Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Violet Protest

Showing posts with label Violet Protest. Show all posts

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Mosaic Monday #123: Just Another Day

Well, it's happened. Retirement has become so engrained that I have not written a retirement post for a whole year. My retirement anniversary (March 3, 2017) even passed me by without a second thought. Well. This will not do!!! I will have to throw my own little party, in my own little way. Hmmm ...

A party is not a party without some music. How about some songs to represent the last four years? And maybe a few photos for eye candy?

Reflecting on my retirement, the first word I wrote was FREEDOM. Despite the passage of four years, I can recall my desperation to be free as if it were yesterday. What does freedom mean to you? For me, it means setting my own agenda, and in a way that is consistent with my beliefs. As I have learned these last four years, it doesn't mean I won't work. It doesn't mean I won't have obligations. But it does mean I get to make those choices!

"Roam" by the B-52s is a song that reverberates with joy and abandon. When Spousal Unit and I first started dating, this song was an anthem for us. We dreamed about "rocking through the wilderness ... roam around the world ... without anything but the love we feel." We live that dream every day.

Since we have moved to Montana, we have been blessed to make many new friends. Neighbors. Mountain Ambassadors. Fellow volunteers. And, of course, I have "met" many new blogging buddies!

Man with Hat haying with Dear Neighbor Friend

Four years ago, I could never have imagined that I would find my best friend in Montana, and yet that is exactly what happened. I am grateful every day for Dear Neighbor Friend. Whether it's kayaking, cross-country skiing or just chatting over coffee, each moment is a blessing.

The way I feel about this place and the people is expressed well in the Zac Brown song, "Homegrown". "Why would I ever leave? Cause I know, I got some good friends that live down the street ... Live in a small town where it feels like home, I've got everything I need, and nothin' that I don't"

One of things I love about Montana is its history. It is everywhere you look. Vintage buildings. Rusting farm implements. And the people. If you ask, you will hear their stories. And sometimes, those stories come to you in unexpected moments. When I visited the Whitefish Historical Museum in October 2017, I had no idea that a spur-of-the-moment notion to volunteer there would bring so many unanticipated outcomes. Such as the day I took a call from Janet Monk, a member of a long-time Montana family, who told me about the train that used to run within 1.5 miles of our house. I have since visited the unused railway grade with my Dear Neighbor Friend. The things you learn when you start to ask questions!

In the "Canadian Railroad Trilogy", Gordon Lightfoot captures my sentiment so completely. This landscape before the trains came. The vision and enterprise of the men who built the railroads and the industries to support them. The blood, sweat and tears of the laborers who were the true conquerors.

The Museum was also my bridge to the Whitefish Winter Carnival since the director recommended me to the board. A blessing and a curse of my personality is that I see lots about our world that could benefit from my help. But if I want to have that freedom I wrote about at the beginning of this post, I have to choose carefully where I invest my time. I am sure my thinking on this will continue to evolve, but at the moment, I give my precious hours to PRESERVING THE EARTH, PRESERVING TRADITIONS and ENCOURAGING A FOCUS ON RESPECT FOR OUR FELLOW MAN. I have thoroughly enjoyed finding a new niche and a voice in the world of retirement.

Here I have included just a few photos that represent these themes. Winter Carnival is about traditions. The trash pick-up is just one of several activities that I hope will preserve our environment for future generations.

I have written before about the Violet Protest (August 1, 2020), (May 31, 2020), (March 8, 2020), a public effort to support core American values such as respect for the other, citizenship, compromise, courage, compassion, candor, creativity, and country over party and corporate influence.

I was thrilled to contribute two cross-stitch squares, while my Mom crocheted two squares. "Whether we knit, crochet, quilt, or embroider these squares — through this social action, and from every corner of America; we as makers of all political persuasions, believe we can employ our willing spirit and our talents to contribute to healing divisions that threaten our country." Ann Morton, founder The Phoenix Art Museum will display 9,000 of the squares from March 10 through September 5. It is not too late to send in squares - go to this link for more information.

The song "Stand Up" by Sugarland speaks to me about our collective responsibility to be there for others - 'light a fire for the silent and the brokenhearted'.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you are probably surprised that I have not mentioned nature yet. Have no doubt, it was the second word I wrote down during my musings about retirement! I only have to look out my window to see nature - plants, wildlife, the clouds in the sky, the wind blowing in the pines. I relish this aspect of retirement, and I try hard not to take it for granted. In my moments of deeper reflection, it has dawned on me that I am seeking NEW EXPERIENCES. And for that, there are not enough hours in the day for all the things I want to do. We keep learning about other opportunities, such as forest service cabins we can rent. And we are certainly looking forward to the return of international travel -- we have not been to the UK to visit my in-laws since the pandemic started, and we also owe #1 Son his graduation trip to Grand Cayman!

"What we live for" by American Authors is a bouncy song that embodies that going-on-a-road-trip, family vacation vibe. Yep, this is what we live for!

I hope you have enjoyed my little retirement anniversary party! Maybe next year I can tell you about a real-life gathering - wouldn't it be fun to mark my five years with food and music and beverages and actual PEOPLE?!?

