art Studio is hosting Technicolor Yeti, a ornament painting contest. Double the Bubble, Double the Fun is sponsored by Sage & Cedar; competitors will estimate the number of soap slices sold in 2020. First place wins this stuffed yeti and a slice of soap!
Given my role selling buttons to the businesses, it quickly evolved that I became heavily engaged in coordinating quite a few of the challenges. Imagine my delight when, for my contribution "to the realm", I was knighted last week. The Executive Director of the Museum where I volunteer lured me there early, with the ruse of a special project. Little did I know that the royalty was gathering nearby. I am not on the Board for the recognition, but it is wonderful to be appreciated! (During a knighting, the Prime Minister reads the scroll, King Ullr performs the knighting, and the Queen of the Snows places the ribbon on the new "liege of the realm". The knight is also presented with pins from the King and Prime.) I was so surprised, I was crying - masks are good for more than just viruses!
January has been a historic month in the US for several reasons; for diehard Cleveland Browns fans, the 2020-2021 season marked the first time in 18 years that their beloved team made it to the playoffs! With great anticipation, we gathered around the big screen on January 10 for the match-up with the Steelers. There is no love lost between these long-time rivals, and almost no one was predicting that the Browns could win. But win they did, 48-37. Such vindication, especially considering the head coach, Kevin Stefanski, was sequestered in the basement of his house due to COVID exposure. The following week, we battled with the Kansas City Chiefs, and eventually succumbed 22-17. I think I speak for all the fans when I write that we are very pleased with the season, and are ready for even greater things next season!
Mid-month, I was tickled to get a text from a neighbor, offering us fresh eggs. Together with her husband, she is on 28-day cleanse and couldn't use the abundance produced by her hens. It was fabulous to find this basket on our front porch the next morning; eggs in many colors and sizes, some of them practically luminous. And you know the taste is so much richer and deeper than store eggs!
A friend of ours from Cleveland came for a week-long visit; he just departed yesterday. I have christened Tim the "Best Guest from the Midwest" - he is generous to a fault, and helps around the house during his stay. Apart from our kids, he has been our most frequent visitor and the next time he comes, I will probably have a sign on the guest room door that reads "Tim's Room".
The day we visited Kootenai Falls, a train passed by and our waving prompted the engineer to blow the horn. I love trains!
The month has also seen other blissful moments. The storm I mentioned at the beginning of this post shredded my moose flag beyond further repair, so I purchased a new one. A Christmas gift I ordered for Spousal Unit (chocolate liqueurs) finally arrived. Deer by the creek, captured on my trail cam. A sunrise over Whitefish Mountain Resort on the way to work. The sparkle of a million snowflakes, glistening in the meadow as I ski with Dear Neighbor Friend. We all have our problems, and the world certainly does, but at these times, I am filled with cheer and optimism.
I will leave you with one final video. Winter Carnival conducted a Songwriter's Challenge, with several terrific entries. The winner, "Wake Me" by Big Sky City Lights, is a showcase for the talent that thrives in the Flathead Valley. It is a song about hope, about the journey. It is simple, with a hauntingly beautiful melody. Set in a Montana barn with light snow falling, it gently encourages us - it is "time to start living".
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.
In March, I will celebrate my third anniversary in the blogosphere. Making the acquaintance of numerous fellow bloggers through this forum has been a joy and a privilege. When I commenced this adventure, I could not have dreamed that I would come to call so many of you friends, despite the fact we have never been face to face. I dedicate this post to all of you, and I am thrilled to link up with my favorite memes, too. Here's to friendship! What has occupied your time in January? Following the holidays, my normal routines have resumed. Tasty breakfasts prepared by Head Chef.
Drawing. I was inspired to create this picture following our pastor's sermon about the Epiphany. My personal epiphany from it: Go a Different Way!
Enjoying time with Dear Neighbor Friend, whether it is cross-country skiing, feeding birds or simply walking.
Walking in the winter wonderland of our back forty.
A little reading at night. Dear Neighbor Friend loaned me this book, and I adored it. True stories documented by Donald Davis, Cripple Joe reminded me of my own father and my childhood. The picture on the cover even resembles my Dad! Does anybody remember the candy Nik L Nips wax bottles? I hadn't thought about them for decades until they appeared in one of Mr. Davis' stories. I was especially struck to read about Stayman Winesaps. Although you won't find a Winesap in stores or at most farmer's markets, my Dad grew them in our orchard, so I was thrilled to see them mentioned. I highly recommend this book! And sometimes, the month brings surprises, such as this bright bouquet from Spousal Unit.
