It’s been so cold so far this winter, down to single digits. As I write this it’s 16.9 degrees. Sigh, a little early for this, but there’s a silver lining to all this cold like…

Standing by the warm oven when baking is done, like…

Kids catching snowflakes, like…

Snow landing on deer, like…

Friends who will hike with you no matter what the temperature, like…

Ice skirts around lake bushes, like…

Sara loving the snow and finding deer legs during hunting season, like icicles and glitter in the air. I can’t take pictures of glitter but found some great icicles today!

Another windy, rainy day in Northwest Montana. Staying in my jammies today close to the fire, if the dogs will make room, that is 🙂

Yesterday I was thankful it was dry, though terribly windy. I started my holiday by bundling up and taking the kids down the back slope, where they ran and played and wore themselves out. I was lucky to get to watch a bald eagle playing in the wind. It was blowing so hard that he flew at a complete standstill, his wings motionless. He was close enough that I could see him looking around the valley, his white head clear against the sky. I know eagles have no instinct for thankfulness or appreciation but I know it was having fun and I was grateful for both of us.

Then I made my sweet potato casserole and was off to Cindy’s folks for dinner. A good time was had by all with all the traditional holiday dishes contributed by a lot of talented cooks. Cindy’s mother-in-law made a uniquely Montana dessert – huckleberry pie! Of course, I ate too much! The old stove had been fired up and radiated warmth for soon-to-be-devoured squash, my sweet potatoes and a green bean casserole. The group picture is a little blurry but still tells the story. I hope the holiday was equally blessed for all of you!

Ha, hardly! After my morning route I was lucky to get to drive a bus to Kalispell, a 50-mile adventure, for repairs. Went from blasting through a squall of blowing snow that swirled around on the highway to clear, sunny skies bordered by mountains freshly draped with snow. After my boss picked me up we headed back through town and spotted legs in the air. It’s common to see deer in the back of trucks this time of year but rare to see elk. And this poor elk had been loaded up in a pretty comical manner.

My boss is a great guy and was kind enough to pull over at the lake so I could take a couple of pictures – the lake does weird things as it’s freezing up. We watched distorted mist and little wispy funnel clouds for miles along the west shore then drove through the same snowy squall line we’d hit on the way up. As soon as we got back from that we went and picked up a bus from Ronan, 20 miles south – that’s the last picture. Even with a town in the foreground the mountains are nothing short of majestic. Then I drove my afternoon run. Covered a lot of ground, saw gorgeous scenery, and got paid!

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If there are any pumpkins left they are wearing more than frost this morning – we awoke to a couple of inches of unpredicted snow! Perfect timing – Sunday morning, we lay in bed just watching it come down. No fretting over roads, ice, fog, or pre-warming buses 🙂 I started a fire first thing and Sara went out for her favorite activity – rooting around in the snow!!! Happy, warm winter to all!

I went out to get wood last night and there they were!!!!
Such a thrill to open that box and see my title, my name!!! And Lois wanted to get the first one out of the box, so I called her right over 🙂 Hollywood can call any time now 😀

October 21 is just around the corner, just nine days, and what happens that day? The release of The Sparrow’s Choice!!! Yay!!!

Did my first long trip yesterday. Three hours each way with the girls and boys soccer teams. Couldn’t have been a prettier drive up. I had a copilot, Butch, who is a great guy, happier than he looks here 🙂

Hard to tell from the pics but behind our purple team the leaves fell in a continuous curtain of mixed golds.

Clouds hid the dramatic mountains around this picturesque little town of Libby. Closed mines and mills have left it a depressed place, suffering like so many Montana towns. It didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for their soccer teams though.

I had time for lunch with Butch and then a walk around the neighborhood in between watching Polson score the only 3 points of the game.

It rained the whole way back – I learned real quick about windshield wipers and defrosters. Fun day, start to finish!

I feel like I’ve received a “get of jail free card.” Not entirely free, but worth every cent of necessary fees to I feel like I’ve been released from a long jail term. I completed my commercial driving tests and now hold a license that will hopefully end my days of transcribing! Yay!!! And what will I be driving? School busses 🙂

The bus drivers and other school district folks I’ve met have been a real treat. I’ve had some good teachers and ridden all over our county with many of them, including a trip into the valley west of town today, ranch country. Drivers out not only have to watch for deer on that morning route, but also loose cattle. It’s not open range but apparently no one told the cattle to stay inside their fences. We followed a small herd of six or so black monsters this morning. They finally ran for a bit in front of the bus before veering off, followed by a black calf that darted too close in front of the bus. And then dawn came… the pictures don’t do it justice, but the mountains were back lit and touches of pink lit up the few clouds. Baby cows were nested down in the fields where the first-of-the season fog lay like a worn-out blanket.

It’s been an adventure so far, to say the least. Soon I hope to be doing long distance activity trips, taking teams and groups of kids all over the state, and sometimes out of state. Need to rack up lots of driving hours before winter hits, which I don’t even want to think about yet!!!

Moonset over the bus yard —

Boy, I found out much work a horse can do – every ranch should have one! Cindy brought Ruger over the other day to haul wood up the hill for me. Some of it was so far down the back I had decided it wasn’t worth hauling up. None of it was cut to stove length, so what I wanted to use I’d have had to take the chainsaw down, cut it to length, and then bring it up a piece at a time. I like to have something to haul up when I run the dogs down there – added weight, added calorie burning, but sometimes enough is enough 🙂 Cindy and Ruger made light work of getting that wood up, and he and Cindy both seemed to enjoy it! It was one of our last exquisite Indian Summer days.

Today I split more wood and my pile grows! I’m almost ready for the coming cold!