Consider the Field Daisies - Near Frenchtown, Montana

“But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. 

It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."

-G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), from Orthoudoxy

Wildflower Seedhead - Bluebird Preserve Trail, Missoula, Montana

"One kind thing is the seed from which a great goodness grows. It is not hope we hold to, Niece. It is belief in the power of that growing goodness. Migwech. Chi migwech."

-Henry Meloux in Windigo Island, Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger, p. 170

Small Mysteries (Ladybug 2) - Flathead Lake, Big Arm, Montana

“Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.”

– Theodore Roethke (1908-1963), from Straw for the Fire: From the Notebooks of Theodore Roethke

Genuine Ladybug - Flathead Lake, Big Arm, Montana

“ “But I no longer want to edit my behavior, twisting myself up like a pretzel.“ 

“You won't ,” she assured me. "Now that you've tasted the other, you won't go backwards. It'll be better than ever, you'll see. Just let whatever comes flow through you and then away.  

Everyone is after the same thing, y'know. It's called intimacy. The only way to experience it is to be yourself.” “

-Joan Anderson, in A Year By The Sea, p.138

September Wild Daisy - Flathead Lake, Montana

“If the path set before her feet was to be narrow she knew that flowers of quiet happiness would bloom along it... ” - L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) in Anne of Green Gables

Feisty Fighter - Phillipsburg, Montana

Best news line today: 
"Jake LaMotta, an iron-fisted battler... has died. He was 95...The former middleweight champion died Tuesday... according to his longtime fiancee, Denise Baker."

To be 95 and fianced - now THERE'S a story!

However, the truth is slightly less inspiring: other news stories noted that Denise and Jake actually married in a quiet ceremony in 2013. But he still robbed the cradle...er... walker?

If you're wondering what this has to do with today's photo, keep pondering... and let me know what you came up with! (Comments left as Anonymous do not require a log-in.)

Wild Rose Season - Stevensville, Montana

Meadowlarks provide 
the quintessential birdsong 
of spring;
wild roses supply 
its fragrance. 

Buttercup Find - Rainbow Lake, Near Plains, Montana

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." 

- Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

Small Extravagances - Greenough Park, Missoula, Montana

"The way God squandered Himself had always hurt her; and annoyed her too...Well, of all the spendthrifts, she would think and then pull herself up. It was not for her to criticize the ways of Almighty God; if He liked to go to all that trouble over the snowflakes, millions and millions of them, their intricate patterns too small to be seen by human eyes, and melting as soon as made, that was His affair and not hers. All she could do about it was to catch in her window, and save from entire waste, as much of the squandered beauty as she could."

- Elizabeth Goudge (1900-1984), from The Rosemary Tree

Looking Upward - Lolo, Montana

"I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward."

- Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)

Alive And Needed - Lolo, Montana

"Don’t ask what the world needs. 
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. 
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman (1899-1981)

Wild Rose Blooming - Missoula, Montana

"Wild roses are fairest, 
and nature a better gardener than art." 

- Louisa May Alcott, A Long Fatal Love Chase

Violet Breath - Missoula, Montana

"You are the only person who loves me in the world," said Elizabeth. "When you talk to me I smell violets." -  L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables, #4)

Amethyst Souls - Missoula, Montana

"Do you think amethysts can be the souls of good violets?" - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)

May your precious soul be redemptively blessed this Easter Day.

Winter Gold - Missoula, Montana

"Hidden in the glorious wildness like unmined gold." - John Muir

European Bittersweet - Missoula, Montana

I was drawn to the shooting-starness of this lovely streambank wildflower, but it turns out it's actually a relative of the potato plant. Common in much of the United States, this small purple beauty is known by many names - Climbing Nightshade, Bittersweet Nightshade, Woody Nightshade, European Bittersweet, Fellenwort, or Blue Nightshade. (For the scientifically inclined, it is classified as Solanum dulcamara.) Pick a name - any name! - it brightens a streamside ramble no matter what you call it.

Echinacea Honey - Missoula, Montana

"The careful insect 'midst his works I view, 

Now from the flowers exhaust the fragrant dew, 

With golden treasures load his little thighs, 

And steer his distant journey through the skies." - John Gay (1685-1732)

Evening Meadow - Missoula, Montana

"Inhale and hold the evening in your lungs." - Sebastian Faulks, Engleby

Morning Glory - Missoula, Montana

"I want to start my day with the earnestness of the morning glory, the way it's blossoms open with the sunrise, ready to shine no matter what." - Sarah Jio, 'Morning Glory'

Wild Rose About Town - Missoula, Montana

"...Suddenly you flare in my sight,

a wild rose looming at the edge

of thicket, grace and light

where yesterday was only shade..."

- from The Wild Rose, by Wendell Berry