Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Mosaic Monday #35: Montana Freedom

By the time this post is published, another Fourth of July will be history. The pop-up fireworks stalls will be shuttered. The left-over hot dogs will be cut up for lunch-time mac and cheese. The strains of America the Beautiful, performed by a myriad of orchestras to outdoor audiences, will have drifted away into the starry night.

But the pride we feel remains. The heart-swelling, tear-inducing, got-you-in-the-gut emotion lives on. I reside in a place that offers freedom on many levels: to recreate on public lands, to practice my religion without fear, to leave my house at any time and be surrounded by the splendor of God's bounty. I am so grateful, and what better way to say thanks than to show you what this has meant for me during the month of June?

MUSHROOM HUNTING

Montana folks are neighborly to start with, but when a man shares his prime mushroom gathering site, it means something. I was working my normal volunteer shift at the museum, and helping a gentleman with his historical queries. Out of the blue, he says "Do you like mushrooms?" "Why, yes," I said, wondering what this had to do with the history of the Stillwater Valley. "Morel mushrooms?" he asked. "The best," I said. And then he proceeded to give me the directions to a spot that had already yielded pounds of this pricy fungus. "Don't worry," he said. "There will still be some for you."

And boy, was he on the money. Morel mushrooms grow best after a forest fire (a silver lining if there ever was one), and I must admit a bit of skepticism when we pulled up to this view.

But within a few hours, Spousal Unit and I had gathered six pounds between the two of us, a market value of $120. Well worth the gas it cost to get there! Spousal Unit has become quite the expert on preserving this valuable commodity, from drying them on strands of embroidery thread to coating large morels in flour and freezing them (the flour prevents them from sticking together). And, by the way, he returned a week later and collected another 6 pounds by himself in less time, which is NOT a comment on my ability!

By the way, just across the road from the fire site is a meadow packed with alpine flowers. What a difference a few feet and courageous firefighters can make!

FINE DINING

Well, you have to do something with all those 'shrooms. Top a steak. Put 'em in an omelet (which is already a glorious dish seeing as it's made with farm-fresh eggs courtesy of our neighbors over the road). Make a risotto.

And if your Spousal Unit happens to go to Missoula to pick up his early birthday present and passes the Windmill Bakery on the way, he just has to snag a donut or two. What does this have to do with mushrooms? Nothing. But it sure is fine dining!

~~WORKING~~ PLAYING IT OFF

So you may be wondering how I maintain my svelte figure with all these gourmet meals. Faithful readers could answer this one: running, gardening, hiking, kayaking, and walking. It gives me great joy and peace to stroll our back 40. Joining my dear neighbor friend for a walk in the woods or a paddle around her lake burns some calories, and her delightful company is a bonus. Nature presents an ever-changing palette of plants, animals and skies. Here's a selection from the month.

All of the above pictures are from the trail camera

Upper left: Prickly rose; Upper right: Willow - not sure what type Bottom: the turquoise of Ashley Lake

This sandhill crane is "owning" my neighbor's driveway as its own personal runway

Top: Yours truly kayaking with my dear neighbor friend

Middle: Twinflower

Bottom: Bunchberry

ONE BEAR, TWO BEAR (all pictures are from trail cameras)

Top pictures appear to be a skinny yearling black bear

Bottom pictures are a LARGE black bear

Upper left: Willow now in catkin stage Upper right: dusk reflected in the lake at the bottom of our property

Bottom left: young pike was flipping about in shallow water on the WRONG side of the dam until I threw him back

Bottom right: a gift from neighbors - perfect for me!

Upper left: fawns are never far from Mom - she is just out of the frame

Upper right: Buck seeking shelter from the hail Bottom: a fine young bull elk

All above pictures from trail cameras

Some of the pictures above would not be possible without a drone (which I don't have) or a pair of rubber boots (which I now have, a marvelous gift from my dear neighbor friend). After tromping around in the woods together, she just decided it's what I needed. Isn't that what true friends are all about?

As we know, all play and no work makes Jill a dull girl. Yes, the month brought its share of garden projects. Major weeding - always! But there was more.

In a previous post, I shared the construction of our jackleg fence. In June, we added flower baskets to several sections of the fence. Chicken wire, coconut fiber, potting soil and plants. Voila!

