Autumn pulling on long strings

Hill House from 1/2 mile to the east - photo by Stephen Valentine III

Hill House ...west side

Hill House - south side

View from the sun porch looking south towards the village of Birney

Last three photos by Bruce Garber - Century 21 Real Estate

http://www.century21.com/real-estate-agent/profile/bruce-garber-10643603

 

daily haiku

the start of autumn

hills turn to pink in the dawn

some things never change

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daily haiku

temps hurtle downward

the bats have flown to the south

equinox on its way

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There are many signs occurring that fall will be early this year. First the swallows left early. On my walk I could still call up three of them at Hanging Woman Bridge, but as of this week they too have flown away. Now there is not much Bat poop on the hood of my car (it resides in an open garage where they sleep) an indication that they too have gone south.

This morning I was awake at 2.30 and the temperature was 47' and falling while I took a break from sleeplessness at the computer. I was able to go back at 5.00 a.m. and sleep three more hours so I don't know the eventual *coolth, but I would estimate around 45'. I was able to sleep without the a/c unit clunking away in the background -such a pleasure.

The summer has been good; days in the 90's and rain off and on so we can't complain.  But this house has no shelter from the sun, so I while away the days running the a/c's and doing chores when it is cool enough.    After a bout of a fatigue syndrome early this summer, I have been convinced that it is not in my best interest to stay here even though it is my joy, heart, and soul.  I shall truly miss it. I have come to realize that I am entering a new phase of my life, that it might be rewarding and fun, and that does help. The house is up for sale and as of writing maybe almost sold before listing. I am also selling my office in town. It is my goal to die without owning any real estate to make things simpler for the children in dealing with my will. (In MT if you die without owning real estate you do not have probate).

So........The View From The Hill... blog, may come to an end. However I enjoy blogging so hope to create another new one before the end of this year by finding positives and some wildlife in a new home.

* a term invented by my friend, poet Midge Farmer

 House listing
http://www.century21.com/property/8356-tongue-river-rd-birney-mt-59012-C2137998854
Office listing
http://www.century21.com/property/301-commercial-st-birney-mt-59012-C2138000560

Mid-summer on the Hill

Mr and Mrs Bluebird listening to my voice

Mrs Bluebird has more listening skills! 

daily haiku

stormy morning clouds

green landscape turning to brown

montana summer

We are now well into summer, and summer temperatures. 80's and 90's are the norm with a few hot ones like yesterday at 102' thrown in. A friend helped me to install my window a/c units and they are providing decent indoor temperatures for me. I get cabin fever more in the summer than in the winter and am pretty restless in the long afternoons. In the winter I can pile on more sweaters, light the fire etc, but in the summer taking off clothing is a bit dangerous!

I realize as I looked through my photos, that I have not taken too many this year so far, & I must remedy that. The wildlife is still entertaining me. Yesterday three Flickers (woodpeckers) moved into the area of the bluebird nest. I was surprised to see that despite their large size, the Bluebirds seemed not to care. I have heard no signs of babies in the nest all summer which is very odd. Usually when mother enters the nest with food there is much twittering.

And then there was rain........

daily haiku

 

open the windows

let in afterstorm cool air

a new storm comes in

 

We did have rain right after I blogged yesterday! We had a severe thunderstorm come in and it dropped 4/10 ths of rain overnight. Thunder, lightning and rain and tornado warnings for our county - fortunately none locally.

This morning I opened up the house to let the cool air in and another storm rolled up with lightning, thunder, hail, and rain that dropped 2/10 ths.  So we've had a half inch in the last 24 hrs - wonderful. Now the furnace is running to bring the house up to a decent temperature! The joys of spring in Montana.

