We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. –Thornton Wilder
Thanksgiving morning a few friends and I took a walk at Dornix Park which includes trail by the Boulder River. Snow angels felt appropriate for the day! Giving thanks in many forms…
And when it comes to making the beautiful Ma nature has man beat all ways from the ace and that old lady still owns a lot of Montana.
–C.M. Russell
These are the Crazy Mountains. They are just North of Big Timber, and are often called the Crazies. To the South are the Absaroka & Beartooth Mountains – the ranch where I worked, Hawley Mountain Guest Ranch, is nestled deep in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness area. Notice the sagebrush in the foreground of this picture – it is prevalent in lots of Sweet Grass County and smells so good!
Fun fact: Big Timber was named for the many cottonwood trees that lined the rivers close to town – the Yellowstone River just North, and the Boulder River which is South of town. Visit the Chamber of Commerce site at www.bigtimber.com to find out more about the area and the naming of the Crazy Mountains.
DAFFODILS
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,-
A host, of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glace,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth
One of my favorite poems of all time! This picture was taken at the guest ranch where I worked. Spring snowfalls up in the mountains is common. It isn’t a daffodil, but when there is snow all around I think of this poem often, the message that within us we can enjoy the glee of daffodils dancing in the breeze…..even in winter.
Part II ended with a mound of snow at the end of my already impassible lane. I called friends at Roe Construction. Chip explained that the plow had been sliding down the hill at the top, and he was afraid of getting stuck. They had to bring a bigger plow the next day. When he DID finally get a very narrow path cleared (I wish I had a picture!) it was like a luge – just wide enough for my Jeep, and when I drove through the pile at the top of the lane, the snow was higher than the roof of the car! It was really something.
To review, there are times when my lane is drifted in, and I park my car on the road and trek back and forth from the house to my car for work, etc. That’s me below, carrying my bag for the weekend when we were going cross country skiing. The house is down the lane behind me. This is yet another time later last year that the lane was drifted in, and below shows my second trip lugging stuff to my friend who was waiting in her car. She took the pic. I had worked up a sweat and the skiing hadn’t even started!
At the brilliant suggestion of my sister Kim, I bought a sled to aid my efforts in lugging things up and down the lane – I mean, I had done a big grocery run. I needed a better system. Voila! This is when I returned from the ski weekend.
Most of the winter the snow is manageable, and when the sun shines after a good snow the land around is a spectacular white and the sky seems even more blue. In the picture below with Sonny on the lane, you can just make out the moon in the upper left sky.
You work with what you’ve got and adapt when you need to. I’m always thankful for my cozy little house, and wood to burn in the stove (and marshmallows for roasting). Living here I feel Mother Nature daily. It is more work than other places I’ve lived, but I’ve found it helps to look for the little or big pieces of beauty – even during the storms or the wind. There are always animals to spot, or their tracks, or a new spectacle at the river. It makes the challenges that come with the land more manageable. Also an adorable Corgi or a cute kitty help enormously during those long winter months.
And now, ON TO SPRING!!!
This Saga continues with the same circumstances in a different year….
Last year I traveled to my hometown of State College for Christmas, and returned at New Years to a pile of snow in Big Timber. The plow came to clear my lane and I was able to drive in, but then the wind started. Different storm, different drifts, same problem of an impassible lane! Sonny bunny is in the pic to the right. I waited impatiently for the lane to be plowed again. A day went by. The next day I saw a plow at the end, beginning to clear the top of the lane. Then he stopped and sat there at the top. And sat there. And left. Left! What?
It’s hard to appreciate how high this mound of snow is – this is a LOT of snow. The plow just couldn’t get through it and ended up pushing it up into a high mountainous pile. The drifts were so packed the plow couldn’t handle it.
This Thursday, March 28, the colored weather map on our local TV channel showed that while the rest of the state expected a few inches of snow, our area was pink, and indicated 3 to 10 inches of snow. As we are on the brink of Spring here in Montana, I wanted to get in one story (of MANY) concerning the snow we get in these here parts of the USA.
