Midwest girl to city girl to wood nymph

I was born and grew up in Northwest Ohio – Toledo and then Perrysburg.  At 24, I took a job that moved me to San Francisco area and then several years later I moved to Los Angeles where I lived for 13 years before my move to Montana in early ’94. 

Karl will do a bit of a perimeter check on his own first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening, but he is a homebody dog – staying in the “yard” unless I walk out and then he happily goes with.  We are in the habit of a walk down the driveway as soon as there is a bit of light for me.  Karl will venture into the woods on the way back, but the trip out is along the driveway.  I have a cup of coffee with me and I amble along as he stops to sniff and explore a bit.

Tree    

Stump

 A few days ago I was standing where I took the photos above, absently watching Karl sniff around and looking at the moss covered stump.  When I lived in Los Angeles there was always a neighborhood bagel place that I could walk to from my apartment.  Standing in the early morning – something about the stump and the trees – it brought a vivid picture to mind of the contrast between the surroundings of my current home and how I once lived in the city.  In California and particularly Los Angeles, I lived in apartments that were mostly next to other apartment buildings and I had maybe one window that looked at a bit of a tree.  I was fortunate to find smaller buildings where I was one of 2 apartments on the floor so had windows on 3 sides usually, but still – it was Los Angeles – the city… sidewalks, cars, buses, small yards immaculately landscaped, office buildings…

In Montana, even my first house on a 90 x 100 lot in a subdivision – was a treed lot and there were 2 lots next to me with no homes as well as a woods behind that was a buffer between my subdivision and the one next – a huge leap from L.A.  The next move took me to a transitional rental on Flathead Lake – on the lake with my own little beach and also woods and orchard around and between the house and the road.  Swan River Road was next – a little craftsman house on 6 acres with about 2/3 in yard/pasture and 1/3 in woods – the river across the road and Swan Range rising to the east.  The house was surrounded with old growth birch and pines

Now, here I am in the 8 acre woods and cabin – turned into small ranch house – 175 yards off the road,  on top of  the first foothill before the Swan range,  40 acres of meadow beyond my woods opening onto vistas of the mountains, 40 acres of state land on the north boundary, and a nice neighbor who enjoys quiet and privacy as I do – to my west.  The woods is newly thinned and healthy with grasses and wildflowers growing up in between the trees.  The sun shines through the trees in a beautifully filtered pattern which changes from first light to last.

It is difficult to explain the thoughts and feelings that flitted through my mind in a manner of seconds – the contrast between the city and this woods.  I have lived in the lush midwest, near enough to the ocean to walk to the beach, in a neighborhood, on a lake and now in the woods by the mountains.   It is the woods by the mountains that I love best.  I bought a poster when I was 16 – it was about 2 feet wide and 4 feet high – it was simply sun shining through the trees of a woods – I could nearly duplicate the poster with any photo of my woods…. from the front porch, Saturday, July 21, 2007.

It was a tornado(s)…

News and some photos today – no one got a photo of the tornado – the photos were of the damage.  And it wasn’t a tornado of the Kansas – Iowa sort, but apparently the several strong cells that whooshed through did have signifigant rotation and one bit of rotation touched ground south of Polson and several other bits over Flathead Lake – one which picked up a 26 foot sailboat and spun it 360 flinging the occupants over the side – they were rescued unhurt.  In fact, no people were hurt.  The roof came off an arena where a barrel racing event was going on – terrifying to horses and people and one horse was killed, another hurt but looks like he will recover.  From “The Daily Interlake” (Kalispell newspaper)  – the following article   http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/news01.txt

 And when I stopped at the dump this morning – evidence of a recent storm…

Dumpsters

Nice Night

The day after the “Big” storm – 80 instead of nearly 100 – what a change!  Warm enough to feel like summer but not so hot as to make it miserable to be outside.  By early evening, it was extremely pleasant so we had some outdoor fun…

a little “Karl’s Rules Soccer”…

Karl 1

Karl 2

Karl 3

Done with soccer.

Karl 4

After soccer a little garden time – not a lot of raspberries but what a nice little snack with an evening cup of tea!

Raspberries

Bob had his own special way of enjoying the nice night…

Bob

Are we in Kansas Toto…err, I mean Bob and Karl?

Yikes, another wild night complete with a tornado warning – a tornado! – in Montana!!  It is a little confusing though as they announced a warning from NOAA… and a warning means an actual sighting, but no one actually SAW the tornado.  NOAA saw rotation in a thunderstorm cell.  This morning they are saying that there ACTUALLY was a tornado that touched the ground in Polson which is 40 miles south of me on the southern shore of Flathead Lake.  It was 8 p.m. which is still full light although it was darkish from the storm, still,  can’t believe no one got a photo and I haven’t heard there is one.  Also a bunch of NOAA people are rushing to Polson this morning to “VERIFY” the touch down.  We shall see…

There was a LOT of wind and thunder, lightning, rain and then that constant cloud to cloud lightning with no thunder after the storm had seemingly passed.  The wind was pretty spectacular, even at my place.  I have tried to get video of what the trees look like when there is a windstorm.  Because the trees here are mostly the very tall trunks with branches mostly at the top 3rd, they sway very dramatically and with a very high wind it looks like some wild dance out there all of them going every which way and they bend so much it is hard to believe they don’t break – well some do… see later…  It is more dramatic to me as I’ve gone out after and tried to push a tree from a ladder – and they don’t move!

