Light Shine From Above - Autumn - Missoula, Montana

“God knows I was due a little Light Shining on me from Above, whether I believed in such things or not. Like most people, denying it never got in the way of relying on it. “ 

-Woody Nickel in West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge, p 75 

Looking Up - Autumn - Leaves - Missoula, Montana

“She looked up. The sky was without cloud, a dome of lightest blue filled with air, great swirls and eddies of it, which you could see — just about — if you stared long enough. She breathed in deeply, and felt the fine dry air fill her with a buoyant optimism.”

-Mma Ramotswe, p. 85 in large type edition, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, a No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novel by Alexander McCall Smith

Sun Up, Shore Bright - Peterson Lake, near Big Fork, Montana

“ …Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me 

keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be 
astonished.…”

— Mary Oliver (1935-2019), from “Messenger,” found in Mary Oliver’s collection Thirst

Autumn Sunshine Apolied - Missoula, Montana

“I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.” - Joan Miro, painter, sculptor, ceramicist

See Change - Missoula, Montana

“We've also grown to believe in the theory: when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”  -Bob Arrington, in his article Accept & Adapt, POWER & MOTORYACHT / NOVEMBER 2023

Faithful Fall Geranium - Missoula, Montana

My little porch geranium,  still faithfully blooming bright in Missoula, Montana’s cooler fall sunshine.

Autumn Urban Grasses - Helena, Montana

In front of someone else’s home, it was easy to focus on the fall beauty of these sidewalk invaders on this gorgeous blustery autumn day in Helena, Montana.

Still-green Autumn Vines - East Missoula, Montana

Marvel-worthy vine curlicues stand out against Missoula’s mountains and a first-fall-day stormy sky.

Magnificent Lowering Sky - Missoula, Montana

Before exiting Natural Grocers’ parking lot yesterday evening, I texted The Best Husband Ever to go look at the magnificent cloud forms  (right now!). This big Montana sky never ceases to amaze.

Sunlight Falling - Rattlesnake Creek, Missoula, Montana

“The second day in Oxford arrived, luminescent, the honey hues of sunlight falling from the leaves to settle on the grass like spilled paint. The air was as clear as glass and soft as cotton.”  - from Becoming Mrs Lewis by Patti Callahan, Chapter 12 

Full-Fed - Big Hole River, Near Wisdom, Montana

“ ….as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river...this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again. All as a-shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. “  -Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), The Wind in the Willows
(Thanks again to Sissie 3 for sharing meander views!)

Tamarack Display - Near St. Ignatius,, Montana

“ THE WISHES on this child’s mouth
Came like snow on marsh cranberries;
The tamarack kept something for her;
The wind is ready to help her shoes.….”
- from Helga by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

Just Pay Attention - Missoula, Montana

“It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.”
— Praying by Mary Oliver (1935-2019)

Common Things - Missoula, Montana

“One should use common words to say uncommon things.”

-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Frosted Autumn Street - Missoula, Montana

 Forgot my phone at home earlier this week - Best day ever! ....blissfully calm and productive....

Will-lessly Fall - Missoula, Montana

"Will-lessly the leaves fall,
are blown, 

 

coming at last
to the ground and to their rest.

 
Among them in their coming down

 
purposely the birds pass..."

 

-From This Day collection by Wendell Berry

 

(Blissfully read the full poem here...) 

 

Focus: Joy - Missoula, Montana

"What you focus on expands. 

 

If you believe in scarcity, you’ll have little." 

- Steve Down? from #37 in Benjamin Hardy's article "50 Ways To Live On Your Own Terms"

 

Morning Silence - Corvallis, Montana

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening
To silence..."
- From Autumn by Thomas Hood (1798-1845)
(Many thanks to Big Brother #3  for this sweeping Bitterroot Valley sunrise!)

Skiff of Snow - Missoula, Montana

Had to scrape my windshield this morning ... My "winter is coming" denial must come to an end... I suppose....if it must...I guess...it will melt off by noon, so I'm not pulling out my parka just yet!

 

Autumn Edges - Rattlesnake Creek, Missoula, Montana

“Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges.”   -Herman Melville (1819-1891)