August 2013

Here are a handful of the Album Pages I created for August...

Hugs, Alison

Scenes of Summer

scenic rest

morning sun on flathead

let the sunshine in

yoyo

lake mcdonald

good morning

natures garden

  sunday afternoon nap

  two medicine

the harvest truly is great

our youngest and oldest

hidden lake

under the cosmos

My sweet husband gave me a new camera for my birthday, in the form of a phone.  

This means I have my camera/phone with me, where-ever I go now days.  This may (or may not) be the coolest thing ever to be able to capture anything(snap), anywhere(snap), anytime(snap).  It may (or may not) be causing photo overload to my computer system and my brain!

So, the above pictures are some of my favorites that I've taken on my new phone so far.  I have to remember to get out the big camera sometimes and use it.  But this has been fun, so very fun. 

Snappin' away here in Montana,

Alison

Glacier Park Giveaway Winners!

Granite Park Chalet-August 2012

(this picture was taken by Randy on a hike last week of the outside of the Chalet that is featured on the first mug)

Winner of Mug #1 (Granite Park Chalet/"the living's fine")

is

#5 Traci K!



Grinnell Glacier-August 2012

(this picture was taken by Randy on a hike last week-the glaclier is named after George Bird Grinnell who's quote is featured on the second mug)

The Winner of Mug #2 (Glacier Park/"the crown of the continent")

is

#9 Ruth S!

These numbers were generated by Random.org.

Thanks so much everyone for participating!  I would really like to give all of you a trip to the park.  I love to see people from all over the world enjoying it. 

Traci K. and Ruth S. please send me your addresses at hugsfromus@yahoo.com and I will send your mugs to you in the mail. 

Have a great week!
Alison

Off the Road Again

Just can't wait to get off the road again...

Goin' places that we have never been Seein' things that we may never see again Just can't wait to get off the road again.

I haven't been to this place since I was on my 8th grade field trip some 20 years ago. Thanks to the kids who begged and pleaded along with me, Randy finally agreed to stop. The stop wasn't a complete success because all the neat buildings on the Ranch were locked up because they were putting in a new fire suppression system, but it was great to get out, look around and breath some crisp (cold), fresh spring air. I REALLY hope to go back again someday when we can really immerse ourselves in this fascinating place! You can read about it here.

Hope you all are enjoying your spring! I will be going off line from now until the first of May so I'll see you then!

Just can't wait to get off the road again,
Tootle-loo

Basking in the Glow and a High Resolution!

Dear Front Porch Visitors,

The above picture was one of my favorites taken of one of the "highlights" of our holidays. You can see Randy with Lita on his back and then Maya, Colter, and Kyla headed up the stairs to view the torch and firework display at our local ski resort. Beautiful New Years evening.

We have had such a wonderful couple weeks behind us now. I will post some other highlights soon! Tomorrow the kids return to school so I'm sitting here tonight, basking in the glow of our wonderful days, not quite sure I'm ready to face tomorrow. Just not quite thinking about it helps. But, the alarm clock will ring bright and early and we'll be off to the races. Thank goodness the kids are happy to head back to school. :)

And then there is this business about my new years resolution. I'm going way out there this year! This was someone else's idea and when I read that they were going to make it their new years resolution I thought "oh, my... that poor person!" Then I thought to myself... "why don't you do it!" It's absolutely CRAZY!!! But I know if I can stick to it, it would really be a healthy step for me and if I say it here, on this blog, I just might have a chance of sticking to it! So....... (drumroll please)

I resolve to eat NO chocolate this year.

There I said it! And... I'm gonna do it! It's a high resolution but think of all the desserts, treats, drinks and snacking it would cut out! Plus, I'm highly addicted and I'm taking drastic measures. It'll be kinda fun to... to see if I really can do it. Anyone want to join me? I'll be sure to post updates along the way. :)

Do you think I'm crazy?!?

Welcome to this New Year everyone! Hope you have a wonderful 2012! It will be a chocolate free one for me. Cheerio!
Alison

From This Front Porch

This picture was taken by Randy from our front porch on Sunday. Randy and Colter rode in one of the combines on Saturday for a round. The driver told him this field was going about 90 to 100(!!!!)

We thought you might enjoy seeing this Grandpa Larry! Glad your harvest is done now... thought of you often.

Alison and family

Harvest 2011

The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow.

Sow an act, and you reap a habit.

Sow a habit and you reap a character.

Sow a character and you reap a destiny.
~James Allen

We were not able to go home for harvest this year (insert very sad face) because it was so late this year in Eastern Montana. So, we have been enjoying our own harvest here as spectators instead of as players. It's happening all around us now. We watched the soil being prepared and the seed being planted in the spring. We watched the airplanes and helicopters spraying this summer and the big center pivots going around and around. Now, we are watching the harvest.

The above pictures come from the farm of Maya's best school friend Boe. His family farms all around us. Randy and I take turns bringing the kids on 4-wheeler rides in the mountains and country roads around our house in the evenings. Last night it was Maya and my turn and we took these pictures. Maya kept saying, "It sure smells like Harvest." and "It just feels like we're at Harvest." We just had to stop and watch because it helps us, in a little way, enter in to this years harvest.

Alison

Mountain Music

All is well in the valley...

Recently we were at a beautiful wedding and had the privilege to see and hear these. Do you know what they are?
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Used by mountain dwellers in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe, the Alphorn is produced to play in a specific key signature. Alphorns have no valves and are played simply by blowing into the instrument. The full range of the horn is several octaves. When they are played, the notes are produced strictly by lip control.

Collections of alpine myths and legends suggest that alphorn instruments were frequently used as signal instruments in village communities since medieval times and earlier. Long ago instruments in the mountainous regions of the Alps were used for signaling and to announce daily activities. Since ancient times the alphorn was sounded as a part of the daily activities of the shepherds and cowherds of these mountain people. The horn was used to calm the dairy cow at milking time. It was the twilight signal for the flocks of sheep to settle in for the night as the shepherds exchanged rustic melodies across the valleys. Such melodies became ritual signals for "all is well in the valley" and were passed down from generation to generation. The sound of the alphorn called people to gather for council and the men to gather for war. To this day, alphorn music is enjoyed throughout the mountainous regions of the world.*

Music is the universal language of mankind.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Alison
*this information comes from here

Yellowstone Park: Day Four

Our last morning in The Fishing Bridge was spent working on this fort (above) which the kids had worked on during their mornings while we were here. I think it had been started by some kid in the past and was a work in progress by the kids coming and going in the Park. :) We noticed several of them around.

Randy and I got the trailer ready to go...


We headed to West Yellowstone. This is a place Randy spent lots of time at during his collage days. He used to work in the summers, logging in the mountains around West Yellowstone. We enjoyed driving around and seeing the places he remembered so well.

Here is the road he used to take out to his job/camp site each week...
West Yellowstone has a few attractions to enjoy. Here we are ready to watch an IMAX called Yellowstone. Randy and I had both seen it before but enjoyed watching it again along with the kiddos. Lita wasn't to sure about it though...

Then we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. Here we are learning about them and their habitats...

Out with the bears...




And watching the wolves...


Back on the road again we headed up the beautiful Gallatin Canyon. We stopped in Four Corners at a KOA for our last night of the trip...
Lita enjoyed her swim that evening in the hot-spring heated RV Park pool much more than in Holter Lake. It must have been the perfect temperature...

The next morning we ate a quick breakfast and headed home. Back to real life. The end.

Alison
(moving on now ;)