Home Again...Home Again...JiggedyJig...

Five weeks is a long time to be gone fishing, and it's nice to be back with a basketful of precious memories and spiderwebs taking over my front porch (that part's not so nice, lol). While we were gone we missed the heatwave and smoke from the fires, so it was a good time to be gone on our big adventure. First there were two weeks in Montana and environs--mostly in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks--where we were once again overwhelmed by the beautiful mountains and streams, wildflowers, geysers, and glaciers all around us and delighted with every encounter with the flora, fauna and nature surrounding us. This first picture is my beloved Many Glacier Lodge in the northeastern corner of Glacier National Park--I've been alot of places in the world and this still might be my very favorite of all. If you love nature, western Montana will do wonders for your soul and spirit. We saw nesting eagles, bison, bears, birds of all kinds, wolves and marmots, fat little chipmonks and mountain goats, sheep and trout of every hue and size. We fished, relaxed, searched for bears, and relaxed, fished some more, relaxed, explored, relaxed, saw mountains and streams, valleys and rivers, relaxed some more, and...well, you get the picture!

Did I mention the bears? One evening we saw 6 different bears foraging for huckleberries and licking up ants under rocks (the area around Many Glacier is full of bears, bighorn sheep and mountain goats). Driving up the Gallatin from Yellowstone towards Bozeman there was a young black bear that had just downed a pronghorn and was feasting on dinner--what a sight to behold. Mitch fished for trout on the Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone Rivers all in one day (three days in Livingston was a little bit of heaven all by itself in our own private cabin right on the Yellowstone River)--Montana is an excess of riches and delights that almost sends the senses into overload. I'm a mountain gal, and my heart was overflowing with the bounteous beauty of the earth every day. Summer in Montana is for me a glimpse of heaven. (And would you believe--no internet, no news, no worries and I totally and completely did not care!) Sooo, just when we thought it could not get better.....IT DID!!!! Talk about the icing on the cake.....

Just as we were returning home, the call came that a precious baby boy decided to come to earth a few days early and was waiting to meet his Grandma and Grandpa, so off I dashed across the continent (out of the woods and into the city, groan) for a first hand look at our beautifully handsome, sweet tempered and precious new grandson. , OH MY!!! It was love at first sight---he knows just how to melt his Grandma's (and Grandpa's) heart. I could go on and on, but I will just say that we adore him and felt so priviledged to be invited to share in the arrival of the sweetest little bundle of joy. I'm already missing him--two weeks, well two seconds really, was all it took to become attached to the dear little snuggly charmer--and it was so much fun to watch his Mom and Dad as they tenderly tended to his every need, with patience and love, despite their sleep deprivation, lol.

Yes, it's been a wonderful adventure, now it's time to get back into step. The first things that need attention are the spiderwebs on the porch and lots and lots of laundry. It was all worth it--what sweet memories I've treasured up for my musings while I work thru the everyday. I'm going to savour those couple of weeks with my forever sweetheart, just the two of us, drinking in one of the most beautiful places on earth, back to back with the joy of a new member of the family--a grandson to capture our hearts. Is it any wonder I feel my cup runneth over!!!

Of life's little pleasures, being grandma comes very close to the top of the list!