Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge this week is Pick a Topic from her photo (see it here). My first picture picks up a few of Cee’s suggested topics: candid, fence, bird, wild grass, blue, and green.
The telescope in Cee’s photo, the camera being used by one of the birdwatchers, and the cell phone all have lenses. It may be a stretch, but I picked the topic “through a lens.”
These last two candid shots are just for the fun of it!
This picture of bubbling chokecherry syrup was the first I considered in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge of words with two letters “r.” A friend had given us a bottle of chokecherry juice to make into syrup and after adding sugar and bringing the mixture to a boil, I had to grab a camera. The bubbles were prettier in person, but chokecheRRY fits this week’s challenge!
Riverfront Park was on the agenda for a walk yesterday. It wasn’t until on my way there I realized the words river and riverfront meet the challenge! The Yellowstone River is pictured above and some meRRy friends at RiverfRont Park are shown below.
Heading home on Rimrock Road after running errands, I realized the largest feature of the landscape here in Billings also fits the challenge: rimrocks! The city is located in the Yellowstone Valley, bordered to the south by the Yellowstone RiveR and to the north by the RimRocks. Read more about the rims on Wikipedia.
This picture of the rimrocks was taken at Phipps Park on the northwest corner of Billings. Bonus for this week’s challenge: a railroad line!
Just because I have it, here’s a picture taken a week ago from the top of the rimrocks, looking SSW over the city.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – July Pick a Topic from [her] Photo prompted me to head to Zoo Montana / Yellowstone Arboretum with camera in hand. I knew I would find flower beds with trees in the background and hoped there might be a person or two wearing hats.
Volunteers – wearing hats! – with the Botanical Society of Zoo Montana were tending the Sensory Garden.
May there be sunshine and flowers to brighten your day!
I headed to Rose Park here in Billings the other day thinking there might be roses to photograph. Although I didn’t any roses, I discovered children of all ages at the park by 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning!
The tennis courts were busy, young adults were playing sand volleyball, preschool age children were on the playground, and there was a Little League game on the baseball field.
The flower garden sponsored by Compassionate Friends Billings Chapter was being tended by a woman whose son died by suicide at the age of 41. As she and I talked I was reminded that we will always by children to our parents or to those who raised us.
May you have child-like curiosity, delight, and enthusiasm in your life today.
Posted in response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt – Children.
Painting was one of the first tasks when I moved from Iowa to Montana about a month ago.
Coloring after supper at my parents’ home. Not sure who enjoys it more: my mom or the two-year-old who lives next door!
Posted in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge with Primary Colors as theme of the week.
Wait! What? Cee listed the primary colors of light: red, green and blue. I looked for pictures with the traditional primary colors of blue, red, and yellow. So here is one more photo.
Rows and rows of white headstones, often with an American flag carefully placed at the base of each one, are a common image on Memorial Day Weekend here in the United States. This morning – Memorial Day – I found myself thinking about my visit to Little Bighorn National Monument early in May and realized I had photos of rows and rows of white headstones.
Away from the cemetery are gravestones to mark where men fell in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought along the ridges, steep bluffs, and ravines of the Little Bighorn River, in south-central Montana on June 25-26, 1876. The combatants were warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, battling men of the 7th Regiment of the US Cavalry. The Battle of the Little Bighorn has come to symbolize the clash of two vastly dissimilar cultures: the buffalo/horse culture of the northern plains tribes, and the highly industrial/agricultural based culture of the United States.
Context & Story of the Battle, https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/battle-story.htm
I grew up in eastern Montana and knew of the battle as “Custer’s Last Stand” – a terrible defeat for the cavalry.
But for the warriors who were defending their homeland, it was a great victory.
“That night the Lakota men, women, and children lighted many fires and danced; their hearts were glad for the Great Spirit had given them a great victory.”
– Etched on the Indian Memorial, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
“An Indian memorial to honor Native American participation in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, June 25-26, 1876, and to change the name of Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, was authorized by Congress in 1991 and signed into law by former President George H. W. Bush on December 10, 1991.”
From the sign describing the Indian Memorial
The design of the Indian Memorial is circular. It includes the etchings of the warriors (above) and words of “A Great Victory.” It also has a remarkable metal sculpture (below) and quotations from Native Americans.
