for me this is true

I never test it out to see how cold.
I don't wait for the clouds to move, the sun to peek out
or the wind to change direction.



I take a deep breath and dive in.

I swim as far as I can never coming up for air until my lungs need filling.



When I do come up for air I feel restored.
Leaving the days worries to sift down
and settle within the tiny pebbles below
I make the swim back to shore. I am smiling.



For me this is true.
In the woods, we return to reason and faith.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

poem and concept blatently stolen from Sarah at Bee House Hives - I thank you for sharing this poem!

once around the sun

Aven will be a year old in just a few days.



There is so much to celebrate.



She walks with purpose on her short legs, points and names everything she sees (usually 'this' or 'that'), laughs so hard with her sister, is still surprised by peek-a-boo. She moves through the world with such determination, curiosity, and grace.



This morning I heard her chirping and singing from her crib. I climbed the stairs to her room and looked around the corner to find her standing, holding the railing, smiling that surprised and contented smile, her pale hair sticking out in every direction as the sun poured in all around her.



Sweet Aven-pie. We are so grateful for this year. We are so lucky to have you in our family, to watch you discover the world, and remind us how lovely it all is.

on the road

So, not be be all braggy, but the other week I drove appx. 950 miles... with my children...over four days... and we all survived!!!!



We ended up completing a very scenic loop from home to Missoula, to the Bitterroot, to home, to Missoula, to the Seeley-Swan Valley, to Butte, to home...whew.


burning off some pent-up energy at Grandma's,


No more car, mama!

pizza with a view of the Clark Fork River in Missoula,


tipis and gray skies along the Blackfoot River,



The upside of so much driving driving driving was that we had some much-needed time to hang out with Grampa Scott:


Followed by a fabulous time with Aunt Robin and John...which coincided with lots of teething pain and a flooded basement...in case you didn't know- Aunt Robin and John are major troopers!!

low tech teething relief...

We came home to a box full of new blocks,

cooler days and tea parties,



and princess dress-up on the porch...

ladies of the canyon

There are a few parts of the year where it seems I can actually feel the passage of time. The middle of August always has a strange, suspended feel to it...the days no longer have the intense heat of summer, or the intense, energetic rush of festivals, camping, roadtrips; that manic but wonderul urgency of getting it all in because every one of our senses keeps reminding us that summer is fleeting! By the middle a August, I'm over all of that.



That sweet rush of summer comes to a halting stop and we take a deep breath. We slow down. We spend time in the giant, silver wonderfulness of our russian olive tree,



enjoy slow, sun-drenched mornings reading library book after library book with dad before he leaves for work,



We get better aqainted with Jack-the-horse, who, although a long-time family member, is new to being a backyard attraction,




Though of course, we just wouldn't be us, without moments like this:



So it's not exactly a peaceful zen garden around here - just nice and normal (for us).




My mom (who I cannot listent to a Joni Mitchell song without thinking of) always called my sister and I, 'Ladies of the Canyon,' as in," Alright, ladies of the canyon, time for bed"...and I've begun to call my own ladies the same, so goodnight from southwest Montana, the sisters 'A', and the ladies of the canyon.

"Pouring music down the canyon-
Coloring the sunshine hours
They are the ladies of the canyon."
-Joni Mitchell

playing & waking

season, shift

We are thick into summer life... and with the coming of August, the feel of summer seems to shift a bit. The sun feels a little bit weaker than it did in July, the air between you and the mountains is less crisp- with that late summer haze, the unfarmed hills bleach gold then fade to white...and you feel the beginning of an itch...for a new season.

In the meantime we're soaking up the final weeks of summer with visits to our favorite lakes and streams, roadtrips to the Bitterroot and Seeley-Swan Valleys, friends, family,water, sun. That race to drink up as much of the season while you can- in Montana, winter never feels very far away.



So it's full speed ahead until fall.


thank goodness for 'weeds' in the wheat field...

And now...a portrait of the artist...











Oh, and I'm getting rid of all our plastic toys; all this girl wants is a muffin pan full of rocks...





Hope you're enjoying the seaon,
and the shift.



"Let's take the time to walk together,
while we have the sun.
You never know when
tempermental weather's gonna come..."
-Mirah

p.s. I have a giant crush on my new camera! And I believe it to be too large to fall between the bars of a cattle-guard...so I have that going for me!