Yarn Shop Ladies of Style - Downtown Missoula, MT

Downtown Missoula shopkeepers display not just their wares but also some fabulous imaginations. A city stroll provides mental inspiration along with the exercise.
If you're yarn-ing (ha ha) for new knitting inspiration, it doesn't get any better than Loopy Knit/Crochet.

Old Garage, Hamilton MT

I kid you not - this photo was taken the day before our first winter storm hit Hamilton. It’s a true saying in Montana, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

24 Days to Christmas… Are You Ready?

This micro-scene from Helena, MT, brings to mind a holly, jolly Christmas.
 If you’re ever in our State capital, make cozy stop at Fireside Coffee for - obviously - your coffee & tea fix, or for soup & a hearty sandwich. It’s a cozy place that hosts a local knitter’s gathering & displays local artists' work for sale. For me, it was a welcome respite from the over-the-top-ness of our daughter's cheer competition.

High, Wide, & Handsome - Sunset Montana Style

The rolling prairie of central Montana features a sky that starts pretty much at your feet, meaning the sunsets last longer, and are bigger and bolder than what you'll see further west in the mountains. If you're heading West or North, Vaughn is a great little place to stop for fuel & a stretch of the legs.

Windswept Hills, East of Billings, MT

The light was so cool & clear when I took this photo - a perfect day to drive across a big stretch of God's country. Spare views like this make me think of the first homesteaders, working so hard to keep their claim, living miles & miles from any neighbor, keeping company with the wind & the wide Montana sky.

Cool, Clear, Water

A network of irrigation ditches played a huge part in the early growth of the Bitterroot Valley, providing water for the apple orchards & other crops, & advertising fodder to lure restless souls westward.

A Few of My Favourite Things: Rocks & Weathered Wood

For  a good part of my life, I've been picking up nifty rocks. In my younger years, I wasn't allowed to take them home. Adulthood has freed the fetish.  I remember finding a couple flat, slatey stones - perfect additions to my emerging walkway - on a river walk with my muscley nephew, M., & convincing him that we could both easily carry one back, since we were less than a mile from the car.

Weathered grey wood evokes steadfastness, perseverance - aged homesteads, still standing; cedar-shingled beach cottages, shelters from coastal winds. 
The old cedar plank pictured here was a gift from previous owners of our little Hamilton house. It's a great 3-season place to sit & practise guitar, enjoying the front-yard flowers, saying "hi" to strolling neighbors.