Mission Mountain Peek - Near Perma, Montana

Spring is greening Montana's hilltops, but a dramatic peek-a-boo driving view off Hwy. 200 near Perma, Montana, provoked me to pull over and drink in a little more of the glorious Mission Mountain-tops still sporting their stark snowcap. (The camera lens doesn't do it justice.)

Storm Shelter - Along Hwy 200, Near Lincoln, Montana

"The Lord takes care of His own,

 but church trustees still  put lightning rods on the steeple."

 - Evan Esar, from 20,000 Quips & Quotes

Spring Sprung - Missoula, Montana

“We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. 
No, no. We are free to change.
 And love changes us. 
And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.” 

― Walter Mosley, from Blue Light

Lingering Autumn Dreams - Missoula, Montana

"But frost, like the 
crystallized dreams of autumn, 
began to coat the clearing with its sugar glaze.”
 - Victoria Steele Logue, Redemption


The words "crystalized dreams..." provoke ponderings. 
Some may think it sad that dreams of a past season are frozen, stymied from achieving the first grand plans. 
But my mind harks back (can you tell we've been binging on historical BBC shows on the telly?) to childhood winter morning schoolbus rides spent imagining within the magical iced worlds left by that great and stealthy artist, Jack Frost. 
Crystalized dreams provide opportunity to pause and ponder wonders we may not have seen had they marched as scheduled down the orderly path of accomplishment and must-do.  
And, in the seed world, sometimes a period of freeze and thaw is required to "to break dormancy or to crack their hard coverings".
In this April's lingering limbo 'twixt winter and spring, I'll appreciate the beauty of tenacious autumn dreams, and wait for gentle warming winds to disturb and provoke new action.

Frozen Pipes - Missoula, Montana

Three days running we woke to a skiff of snow in the valley, with active snowfall continuing this morning! 

I'm trying to recall what early March was like, wondering if the we held true to the maxim "in like a lion, out like a lamb", since it's been rather lion-ish this past week.

(But, thankfully, today's photo was taken a couple months back - & rather fittingly in the alley behind my fave ice cream scooper, Sweet Peaks, which, by the way, ships their handcrafted deliciousness out into the wider world.)

Give Me Shelter - Missoula, Montana

"A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. 
For all serious daring starts from within."

-Eudora Welty (1909-2001)

NASCAR Visits Montana - Missoula, Montana

“Finishing races is important,
 but racing is more important.”
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

We popped over to our local FedEx office yesterday during a tour stop for FedEx's #11 NASCAR car - and the headlights really are just stickers!

But I already knew this, thanks to oft-repeated viewing of the original Cars movie. 
But I didn't know that the oil reservoir is a 5-gallon tank located just behind the driver's seat, and they often have to seriously pre-heat the oil

(And here's a little animated anthropomorphic repartee to take you back: 
"Lightning McQueen: [bored] Well, you know, race cars don't need headlights, because the track is always lit.
Dusty Rust-eze: Well, so is my brother, but he still needs headlights!")

Poe-ish Crows - Missoula, Montana

You could also title this post "Fun With Filters"...the stark contrast of images in my crow photo from a couple days back worked rather well (in a shuddery sense) with a moody noir filter. 

But if your crow thoughts trend more to that shiny object collector, Poe the Crow of Sterling North's lovely book, "Rascal", you can sprinkle on some glitter and mischief to lighten the mood. (Or you can just tell yourself they are cooing doves out on a Friday night date....)