Isn’t it interesting how we frame a story based on our particular experiences, culture, heritage, and more? What might we learn if we were to truly listen to a different narrative of the same event? Whose story do I/we need to hear today?
We were back in Baker to help my parents pack fifty-some years of accumulations housed at the corner of 1st and George. Across the street from Lincoln Elementary School, allowing Mom to watch the kids – all the kids across the years – come and go and play at recess. Two blocks from Baker High School, where Dad taught math and computers.
Early evening, sun descending, feeling nostalgic and needing a break from boxes, I took a walk with camera in hand. This is my favorite picture of that day.
So much light and laughter and love emanated from that house. Friends always used the backdoor – knocking was optional. They knew to help themselves to a pop (aka soda) from the fridge. Teenagers soon learned they were welcome to make themselves a peanut butter sandwich or scrounge for leftovers. If supper was on the table, visitors were invited to pull up a chair. I could go on and on!
So many bright memories. So much love.
Picture posted in response to Becky’s Bright Squares challenge. Prose because this photo led me down memory lane!
I’ve been thinking about a photo challenge with the word “renewal” for a week. Music and prayer, walking and reading are sources of renewal. The buds on trees now growing more noticeable here in central Iowa remind me that spring, a season of renewal, is on the way.
But my heart continues to return to the day my best beloved and I renewed our wedding vows.
John had been receiving Hospice Care at home since March. We both knew his days were numbered and were cherishing our time together.
At some point ten or twelve months earlier we’d looked at a new wedding band for him since his original band had become too big, often sliding off his finger. Being the frugal sort we opted not to buy at that time.
When choosing to stop all cancer treatment in late February, we hoped to vacation along the Oregon coast together one last time. Visiting family on the way there or back was part of the plan. Covid-19 squashed those ideas.
By August, I was doing whatever I could to grant John’s every wish. Having not spent the money on travel, we had no qualms about buying new rings.
The words of my Facebook post that day sum it up:
Somewhat impromptu renewal of vows.
– Facebook Post, September 3, 2020.
Over the last month John has asked me to marry him more times than I can count.
We ordered new rings a week ago.
Picked up the rings this morning then drove by Urbandale UCC scouting a suitable location to renew vows.
Pastor Dave was there and agreed to preside so we just did it.
John died in October; I shared his Final Word in my post After All Souls Day; you can read it here.
The renewal of vows was less about the promises made and more about the love we shared every day for more than 25 years: a deep, abiding mutual admiration of each other with a longing and commitment to help each other become the person God called us each to be. While I truly miss the daily companionship of my best beloved, I am grateful beyond words for all John taught me and the way he encouraged me in life’s journey.
May you celebrate love today and every day.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge the third Wednesday of February is to use her picture to pick a topic (or two or more!) for your pictures. Click here to see her picture; it shows yard/gardening tools as well as a portable outhouse on a trailer with trees in the background.
In my search for a picture (just one!) with a garden tool, I discovered photos of an old outhouse that had been hauled to the ranch dump. Tipped on its side, it’s definitely no longer in use!
Besides just general messing around with a camera in hand that day, Dad intended to dig a few potatoes. So here’s a picture of a shovel in use.
Same ranch, same characters, same intent and maybe the same shovel four years later. This time with trees in the background.
Switching things up, I remembered an outdoor cleanup day at a church that might show some tools. To my delight, I found a photo that shows a bit of fun while getting the work done with a rake.
Finally, for a little winter work, here’s a broom and a snow shovel being put to good use.
It’s another photo challenge and I get to pick the topic based on a picture! Click on this link to see the picture and the guidelines of Cee’s challenge.
Walk. I’m visiting my parents and we walk with dear friends every day. The picture above is definitely a candid shot, another possibility for the topic of the day.
Fence. More than one fence keeps folk on the foot bridge and out of the water. I’m intrigued by stripes and the grid in the shadow.
Orange. The only orange I could find outdoors in central Montana in mid-November is on Snickerdoodle’s scarf. After I looked a the challenge photo again, the topic for this picture could also be fuzzy.
Posted in response to Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – November Pick a Topic from [her] Photo. Such fun!
Another LQQK 