Red Poppy Buzz - Missoula, Montana

Red poppies were this morning's hot spot for our neighbourhood bees - and even with some blossom sharing (aka caring, haha...)! Among the buzzing patch, this one bloom hosted four or five different bees, cycling through in a do-si-do dance switcheroo. 

Pasque Flower Progression - Missoula, Montana -

Our neighbourhood pasque flower's 'before and after' are both charming! 

A Riot of Apple Blossoms - Missoula, Montana

A flutter of sparrows, gaggle of geese, conspiracy of ravens, obstinancy of bison, parliament of owls, sleuth of bears.... so many poetic descriptors for gathered feathered and furred creatures! On the floral side, perhaps can designate a 'riot of apple blossoms'?

Drop of Hope Blooms - Missoula, Montana

"And even though I no longer really knew what it was, I felt it: a drop of hope. The fog surrounding my life rolled back another inch, and a sliver of blue sky peeked through." -When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, p.135

In With The New - Spring Iris - Missoula, Montana

"The day can't be more beautiful. The skies are blue all the way to the heavens...And the bracingly cold air reminds me with each new breath of my continuing existence as a living creature on this planet. "

-Dead By Dawn, A Mike Bowditch novel by Paul Doiron, p. 405, Lg type

Worry-Free Echinacea - Rocky Mountain Gardens, Missoula, Montana

" 'You're not worried?' 

'Worry's for people who think blowing on the dice will change their luck.' " 

-Mike & Charley in One Last Lie, A Mike Bowditch novel by Paul Doiron, p.412 Lg type

Small Yellow Dahlia (and Bug) - Rocky Mountain Gardens, Missoula, Montana

Meandering through Missoula's Rocky Mountain Gardens, this small yellow dahlia  captured my atention - each petal a perfect tiny scroll, Fibonacci swirled for our delight. (blossoms approx 1.5 inches) Seems the wee bug is a bigger fan, hanging out unfazed through my intrusive camera hovering!

Poppy In Sun - Missoula, Montana

Imagine today's sunshine-loving poppy swaying in a little breeze, humming this snappy silly 1960's surfer song by The Sunrays. 

(You can also hear this ditty at our house - or in our car, or out of doors...- on most any random day the Montana sun breaks through, courtesy of The Best Husband Ever...."Sun, sun, sun, sun...I-aye liiiive... for the suuun...")

Neighbourhood Blooming Bright - Missoula, Montana

“My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness….”
-Mary Oliver (1935-2019) from “Messenger,” in her collection Thirst.)

Fully Present In Spring Garden - Missoula, Montana

“The best way to prepare for what’s ahead is to be present to what is now.” 

- Ann Voskamp, in her post “4 Secrets (in Grad Season), At The End of Seasons, When You’re Not Ready for All the Changes”

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.

Solitude - Missoula, Montana

“I remember my grandfather telling me how each of us must live with a full measure of loneliness that is inescapable, and we must not destroy ourselves with our passion to escape the aloneness.”
— Jim Harrison (1937-2016)

Beauty Perspective - Missoula, Montana

May you recapture “perspective for these riches“ for today.

 “And so it is that most people have no idea how beautiful the world is and how much magnificence is revealed in the tiniest things, in some flower, in a stone, in tree bark, or in a birch leaf. The grown-ups, going about their business and worries, and tormenting themselves with all kinds of details, gradually lose the perspective for these riches that children, when they are attentive and good, soon notice and love with their whole heart…“ - Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), letter to Helmut Westhoff, Nov. 12, 1901 in: Briefe, p. 31  

Smoky Sunrise Bloom - Big Arm, Montana

“But I believe if you tell a story, it's like sending a nightingale into the air with the hope that its song will never be forgotten .”

-from This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, page 443

On Honest Knowledge -Missoula, Montana

“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” 

- Thomas Sowell (b. June 30, 1930)

Wild Rose Bloom - Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge, Stevensville, Montana

“In every good tale there is a seed of truth, and from that seed a lovely story grows. Some of what I've told you is true and some ... well , let's just call it the bloom on the rosebush.”

-from This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, page 444

Water Lily Pad Tiles - Placid Lake, Montana

 ...like so many roof tiles overlapping atop a mermaid family's cozy home...

Begonia Wisdom - Missoula, Montana

“The begonia is an amazing plant... it just keeps going along and blooming, and when cut back, it starts up again.”   -Gladys Taber (1899-1980) 

(Blooming begonia found at Missoula's marvelous Marchie's Nursery!)

Sunbeam and Shadow - Missoula, Montana

“A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

-St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)