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07 March 2015

Old And New - Missoula, Montana

I love the adjacent abiding of old and new. (Hmmm... is this partly why I love The Best Husband Ever? Haha!) Walking through a town or city, this juxtaposition in architecture hints toward a common story of the life of the place. Stately & ornate founding buildings often occupied ample surrounding real estate, befitting their original importance to the region's commerce or government. Generations later, infill construction made room for growth and trail-blazing enterprise near the city's core. On a downtown stroll, I gain appreciation of city fathers who embraced progress yet recognized the value of existing historic structures. Conversely, it's a bleak sight that greets a traveller to any town which razed all the old to make way for the new. Especially if the new was of the 1970s mass-production institutional variety. Vast stretches of low-slung aluminum-framed windows do little to inspire the soul. These did not weather well under the test of time, unlike the more place-conscious modern design of, say Frank Lloyd Wright
Timeline patterns can also be seen in a neighbourhood stroll - Victorian farmhouses granted a little room to Craftsman  bungalows, leaving plenty of ground to squeeze in a wave of ranch ramblers, now all sharing space in a single block, albeit with slightly adjusted lot lines.
Your walk around the block takes on a whole new aspect when you ponder the why-and-when-and-who stories behind each structural style. Just don't ponder too long at any one house - we don't want folks thinking of you as Creepy Stalker Neighbour.

06 March 2015

Dappled Sky - Superior, Montana


"Glory be to God for dappled things – 
   For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;..." - from 'Pied Beauty' by Gerard Manley Hopkins

04 March 2015

03 March 2015

Less Difficult - Missoula, Montana

“There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you.” 
- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

02 March 2015

Short-sighted Prognosis - Missoula, Montana

Ahh, the perceived wisdom strewn amongst rooftops and back alleys! And then there are those glass-half-full brand of folk who insist the future's so bright, as they put on their shades in faith. 
Me, I just find that daily thankfulness for small niceties- say, adequate food and shelter and clothing - puts a whole new spin on things. (Repeat as needed.)

01 March 2015