Boy yellow marigold; Antigua mix marigold; New Look Dusty Miller;

transplants of coreopsis

Digging drainage ditches that conform to Mother Nature, as she tends to show us during major rain storms.

We completed this on June 23, 4 days before the almighty hail storm. It was not up to the task, sadly

Self-seeding can be wonderful, as in the case of this coreopsis. But it can also benefit from shaping.

Left: mid-June - a riot of growth Right: a little separation creates a sense of order

PAYING IT FORWARD

Of course, with freedom comes responsibility. At the beginning of June, I organized the clean-up of the six miles of Highway 2 closest to our neighborhood. Of course, this translates to 12 miles since BOTH SIDES of the roadway need attention. Over the course of two Saturdays, and some additional time on the part of Dear Neighbor Friend and yours truly, we collected over 110 bags of trash. My heartfelt thanks to all those who participated.

Not pictured: Dear Neighbor Friend and Yours Truly!

AND YOU?

Regardless of where you live, how have you enjoyed your freedom lately?

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.

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Mosaic Monday #34 - Hail!

Thursday began as many another day - a glorious sunrise tinting the sky all manner of pink and blue. Spousal Unit woke me to ensure I had the opportunity to absorb the majesty. And then we dozed.

A scant hour later, something else, a little less gentle and little less majestic, interrupted our sleep. Hail.

It was brief, but it was prolific and loud. We gave up any attempt to get back to sleep a second time and got on with our day. With questionable weather, this meant overdue house cleaning (yay!). On one of my trips to the garage, I noticed that the hail lingered well into the afternoon (see it in the valley of the roof?). I set off for my afternoon run with a few puffy clouds for company. Precisely 56 minutes later, I returned to the house accompanied by ominous clouds and thunder punctuated by lightning. And then the heavens opened.

In less than 20 minutes, an inch of liquid precipitation fell, and that does not count the hail. We watched the spectacle in disbelief, awe and little bit of despair. Check out this video of the hail accumulating below a valley in the roof.

Toward the end of Nature's tirade, it looked like this.

Would you like a close-up?

And why the "despair", you might ask? Our landscaping, built with "drought-tolerant plants", was not designed for torrential downpours, so this is what happens.

Gravity puts a stream wherever it makes sense

Dark material - "mill mud" - was carried onto gravel paths,

marring the clean look. And it's hard to get out of the gravel!

Some plants lost leaves and flowers

And can I tell you how different this is from last June? This time last year we were watering every three days because we'd had no rain since the beginning of the month.

Of course, this is nothing in comparison to what people have had to deal with in terms of real flooding. As I scooped up the mill mud and dumped it back in the rightful spot, I imagined homeowners scraping mountains of mud out of their homes, all the while piling useless furniture and soiled belongings on the curb to be taken away.

Yes, my moment of "despair" shall pass. The next morning, I went kayaking with my dear neighbor friend. The calm of the lake stood in sharp relief against the clattering and banging of the mighty storm just 14 hours earlier. A veritable balm for my soul.

Happy Canada Day to my friends north of the border, and Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans!

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Mosaic Monday #33 - Roses, Rainbows and Reflections

Wild Rose

Our first back-country camping adventure is in the rearview mirror, and as with many events in the past, it already looks better from this perspective!

Don't mistake me, we enjoyed many aspects of it, but the swarms of mosquitoes and the encounter with the black bear are not among them. But as often happens, I am ahead of myself!

We left the house at 8.30 am and enjoyed a leisurely drive along the North Fork Road to the Polebridge Ranger Station to pay our remaining reservation fees and to watch the 30-minute backcountry video. (We could afford to take our time since the hike is only 5 miles.) And what do you know? The Station was not staffed Monday morning - and a quick look around the grounds scared up nothing more than a pair of chipmunks hopeful for a handout. We drove on, secure in the knowledge that we would have another chance to settle our debt on the way out of the Park.

On our way to the trailhead, we realized that another ranger station is located near it, and hoped to find a ranger there. No such luck. But we did discover a roomy restroom that had been freshly cleaned - always a bonus in the woods! After parking, we began our final preparations. Another car arrived and two couples emerged; they shared our destination, but only as a day hike.

