Vanilla Smell (but don’t taste…) - Ponderosa Pine - Kootenai Creek, Stevensville, Montana

“…a smell … likened to vanilla or butterscotch exudes from the cracks between slabs of bark on the tree, creating a unique type of Rocky Mountain aromatherapy.” - Katherine Court in Field Notes: Ponderosa Pine Bark. (Learn a LOT more from the Montana Natural History Centre!)

Complex Simplicity - Missoula, Montana

"The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity."
-Rev. Douglas Horton (1891-1968)

Space To Grow - Missoula, Montana

"Rilke wrote: 'These trees are magnificent, but even more magnificent is the sublime and moving space between them, as though with their growth it too increased." - Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962) The Poetics Of Space

They're moving about - and moving a whole lotta eyeglasses - in Sri Lanka; see the updates at JourneysWithGod.com .

Easy Climbing - South of Helena, Montana

“The vision must be followed by the venture. 

It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.” - Vance Havner (1901-1986)

(Tune in tomorrow for the stepped up view. 

Same bat time, same bat channel.) 

Lofty, East Missoula,Montana

Today is Boxing Day - which, admittedly, is not widely recognized in Montana, save by a nostalgic few transplants from across the northern border. (Sadly, laughter is a consistent response to my repeated suggestion that my office observe the 12/26 holiday to show solidarity with our sister Canadian companies.) Regardless, the lofty intent of the day is celebrated by the big-hearted many who BOX up Christmas bounty and cheer to share with others who need a reminder of the hope that is Christmas.
May our hearts and eyes be open year-round to act on the intent of this day.

Picnic Blanket, Pattee Canyon, Missoula, Montana

One of my big sisters (who shall remain unidentified so as to provoke family speculation) gently informed me last night that the pine bark shots were great, but tolerances allowed for maybe only one more photo in the series. This was her opinion even after I explained my inspiration gleaned from an Ansel Adams exhibit hosted by the Missoula Art Museum. A take-away from that viewing was that he didn’t care if several close-up photos were of the same foliage subject, each capturing a slight difference in detail or mood or shift of light. Apparently, if Ansel Adams liked something about a photo, he put it out there. And obviously, some people got what he was trying to convey because those series were up on display, provoking the rest of us to enjoy beauty in the quiet details. But I will heed the advice given, because my mum said I have to listen to my big sisters. Too bad the bossy odds are against me, with three of them and just the one me! (Now that might generate a comment - or three!)

Lofty Moss, Pattee Canyon, Missoula, Montana

In the historical novel, “Every Fixed Star“, author Jane Kirkpatrick describes women in the 1800s harvesting a specific variety of moss, then soaking, shaping and drying it for winter food which, reconstituted in the middle of a cold winter, was considered quite tasty. Imagine that.  Actually, imagine it and then commence being very thankful.
Throughout the story, she also explores the concept of metier, a French word meaning vocation or forte, but with strong shades of finding work to which one is best suited. Having recently been through a fairly major up-heaving transition in my own life, I was drawn to the repeated reflection on metier in the lives of her characters. So far, I’ve come to think that, for many, the search is ongoing, flowing with times and seasons. And in the midst of these, we need to be fully present and give ourselves grace to appreciate the here and now.

Ponderosa Pine, Teller Wildlife Refuge, Corvallis, Montana

Did you know that ponderosa pines can smell like really good vanilla? Get your nose right up to the cracks in the bark - ignore odd looks from passing hikers - & take a big sniff.  I always think the bigger trees will have a better aroma, but the youngsters often surprise me. Persevere 'til you find a good tree, & you may acquire a new nature habit.