Spring Cloud Wave Over Mount Sentinel - Missoula, Montana

"And so there we all were on a little wave of time lifting up to eternity, and none of us ever in time would know what to make of it. How could we? It is a mystery, for we are eternal beings living in time."  -Wendell Berry, from Jayber Crow, p. 205

Tansy At Twilight - Maclay Flat, Missoula, Montana

Pack in a lawn chair and sit awhile, cool your dusty, summer-hot feet in the Bitterroot River, maybe even at this same perfect spot on Maclay Flat just south of Missoula, Montana. 

“The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it. “ — Chinese philosopher

Spring Training View, Lolo Peak - Missoula, Montana

Best ever spring training view: Snow-capped Lolo Peak and its lower elevation neighbours. (Go PaddleHeads!) 

Spring Snow Day - Near Livingston, Montana

Ahhh, the glorious vagaries of western Montana springtime! 

Worth the Wait - Mailboxes, Near Kalispell, Montana

Big thanks to Sister #3 for today’s musings & Big Sky view during her recent Montana meanderings. 

 Rural mailboxes captured my imagination, reminders that some things in life are worth waiting for. 

"I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp. There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter." 

-Diane Lane in interview with Steve "Frosty" Weintraub, Sept. 26, 2008

Sharrott Creek Fire Camp Edge - US Hwy 93, Stevensville, Montana

This quote in no way denigrates the seriousness of the Sharrott Creek and other wildfires, especially as relates to people’s safety. But driving past this smokey reminder of possible loss on our way to visit family re-upped my ongoing pondering on what is truly important.

"…Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain…Sit it out. Let it all pass. Let it go." - May Sarton (1912-1995), from Journal Of A Solitude

(Quote find thanks to Austin Kleon in his thoughtful action-inspiring Keep Going: 10 Ways To Stay Creative…)

Smokey Mountain Canyon - Sharrott Creek Fire, Stevensville, Montana

“Break-through sunlight 

filters through wildfire smoke, and suddenly you see the depth of what you didn’t know existed - there is a canyon and a whole other hill where you thought it was just one big tree-covered mountain. And so it often is under the shining light of truth paired with love - you see what you could not see before, your perception widens.” -Cyndy Hull

Sun-kiss Burns Off the Fog - East Missoula, Montana

As much as I dread driving in it, I love the beauty fog brings - it softens everyday realities, and  graces the trees with an other-worldly reminder .

Big Sky, Wide River, High Mountains - Clark Fork River, near Alberton, Montana

Perfect road trip weather on this flawless end-of-summer day in  Big Sky country.

Spring Rain, Vibrant Foliage - East of Lincoln, Montana

Spring rainfall last night and into this morning punched up the colour vibrancy east of Lincoln, Montana, and made for a gorgeous Montana road trip day. (Now we just need those fruitful clouds to head north and tamp down Alberta’s wildfires and smoky skies, please Lord.)

Far-sighted - Near Superior, Montana

“Ye can see for as long as your eye holds out, in this country."  -Walter Kyle, in English Creek by Ivan Doig, p. 16

Big Sky Hunting- Missoula, Montana

“...A rodless Walton of the brooks
A bloodless sportsman, I - 
I hunt for the thoughts that throng the woods,
The dreams that haunt the sky...”
- Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911), from The Bloodless Sportsman

Perfect Golden Gloaming - Greenough Park, Missoula, Montana

"...When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting..."
-  Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885), October's Bright Blue Weather

(The colours really were this perfect!)

 

Big Or Little - Clark Fork River, Missoula, Montana

“A man is about as big as

 the things that make him angry.”
- Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Perspective (Zoomed Out) - Missoula, Montana

“Life is about perspective and how you look at something... ultimately, you have to zoom out.”

-Whitney Wolfe Herd