Mosaic Monday #162: 2021 - That's a Wrap!

Thirty minutes to midnight on December 31, and I have been pondering the year that was 2021.  How to capture 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days?  12 favorite posts?  Key accomplishments?  The best photos of the year?  Or perhaps a focus on loose ends?  Resolutions for the New Year?  So many options!

The temptation to make a matrix is almost overwhelming, but it is possible to over-engineer these things!!  So, let's just go and see how it develops!

Our year was filled with many blessings, and I can think of no better way to start this than to give thanks for my rock, my partner in crime, the guy who puts up with my many foibles with a knowing grin.  2021 marked 30 years of marriage, and the adventures continue - hiking, skiing, camping, traveling.  

After 2 years' absence, we finally returned to the UK and, with great relief and joy, were reunited with my in-laws.  Weekly video chats are better than a phone call or no communication at all, but hardly substitute for a full-on body hug at the airport!  We made up for lost time, walking in the countryside, visiting our old haunts, and a week-long getaway to the Skipton area.  I know I shed a tear or two, watching my in-laws stroll arm in arm in the woods near Skipton Castle.

Together with Man with Hat, I logged 105 miles of hiking, including three back-country camping trips.  Trust me when I say it was downright difficult to choose one picture that represents the beauty, solitude and glory of Montana.  In the end, I chose a photo that was taken by my nephew the day before we started our epic back-country camping trip in the Belly River.  The picture below is in Glacier National Park - Hidden Lake with Bearhat Mountain in the background.

Did I mention 2021 was filled with blessings?  In early August, #1 Son received the long-awaited news: he landed a job, a nuclear engineering position within the Idaho National Laboratory.  I jumped up and down for joy; he has been in job search mode since May 2020, and all of us were thrilled for him that his patience and perseverance paid off!  On December 21, just in time for Christmas, he was informed that his security clearance came through and that he would start work on January 17.  Praise God!

It is inevitable, with adult children, that they will develop lives of their own, and family vacations get more challenging to arrange.  So, we jumped on the chance to be together in Santa Fe in October.  Each of us had our favorite aspect of the trip - Bandelier National Monument for Spousal Unit and me, Los Alamos for #1 Son, Mexican food almost every night for The Boyfriend.

But I think it is safe to say that the trip will be forever remembered as the site of The Engagement!

2021 was not all wine and roses.  On April 28, my Mom went to heaven.  I was so fortunate to spend time with her a couple of weeks before she died, and it was cathartic to write this post in her memory.  Since then, she often crosses my mind.    I miss her, and it makes me sad that she won't be here to see #1 Daughter get married.  Mom, I love you, and I take some consolation in knowing you are watching over all of us!

One of my brothers had a heart attack in November, and I traveled to Ohio to visit him in the hospital.  He is home now, but has a long road to recovery.  Maybe it's an inescapable aspect of getting older, or maybe it is down to COVID, but it seems we hear more frequently about friends and family with serious illnesses, or worse.  As I wrote in my December 5 post, "Life is not simple, or predictable.  At any moment, life can turn upside down.  I can't take any pleasure in the fact that it's someone else who is in the hospital, but I can count my blessings every day."

With that in mind, I turn my attention to 2022.  How will I make the most of this year that lies in front of me like freshly fallen snow, untracked and ready to be explored?  Some things are given, such as reveling in time with my Dear Neighbor Friend - skiing, walking, kayaking or chit-chat over a coffee. 

I will probably do some cross-stitch.  At last count, I have one project underway and at least six others to choose from!   I also hope to try my hand at Spanish Blackwork.

I will continue volunteering - the 63rd Whitefish Winter Carnival kicks off formally next weekend.  You'll also find me at the North Valley Food Bank, the Whitefish Historical Museum and serving as co-leader of the Flathead Chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby!

You can be sure I will be outdoors, whether it is in the garden, hiking or kayaking.  Who knows what new critters we will see?  Each year we get a few surprises, such as the pygmy owl that crashed into our windows in June (and survived). 

