I’ve always loved watching for footprints and tracks in the snow.  It’s rare to know the story behind them.  What critter made them?  Where were they headed?  Sometimes the print is clear, sometimes not so much.

I was sure I saw a wolf one day.  I checked out prints after it left.  There were tracks coming up the hill and then going off into the trees.   The snow was fresh and fluffy so hard to tell but maybe not big enough for a wolf?

Sometimes there are enough hints to speculate.   I hiked at a lake over the summer where I’d been told to watch for moose.   I don’t get up early, especially while camping, like mooses do, but found some fun prints in the sand along the lake.  I can’t read “sign”, but a smaller print over a big print should mean a baby is following close behind mama, right?  They were just coming out of the trees for a drink, right? Looks like a little bird tagged along.  I took some fun pics of those and included some of mine and Coco’s.

Deer leave pretty obvious prints but I still wonder what the story is.  Why are they going from here to there and not somewhere else?  What do they think is over there?  All I know of is a fenced property and a road.  I guess there’s no reason for them not to check it out, could find food anywhere.

Sometimes tracks look like there was a traffic jam.   In this pic the deer prints do not overlap the turkey prints so did they pass each other without leaving this narrow path? 

Turkey prints are fun.  They look like they’re pointing one direction but the turkey is actually going the other direction, except in this pic it looks like nobody knew where they were going!  What was happening?

I saw wet prints at the river the other day.  No dog or anything in site.  I don’t think a ghost dog would leave tracks?

We walked along abandoned train tracks this week.  Guessing they’ve been there 80 some years and I’d love to hear their stories.  Who came and went?  How much copper or gold rolled over them?  Did they get a break in the winter?  Guessing at this point those old tracks are too tired to tell stories, they’ve had enough.

One morning out my back door I found this – teeny bird prints in snow that was melting by the dog house. Not sure how this happened but they left me a little heart – how precious is that?

It’s going to snow later this week.  We’ll be out looking and making our own prints again!

Coco’s idea is to soak up as much sun as possible before the snow comes.  She’s got it figured out. 

My idea is to enjoy the colors and the last of the warmth as much as possible, keeping perspective as I have to clean up fall’s mess 😊 

Some of the trees are slow to get started, but whether here or in town, when the trees reach their luminous peak they scream for attention, overwhelming us onlookers with their saturation of color.

Not all the colors are from maples.  There are willows, cottonwoods, birch and ash.  There is a deciduous conifer here, larch, but I couldn’t capture the depth of color as they turn gold high up on the peaks of the Bitterroot.  Going out into the wild to enjoy the show has fringe benefits – like seeing moose!  And, though common, seeing deer, geese, mallards and kingfishers up and down the river are still a treat!

Each season has its pros and cons.  The trick is to enjoy the best each has to offer, forgiving them for their hot, cold or messy quirks, and embrace them before they move on. It will be a year before you see them again!

It’s that time of year again, and my sister suggested I run this blog again, first posted in 2012. Nice knowing she liked it so much! Can’t be reminded too many times to count our blessings and it’s the time of year when we’re publicly reminded. Here’s my input:

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. The weather confirms it, as do the grocery stores and radio ads. Wet cold days spent inside make it the appropriate time for reflection, to look back or ahead, to be totally present in the moment, and to give thanks in all things.

My sister, Lynne, and I email back and forth on the days our work shifts over lap. We are not texters, Heavens no, but have developed a number of our own acronyms for comments or phrases that seem to work themselves in our conversations regularly, so we’ve made our own shortcuts for time saving. We have OOTROW, which can be a good thing or a bad thing – out of the realm of words! It’s for something that happens or an emotional response that the English language just has no words to describe. This happens surprisingly often! We also use SNWI. This applies to a new ice cream flavor or a movie we took our time and money to see – so not worth it!!!