The sun was shining and a light breeze stirred the trees as we shouldered our packs and took our first steps down the trail.

Quickly, I was struck by the wild roses in bloom. To the left, to the right - all along the trail. Mariposa lilies dotted the spaces in between, and sweet pea clusters peeked out from the rampant foliage.

Left: Mariposa Lily and Baldhip Rose Right: Sweet Pea

Bunchberry is a low-growing perennial with a woody base - if it reminds you of a dogwood, it should - it's part of the dogwood family! Stands of yellow penstemon waved to us from the prairie-like openings that were a feature of the first mile of the trail. We walked high above Logging Creek and could hear its rushing waters through the canyon to our right. In the distance, mountains with lingering snow reminded us that winter just left us and will be soon to return.

Upper left: Yellow Penstemon Upper right: Bunchberry

Hind foot of a Black Bear

After a couple of miles, the trail enters a thick, brushy section that retains moisture even during the warmest days of spring. You betcha - the perfect breeding ground for Culicidae (mosquitoes). And the mud of the trail reveals every creature that has passed that way - human, wolf, bear ...

But it wasn't the bear paw prints or even the bear scat that made us hoof it the remaining three miles without a stop - it was Culicidae. Even a pause for a photo brought a cloud of them onto every exposed piece of skin. Just not worth it!

Fortunately, lakefront must be expensive land for mosquitoes, 'cause they were scarce at the campground. We had our pick of three sites, and within 30 minutes had our camp set up. Tent assembled, sleeping pads and pillows inflated, down sleeping bags in place. Backpacks hung from the provided bear pole. Good thing, because the sky was ominous and thunder rolled across the lake with increasing frequency. It was all the excuse we needed to doze in the tent while a light rain pattered on the fly sheet.

We emerged to clearing skies as the weather moved off to the east. A cup of coffee revived us while a gourmet dinner of chili mac reconstituted itself. After our meal, Man with Hat tried his hand at fly fishing while I managed the campfire and wandered the campground, snapping rainbows and reflections. Responding to a shout of joy, I rushed to capture a fish picture, but it slipped the hook. Fortunately, another was snagged in no time, and both were attracted by flies that he had tied himself!

Dessert was Dark Chocolate Cheesecake, and I also roasted some marshmallows over the glowing embers of the fire. An altogether satisfactory end to the day!

As the sun began to set, the mosquitoes picked up, and it was time to turn in. I don't think I've had 8.30 pm as a bedtime since I was a teen! Sleeping was quite comfortable, even if turning over was noisy from the inflatable pad and pillow. Early to bed, early to rise - my phone read 6.30 am when I awoke to the birds singing, and decided it was useless to try and get back to sleep.

Man with Hat had left the tent shortly before me and already had the fire lit, and coffee underway. I am so blessed! The sun was working hard to break through the clouds while he fished, and I watered transplanted trees near the cooking site.

Sign says "Please help Glacier National Park restore this degraded area by watering the native plants we have

planted here."

More coffee accompanied our breakfast oatmeal, and then it was time to pack up camp. By 9.20 we were on the trail, and this time I was well-prepared with my waterproof jacket and mosquito head cover. I could still hear the whining buzz of the winged ones, but they couldn't find an available capillary anywhere!

So happy I could pause and take these photos. Upper left: Canada Violet Middle: Sticky Geranium

Upper right: Bog Orchid Bottom: Bear Grass

Halfway back, I thought I heard a bear grunting, and said as much to Man with Hat. Sure enough, shortly thereafter we saw an adult black bear on the trail 30 yards ahead of us, heading in our direction. We went back the way we came until we could no longer see it, and then went off the trail on the downhill side since it appeared it wanted to use the trail. We shouted all the while and had our bear spray at the ready. After 5 minutes or so, we worked our way back to the trail and it was nowhere to be seen … So glad our first real bear encounter ended well ...

Left: Groundsel Right: Gooseberry

The pumping adrenaline took some time to wear off, and by then we were into the dry section of the trail and could stop for a drink and a snack. Before we knew it, we reached the trailhead and it felt so good to sponge off and change into dry clothes in the coolness and mosquito-free environment of the ranger station bathroom.