We are already planning travel for this year - beginning with a late February ski vacation/visit to my brother and sister-in-law in Utah (and we will pop in to see #1 Son on the way down and back).  In the Spring, we will fly to the UK, partly to mark the 61st wedding anniversary of my in-laws in April!!  After that, avoiding most of the "mud season" in Montana, we hope to finally complete the long-awaited family scuba vacation to Grand Cayman - we should have been there in May 2020 to celebrate the college graduation of #1 Son.    

Sounds busy, doesn't it?  Of course, contemplating a New Year is not just about WHAT we plan to do, but HOW we plan to do it.  I thumbed through my prayer journal from the last 12 months, and the following words spoke to me: gratitude, faith, understanding, "do not be afraid", forgiveness, mercy, compassion, patience, discernment, good cheer, encouragement, letting go.  A tall order, to be sure.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."  LEO BUSCAGLIA

"If the will to walk is really present, God is pleased even with your stumbles."  C.S. LEWIS

 

I hope and pray that, together, we can experience joy, thankfulness, compassion and good health throughout 2022.  Happy New Year to you and yours!

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. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #145: July Jumble

I am so blessed with adventures in our beloved Montana that I doubt I will ever lack for blog content!  I have already penned 5 posts about our July activities, and yet I have more to share from last month.  It's a bit of a potpourri, a hodgepodge, a mish-mash.  Welcome to the July jumble!

My nephew took the picture at left - isn't he a terrific photographer?  He was so kind during his visit - always asking if we would like a photo!  And sometimes, he snapped one from behind us.  Awww ....

Kootenai Falls and Ross Creek Cedars are go-to sights when we have visitors.  On the day we explored the area, it was red hot, and ideal for dipping toes (or more) into the glacial waters of the Kootenai River.

Montana hosts are required to ensure tourists enjoy their share of huckleberry products while in the state.  Head Chef made his special huckleberry cheesecake, and we also took my nephew to the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse, famous for its huck pie and huck ice cream - double the fun!

Before we began our back-country camping trip with my nephew (see previous posts here, here and here), we navigated the white-knuckle twists of the mountainous Going to the Sun Road.  I have lost count of the number of times we have gazed upon the majesty of Glacier National Park from this road, but I can assure you I never tire of it.

The summit of the Road is Logan Pass, equally renowned for access to the Highline Trail and the Hidden Lake Trail, AND the difficulty of obtaining a spot in the parking lot!  I won't bore you with the details of finding not just one but TWO spots; let's focus on the photos and videos of the 3 mile round trip "hike" to the Hidden Lake Overlook.

You might (reasonably) surmise from the photo above that no-one else was around; in reality, this is one of the most popular hikes in the park since the views are expansive, the distance to the Overlook is relatively short and the trail is (mostly) flat.  So, it takes some ingenuity and patience to obtain shots without any people!

In the summer, it is quite common to see mountain goats along this trail, and this day did not disappoint; we must have seen at least a dozen goats, including kids born in the spring.  Sometimes it even seems that they are posing for you! 

Check out the videos!

At the Overlook, a circular boardwalk provides plenty of space for hikers to linger for a snack with a view.

On the way back, I snapped this picture of a meadow strewn with glacier lilies.  As one of the first flowers to emerge in the spring, this is evidence that it wasn't too long ago that snow still covered this area.  (And this picture was taken on July 8!)

We headed down from the summit of Logan Pass, toward St. Mary's.  Along the way, we stopped for a short stroll to Sun Point.  I am eternally grateful to my nephew for suggesting a photo op featuring a hug, and then taking this picture (the background really makes the shot, don't you think?)  We might be getting this one framed!

Our next milestone was Many Glacier, to drop off my vehicle at the end of the trail (where we would emerge 4 days later).  In the past, we have been fortunate to see bears along the road, but at a safe distance.  Once again, we were not disappointed; a mama black bear and her baby were grazing in the meadow.  They are hard to see in the video below, but be patient and they will appear!

On July 31, Spousal Unit and I went out for dinner to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (it actually falls on August 3, but he would be headed to Alaska that day for salmon fishing).  A fitting end to the month, and hopefully the beginning of another adventurous 30 years!