Two of my favorites are IAR, it’s all relative, and PIE, perspective is everything. Lynne and I use these often as reminders, in reference to work, relationships, finances, or how we spent the weekend. We don’t tolerate much whining. We are blessed in countless ways. Though there’s always something we’d like to be different or better, or one more thing we’d like to possess, we are lacking nothing! Almost more important than being thankful for the blessings in our lives, is support, prayers and anything else we can give to those who are not as well off, financially, emotionally, or health wise. Many people in the east won’t be spending this holiday in their home because it’s gone. Many kids won’t be getting the dozen toys they want because their parents can’t find jobs. Not everyone will spend time with their entire family, as one may be overseas in the service or sick in a hospital.

Right now I’m sitting by my nice warm fire. I whine plenty about using my free time to cut firewood, that I get sore and tired and filthy from doing it. But how lucky am I that I’m able to do it! In a place that I love! Is it hard spending an afternoon in the woods with the fresh smell of cut pine, listening to Stellar jays chat in the tree tops? Hardly! Do I love my little wood stove radiating free heat? Absolutely! So once again I remind myself that perspective is everything. Wishing you some PIE thoughts for your holiday, along with warmth, happiness, and full tummies.

Coco’s idea is to soak up as much sun as possible before the snow comes.  She’s got it figured out. 

My idea is to enjoy the colors and the last of the warmth as much as possible, keeping perspective as I have to clean up fall’s mess 😊 

Some of the trees are slow to get started, but whether here or in town, when the trees reach their luminous peak they scream for attention, overwhelming us onlookers with their saturation of color.

Not all the colors are from maples.  There are willows, cottonwoods, birch and ash.  There is a deciduous conifer here, larch, but I couldn’t capture the depth of color as they turn gold high up on the peaks of the Bitterroot.  Going out into the wild to enjoy the show has fringe benefits – like seeing moose!  And, though common, seeing deer, geese, mallards and kingfishers up and down the river are still a treat!

Each season has its pros and cons.  The trick is to enjoy the best each has to offer, forgiving them for their hot, cold or messy quirks, and embrace them before they move on. It will be a year before you see them again!

We’re never too old to have firsts.  Coco and I have had a lot in the past 10 months.  

My first summer in the Bitterroot Valley is winding down.   I did my first exploring within days of moving here.   Fall was in full swing   I discovered river accesses by accident, visiting the bank or the grocery store, looking past back parking lots or poking around dead-end streets and, wow, there was the river!  It runs right through town!  The colors, the mountains and the gentle water combined to make a memorable first impression.  We’ve watched the palette of the scenery change and the seen the water roaring but we’ve only become more enamored. 

Coco loves splashing in the river, no matter how cold.  She saw her first moose, lounging in a clearing by the river, and was not impressed.  It was not my first but only the second moose I’ve seen in Montana since moving back in 2004 – I was thrilled.  

It’s the first time in 30 years that I haven’t had a truck.  We’ve done our first camping in a van, spacious and comfy.  For the first time not sleeping in a tent in a very long time it’s quite the treat.  So far the van has taken us to remote lakes and river banks. 

Sometimes getting there has been interesting.  The van does great on long dirt roads.  Just gotta be careful ‘cause sometimes cattle guards don’t work!

I’ve done my first lawn mowing in almost 20 years.  It’s Coco’s first lawn ever and she likes it! 

I’m adjusting to not being out in the woods. It’s the first time I’ve had close neighbors in almost 20 years too, including a view of garbage cans, street lights, and kids next door.  Our first impression hasn’t changed though.  My desire for a simpler life is proving successful with time for more firsts.  We all need more firsts and they can happen at any age with a little time and desire.

