Crisp And Clean - Missoula, Montana

"Crisp and clean, no caffeine...!" - and none needed, what with invigorating temps of 17 F (-8 C) to keep one moving at a good clip! 
Winter sunshine amidst crisp, clear air is certainly one of this life's delights. (Can you tell I spent a good portion of my childhood overly-bundled & playing out in the snow?)

Tree Texture - Missoula, Montana

"I search for the realness,
 the real feeling of a subject,
 all the texture around it...

 I always want to see the third dimension of something...

 I want to come alive with the object.” 

-Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009) 

(Click the text link in Wyeth's name - pleasepleaseplease do! - to sip and savour his glorious gift of texture.)

Green Door, Circle Square - Missoula, Montana

In the lore of various cultures, 
doorways are significant, as well as their colours.

When I was a kid, the Polka Dot Door was an important part of my Canadian cultural experience
(along with the Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, LambChop, & BatFink!).

Today's portal fixation is a Missoula green door at Circle Square Second Hand's side entrance, mainly because it stands out so brightly against the aged alley brick.
(And what about that retro lantern?!)

Full Moon Mood - Over Missoula, Montana

"I suppose there were moonless nights and dark ones with but a silver shaving and pale stars in the sky, but I remember them all as flooded with the rich indolence of a full moon."

-Willa Cather (1873-1947) “Obscure Destinies - Two Friends”, p.175, U of Nebraska Press

Another Leaf (not turned over) - Missoula, Montana

"The snow crystals . . . come to us not only to reveal the wondrous beauty of the minute in Nature, but to teach us that all earthly beauty is transient and must soon fade way. 

But though the beauty of the snow is evanescent, like the beauties of the autumn, as of the evening sky, it fades but to come again.”

 - Wilson A. "Snowflake" Bentley (1865-1931)

Open Leaf - Missoula, Montana

"Matisse draws what I call 
 the essence of the plants. 
He leaves a shape open. 
He'll do a leaf 
 and not close it. 
Everybody used to say,
 oh, I got it all from Matisse,
 and I said,
 'Not really.'"

-Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015)

Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody used to say, oh, I got it all from Matisse, and I said, 'Not really.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ellsworth_kelly_605885

Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody used to say, oh, I got it all from Matisse, and I said, 'Not really.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ellsworth_kelly_605885

Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody used to say, oh, I got it all from Matisse, and I said, 'Not really.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ellsworth_kelly_605885

Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody used to say, oh, I got it all from Matisse, and I said, 'Not really.'
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ellsworth_kelly_605885

Crystallized - Missoula, Montana

"The object of art
 is to crystallize
 emotion
 into thought, and then
 fix it in form."

 - Francois Delsarte (1811-1871)

On Discovery - Missoula, Montana

"I believe it is worthwhile trying to discover more about the world, even if this only teaches us how little we know. 
It might do us good to remember from time to time that, while differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal."

- Karl Popper (1902-1994), Quoted in Ch. 44 Heading of The Last Days Of Night by Graham Moore