Castle Museum Turret - White Sulpher Springs, Montana

Finally caught a tour at the charming Castle Museum and Carriage House in White Sulpher Springs, Montana - and glad we did! Built in 1892 by a westward-wandering cousin of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, the Castle is also known in the National Historic Register as the Byron R. Sherman House. Check out its key feature described in this Waymarking article. 

Pasque Flower Progression - Missoula, Montana -

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

Pasque Flowers for Mother's Day - Missoula, Montana

...suddenly, starkly i realize: 

all the stories i know

of things long ago 

are my mother's

-cj hull

Grateful thanks on this Mother's Day to all the story sharers and history keepers who enrich our roots with context.

(Hmmm...could we say stories are the compost that grow strong foundational roots, anchoring us to the past so we can grow freely up and out into our unique future? More coffee needed to ponder any deeper - deeper like roots , haha!)

(& thanks to the folks a few blocks over for sharing with the neighbourhood their patch of lovely, mesmerizing pasque flowers on the sidewalk side of their fence!)

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'?

Spring Snow and Lilac Buds - Missoula, Montana

Today's spring snow Pros vs. Cons:

Pros: Beautiful snow in the surrounding mountains = more precious snowpack to stave off fire season.

Cons: Oh, my poor wee lilac buds!  (But they are of hardy Montana stock and have survived worse!)

Springing Up Sheriff Signs - Near St Regis, Montana

For the critical 'location, location, location', Banks for Sheriff picked a winner with this gorgeous green spring field along I-90 near St Regis, Montana - with bonus scenic mountain views! 

While I try my best to avoid politics, they do get my vote for Best Montana Campaign Signage! 

Faithful Seedling Starts - Cosmos and Zinnias - Missoula, Montana

"Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.

The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest." - Psalm 85:11,12

(BTW, cosmos seed starts were especially gratifying, startlingly sprouting above the soil in 24 hours!) 

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

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

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

Out From The Old - Missoula, Montana

"...Put your faith in the two inches of humus

that will build under the trees

every thousand years...

Practice resurrection."

 - from Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry

Spring Rain Like Kindness - Missoula, Montana

“Kindness, after all, did not distinguish between those who merited it and those who did not. It was like rain, she thought. It fell everywhere and made everything green and new and alive once more. That is what it did.”

-Mma Ramotswe in To the Land of Long Lost Friends, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, by Alexander McCall Smith, p. 70-71 (lg type)

Looking Up - Yelllow Snow Crocus - Missoula, Montana

...imagining a wee mousie's view of the stalwart yellow snow crocus...

(thank you to thebesottedbookworm for the charming mousie inspiration, and Big Sis 1 for the share !) 

Freshest Blooming - My Neighbour’s Spring Crocus, Missoula, Montana

“And then the light changed, and the vegetation of the ground. It was April and the freshest flowers of the year were blooming under the trees.” - from Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry, p. 351

Road Trip Ready Raccoon - Missoula, Montana

Seems I’m not alone in my springtime yen for a road trip… Another splendid Montana thing: You never know what kind of kindred spirits you may meet on an afternoon ramble! 

Spring Sunshine Melt - Bitterroot River, Missoula, Montana

Late March: We progress to t-shirt weather and not a snowflake in sight. But experienced Montanans know: Wait on planting anything tender, and don’t put away the snow shovel just yet…

Spring Snow Peaks - Near Three Forks, Montana

The one thing you can predict about springtime in Montana: it’s never boring.  Ides-of- March storms ousted the beatific sunny days of early March, adding much-coveted snowpack to many of our mountain ranges.

Spring Snow Day - Near Livingston, Montana

Ahhh, the glorious vagaries of western Montana springtime! 

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”

Mother’s Day Garden Bouquet - Missoula, Montana

Happy Mother’s Day to me - and you! - from our very own little Missoula spring garden! (Even a few of those persistent carrotty frondy weeds came in handy as lovely filler!)  

May our hearts seek to find pieces toward a veritable bouquet of gratitude, even as we walk through struggle, and are waiting for strength again.