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.

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Mosaic Monday #91: Savoring Summer

Shaking my head in disbelief, I begin to pen this post about July 2020. How can it already be August 2? If you’re like me, August rouses memories of back-to-school shopping, and last-minute attempts to collect on all of summer’s unfulfilled promises. A few days ago, I was weeding along the roadside, and a neighbor paused to chat while walking her dog. She listed the summer visitors she had been hosting, and then switched gears to describe the fall activities for her kids. “And then it will be Christmas,” she said. It might have been the heat and the dazzling sun, but I almost passed out. Christmas? Stop the bus, I want to get off! It feels like summer has just arrived, and it may disappear again with the blink of an eye. Even Whitefish Mountain Resort joined the conspiracy by sending out an invitation for past employees to re-apply for winter positions. Really? So, this post is my deliberate attempt to drag my feet, to savor summer, to deny that fall is around the corner.

It has been a full month, when I pause to reflect. Three hikes plus one over-night camping trip. Several doctor’s appointments (all is well) and a lengthy visit to the dentist for a crown. Volunteering at the museum. Coffee chit-chats and kayaking with my Dear Neighbor Friend. Ongoing job search support with #1 Son. And of course, joyful intervals in my beloved garden. Activity seemingly makes the hands of the clock launch into overdrive. Occasionally, I long to simply lounge on the deck, gazing out on the beauty right in front of me. When these feelings occur, I rationalize that the season of “lounging” will come of its own accord, when I can no longer be so active. And I jump back into the fray!

Non-human animals have it much simpler, and maybe we (you know I mean me) would be wise to take some lessons from them.

First: take a nap in the heat of the day (not my strong suit)

Second: Eat well (A+ on this one thanks to Head Chef)

Third: Avoid predators (in my case, it's mosquitoes and ticks that threaten my health, and dare I mention the c-word?)

On July 21, I was working in the garden and the badger strolled within 5 feet of me. I was caught by surprise and didn't get him on video. But wouldn't you know he stuck around most of the afternoon, apparently hunting chipmunks, and for your viewing pleasure, I have two videos below. Don't worry, no death and carnage in either one. But if you watch the second one closely, you will see a chipmunk escape the foliage and run under the deck, literally under my feet and then the badger follows.

Fourth: Hang out with buddies (COVID has put a bit of a kibosh on this; I've relished my coffee/kayaking dates with Dear Neighbor Friend, and we invited a couple for dinner on two separate occasions.)

Our back forty is a popular location with the swallows given the lake and the multitudes of flying insects that congregate there. A dead aspen has become a gathering spot for the swallows, until something triggers them to all take off at once, as you can see in this video below.

Fifth: stay hydrated (I don't have any animal pix for this one. And I don't think alcohol and coffee count toward the 90 ounces of liquid I ought to be drinking ... maybe I should move on ....)

Sixth: look after your offspring (this is a joy, not a "task". We are so excited #1 Son is moving to Montana while he continues his job search, and #1 Daughter and her boyfriend are visiting in August. The family reunited!)

July is the month when most plants in Montana progress rapidly from leaves to blooms to seeds. As many times as I have walked our property and the surrounding land, I still make new discoveries. And I rejoice in seeing old favorites as well.

My garden is also flourishing; you can expect another post on that soon. For now, I am tickled “yellow” with the success of the yellow penstemon since in previous summers it seemed weak and prone to insect infestations. Sometimes, gardeners have plants that tend to crowd out others, and we have to actively restrain them. I am not quite ready to do that with the coreopsis (the yellow plants in the pictures below), but I can see the time is coming. Just look at how prolific they are and all from three plants at the time the landscaping was installed.

I have managed to tear myself away from the outdoors long enough to draw a birthday card for a close friend in the UK, and for my father-in-law. Note: if you are planning to send anything overseas, allow plenty of time. Two weeks passed before my friend received her drawing, and it was three weeks for my father-in-law. Yikes! I was also proud and honored to have my Violet Protest square included in a display of Montana-made squares at Honey’s Café in Red Lodge, Montana. Organized by Maggy Hiltner, the installation features 24 squares that will be forwarded to Phoenix to join squares from all over the U.S. for the main Violet Protest organized by Ann Morton. My second square is halfway complete and will be ready in time for the November 15, 2020 deadline. You can still participate!

No summer is complete without a “campfire” and S’Mores. As faithful readers know, I always take the makings for S’Mores on our camping trips, so this summer “promise” has been partly fulfilled. But you may be shocked to learn that we had not yet used our firepit this summer! That was rectified last weekend, and at the end of the night, Spousal Unit said “We need to do this more often.” In Montana, it’s never too hot in the evening for a fire – as soon as the sun begins to dip, the temperatures drop dramatically and the stars blink on. You are likely to spot several satellites tracing their way across the sky. Night sounds are distinct, and identifying them (or letting your imagination run wild) is entertaining. That evening, we saw a crane fly up from the lake and land at the tippy-top of a pine tree some distance from our house. So special.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, what remains on your wish list for the summer? I am dreaming about swimming, attending an outdoor concert, and a picnic at the lake. Oh, and definitely more ice cream!