We tried to pay our camping fee on the way out of the Park, but the young ranger staffing the station said "This is my first day and I am not set up yet to accept cash or credit cards." Oh well. So we contributed to the local economy another way by spending the money on baked goodies at the Polebridge Mercantile.

As is our custom, we stopped at a watering hole on the way home. What is it about hiking and camping that makes everything taste so good?

Now that we're home, a friend told us that no-one camps at Logging Lake before July 1 due to mosquitoes. Maybe now I understand why that backcountry application was so quickly approved!

Mosaic Monday

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Mosaic Monday #32 - Rain Drop Dancing

A visit to Spokane is not complete without a walk along the Spokane River, so that is how we began Day Two of our mini-vacation (see Day One). Throughout our visit, I was very impressed with the trail system and its landscaping. These are pleasant, green spaces that belie the fact you are in the middle of a bustling city.

Our meandering had an objective - the Davenport Hotel for his and her massages. And didn't I direct us to the wrong hotel? Spokane boasts 4 hotels that bear the name Davenport, and I mistakenly thought the Davenport Grand housed the spa. We should have been at the Historic Davenport Hotel. Good thing we had plenty of time - even with a speed walk covering 7 blocks, we still had an opportunity to enjoy a glass of champagne before the spa service.

When we emerged from the hotel, we found rain had begun to fall, scuppering our plans for a thorough walk around downtown. Based on my past work-related visits to town, I knew it was only a few blocks to the indoor Mall, so we set that as our new destination. It was serendipity that we snagged a table on the "bridge" of the Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, with a three-story high view of the street outside and the atrium of the mall. And the dishes we chose were an unexpected delight for the taste buds.

Upper right: Buffalo Chicken with Gorgonzola Grits

Lower right: Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Left: The Festival lured us to town for this particular weekend

By the end of our meal, the rain had eased and we decided to explore river-side Huntington Park. Again, the layout of the Park next to the Falls struck me - simple lines with gorgeous plants, sculptures and seating spaces. It was outdone only by the Falls - if you watch the video below, you will see the Park and the Falls, deafening throughout.

For thousands of years, tribal families gathered at "Fast Water" to

fish for salmon.

My blogging buddy Kit at A Montana Life raves about several of her favorite spots in Spokane, and we took her advice and visited Boo Radleys, Atticus for cake and coffee, and then Auntie's Bookstore. It was all I could do to resist buying a dozen cute items in Atticus, from home décor to nifty coffee mugs to cards and books. We held ourselves to a bag of coffee - you can never have too much black gold!

At the book store, we inquired about outside seating, with an adult beverage in mind. One recommendation was Zola, and I was sold as soon as it came into view since it had a patio and umbrellas - I like to absorb the sun, but Spousal Unit prefers the shade. I couldn't resist jumping up to take pictures of this VW bus parked across the street. It was then that I noticed the dark clouds gathering to the east. We strolled the remaining blocks to our hotel, and just in time - the heavens opened! On the news that night they reported streets flooded in close proximity to Zola.

The next morning, the rain continued, and we seized the opportunity to have a relaxing morning in the hotel. The desk in the room looked out over the river, and the space had ample light to engage in some drawing and stitching. Then it was off to the Flour Mill across town, which beckoned with its promise of specialty shops, and the Ethiopian restaurant we found there was a pleasant surprise. (Not to mention some truffles from Chocolate Apothecary.) We had time to squeeze in an afternoon movie before meeting one of my former work colleagues for a drink at the Elk. A couple of hours later, we shared a bear hug before our Uber pulled up to the curb. Dropped at Bridge Press Cellars, we sampled wines while listening to the Jesse Quandt band. The gig was over before we were ready to call it a night, so we dodged the rain drops for a couple of blocks - Zola again! The reggae beat was thumping, with an enthusiastic audience working it out on the dance floor. But our dancing wasn't over when we left the place - the wet stuff still fell from the sky, and we found ourselves hurdling curbs, jumping puddles and giggling like little kids all the way back to the hotel. No-one would have mistaken us for the cast of "Singin' In the Rain"!

NOTE TO ALL MOSAIC MONDAY PARTICIPANTS: My visits to some of your blogs will be delayed since I will be on a camping trip Monday and Tuesday!

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.