I’m sitting in the chair as I write - laptop on my lap, although in the interest of integrity, this post will appear the day after the writing… But, it is a blustery morning as a cold front is moving through. A few clouds are shadowing the morning sun at 8 a.m., the wind is blowing through the pines and it feels like it should be a stormy day even though the forecast is only for wind ahead of the front. Still, I love sitting in this chair, in a corner of my sunroom where I can see sky, trees and mountains and with windows open all around can hear the wind in the pines and at least imagine a dark, stormy day.

I’ve had this chair for 22 years. It has needed to be recovered for at least 11 years. The chair doesn’t look that bad in the photo, but up close - my beloved cat (first cat), Gus, used the arms for scratching posts. There are other runs in the fabric on the upper wings. I don’t typically notice. The ottoman, however, has deteriorated badly in the last year… It has been sun faded for a bit but in the last year…

…that cord is starting to bother me.

These pieces are well made Ethan Allen pieces, although ironically, the chair seat is too “short” for my height. I knew it when I received it, but I had ordered it special and we’d measured and I don’t know what happened. I have always loved the fabric and the wing back chair and ottoman were chosen to mimic a favorite chair and ottoman in my grandmother’s house. The only way I’m comfortable in the chair is with my feet and legs on the ottoman - but that is the point of the ottoman after all.

I bought these pieces when I was still living in apartments in Los Angeles. I don’t remember sitting in this chair much until I moved to Montana. In the first house I owned in Montana, the chair always faced the fireplace. It was at that time that I started spending a quiet half hour in the morning - praying, reading, listening. My dog Zack and cat Gus were with me - Zack on the floor beside the ottoman and Gus on my lap. Gus was a “neck hugger” - he would often wrap his paws around my neck and bury his head under my chin…my angel cat.

In the second house, the chair was in a corner surrounded by windows. I could see the wood stove and the fire in that house from the chair, but mostly I remember the company of Gus, Karl by now, and the view of trees, the hill behind the house and the sky.

Now, the chair is in the sunroom of this little house. The woodstove is in a different room although when it’s going I can hear the comforting sounds of the wood fire.

Everyday I look at the worn and frayed ottoman and think, “I really ought to do something about that.” I think about a new chair which would probably be the easiest thing to do - but I love this chair… I think about calling an upholsterer, but I would have to be without the chair for awhile and pick a new fabric. I do nothing about my chair. Despite it’s appearance, it remains my favorite place in the house to sit and think, write, read, pray, listen…in the company of my dog and cat.

My chair.

…and, another time, the story of the lampshade with the bullet holes…

From Monday’s trip to Paradise.

I know many people like barns, barn settings, old barns, classic barns…. And I am right there with them. For me, it is the setting and the story of farming, ranching, animals - simple, rural life that the setting brings to mind.

On this day, as we drove east over the foothills to the Clark Fork River Valley, we saw a lot of old barns, old log cabins, old sheds, old chicken coops, an old mining shaft structure… weathered, grayed, nearly collapsed structures, dotting the landscape.

As we approached one structure, Bill asked “Do you think that is somewhere someone lived once, a shed or a little barn?”. “Yes”, I said.

Paradise, Montana that is… The Clark Fork River Valley is a beautiful river valley west of Flathead Valley. The drive there is along Flathead Lake for 25 miles and then east over the southern Bitterroots to Plains and then Paradise, Montana. We drove to several high points and along the river.

A day in Paradise.

Two weeks ago I linked from another blog to Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton. The tag lines on the blog are:

“Charlie came into my life when he was just ten days old, orphaned after both his parents were killed. He lives with me and a tomcat in Wyoming. “

Charlie is a wild born coyote, dumped on her doorstep. I am not a fan of wild animals for pets, but that is not what happened and the author, Shreve Stockton, has been very clear and direct about the risk and difficulty, but also honest about her inability to let the pup just die. It is one of those things that strikes me as a kind of crossroads-opportunity that ultimately shapes your life in ways you could not imagine…at least that is what I glean from what I read. She has a book coming out in the fall and I’m looking forward to it – the photos on her blog are beautiful, charming and tell a story themselves. Her writing evokes a sense of her intelligence, observation and openness to opportunity - understanding and considering the risks and being willing to live and learn from her choices. Through her photos and writing she has become to me a person I would love to meet.

Last Thursday, Owen Ford and her site H.O.P.E.S. were introduced on the Daily Coyote site. H.O.P.E.S. is a non-profit ~ Helping Our Planet’s Endangered Species. Owen Ford is a 13 year old girl. Owen set up H.O.P.E.S. to raise money for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) by selling her artwork. Wow! It is not all that easy to put yourself out there with an organization to raise money for a cause you are passionate about as an adult. At an age when most are thinking only about themselves and what they can get and have and do, this young woman is spending her time researching, reading, working, networking and accepting help. Another person I would love to meet!

I would like to encourage everyone who enjoys From the Front Porch to use the links above and meet these people via their blogs and if so inclined, there is information on H.O.P.E.S. about the auction of her art that Owen is using to raise money for WWF as well as the opportunity to donate directly should you have an interest in doing that. I hugely admire people who live their lives with passion and authenticity and I believe Owen Ford and Shreve Stockton do that - hope you enjoy their sites as much as I do!

Karl and Bob say “Go WWF, Go Owen, Hey to Charlie and Shreve - also Eli (the tomcat) and Chloe (new puppy)”!

Today, Friday, started like most days…a beautiful morning walk with Karl…

Then, because it’s Friday and also because the rest of the programming team is on vacation and we have a bit of a work breather and because Bill and I enjoy going out for breakfast…we went out for breakfast.

The “plan” was a Mexican breakfast at Los Caporales…

Turns out breakfast is “American” at Los Caporales, but turned out fine as they had chicken fried steak which is what we wanted earlier in the week when we ended up with a German breakfast.

Next stop was Kehoe’s Agate Shop…

I’ve seen the Kehoe’s sign on the way to and from Bigfork for the entire 14 1/2 years I’ve lived in northwest Montana. In fact there are about 4 signs around as there are several roads leading to the area where the shop is. I had never been.

The shop is on the Flathead River, just before it enters Flathead Lake - a little deadend road at the tail end of a golf course housing development which used to be farm land. It is a beautiful spot as although the golf course development is very pretty and looks to both the lake and the mountains, the dead end road leaves that area and immediately you feel like you are in the country at a secluded river side.

The river and remnants of a very old bridge are just past the shop.

Across from the shop - a beautiful old barn with a peek of the lake…

The shop is family owned and run by people who love rocks, agates and fossils. Despite its out-of-the-way location, the shop guest book had already been signed by 5 other visitors - this at 10:30 in the morning.

Bill loves agates and fossils. It was a pretty little shop with the charm of an old wooden structure, light filtered through the trees reflecting on shelves of beautiful agate and fossils. He saw something he wanted on a shelf but the price was astronomical… a box was dug out from a lower shelf and as the first fossil was turned back, he asked the price and said he’d take that. I was watching in surprise as I know nothing of fossils….

Bill’s fish - exactly what he wanted.

The fossil specifics:
Fossil fish phareodus from the Eocene Era, found in the Green River Shale in Wyoming.
source of above: Paleontology of the Green River Shale by Gary B. Glass