Fall Colors in Montana

Just checking on how I have been remiss in posting lately. I so enjoyed the Fall colors in Fort Benton, MT this year and want to put them out for anyone interested to see. Hope you like them!

Stunning Sunsets

Taken Saturday -- July 28, 2012 I have been off work for a few nights in a row this week and have stepped outside just as the sun has been setting a little after 9 p.m. here in Fort Benton, Montana. I am amazed at how each one is so different. Hope you like these photos. It is hard to pick which ones I like the best as I shoot from different places in the front and back yards. I love the ones with the trees in the forefront, but the colors of the sun and surrounding clouds over the wheat fields are equally spectacular.

Taken Friday -- July 27, 2012

Taken Thursday -- July 26, 2012 Even after the sun has gone to bed for the night, the skies are still beautiful in colors as seen in these taken tonight.

Also, I would like to note -- I did not color enhance any of these photos. I left them as taken with my old trusty digital camera. I did choose different settings to see what effect I would get with them though.

Going to the Birds

A dear friend of mine asked me yesterday to send her some pictures of what I have been working on lately. One might could say that my life is "going to the birds" here recently. I have been stitching a new set of blocks that have birds in each one of them. I also think they look like Kaliescope pictures or even Mandala type art.




Now just have to figure out how I want to place them in a quilt and what fabrics to use. Lately, I have been using very vibrant colors because I have so wanted Spring to get here. Thanks goodness it has finally arrived, but we did have quite a bit of snow fall just the other day.




I am so happy the snow melts quickly once the winds start to blow and the sun comes out again. Does make for interesting driving down our mud pit though.



Also, people have been delivering vases of dafodils to the residents of the nursing home and personal care where I work. I love seeing this bright yellow around and the flowers make wonderful conversation pieces to get everyone talking to each other.

Enjoy your Spring and I hope it doesn't fly by too quickly!!

Sunrise Road Trip

We had to travel this past Wednesday to Missoula, Montana (about 4 hours away). Leaving very early in the morning afforded us the wonderful opportunity to see a splendid sunrise. Savannah Rose snapped these pictures while we were cruising down the highway at 70+ mph. Aren't they something? And, I didn't even do any touch-ups when loading them onto the computer.



We saw one person pulled off of the side of the road setting up a tripod to take some pictures. This made my husband say that when he retires he hopes to invest in a nice digital camera tripod set-up for himself, to be able to take pictures of landscape and wildlife. He is planning and 6 years will be blink before we know it.

Sunrise Colors

I have been working a 5 night stretch of shifts this past week and couldn't resist taking some sunrise sky pictures. The colors are just as magnificent as the sunsets.






Thought I would share some with you here along with some of the past snow we had recently.

Just chilling here on the farm listening to some classic Christmas songs!!

I put a bug in my husband's ear for a 10 cup tea pot for my Christmas present this year. That way I can sit at the dining table and have some tea parties with the kids and watch the landscape art outside my windows.

My Spring is Full of Colors

I love the snow taking a break from us for a while. Can't believe we are sporting temperatures in the mid to high '40s for the past few days.

This has made me do some moving around of things in my house -- something known as "Spring Cleaning". I have only bagged up one sack of things to take to donate, but know I will get around to more soon.





Keeping my fingers busy as night while working I have been stitching on a few more pieces. Then on the weekends I get to spend a little time in my sewing room. I am working on another quilt top and decided to come up with some patchwork blocks. Lots of thread and the humming of my machine happening with this one. I seem to be choosing brighter colors.



Well, I am told if I don't get off this computer and head upstairs, dinner will be gone. Hope you are getting into the "Springy Zone" and your world is filled with happy colors.

Fall Colors Are Flying By

I started taking pictures of the gigantic tree in our front yard. It acts as an umbrella to us during the summer months keeping the hot sun off our house and picture window. The tree is also a haven for us to sit under in a two seater swing or at the picnic table (not once did I use our colorful umbrella this year).



I have fallen in love with the branches and how intricate and woven they appear to be. So standing underneath with my digital camera, I started snapping photos. My husband thought I was a little on the crazy side of life at the time, but let me have my whim.



Then I started taking photos when the leaves changed and also noticed that this year in Great Falls, Montana we seem to have been blessed with a real season of Fall. Last year, it just blew through the neighbor hood and weather beat upon the leaves making them crash to the ground and become a swamp we could not even wade through.



I felt I had an angel appear from out of no where with a contraption I had never seen before and he vacuumed my leaves and I helped him empty into big yard sacks -- only asking for a donation -- "Any small amount will do," he said.

This year, the leaves have fallen a few at a time and been more manageable in raking and removing. I look at the tree and see it bare but am not depressed for winter will come and hopefully go quick enough that I can begin to enjoy the green and shade once again. Don't get me wrong, I do love all the seasons but will admit to being more partial to some than others.



Hope you are enjoying your colors, cooler temperatures, and the changing of the seasons.

Extra Passenger

On a recent trip -- supposed fishing outing -- this character rode on my windshield approximately 100 miles. I pulled out the digital camera and he let me have a photo shoot on the hood of our van.

I posted his picture on Facebook and my aunt responded, "Keep him on your side of the mountains, we have enough already".

I find the details on him fascinating. I also loved his coloring. My little extra passenger eventually lept away on his further travels. I haven't heard him around. There were many at the dam we explored making much noise, so much so, my youngest who fears bees and buzzing was somewhat scared.



The National Geographic had this information: Locusts are related to grasshoppers and the two insects look similar. However, locust behavior can be something else entirely. Locusts are sometimes solitary insects with lifestyles much like grasshoppers. But locusts have another behavioral phase called the gregarious phase. When environmental conditions produce many green plants and promote breeding, locusts can congregate into thick, mobile, ravenous swarms.

Now we are into fall and sweaters are out, I am sure these critters have taken flight elsewhere. They have traveled over the mountains headed for warmer climates, leaving Montana for greener scenery.

Mental Note to Self

Ever have to leave yourself mental and sometimes visual notes of things you want or need to accomplish. Well, here goes three patterns in quilts I have seen recently on the internet that I want to try to make. At least one I would be changing the colors but love the layout of the blocks.

Another Quilt To Make You Drool

W.I.P-ufo's, originally uploaded by bangkokmomquilts.

This is stunning! I am going to have to study it and decide on some fabrics to make my own. I am thinking purples and greens or maybe yellows and blues. The possibilities are endless and I am really getting into the triangle additions to my quilt blocks.

I can't believe how I hold back on trying new things and then end up thinking -- "Girl, what took you so long?"