Pebble Heart Under Ice - Missoula, Montana

“…behind the mask of ice that people wear, there beats a heart of fire.” -  Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light

May your Valentine's Day be happy - because it's simpler just to be happy.

Lichen Love - Missoula, Montana

"...lichen (tiny but relentless!)..."
Quote from A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson
 
Another wee nature heart, this one found with a lacey collar.
 
In case you didn't notice, I've got a theme going towards Valentine's Day.  Tune in tomorrow for the next installation!
 

Heart Print - Missoula, Montana

As found in the sidewalk, a little heart imprint smaller than the palm of my hand.
(And no, I don't walk around staring ahead of my feet, letting traffic dodge me. Honest!)

“The important people in our lives leave imprints. 

They may stay or go in the physical realm, but they are always there in your heart, because they helped form your heart. 

There's no getting over that.” - David Levithan,  from Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Geared Down - Missoula, Montana

If you're gearing up for a romantic Valentine's Day (this Saturday, people), check out the luscious love poetry Janet's posted this week at Another Porch. 

A small sample to whet your appetite: 

"Surge of something sacred and sweet

Stuns her; spills summer-slow, sigh-soft

Whispers wake wellsprings where want wafts

Wild within to a boom-boom beat..."

-  from "Ah, Love" by Janet Martin

Just like chocolate, you'll want more. 

Click here to keep feeding.

Unintended Canvas - Missoula, Montana

Fences stand with great intent - 
to keep in, 
to keep out, 
to keep safe,
to shield...

And despite focused planning, they may stand, too,
as an unintended canvas 
for those who subscribe to these words from a renowned ponderer: 
“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”  - Henry David Thoreau

Iced Landscape - Missoula, Montana

Beauty invoked by weather shifts can be found in all manner of places - including a curb gutter. Classic scenery drama  right there alongside my boots - soaring mountain peaks, plunging ravines, wind-gusted clouds, and a brooding storm system hovering over yonder ridgetop . It launched me toward something near  to remembered childhood delight found in Jack Frost's intricate window art next to my chilly vinyl school bus seat on a winter morning. It pays - in simple happiness dividends - to keep your eyes wide open for life's smallest graces.

Beneath - Missoula, Montana

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.” -James Oppenheim (1882-1932)