Unwasted Sunshine - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

"I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."

-Nathaniel Hawthorne, (1804-1964) The American Notebooks, [Notebook, Oct. 10, 1842]

Morning Glory - Victor, Montana

"...for here a gentle soul has cast its glow upon us,
and like the glory of an autumn sun,
has lit the world with kindness through its day…"
- Dr. Robert Terry Weston (1898-1988)

Persevere, Thrive - Missoula, Montana

"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs." - Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Doughnut Decadence - Missoula, Montana

Decadent we've-been-working-extra-hard doughnut from Clyde Coffee, (thank you, June!) courtesy of the adventurous Tandem Doughnuts bakers - ultra-yum!
AND if I hadn't been told, I wouldn't have known it was gluten free.
That is some good living under the Big Sky!

On Change - Missoula, Montana

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. 
We are like eggs at present. 
And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. 
We must be hatched or go bad."

- C S Lewis (1898-1963), from Mere Christianity, pp 170-171

Autumn Reimbursement - Missoula, Montana

"Autumn repays the earth the leaves which summer lent it."

 ~Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–1799), 
translated by Norman Alliston, 1908

Autumn Rewards - Greenough Park, Missoula, Montana

"Autumn rewards western Kansas for the evils that the remaining seasons impose: winter's rough Colorado winds and hip-high, sheep-slaughtering snows; the slushes and the strange land fogs of spring; and summer, when even crows seek the puny shade, and the tawny infinitude of wheatstalks bristle, blaze."

- From In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1924-1984)

Resting Peacefully - Missoula, Montana

"Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many different ailments, but I have never heard of one who suffered from insomnia." 

- Joseph Wood Krutch (1893-1970)

Today our dear, opinionated Tigger enjoyed last visits and naps with his favourite people. Fittingly, sunbeams shone through the clouds to grace his departure. He was a good cat and agile bird hunter; and through all his many years, he never took guff from anyone, beast or human. It will take some getting used to his not being around, sauntering down the sidewalk with a raspy "Mwrow!" in greeting, followed by a head-butting brush of ownership - his owning us, of course.All of his collected people will miss him, but heaven is one stripey cat the richer.