I woke in the night 2 nights ago and heard rain - a good sound considering the fires and dryness of this area.  And it was a nice gentle rain so good moisture.

Yesterday afternoon, I was driving in to town (Kalispell) - blue skies, puffy white clouds and belatedly I noticed - SNOW on the mountain tops!  It is high - probably 3500-4000 feet higher than my home and a bit higher than that from the valley floor, but beautiful.  Mountain tops are made to have snow on them…

On the way to town, I stopped in Somers, MT - a little town that lives on the northwest border of Flathead Lake.  There is a bit of an historic railroad trail that Karl and I walk.  It’s on the way to the grocery I prefer.  There is a restaurant along the trail and they have a garden to grow their own veg and herbs.  The sunflowers below are from that garden - the lake and mountain view from along that trail.

ORS friend, Cedar, commented on the pine tree I was in front of in yesterday’s post.  It is beautiful and one of about 10 that live in front of my house.

But guarding the northwest corner of my property are 2 very old, very beautiful Ponderosa Pines.  My friend, Kris, who looked at the property for me when I was in Michigan went on and on about the “grandfather” pine on the property corner - that it was worth buying the property for that tree. 

“He” is a beauty - the photos cannot capture the size, the feeling of power and longevity - the patriarch…  But equally beautiful and interesting is a smaller tree to the right.  It is a bit hard to see in the photo but it is to the far right in the upper left photo - smaller, but same reddish-brown bark.  I say that this is a husband and wife pair - the long married couple standing side-by-side against all nature has to throw at them.  And they are gatekeepers - there is a game trail that passes right between them. 

Bob Love, Confluence Timber, who logged the property estimates that the large tree is over 200 years old - maybe 250.  That is incredible to me to think that this tree has lived through 4 or 5 generations of humans.  Bob guesses that the only reason the tree was still standing, i.e. not cut for timber by someone - was that it was so close to the property boundaries that no one knew exactly whose it was.  So… he belongs to no one…

There are 2 slash marks on the trunk at about my eye level.  Bob says the marks are Grizzly marks - Grizzlies use the Ponderosa to mark their territory and warn other Griz off.  I like to think that this place is “guarded” by a Griz and the trees…

The eye is fine - thanks to all who’ve asked!  The patch was just for few hours post exam when my eye was so dilated that it was scary to look at and very sensitive to light. 

This morning just before a morning walk… 

Rain - finally!!  It has been cooler and fall-like but we really needed some rain to put a final end to fire season.  Today’s rain will not put everything out but it is supposed to continue through the week and hopefully things will get damp enough to be rid of smoke for good.  Skies have been mostly clear, but when a breeze kicks up, the sky gets hazy and smoke seeps into the valley.

The leaves are starting to turn, the sun is more southerly, no frost yet but we have been close a few nights. 

As grumpy as everyone was during the heat and smoke - we are now kind of “over the top” happy.  Everyone saying “What a beautiful day!” all over the place.

Let Fall begin!

I spent 7 months full time in the motorhome in 2006 travelling across the U.S. and back - visiting family and friends and seeing new things.  I was in Traverse City, MI - late June - a spot where my family vacationed when I was a child and home to my Great-Aunt Betty.   The mid-west heat and humidity made me homesick for the west, the mountains and Montana and one afternoon I looked at the Montana real estate online site and saw…  1 bedroom, 1 bath house on 8 acres on a road I knew and liked….  I had a friend look at it for me - should I fly back??  She looked, called me and said I should, that it was “me” and a special piece of property.  I was on the ‘net booking a flight when I panicked - it just did not feel right.  I regrouped, phoned her and told her I would wait until I returned in late July and look - if it was right, it would be there.

Late July I arrived back in Montana and set up in an RV park near Glacier National Park.  The house was still on the market and the price had been reduced.  I had an appointment to see it within a couple days of returning.  I was sure it would be perfect - it wasn’t…  The yard was overgrown, the front porch needed help, the interior had this low ceiling, goofy light fixtures, the garage had no power to it, the woods badly needed cleanup…on and on - all I saw was stuff that needed to be done and needed money to do it.  I had been overwhelmed by my last house and really wanted something simpler…

I went away disappointed and disheartened.  I decided to look at modest homes, with a bit of yard that could be fenced and try “city” living.  I made lists from the real estate site, drove past many homes in many neighborhoods.  I looked at some.  On my birthday I was looking at a couple of houses in a subdivision - new homes, nice houses, perfect landscaping - in my price range.  I stood in one and looked out past the neighboring houses to a nice view.  All I could think about was the goofy little house in the woods. 

I spent that birthday afternoon walking through the woods and the house and felt like I had come home.  The rightness of that place - for me - turned all of the obstacles into possibilities.  Suddenly I saw the opportunity to have something I had dreamed of.  It didn’t look exactly like my “dream” but it had the possibility to be that and maybe more.

From obstacles to possibilities - it happens with people too… people who cross our path who at first it seems like there are differences or distances of some sort that make friendship or closeness seem impossible - but some connection, some intangible want or need changes things.  

I’ve learned to catch myself when everything in my path seems like an obstacle - and REALLY look - into my heart - to see if maybe, just maybe that “obstacle” is really a possibility that I don’t want to miss.