Sweetgrass Hills - Central-North Montana

Even though this is pure southern Alberta sky, the hazy Sweetgrass Hills on the distant horizon are all Montana - which qualifies this pic to be posted here, according to my expert panel (of me, myself, & I, with outside consulting by Sis #3).

Cupcakes As Far As Eye Can See, Missoula, Montana

The school colours of recent family graduates translated to some seriously staining cupcake frosting.

My mother didn’t bake cupcakes, that I can recall. She routinely baked muffins, which are shaped the same, but have no frosting and are delicious in a more robust fashion.
Thinking about my mum's hearty muffins, I consider how, in many ways, I had an idyllic childhood. (In other areas, therapy has been invaluable - but that’s another saga!)
On the food front, our childhood featured a tremendous jump start to health. Home baked bread, cookies, and lemon meringue pies to die for. Living farm-to-table before it was ever marketing lingo - milk from our own cow, Blackie; veggies from our massive garden; a hundred chickens and a beef in the freezer. (Thankfully, we had a chicken plucking machine to streamline a particularly tedious chore. Envision a large sanding belt, but with hundreds of rubber fingers. Good times!)
I was in middle school before I ever heard of mushrooms coming out of a tin can - on a good year, we harvested 5 gallon buckets at my grandpa’s farm. Same with wild blueberries - I spent quite a few summer mornings wondering how my Ukrainian baba wasn’t roasting in her long-sleeved sweater as we all filled endless ice cream pails with tiny wild blueberries. And all winter, the fruits of summer graced the supper table with reminders of sweet, balmy days. This was how you managed with 7 kids and plenty of acreage in rural Alberta.

First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park, Ulm, Montana

Traveling home from Alberta, Canada, last week, I bought a couple pieces of chicken from Quigley's Quickstop in Ulm, Montana, then headed west a few miles to enjoy my picnic at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. (Side note: ants do not stop for crispy fried chicken crumbs.)

Grill Lines, Hamilton, Montana

In this week's travels around Alberta, Canada, I noticed signs along our route for hot rod meets. These sparked me to review more pics from the car show during Daly Days in Hamilton, Montana. It's funny how much I enjoy the classic curves and smooth lines, because I don't know diddly about cars.

Wild Rose, Present and Future, Missoula, Montana

The wild rose has been among my favourite flowers since childhood. A delicate blossom housing an honest, old-world rose fragrance, Rosa acicularis is the Provincial Flower of Alberta, Canada. I remember breathing their scent during childhood summer rambles, braving prickles to pick short-stemmed, miniature bouquets for my mum or big sisters, who always found a small glass or a teacup.