This morning we took the bus on a quick trip to an RV place in Kalispell so they could look at what needed to be ordered to fix the topper awnings that blew out on the way here. It was a beautiful, morning and I took advantage of a large, clean (relatively) windshield and my passenger/navigator status to take photos of scenery I usually don’t have a chance to capture.

…and this afternoon after getting frustrated with progress on the coding I was working on, bailed on “work” and played with the pictures for a bit of a break…

A little cabin I like - sitting tucked up against the mountain.

My favorite barn - the Flathead River in the foreground.

Mountain views and below - on the road home.

I am a morning person…it doesn’t matter what time zone I’m in or what time I’ve gone to bed, I am up with the chickens…maybe before. This morning it was 4:25 a.m. And this time of year, it is getting light by then. Sunrise is about 5:30 but there is light in the sky, behind the mountains, through the trees.

Karl and I walked down the driveway and across the front property line and back to the house through the front part of the woods - our usual beginning of the day little walk. I carry my first cup of coffee (AND the pepper spray…) and enjoy the morning air, the birds singing and the quiet.

We end up on the front porch where I like to sit for a moment and watch the day grow. This late spring, early summer ritual is a joy to me and I’m grateful for every beautiful morning and also for the circumstances in my life that allow me to start my days in this beautiful place.

Yesterday, I promised Bill homemade bread for this morning’s breakfast. Bill is not exactly a morning person and he knows I like my hour or two of morning solitude so I have plenty of time of a morning to accomplish this. And I love making bread - especially in this house. The woman half of the prior owner liked to make bread and when they redid the kitchen she requested one of the counters just a bit lower than normal. The counter tops are granite - perfect for various pastry mixing and kneading. And there is a window to the woods and the mountains in front of the lower counter - a totally satisfying experience to mix and knead the dough while the sun is coming up through the trees!

I started making bread in my 20’s after an article in Redbook or some such mag - a complete how-to. I haven’t made it regularly for some time but on a blog I enjoy - Chickens in the Road, author Suzanne McMinn’s Whole Grain Grandmother Bread and several of her other recipes - bread and otherwise - caught my eye and I’ve since been back to bread making as well as enjoying some of her other recipes.

It is just after 6 a.m. and the dough is in the pans on its second rise. There will be fresh bread for our breakfast!