Seriously, where's the fire?

        Our most recent winter here in Montana was unusually mild and we all knew what that meant. We talked about it everywhere; with clients at work, with strangers in line at the grocery store “We really need more snow or we’re going to have horrible fires this summer”. Now here we are at the beginning of September, still experiencing one of our worst fire seasons in recent years. I certainly haven’t seen anything like this in the five years I’ve lived here.  I know there are other places that have had much worse fires than ours this year but really when it's the area that you live in and love and people your know being displaced, it's always terrible.  Thankfully the towns where I live and work haven’t been touched by fire but many people who live outside of the towns have been evacuated along with many poplar recreational areas. For the last couple weeks, I’ve gone about my regular routine while the air smells like a campfire and the smoke is so thick I can’t see the Bridger Mountains from my house one some days. There have been warnings that it isn’t safe to exercise outside and school children are being kept indoors for recess. Some days it’s hard to go about my normal business knowing how much damage is occurring and thinking of all the firefighters who are working around the clock to keep our towns safe. And even though I know my home is safe, it’s still a bit unnerving to be driving home and see something like this

Or to get of the interstate, look back toward Bozeman and see this

        I know that wildfires are a part of nature's cycle and a part of living in Montana. Other parts of the country have their own risks like tornadoes or earthquakes. I lived in the south for many years and experienced hurricanes but this is a little different. With a hurricane you have warning and then not much to do but get ready and wait it out. Here, it's a little different. Often I'll we'll arrive at work in the morning literally asking each other "Where's the fire?" and determining whether or not we have anything to worry about. Then we just wait, keep informed and hope for rain (without lightning). 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Merge

 

 

 

      Winter in Montana can be beautiful and enjoyable but it can also feel overbearing and endless at times. This photo is a perfect combination of all of the above. Sometimes on a frigid snowy day it can be hard to tell where the earth ends and the sky begins.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wrong

          I’m pretty happy that this week’s photo challenge allows me to use a photo I took quite a while ago and have been holding onto for an opportunity like this. Winter often comes early in Montana and in October 2010, I left work one evening to find this on my car’s windshield

           I thought it was a joke, likely played by my roommate at the time, mocking my interest in younger men. Then I looked around and noticed every single car in the lot had this same ad tucked under a wiper blade.  I’ve never heard anything else about this “business” but I really think that if there is a wrong name for a business, this is it!

That's Not Fair

         Last month, on a hot dry Sunday afternoon, my boyfriend and I went to our county fair at my request. I don't exactly have a reason for wanting to go to the fair other than to take in the sights, sounds and smells. It's also a great excuse to eat terrible food and attempt win a prize that you have no need for. I enjoy the fair atmosphere mostly because it reminds me of all the fairs I went to in my early teen years in Pennsylvania, when it was one of the few times I was allowed to roam around unattended with my friends.

        Reggie and I shuffled around the dusty fairgrounds alternating an exchange of "What do you want to do?" "I don't care, what do you want to do?" We ate corn dogs, brats and ice cream. Then, as we got to the farthest most end of the midway, there was a big colorful exhibit with flapping banners and a recorded carnival barker calling everyone to see the "great freaks of the world" and I saw this 

       There is a part of me that is perpetually immature so I snickered "Hey, I want to see that", not being serious. But my normally squeamish boyfriend was actually quite intrigued by the promise of a demon's skeleton and multiple two headed creatures. I typically have the stronger stomach but am easily scared by creepy things or gory images. I wasn't so sure about this. We paid our $2 a piece and entered through the thick yellow canvas flaps. It actually wasn't scary, as I had feared. There were a few pens holding live animals that had extra legs and some tanks of turtles with two heads but they didn't appear to be suffering. The rest of the exhibit was creatures in formaldehyde or taxidermy mounts to show off their grotesque features. I had made it through and was peering into the last turtle tank when a nicely dressed man in a bowler hat approached us and invited us to join a few other people at a small stage near the tent's exit. He started to speak and I realized "Uh oh, something creepy is about to happen here" and tried to dart for the exit. Reggie squeezed my hand and tried to convince me that it would be fine but as soon as I realized the guy was going to "swallow fire", I hid my face in the back of Reggie's neck and didn't look up until it was over. Apparently he took what looked like giant cotton swabs, lit them on fire and put them in his mouth. To me, that is much creepier than a mutant sheep with six legs. I joined in the polite applause and scooted out of the tent. We made a couple more laps around the fair grounds, I won a stuffed dog by throwing darts at balloons, and then we headed to the parking lot. Fair experience accomplished!

         For me, the fair is about having fun and feeling like you've escaped every day life for just a little while. I'll look forward to the fair when it arrives again next year, but I'll skip the freak show. 

        

Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

       Last year, my boyfriend and I went a bit overboard in our excitement to have a large garden. We started planting seeds in early March when it was still cold and snowy. We provided artificial light and tended to the seedings daily. It was a lot of work and we couldn't wait to get them outside. Our intention was to spend Memorial Day weekend transplanting our young plants and establishing our garden, but in typical Montana fashion those three days were gray, rainy and chilly. So what we ended up with were couple hundred small plants covering every flat surface in our home that got direct sunlight until mid June when we were finally past the danger of frost. This photo shows some tomato and corn plants in my laundry room.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Purple

    I didn't fully understand "purple mountain majesties" until I moved to Montana. I live very close to the Bridger Mountain range and even though I see it all the time, I'm constantly amazed by the beauty of the mountains. I took this photo one evening early this year as I was walking in my neighborhood and feeling particularly stunned by the scenery.

Write It Down

          Today I did something that's been on my mental to do list for about a year; I wrote a letter to a friend I've fallen out of touch with. Yes, I wrote an honest to goodness letter by hand. I even had to dig through my desk to find my official writing tablet. It felt good. It reminded me of when I was in high school and moved out of state, my friends and I wrote long letters back and forth for years. Then came email and the internet with all of it's mixed blessings. I'm thankful for social media because I'm in touch with many awesome people I wouldn't know anymore otherwise. But sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the over sharing that occurs on FaceBook and Twitter. Although the recipient of the letter is my friend on FaceBook, I knew a hand written letter was the way to go to properly express my feelings. It's gotten me thinking about who else might appreciate a handwritten note (my mother for sure!).