Winter Sleeper - Missoula, Montana

"Gen closed his eyes, leaned forward, and put his head on his knees. 
Sleep was a country for which he could not obtain a visa.
 'Commas,' he said through a yawn, 'pause the sentence and separate ideas.'" 

- Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, p. 210

(Forgive the slight stretch on picture-quote pairing, but I've been sitting on that lovely middle sentence for such a looong time...)
 

Wintry Quiet Things 1 - Missoula, Montana

"...We are quiet now

The deeds we’ve rendered to this day

Are like small seeds in the ground

Eventually they’ll have their say..."

- from Quiet by Janet Martin

Stop by Another Porch...A Poetry Blog for more lovely verse - perfect with your daily cuppa!

Transforming - Missoula, Montana

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? - J.B. Priestly (1894-1984)

Take a peek at the difference being made in lives in Sri Lanka at JourneysWithGod.com .

Memory Stirs - Missoula, Montana

"I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy."- Hamlin Garland (1860-1940), McClure's, February, 1899

Like Moments Of Time - Vaughn,Montana

"Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away." - Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD)

And so, we pause to savour small beauties while in their sphere, whether they be of time or of what surrounds us.

Winter Nest, Missoula, Montana

Things can be blown hither and yon from disparate beginnings, yet wind up cozily nested.
This puts me in mind of treasured friendships. Kindred spirits, in Anne of Green Gables speak, may grow up next door to each other, or they may start out lives in whole other countries only to wind up with hearts knit tight as those of the best kind of sisters. One of my favourite promises is that God puts the solitary in families. He designed us to be a part of warmth and love much bigger than we can manufacture on our own. Often we have to break out of lonely comfort zones to see that happen. Sometimes we find family when we reach out to someone else who is alone.
My mother was a great one for enlarging the family boundaries. She never hesitated to say, “Join us!“ to those hovering on the fringes. Christmas and Thanksgiving were the ultimate occasions to press into service all the dining table leaves and add some version of a table on the end, all united by creamy tablecloths, lace layered over solid. And there was always plenty of both food and laughter to go around, regardless of the economy at home or at large.

Pining for Spring, Lincoln, Montana

Lincoln, Montana, is a timely stopping point when we drive north to see family in Canada. The town is basically in the middle of a mountain forest. So, on a ten-minute leg-stretching stroll, you breathe in plenty of fresh piney air, and you never know what you'll see if you're looking. Just watch our for the deer loitering in front yards.