Everyone will be relieved to know that Bob exercised some caution last night – late afternoon as clouds started piling up, he stuck to the porch like glue!  I had to coax Karl out – it wasn’t even dark clouds, but Karl looks suspiciously at the sky when things are changing and if he doesn’t like the look of it, back inside!  I had to shut the door behind him and then throw a treat into the woods – once there he thinks about what he needs to do…  Both came inside at first call – Karl to the closet and Bob hung in on the bed for a bit but then when the show really started he decided under the bed was better.  Given the tornado thing, he was not in a bad place!

I had a chance to try out a new low tech gadget – weather radio that is supposed to flash light and siren if there is a weather emergency of the take cover kind – well there wasn’t but it does get the NOAA loop loud and clear…  It is such a cute radio and includes a crank handle to charge a rechargeable battery, plus will charge my cell phone.  I’m running on AA’s and have been using it mornings and evenings to hear news.

Radio  

Yesterday was a bit cooler from the rain Tuesday night, so Karl and I braved a bit longer walk in the woods – not our usual path and saw for the first time some of the damage from a windstorm that occured when we were in CO – very sad – several trees lost their tops – just looks so horrible to see the broken top on the ground and the break in what’s still standing.  Then this poor guy who fell over entirely – these large pine do not have much root system and it’s shallow.  I see this alot at the park by the lake where we walk – wind comes across the lake and the trees at the top sometimes just uproot like this.

Tree 

Tree Uprooted

This tree was about 50 feet tall – well, it will be home to some animals and feed other trees and critters.

As a follow up to my “new attitude” post. I am doing marginally better at dealing with the heat – however, those around me – tv, radio, people in shops – they are getting crankier… It is not just ME! – we don’t like heat here, hey, if people like heat, they don’t live in Montana!!!  We are to have a few days a bit cooler at 90ish instead of 100ish – but no forecast for a return to normal 80’s yet – bah, humbug!

thunder, lightning and Bob’s Big Adventure

Yesterday afternoon, all is quiet – I’m working, boys are napping…

Bob and Karl THEN…..

Map

AND “the glass is rising” …..

Barometer

The sky darkens … whoops, need to get Karl out before it starts thundering – we just make it and Karl takes care of necessities as the wind comes up.  His ears go back and he heads for the house and my bedroom closet.  I call Bob but he is still out.  He’s not quite as sensitive about thunder but at the first rumble I expect to see him running for home.  He doesn’t – I’m sitting on the front porch watching and listening as the storm approaches – still no Bob.  I walk through the woods 4 or 5 times – lightning is still very distant but thunder is getting louder and more frequent.  Then it starts to sprinkle and finally rain.  I decide that he has found a hidey hole – and I doubt he will venture out with it thundering so I go in and leave his door open.  Several squalls come through and it is after 10 before things settle down to just a gentle rain with no thunder or lightning and in walks Bob.  I’m relieved but also have to laugh – he is dry on his front half and soaked on his back half… I have to guess that he found a good place to “hide” from the storm, but his back half was “hanging out”.  We had a good snuggle and a warm towell off before going to bed.  It must not have been too traumatic as he did not hesitate going out this morning.  Still, adventures that make one late for supper – no fun!  (sentiment expressed by Bilbo Baggins…)

The morning after…

Deer

Bob the cat

Bob 

Is this normal for a cat????  He actually does this a lot as in sleeps on his back with his legs at odd positions… but so does Karl and so did my beloved Gus and also Zack.  I need to write about Gus and Zack at some point… but back to Bob.  I suppose funnier as he is such a big cat and kind of spreads out.

The story of Bob as I know it is this – Bob came to me from Rob, a past love. As Rob told it, he was doing some carpentry work for a women who had 3 older cats.  She had a cat door in her home.  One night she wakes up and there is an extra cat in bed with her – Bob – wearing a pink harness.  He appears in good health, has been neutered, and the harness – well, obviously someone’s dear pet who lost his way.  However, there are no responses to her flyers or newspaper ads for the “found” cat.  Rob is working away on her kitchen cabinets – he has disclosed that he recently lost his dog to illness.  Bob the cat has taken a liking to Rob.  Bob is much younger than the resident’s cats and not fitting very well into the household…. Bob goes home with Rob.  About a year later, Rob and I meet, etc. and when Rob moves in with me so does Bob.  A year later, Rob moves out and asks if Bob can stay until he (Rob) gets settled.  It is now about 4 1/2 years later – Rob and I stayed friends for a couple of years and it was eventually mutually agreed that Bob was happy in my home and that’s where he should stay.

I don’t know at what point in the story that Bob came on his name, but it fits and although people laugh, I never thought to try and change it and he is Bob.

At the time Bob came to live in my home, I had a tuxedo (black and white) cat, Gus – an extremely dear to me, angel cat, hunter extraordinare – but this is not Gus’ story…  Bob was “low man on the totem pole”.  When Gus disappeared and Bob became “only” cat – he decided that he REALLY liked being only cat.  I truly believe that he would like being “only” pet but he hasn’t quite figured out how to do away with Karl. 

When I got the motorhome and introduced Bob to harness and leash for travel, I did get a bit worried.  Since his original “flight” was “in-harness”, I wondered if another harness/leash experience would send him looking for a different home.  So far not – fine with me as I’ve become attached to the darn cat.  He is very affectionate and although he hunts it is not with the passion for hunting that Gus had – he is more of a homebody.  He is all for being in at night, although would go out earlier in the morning than I let him.  He has an extremely expressive face and “talks” – he tolerates and even is sometimes affectionate with Karl.  He even comes (mostly) when called – all in all a “good” cat.