This Saga begins with 2 feet of snow blanketing Big Timber, all within 5 days. Below is a morning photo I sent my sisters (there are 4 girls in our family). They responded with comments like “so pretty!” and “you should put that one on your blog – the snow is beautiful.” Mind you, what I was TRYING to convey was the trek I was going to make up to my car, to go to work! Can you see my Jeep up at the top of the lane? I packed a backpack with shoes, lunch, and clothes for my Zumba class I teach, and then donned full snow gear for the walk. Snow shoes are on my list to buy!
Below, my jeep in other storms, showing examples of blowing snow. And yes, you are correct, I was snowed in during these times and got a ride to work from a friend! I do have a great company – Roe Construction – plow my lane (as do most of my neighbors – the plow just goes down the Old Boulder Road, turning in at each of our houses). But they wait until the storm has ended it’s party of snow, and ideally until the wind has finished it’s flurry as well.
Stay tuned for Part II – a video and an alarming dilemma…..
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry’s company during the winter of 2018
First there were little paw prints in a dusting of snow, at my front door and then at my back door. I began seeing a small black cat lingering around the house. He started hanging out under the porch. I fed him from time to time and we became friends. He talked a LOT and was a character so I named him Henry.
I’m an animal lover so before I knew it, I was buying a heated small cat house which I put in my mud room, and used a bungee cord to prop the door open so he could get in and out. He wasn’t neutered so I didn’t allow him in the house. The picture of his head amidst the snow is after a storm, when I was shoveling a path for my dog Sonny (sweet hearted big eyed big eared Corgi).
Which is another story – Sonny was mildly afraid of Henry. When we went on dog walks, Henry always wanted to come along. Which subsequently meant Sonny did NOT want to go for the walk. I ended up picking up Henry and carrying him during our walks to the river – he was perfectly happy hanging out in my arms and looking around while I walked!
Henry hung out from Fall to late Spring, but got fed up when one of the great pyrenees dogs that watches the sheep kept chasing him. I think he now lives down the road where I’ve seen many black cats at one house. Henry did come visit once during the summer, talking away as usual, I believe letting me know he is okay. He was a good companion during the long Montana winter, that Henry cat.
Hope can neither be affirmed nor denied. Hope is like a path in the countryside: Originally there was no path – yet, as people are walking all the time in the same spot, a way appears.
–Lu Xun
I mean really! Last year the deer ate not some, but ALL of the tops of my 14 lilac bushes last Spring (it was still winter in Montana) meaning no blooms at all. But I can’t hold a grudge. This doe with the snow on her forehead, looking longingly up at the bird feeder on a sub-zero degree day. This was last week, and it was work for all animals to get through the two feet of snow. Eventually trails appeared that could be shared and make the going easier. All life struggles with such severe weather. Everyone is aware of the hardships of the many animals outside, both ones in the wild and in our care.
This storm came at an extra troubling time, with many ranchers in the midst of calving or lambing. Young ones can’t survive in such cold temps (several sub zero nights in a row, including -27 one night), requiring many adaptations to caring for the animals. A hard job already becomes even more challenging. You become quickly thankful for any warmth you enjoy, and any animals in your care that are safe and protected.
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer.
–Albert Camus
You just want to soak up a moment like this, don’t you? The flower immersed in the sunshine and the warmth coming through the window at sunset. Deep bright snow outside, warm vibrant blooms inside. The long light of sunset, such a favorite time of day! I stood there taking photos and looking at the glowing petals, not wanting to step away because I knew it would only last a flicker of time. What a gift to be given that moment! Breathe it in –
We had a week long storm last week, resulting in two feet of snow on the ground, and REALLY cold temps (it was -27 degrees last night). On my walk (or hike through snow) to the river I saw the bulls sheltering from the storm. It was dusk, so these pics are somewhat dark. Those guys are so BIG. They always just look at me calmly, like, “I wonder what she’s up to?.”
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.
—Robert Louis Stevenson