Barred Blossoms - Missoula, Montana

"The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, journal entry for August 18, 1831

Through The Fence - Missoula, Montana

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them." 

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Daisy Chatter - Missoula, Montana

"...Said the other, little daisy, 

"I am very well content

To live simply in the meadow 

where the sun and rain are sent..."

- from Two Little Daisies by Gertrude Tooley Buckingham (1880-1964?)

Spring-Scented Pine - Missoula, Montana

"...and what pushed

and drove and held me;

jubilee leap-

years,

rush of pine scent (once upon a time),

the unlicensed conviction

there ought to be another way

of saying

this."

- from Glottal Stop:101 Poems by Paul Celan, page 100

Spring Rains - Corvallis, Montana

Montana weather is notoriously - and sometimes drastically - mercurial, these early May days being a perfect illustration. 

Saturday and Sunday beamed forth a sunny 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Monday's skies closed in to eke out a soggy 43 degrees, with overnight lows dropping below freezing - which delightfully translates to snow in mountain tops hidden behind clouds.
Last week, a recent Montana transplant from more temperate climes confessed that our warming days were enticing her to plant flower and vegetable starts; I urged her to wait, since spring is not a sure thing until it's pretty much summer.

Here's hoping that she and all the other optimistic weekend gardeners covered their tender new plantings. I'm just thrilled to skip watering grass seed tossed out in a fit of Saturday yard improvement!

Mason Jar, White Lilacs - Missoula, Montana

"Then I stood for a few moments, breathing in the soft, warm air that was charged with the scent of white lilacs below."

- Angus Wilson (1913-1991)

Bursting Pinks - Missoula, Montana

Happy, thankful day to all who nurture and love unreservedly and listen with great attention to the smallest concerns. 

May you be refreshed and recharged to continue in the good work that is entrusted to you.