   

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. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Great American Summer

What does summer in America evoke for you?  Perhaps family vacations.  Perhaps warm, lazy days with nothing better to do than dip your toes in the kiddie paddling pool.  Most certainly the Fourth of July and fireworks.

In Chapter Four of my ongoing summer series (see Chapter One, Two and Three), we celebrate several treasured American summer past-times.

ONE: Visiting a National Park.  On July 2, we cruised the iconic Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park with my in-laws.  As many of you know from previous posts, most of this road is closed over the winter due to deep snow.  This year, the road opened to vehicles on June 23.  So, in early July, snow is still abundant above 6,000 feet, and you brace yourself for the brisk temperatures.

Meadow at Logan Pass - glacier lilies emerging

The 'snow line' is very marked on the mountains in the distance;

cars snake along the Going to the Sun Road on the right slope

None of it was enough to discourage my 79-year-old father-in-law, engaged in the challenge of hiking 1.5 miles one-way to Hidden Lake Overlook, on a trail almost completely obscured by snow.  We made it, and then faced the test of the slight downhill slope on the return.  I wonder at the miracle that neither one of us ended up on our behinds!!!

You can spy a corner of unfrozen Hidden Lake in the middle left

Upper left: yep, prevailing wind comes from the west!

Upper right: 'ants' on the Hidden Lake Overlook trail

Lower left: on a clear day you can see forever

Lower right: sun desperately trying to break through

Note: if you read my Savoring September post, you know that we took our former neighbors on this same trail on September 28.   That post shows the first signs of snow and rime on the trail.  Just 10 days later, due to continued winter weather, the Park closed the Going to the Sun Road.  We have come full circle!

TWO: Going to a fireworks display.  The town of Whitefish launches its fireworks from a barge in the center of its eponymous lake.  Angling for the best view, boats of all shapes and sizes put-put carefully around each other before dropping anchor.  (My mother-in-law fretted over a mama duck and several ducklings, that paddled this way and that, seemingly confused by the traffic.  Ultimately, they disappeared in the direction of the lake's outlet into Whitefish River.)  Stand-up paddleboards inch into the open spaces.  Crowds build at the beach, blanketing every square inch as the sun sinks behind Lion Mountain.  You can feel the anticipation growing, until suddenly the first 'whoosh' is heard out on the water, and the crowd answers back ; "OOH, AAH."  It has begun.

THREE: Small-town glories.  I adore small towns.  They have character.  A slower pace.  A size you can wrap your arms around.  And often, in the summer, bountiful flowers.  Such is Bigfork, nestled in an elbow of the Swan River.

Upper left: Bee balm; Upper right: no idea, but I think it's cool

We sauntered along the Swan River nature trail, and noshed on picnic nibbles, before heading to Electric Avenue (yes, that's the name of its main street!) for a peek in the shops.

Man with Hat and his parents looking for Sasquatch … LOL!

In my case, my attention was drawn to the riot of color in the beds and baskets maintained by the retail establishments.  You can market yourself on the Web and social media, but sometimes your best 'advertising' is right outside your shop's doors - what attracts you to enter a store that is new to you?

Lupines pointing the way to Whitefish Lake seen in the distance

FOUR:  A family hike (with gondola).  With gondola, you ask?  Well, in the summer, Whitefish Mountain Resort operates Chair One with conventional chairs, small gondolas, and equipment especially designed to transport mountain bikes.  It benefits the hikers and bikers who prefer to traverse the mountain one-way (downhill!!!)  So, on a warm July day (only four days after our visit to Logan Pass!!), we introduced my in-laws to a gondola - chalk up another new life experience!!!  At the summit of Big Mountain (6,817 feet), you have a 360-degree view of alpine splendor: the Flathead Valley and long-distance views of Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies, not to mention the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Scapegoat and Cabinet wilderness areas.  When you can finally drag yourself from the vista, the Danny On trail takes 3.8 miles to wind its way back to the ski village.

In early July, the mountain is awash with glacier lilies, lupines and other spring wildflowers.

