These old barns…I’m forever wanting to catch this group just right…me and every other photographer that passes by them! They are just west of MT Highway 35 south of Woody’s and north of the Creston curve. There is a stand of 5 pine trees just to the east of the barns.
Today, just these old barns.
Karl’s and my Christmas Day tradition has been a decadent breakfast followed by a long snowshoe run. It continued this year.
Snow is scarce in the valley. We headed around Flathead Lake on the way to Blacktail Mountain Road and higher elevation.
Driving along the lake, a few mountain peaks of the Continental Divide were visible in sun holes in the cloud cover.
We drove up the road through the low inversion layer of foggy clouds and emerged above it all.
It was a world of sunshine, snow ghosts and mountain mystery.
The season of Advent: Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for the second coming of Christ.
I love this time of year – the waiting and expectation of Christmas, of snow and real Winter. There is excitement in all of it – remembering childhood Christmases so full of anticipation and then the growing of faith and the wondering of all that Christmas means to me now.
I like to savor every moment of this “time before” – the knowing of this celebration as our Heavenly Father wanting to enter our world and our lives.
On this quiet morning, I sat enjoying. The light from my little indoor tree softly lit small treasures from childhood, first years on my own and more recent finds that speak to me of the joy and wonder of this time of year. I sat…looking toward Christmas.
We caught some alpenglow the other night.
It rose from the valley tree tops to the mountain tops.
Karl thought it was funny.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th Month – Armistice – a celebration of Peace.
Today and all days, thank you to all of the men and women who have served and are serving – to keep that peace.
A special thought for the veteran dearest to me: Stephen Lee Douglas, U.S.M.C. (above).
For my Grandfather: Paul Biddle, my Father: Merle Summers
Reamus, Buck, Buckskins Rule, Barco, Glenn, Bill and Bob B are From the Front Porch readers who I know have served.
It will not be too long until the needles all drop and the larch are bare-boned branches in the Winter sky. The snow will fly and the green-brown-rust landscape will give way to the cool-cold white-green-blue of Winter.
But this morning, the sun lit everything with the brilliant colors of a Fall morning.