2011 November | The Road Home

All the colors of the rainbow

Yesterday (Thursday) morning…looking down the driveway…beautiful, colorful sky.

I turned around to see the gold larch against a sky turning blue.

It made me think: rainbow! The colors of a rainbow all around me.

From the frost on the ground, to the green and gold of the pines…to the blue and white of the snow covered mountains.

As I wrote last night, the day was quintessential Fall: crisp, cool, clear air, the low light from the southern moving sun that casts a gold light over everything. Everything about the day bespoke Fall.

Last night was the full moon. The moon was to rise just after sunset. Bear and I went out to the loop overlook to wait…to wait for the full moon rise.

There was quite a show of color…

…all the colors of the rainbow spread across the valley between the foothill we live on and the steps of the Swan Range.

Venus showed first, giving a clue to where the moon would rise.

Dusk fell. It got darker.

The moon lit a small cloud just over the mountain top.

It was getting too dark to be where we were. Bear was such company. He usually wants to be on the property more than where I was waiting, but he stayed and watched with me. It made me cry as it brought up a memory of Karl waiting with me in the snow the first Winter in this place. But it also made me smile and laugh in joy with how far Bear and I have come and what a good life I’ve had with my good dogs.

All the colors of the rainbow… shared…in the love and company of my good dog.

Prelude to Winter

Today was actually a quintessential late Fall day with gorgeous light and color from sunrise to sunset…and I have the photos to prove it! … tomorrow or over the weekend…but for tonight…this shot from the parking lot at the grocery story south of Kalispell. The sun, the clouds – they spoke of Winter…Winter which is a more than a month away by the calendar but any day now in northwest Montana.

Catching the light on the road home

Bear and I went to Bigfork at lunch time to walk at the park, drop off garbage at the dump and see what it looked like out and about. I was surprised to see so much more snow on the mountains and knew that if it stayed clear, the setting sun would throw wonderful light on the road home. Sunset is shortly after 5 so when I hit a good stopping point at 4:15, we jumped in the Jeep and drove down the road home to catch the light.

Away game

Bear and I are parked at Auntie Kris and Uncle Hal’s. The accomodations are VERY nice and came with a wonderful dinner as well as good company and excellent dog walking.

This morning, even in the overcast – beautiful!

We walked as very light flurries fell to the frosted field.

The bit of light to the right is the house and the bit of white to the left is the motorhome.

Some of us got a little nosy…

Up the hill…

…and take the beardog shortcut to our “away” home.

***NOTE: 6:00 ish p.m. Bear and I returned to our house;home in the vicinity of 3 p.m.ish give or take and Fall Back ish…. A wonderful short trip and visit. A good shakedown trip for Bear and I, for Wild Thing (motorhome), for Bob-and caretakers of Bob… Bear and I are set to leave for parts South…weather permitting…mid-November!