From this morning’s walk - 48 degrees, the sun was above the mountain tops but the cool moist ground was sending up a thick mist. It rolled up from the small valley below our path not a fog bank such as rolls in to San Francisco but still a roll of mist that moved up and over us. Here in Montana, I’ve woken to fog and mist but this was the first time I was able to watch it.

And, it followed me home…my desk looks out the window to the east and the woods which was clear is now topped with fog.

Blue and green continue to often be the primary colors. ( Summer of Blue and Green , Sky Blue and Grass Green )

From last evening’s walk…

But this morning, from the end of the driveway, the firey colors of another beautiful sunrise.

Montana primary colors.

taken last evening - I just like it. …tried to think of a clever title and failed.

aka a “blast from the past”… September 2002, I put my Whitefish home for sale and moved into a furnished rental on Flathead Lake for the winter. The furnished lake rentals are very inexpensive through the winter - rent for a month is less than 1/2 of the summer weekly “cottage” rental price. It was an opportunity to leave my home furnished for sale appeal and try out Bigfork area as well as be “on” the lake for a wee bit. As it turned out, it was a glorious late summer/early fall and the boys and I got to enjoy our beach many afternoons.

All photos taken October 2002 with my Canon Digital Elph - a whopping 2.1 megapixels - circa early 2001. I was remembering that fall and the photos from that time - I want to try some Photoshop techniques on the photos of the boys near the water…to bring them out and blur the background. Fun for the future! - for now, these still jog the memory.

In the post Adventures of the culinary sort on August 25 I wrote of our meal of pan seared scallops - an adaptation of a recipe from “Noble Pig” blog. ( A Tiny Addiction )

The original recipe called for champagne grapes…not finding them, I substituted blueberries. We enjoyed that meal very much even though in addition to the substitution, I neglected to get the butter hot enough to sear the scallops.

But this weekend I tried again. Not only did I find Champagne grapes, but I let the butter get hot and brown AND made sure the scallops were salt and peppered well. The result was a truly seared and crusty exterior, tender and moist inside, topped with that incredible sauce. The blueberries were very good in the sauce, but the grapes were excellent!

For anyone who loves scallops and enjoys a mix of spice and sweet, this recipe is very simple and quick - the primary tricks being the pan and butter to the correct hotness, rinse, salt and pepper the scallops (salt and pepper!!) and having the remainder of the meal ready to go. The scallops take 2-3 minutes per side (put them in the pan and don’t touch them for 2-3 minutes) the sauce about 2 minutes and you want to dish up and eat immediately.

This round I served roasted beets and steamed broccoli with the scallops - wonderful combination of color and flavor.

So…champagne grapes…I did some reading as I hadn’t heard of them before this recipe. They are very small - slightly smaller than blueberries. They are often called black grapes. They are the grapes that are currants when dried. Hard to tell in the photo below, but the plate is a sandwich plate, not a dinner plate…

that plate…Royal Dulton “Old Leeds Spray” - original china purchased by my great-great (maybe another great?) grandmother…