A flash of color, a subtle movement, a loud call and I’m at my window, wondering what kind of treat I’ll be seeing!  I feed the birds in the winter and provide a fountain and a birdbath in the summer, so I have a variety of birds in my yard yearround.   Some of them look painted, total works of art – spotted tohees, blue jays, three kinds of nuthatches – all with colors that defy explanation.  A flock of gold finches is like something out of Disneyland!  Even the sweet little birds that have underrated plumage can make a big statement.  Pine siskins come in flocks.  They show the softest of yellows but are among my favorite visitors.  Not to mention grosbeaks and crossbills and wrens.  And magpies – they will always look exotic to me!  The list goes on.

I remember birds from childhood in Phoenix.  We had mockingbirds, cactus wrens and cardinals.  There were pinion and stellar jays and black hawks in the central part of Arizona, and that’s where I saw my first bald eagle.

Living along the coast brought more to see, requiring more books and more learning, from gulls to pelicans and cormorants.  Each species is collectable, like a souvenir of a place you will always love because of what you saw there.

I collect feathers too, works of art unto themselves with stripes, spots and colors graduating one into another or tipped with an explainable pattern.  I can’t always identify the species but I love the finds nonetheless.

Birds are dying in huge numbers, a tragedy for many reasons.  Like all works of art, birds are there to be enjoyed, nurtured and protected for myself and generations yet to discover them!

Like most of the upper half of the country, we think spring is taking her sweet time coming.  Here it is April and we got 5 inches of snow today.  Of course, it’s early in the season, but enough already!  Here in Montana most of us have outdoor things to do and won’t let a little cold, nasty weather stop us.  At least not most of the time.

I learned this week that, before any green leaves have popped out and only the slightest bit of green grass is showing, it’s the best time for fishing!  But long before grass showed itself, often too covered in snow to be seen, I’ve seen hardy Montanans out there fishing, wading over the ice-caked shoreline and into the riffles.  This last week fishing rafts are coming out.

 I don’t know if it’s fish those rugged ones are after or they just want to be relaxing in the middle of a Montana stream.  The scenery can’t be beat.  And the tradeoffs are worth it!  Having the river to yourself is paradise, the only sound besides the rippling water being an occasional goose honk. 

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Ice shelves and floating crystals only decorate the river’s edge in hard winter.  Walking a quiet, snow-packed trail and seeing no one is a treat.  That won’t be happen come spring. 

Coco and I venture out daily, often visiting one of the river trails, though Coco prefers wading at a river’s edge, not on the trail.  I try to be a good mom as she spends the better part of our outings swatting at floating leaves and feathers.  I don’t know how she does it in 30-degree temperatures.  There are many drainage ditches along the roads and trails here, and Coco is just as happy slopping around in those.

Sometimes Montanans want to get out in the woods so bad they don’t make good decisions.  Like me thinking the road to a recommended hiking trail would be thawed. 

Guess I haven’t been here long enough to not do stupid things  😦 I was able to turn around and not get stuck. Sure was pretty though! I’ll send pics of that road when trails are dry, grass is green and fresh leaves blow in a warm breeze!

Here in Montana, and I’m sure lots of other places, we’re ready for winter to be over.   It’s time for clear trails, warm sun and something green and growing.  But I have to admit, there’s awesome trade offs to all this cold. 

Coco doesn’t always like the cold either.  Mom makes her wear a sweater, sometimes a sweater and a coat, but I tell her it’s for her own good.  Typical kid, she doesn’t believe me.  

Surprisingly, she loves poking around the edges of the river, playing with leaves and feathers floating by, soaking her feet and seeming oblivious that the water is just degrees above freezing. Sadly, she likes walking through muddy curbs and gutters too.  She slips and slides on ice just like I do, but she’s lower to the ground and doesn’t mind.  It’s worth it for her to be out exploring, sniffing and discovering new things to taste.

The river provides the most dramatic artwork.  It changes with each freeze and thaw.  There are three river parks that we visit and a couple of canals, and there’s always something to see.  Sometimes I have to take pictures quickly before Coco caves in a pretty formation.   Many are such a marvel I can hardly believe them, and if I don’t snap a shot right then it may never appear the same again.  I’ve gone to check on decorative ice days later and it’s either gone, reformed into something else amazing, or completely gone, the river’s edge thawed and water flowing fast. 

