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 #54: October Odds & Ends

Is it too late to write about October?  I still have a mountain of material from our trip to Europe, but some odds and ends from last month are calling to me.  So, take a clue from the turkey - slow down, get a cup or glass of your favorite beverage, and read on!

We began the month in Missoula for Homecoming festivities at the University of Montana.  We are not alumni, but we miss the sentiment of hometown football games, especially the marching band.  For four years back in Ohio, we never missed a game.  We had quite a merry group of band parents, and relished supporting #1 Son in the drum line.  Spousal Unit and I both needed a "marching band fix", and were prepared to drive 2.5 hours to get it!

Coincidentally, downtown Missoula has a farmer's market on Saturdays, and we strolled among the vendors prior to attending the Homecoming Parade.

The University marching band led off the parade, followed by your customary floats, horses, Shriners driving miniature cars, dance troupes and politicians angling for your vote.

I admired the creativity of the "stage" float, with actors performing skits the entire parade route, and the "dueling" pianos.

Units were still rolling past with no end in sight, but it was time to make our way to the stadium, a 15-minute walk.  With our tummies rumbling, it was convenient that we would pass through the market once again - who could resist a waffle sandwich?

My blogging buddy Kit of A Montana Life is a stalwart UM fan, and she advised being in our seats for the pre-game show, which includes Monte (the team mascot) and the band entering the stadium.  She was spot on!  It was a special treat to see the skydivers land so expertly smack in the middle of the field.

We were glad to have our waterproof coats and a waterproof blanket as the weather alternated between light rain and blue skies.  UM's fortunes waxed and waned with the rain, but they ultimately dominated Idaho State 59-20.  We enjoyed the night life in Missoula that evening, and after attending Mass, returned home through the rolling hills the next day.

Band spells out G-R-I-Z

Harvested seeds in my "bucket"

At that point, only six days remained until our departure to Europe.  I focused heavily on my to-do list, which included planting flower and grass seed.  We had some native grass seed left from last fall, but it was not enough to cover the bare patches that required re-seeding.  I resorted to harvesting grass seed from our yard - it's not a physically demanding task, but it is tedious and I was repeatedly amazed at how quickly I spread what had taken me an hour to collect.  I didn't keep track, but I invested many hours in this process over those six days.

In my October 6 post, I wrote about some challenges with my tree skirt.  Before our trip, I created a new pattern and went to Hobby Lobby to purchase new burlap colors.  This allowed me to cut all the strips so they would be ready and waiting for my return.  I am going to cheat a little and give you some current pictures of the skirt in progress - I am thrilled with how it looks so far!

Three weeks is a long time to be away from friends, so visiting with my dear neighbor friend was a priority before our journey.  We kayaked on a misty morning, and later in the day she brought us some fresh cinnamon rolls, just ideal with afternoon coffee.  We walked the frosty hills, and that is when I snapped the picture of the turkey crossing sign, which stands to one side of a track through her property.  "What is this doing here?" I asked.  "Well, remember that this track used to be the county road before they developed the current route.  So, this sign was installed by the county to warn drivers about a frequent turkey crossing, and it was never taken down."  Oh.  Wouldn't you love to have your own turkey sign?

On one of my other walkabouts, I passed this snake on the road just outside our driveway.  With a sunny day, it was obviously trying to capture the last of the fall warmth.  Normally a snake like this will slither away on your approach, but it did not move, even when I crouched down to take a close-up.  I spoke to it, telling it to find a different sunbed or risk getting squished.  Maybe I should have been more proactive, because when I returned later, I found a snake that would not be slithering any more.  Sad.

To wrap my oddities post on a more cheerful note, I was tickled a few weeks ago that LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color posted a moose in my honor.  Since then, I keep seeing flamingoes EVERYWHERE.  LeeAnna, this mosaic is for you.

Left - aren't these just ADORABLE slippers?

I always endeavor to close a post in a nice, neat way - this comic fell into my lap, bringing us full circle from turkey to flamingo!

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).
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Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

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