Upper left: Parrot's Beak; Middle left: Glacier Lily; Lower left: Fairy Bells

The trail plays peek-a-boo with the views, as it passes among stands of old-growth forest, or dips into a chute between the hills.  For Spousal Unit and me, it was entertaining to see the mountain in this context, now that we have experienced a season of skiing/riding these slopes.  You can imagine that much of it looks different now that it has been freed from 33 feet worth of snowfall …

Penstemon (there are dozens of species and the blue/purple

penstemons are difficult to identify at the species level)

The Danny On Trail was dedicated as a memorial to Danny On, a Forest Service ecologist and renowned nature photographer, conservationist and avid skier on Big Mountain.  Danny generously gave his time to teach novices about nature, photography, skiing and forestry.  Danny died at the age of 55 in a skiing accident on Big Mountain.

Perhaps this is a reminder to each of us to make the most of every day, especially on the simplest of traditions.












Linking to:

All Seasons

I Like Thursday

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Our World Tuesday

Sharon's Photo Souvenirs

Skywatch Friday

Wednesday Around the World

Willy Nilly Friday

Savoring September

It's a brisk 47 degrees, and only the incandescent orange and yellow of the aspens brightens the steely, dull sky.  It's the sort of day to light an extra candle, pull the blanket a bit tighter around my legs, and slurp deeply from my hazelnut coffee.  And to wax lyrical with my end-of-September summary.  Here goes:

ONE: Getting crafty

Cooler temps and shorter days launch me into crafty mode.  With great enthusiasm, I have leapt into a new project, 30 cross-stitch ornaments for this year's Christmas tree.  I am really enjoying this kit because the designs are simple and it only requires a few hours to complete each one.  For me, this means a rapid sense of gratification, compared to many complex pieces that mean months or even years of work.  And the designs are SO cute!

Autumn's arrival also means football, and I often marry game time with crafts; I just feel better being productive while supporting the Cleveland Browns (and yes, they finally snapped the 19-game losing streak.  Go Browns and Baker Mayfield!)  It is a special joy to watch the games in our new screening room; so comfy, and the sound/projection system can't be beat!

(I created the arrangements below before my family's visit in September, but the topic just didn't seem to fit any of my previous posts, so I am wedging it here with my other creative endeavors.)

TWO: Getting lost 

As most of you know, Spousal Unit and I are avid hikers.  Responsible hikers inform family members of upcoming trips, and we are in that camp.  We have a 'system' with our kids that involves sending an email with details on starting and ending points, trail names, etc., along with the appropriate emergency number to call if a designated time passes and we have not been in touch.  WELL.  This month, I misjudged the duration of a hike, and we had no cell service to contact the kids until 30 minutes after the deadline had passed.  So, #1 Daughter had started calling out the cavalry, as she should.  To say the least, they were relieved but not entirely happy when we finally got service and checked in.  So, we are now the proud owners of a personal locator beacon - a Garmin Inreach, which is very slick.  It utilizes satellites, so at any point in time, the kids can log on to a website and determine our location.  The Garmin also sends simple texts ("Safe at car") even when we don't have cell service.  And it has many other features as well.  I think we all feel a bit safer with this (not cheap) valuable tool.

THREE: Getting fed

Delicious meals in our house are never an issue with Spousal Unit at the helm.  In the last couple of weeks, we've had a couple of stand-out dishes worth special mention.  As you may recall from my Horses, Homes and Huckleberries post, my Mother harvested the first of our Goodland apples earlier this month, and we have since plucked the remainder from the tree to protect them from bears (good thing we did but more on that later).  Utilizing the apples, Spousal Unit concocted an apple/blackberry pie, which we shared with former neighbors visiting from Cleveland.  Just scrumptious!

I'm still endeavoring to achieve my 'cook once a week' 2018 goal, and one of the best dishes we've discovered lately is this Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna.  Mouthwatering flavors, a pleasant change from a tomato-based lasagna, and pretty healthy to boot with chicken broth and low-fat milk as the base.  Perfect for these cuddle-up cool fall evenings!

This time of year, I occasionally treat myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, with a scone.  Heaven, just heaven.

