River Rocks, Missoula, Montana

Makes me think of hide-and-seek. Well, maybe more at peek-a-boo, since I don't like playing hide-and-seek, because I worry about being forgotten, or worse, ditched, while everyone else is found and then goes to get ice cream, and I'm still waiting, in the dark, all alone. Hmmm...I wonder if this is an irrational fear, or did it really happened to me? I mean, it is possible, given that I'm the baby of seven siblings. Back to the games: much preferred is sardines, in which "it" hides and everyone else has to find him - and upon finding, squeezes in with "it". Which leads to much giggling, and more togetherness.

Snow Bug, Hamilton, Montana

Family lore tells the tale of all nine of us - 2 parents, 7 kids - making our twice-weekly jaunt to church in a VW bug. Granted, I was at most a toddler, which put my oldest three siblings between 11 and 14 years old. I’m sure it helped that none of us were above average height for our age. And child car seats weren’t yet invented. Actually, I’m not even sure seatbelts were de riguer features at that point in history; there certainly wasn’t a buckle-up law. But, stacked in as tight as we were, it was pretty unlikely we could shift much in any direction. Odds were higher that any potential injury would come from a secretive outbreak of sibling spite - say, a discreet pinch to the nearest leg, leaving the perpetrator undetected by parental eyes and the victim unwilling to rock the boat over a mere pinch. Obviously, the Rolling Stones were long past such childhood pettiness when they sang of getting no satisfaction.

Window Shopping Chandelier, Missoula, Montana

We had a chandelier in the piano room - probably intended as a dining room - of our childhood home. On a sunny day, I would amuse myself by dragging a chair beneath it, then climb up and carefully turn the pendants to catch the light, throwing rainbows willy-nilly on whatever was in their path. It was important to keep an ear alert for my mum's approach because, if she found me thus, it was obvious to her that I had too little to do, and perhaps I should be dusting the intricate chandelier pieces? Yeesh, always with the dusting. But we survived.
Wishing you a bright and happy 2013, from our house - & inhabitants - to yours.

Ice, Ice, Baby, Missoula, Montana

Thanks to N., whose little eye did espy this sculptural ice floe.
And the same did then bid me follow her alongst a veritable rabbit trail through Greenough Park's winter-bare shrubbery, so as to gain a better perspective.
(Sorry, I just finished Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". The language lingereth.)

River Crossing, Missoula, Montana

All that's missing is a little seasonal kitsch - perhaps a tour group of penguins crossing the fallen log. 

Red Winter Berries, Missoula, Montana

Simple river scene, peaceful thoughts.

Blue Shadows, Missoula, Montana

There's a song for everything, if you've been paying attention.
The blue of these shadows provoke - to my mind, at least - "I'm being followed by a moon shadow...". 
I know, I know, we're looking at sun shadows, and the verse lyrics are on the sinister side, but it's a catchy chorus - which I'm sure you'll sing repeatedly, all afternoon, in random snippets, when you're trying to finish something important.
You can thank me in person when you come to visit.

Nighttime Drama, Missoula, Montana

Visit any Montana town that's a historic county seat (please do) and you will find at least one building - the courthouse - boasting architectural finery. Missoula, Montana, has many impressive structures, including the Missoula Mercantile, which is undergoing restoration.  I love that during the early days of what were essentially frontier towns, the founding fathers found it important to construct solid yet elaborate buildings. Maybe this was their visible projection of hope for a prosperous and important future. After all, you didn't typically settle in the wild west unless you were cocksure full of some sort of optimism.