Mosaic Monday #82: Emerging

Serviceberry, naturally occurring on

our property

As I looked back over the month of May, the word “emerging” popped into my brain.  Spring flowers erupting from the earth.  Birds flocking to the northern climes.  Spousal Unit and I, re-entering the world like a tortoise tentatively poking its head out of its shell.  In fact, so much occurred during the 31 days of May that I will be breaking this post into two parts!

The first glacier lilies were barely gracing Montana’s barren hillsides, and my brother in Ohio texted me a plethora of flowers that he had snapped in his neighborhood.  I could practically inhale the warm earthy smell of my youth, and taste the honeysuckle on my lips.

Despite our three years in Montana, we are still learning the mountains that are suitable for spring hikes.  Firefighter Lookout on May 1 was not one of them.  Check out these comparison pictures – the top is May 1, and the bottom is May 25, taken in exactly the same location.  How many differences can you see?  1. Snow is gone.  
2.  My head barely reaches the bottom of the sign – that shows you how deep the snow was.  3.  There are four vehicles in the picture, one of which is ours.  On May 1, we could not drive to this point; we had to walk a mile and a half to get here.  Now that the snow is gone, this is a popular hike!

With the weather on a warming trend, it was time to buy some ankle-length hiking socks.  At the same time, I purchased a new phone holder that can clip to my backpack.  (Typically, I kept my phone in a zipper pocket that is on the belt of my backpack.  But every time I take off the pack and set it down, I have to be sure to take out the phone to avoid damaging it.  Also, that zipper pocket is hard to close one-handed, which creates an annoying hassle when I am usually holding two trekking poles in my hand.  This is a major improvement!)

Spring also signifies the return of Man with Hat.  Well, Hat may soon need to be Hat 2.  A little more sweat and a little more sun, and it might just fall apart.  I recently made emergency repairs so that Man would have Hat for fishing the next day.  I think it was lucky Hat that helped him net this massive cutthroat trout.

Hat does not look much better after the repair, but I 

didn't have a lot to work with!  You'll be happy to know

this trout is still swimming around in Glacier Lake!

On a per capita basis, Montana has had one of the lowest COVID infection rates in the US, and I give credit to the governor for setting the standard and to Montana citizens for following it.  When Spousal Unit came home with this Danish from Wheat Montana Bakery & Deli on May 4, it felt like such a luxury.  He had to make a special stop.  He had to put on his mask again.  Should we be indulging like this?  Yes!

In late April, my Mom was admitted to the hospital for reasons not related to COVID.  In one of our many conversations, she mentioned that one of her geraniums had died.  Through my sister the florist, I arranged for a flower arrangement with a geranium to be delivered to the skilled nursing facility that aided her transition from the hospital back to her own house on May 11.  She was over the moon.  So, it was a no-brainer that I should draw a geranium as part of her hand-made Mother’s Day card.

I used one of Sylvia's birdies for the front of the card.

My own Mother's Day was glorious, with breakfast on the back deck, cards, calls from our kids, and a sumptuous dinner.

The month brought other opportunities for me to express my crafty side.  Two of the grandchildren of my Dear Neighbor Friend celebrated birthdays during the month, and I was pleased to make them personalized cards.  I completed my Violet Protest square on May 6 and sent it off to Maggy Hiltner, who has organized a Montana display at Honey's Café in Red Lodge.

On May 4, our governor allowed for phased re-opening of restaurants, with only 50% dining capacity and other requirements.  We gave it a week, and then thought carefully about an establishment that has the space to distance diners, and the resources to do it properly.  What a treat to eat out at the Montana Club, especially for Head Chef, who has tired of the endless cooking!

Despite the re-opening, we have continued our practice of team cooking, including biryani and naan bread on May 13, and tartlets and cauliflower fritters on May 22.

Biryani and Naan Bread

Chicken Cranberry Brie Tartlets

Cauliflower Fritters

Hopefully, all this talk of food has left you hungry for more - come back next week for part 2 of this month's re-cap!

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. 

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