You’ve gotta love other seasons for the same reasons.   Spring will bring short-lived joys also, tulips and apple blossoms.  They’ll be gone before we know it.  Green grass, lilacs and wildflowers will fade into summer and we’ll complain about the heat, and then miss it when the first frost comes.  Love the blessings of all of them.  To every thing there is a season.  

I always love going in the truck with mom.  It always means we’ll go for a walk some place where I can poke around and smell all the smells and get my feet wet and chase feathers.  Usually.  Yesterday, though, we just drove and drove.  Sometimes fast and sometimes slow.  Mom grumbled about ice and something called fog.  We finally stopped at one place that kinda smelled familiar but we didn’t stay long.  There was snow but no river to wade in.

We finally got to a place where mom wasn’t driving long, just lots of little stops.  She got out of the truck a lot and didn’t take me.  One place she brought back some French fries in a napkin and they were yummy!   One place she took me with her inside a building with some people who all petted me.  There were big yellow things that I remember seeing before.

I slept a lot.  I had on my warm sweater so I was fine but I didn’t need that much sleep. 

And then we finally went to a house where I could go in but not off my leash.  Some things called cats live there and one was supposed to be mean.  Another one swatted me and made a funny noise.  I wanted to play with one but it just wasn’t sure about me so we didn’t get to be friends.

Before more driving to go home mom finally took me to our favorite park on the lake.  We couldn’t find the lake though.   We walked all over and there were still fun smells and icy rocks and places to poke.  I found a couple good feathers but no water.  Mom didn’t say where the lake went but I sure wish I could have had a cold drink and played in it.  

Then lots more driving and sleeping.  I was sure glad to get home!

Transitions are on my mind, not because of the time of year but because of months of huge changes in my life.  Long in the making, every decision was mine, initiated by age, lifestyle, finances and maybe a little need for adventure.  Certainly an adventure is what I got!  One decision leads to another, some more difficult than others.   Sometimes timing is an issue and good life-changing transitions shouldn’t be rushed.  Ha.

If you google the word “transitions”, examples of it being used in a sentence are the first definitions to come up.   One example is of contrast, using words like however, instead, and still.  Sometimes those words do, in fact, apply to my decision processes.  Like I loved my house in the woods, however, pine cones were no longer my friends.

Other examples imply the result of something – thus, consequently, hence, etc.  In my case, I sold my house, so, consequently, had to find a house to buy.  Easier said than done in today’s world.  I debated waiting, but for how long and for what?  And, hence, I found a cute little house that spoke to me and I made a major decision.

Another example of transition words represent contrast.  Like I wanted a rural setting but, still, a house in town sounded nice.  Or instead of a condo I chose a little house with a yard.

Of course, I worry that all the transitions I’ve initiated are the right ones.   Only time will tell.  There’s been frustration and unanticipated expenses.  The trick I’m continually working on is how I handle all the struggle, hopefully with grace.  Admittedly, the level of grace varies.  Chris Stapleton has a great song that speaks to me.  Lyrics include:

“This might not be an easy time.  There’s rivers to cross and hills to climb.  And some days we might fall apart.” 

I’m not expecting to fall apart.  No struggle at all transitioning to retirement, a miracle I’m still marveling over.  Every day I enjoy exploring some treasure in my new town.  I’m making good progress settling into my new home.  I’m far enough along that I’ve started hanging artwork and putting out photos.   Each of my photos represents some kind of past transition, an adventure or celebration that makes me smile.  I’ve come far and I’m grateful for every step. 

Chris sings “Some day we’ll look back and smile, and know it was worth every mile.”  I think I’m already there.  The transitions and compromises I’ve made to get here are the result of lots of practice, some foolish and careful decisions, hard lessons and knowing when to count blessings.  I’m in a good place.