Striped Grain Fields, Almost In Canada - Near Shelby, Montana

Happy Canada Day!

Today's photo was taken on a recent trip north, about a half hour before we crossed into the Motherland (i.e. Canada, at least for me; The Best Husband Ever exploits this for wisecrackery - and still manages to keep his TBHE title!).

Some people seer flat-and-boring when they travel through the farmlands of northern Montana and southern Alberta. (You can imagine the backseat chatter: "Are we there yet?"; "What do you mean, 'there's not another rest stop for an hour-&-a-half'?!") 

But I see miles upon gently rolling miles of serenity - all the way to the far, big-skied horizon - especially later in the summer when the sunlight catches the tops of wind-waved tall grain. It's the same calm I feel looking out in ocean waves, or at a wide stretch of river or lake.  Interestingly, neuroscience supports this effect - read more here. And then get outdoors this weekend to find a serenity scene of your very own! 
(Or even a serenity hammock will do.)

Big Sky Cattle Guard - Livingston, Montana

You know you're in Montana when: the Interstate exit ramp has a cattle guard imbedded just before the stop sign. 

For the unfamiliar, cattle guards are often located at critical roadway junctures amidst wide open grazing lands. 
Click here for slightly more information. 

Please note: Today's photo is not that particular cattle guard - nor is it our Interstate.