FOUR: Getting visitors

Consider this Chapter Three of our summer visitor series.  (See links for Chapter One and Two.)  We (re) welcomed two former neighbors from Cleveland, who had been to the house last September, when it had no door or flooring and barely had shingles!  To say the least, it was a joy to tour them 'round the finished dream, inside and out!  After a scrummy dinner that featured "brisket beyond compare" (per one of our guests), we gathered around the fire pit and caught up on each other's lives.  Nothing could have capped the evening with more flair than the pie I already mentioned above.  Food coma, anyone?

The next day, we cruised over to Glacier National Park and absorbed the adjectives that rapidly tumbled from our visitors.  Until the car became silent, with only strains from Billy Joel's Greatest Hits in the background … I suppose you can run out of ways to describe the soaring, rich grandeur of mountains in autumn.

An overnight light snowfall above 6,000 feet added another dimension to the vistas throughout our drive on Going to the Sun road.  At Logan Pass (6,646 feet), the snow and rime coating every flower, blade of grass and tree brought these natural structures into sharp relief against the dark mountains.  The 1.5 mile hike (one-way) to Hidden Lake Overlook reminded one of our visitors of scenes from Skyfall.  We all marveled in our own ways at the wonderland created by a little H2O.

On our way out of the Park, we stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge, which provided a close-up view of the outcome of the Howe Ridge Fire (see this link for my report on this fire back in August).  From ridge to shoreline, the mountain is scorched, with little black matchsticks that used to be towering pines.  Without the billowing smoke and leaping flames, it now seems somewhat benign.  But we know it consumed 14,522 acres and 13 residences, some of which had been used by the same families for over 70 years.  Sobering, and lingering smoke lets us know the fire still smolders, waiting for snow as the final extinguisher.  We moved on to Whitefish for a bit of touristy shopping and then wrapped the day with a delightful dinner at Tupelo Grill.  (Get the chicken and dumplings - to die for!)

If you look closely, you can see a ribbon of smoke at the base of the mountain

Today, we had a casual breakfast (for Spousal Unit, that's blueberry pancakes, bacon and fruit) before our friends left for the airport.  We're pretty sure we can count on a return visit next September!!

Candle gift from our guests; their note in our guest book

FIVE: Getting outdoors

Lest you think everything is perfect in paradise here, I have to report a run-in with elk this week.  We've seen them near the lake, and our neighbors have sighted herds of up to 30 in the neighborhood.  So, on Monday, when I went on the deck to photograph the moon (nothing worth sharing, by the way), I was thrilled to hear an elk bugling.  It sounded close, and I could also hear munching.  "Must be a lot of them, and nearby," I mused.  I went inside without a second thought.  The next morning, this was the view outside the kitchen window - those elk had 'groomed' this maple tree like it was a poodle's tail, leaving only a little pom-pom of leaves at the top.  Grrr … I was not happy.  As I explored more later that day, I found that they had 'pruned' my Mom's Goodland apple tree (good thing we had harvested the apples, or they would have been elk food!), and had a nibble at Dad's Honeycrisp as well as the other maple.  This called for action, so Spousal Unit and I have now added chicken wire above the normal caging for all 4 of these trees.  So far, so good this week, and I hope it stays that way!

Wildlife seems to be hiding out - my trail cam photos are mostly deer and elk.  The other day, while cleaning the patio, I met this little fellow …  I am not entirely sure, but I think it's a garter snake.

In the meantime, I was amazed to find this small violet growing near the house, and a harebell plant that sprung up in the middle of a stretch of compacted dirt - nothing else is growing for yards around it.  Asters are holding out against the cold mornings and the frost we've had; they almost seem to thrive in it.  

And of course, the aspens are gussied up like young ladies heading to prom.  I don't know why some are orange or red while the majority are yellow … but then, I don't need to know; it's enough to simply bask in the radiant beauty.




















Linking to:
All Seasons

I Like Thursday

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Our World Tuesday

Saturday's Critters
Sharon's Souvenir Photos
Wednesday Around the World
Willy Nilly Friday