Rain and Spring







May 19th - finally some rain

Bluebirds are nesting

Lilac in full blossom

Lilac

Honeysuckle weighted down with bloom

Black-Headed Grosbeak

My lovely visitor - Lazuli Bunting

Well - we had almost a week of rain off and on - got about 1" so we are still well below normal, but the  moisture and hot days (80'-90' the week before) brought forth spring!  The air is full of the aroma of blossoms; the post office doorway is framed by two lilac trees:

daily haiku

the smell of lilacs
in the post office doorway
letters with perfume

The birds are coming through on their spring trip too, the Bluebirds are very busy and such a sweet couple. Mrs Bluebird takes a rest on the fence and Mr. Bluebird sits by her side flying to the ground now and then to feed her.  Also seen are Rufus-sided Towhees, Lark Sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and my favorite the brilliant Lazuli Buntings. I put ordinary bird seed in the feeder for the summer but they are all enjoying it and get feisty about their territory.

daily haiku

lazuli bunting
flash of blue in pounding wind
hope in a dark world

At Hanging Woman Creek Bridge I call up the mud swallows and they fly around me squealing their greeting or warning. You can find a video of the swallows at my blog for Memorial Day 2010 (May 31st). The Carp were spawning this morning, roiling around in the water so spring is here. I must assume that there will be no more frost and take a trip to the greenhouse this week to get blooming flowers for my containers and who knows, maybe we'll get more rain along the way.............

Spring - sort of

 

daily haiku

rabbits take a rest

from mating activity

rest on the rock wall

 Today is a lovely spring day in the 70's and not much wind. I was able to work outdoors, and that was nice.  I de-rusted a metal outdoor table and tomorrow I will spray paint it to look like new!  While waiting for the rustoleum to work its magic I sat in my chaise longue and caught up on a couple of magazines; simply delightful. 

So far the weather this spring has swung wildly back and forth .... 83' to barely above freezing. We are still having frost most mornings. The spring flowers are pretty feeble because of the drought - see the photo of the Star of Bethlehem at the top of the page - normally about 4-5 blossoms will sprout from each plant. None of this slows the rabbits, however. I am constantly amused by their antics as they chase each other around the house at top speed. While I was in my chaise a big chase took place around the garden several times.  The male finally gave up and hid under the propane tank. Poor female will probably get "jumped" from his hiding place. Guess that's where the saying "mad as a March Hare " comes from.

Pittsburgh to Tampa

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

"FALLINGWATER"

 

KENTUCK KNOB - SCULPTURE GARDEN

"RED ARMY"

WITH KELLY (HUSKY MIX) AND JASPER (ADOPTED GREYHOUND)

VALRICO, FLORIDA

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT

 daily haiku

peacefulness

coo of the mourning dove

off alone somewhere

Well, it is Sunday and snow is coming down slanted at times because of the wind. We're having April showers...sometimes rain, sometimes snow, but what ever form in which it comes, we need it badly so I will not complain.

I am home from a trip to visit two of my children. The first stop was in Pittsburgh to visit our oldest son and his wife, plus their two dogs. Stephen and Alice adopt many older dogs who cannot find homes. They grow to love them and then lose them in a few years, but the time they spend together is special for all of them. Currently they have a Husky mix and a retired Greyhound - beautiful dogs very sedate and loving in their older years. I admire their courage in adopting them.

While I was there, Alice drove me to Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright house built around the Bear Run stream.  It has been one of my dreams to see this house and I was not disappointed. It is most unusual and the level of thoughtful little details in the design is amazing. For instance, most rooms have a rock floor.... rocks that have been smoothed by the water and have little undulations. Wherever the view from the room looks towards the water, the rocks have been polished with Johnson's Wax so that they have a similar reflection as the water and they merge together. The house, now a museum is only available by guided tours and no indoor pictures allowed. Throughout each room are wonderful pieces of art ..Picasso, Diego Rivera and a new sculptor to me- Richmond Barthe - one small bust was utterly exquisite, the most emotional piece of work I have ever seen.

After the tour we drove a little further south to another less well known FLW house - Kentuck Knob. In contrast to the multi-level Fallingwater, this is a smaller house all on one level.  It is also built with natural rock from the area and the interior is hewn wood and rock. The impression is one of a log cabin in some ways; it is intimate, cozy and warm. It is currently owned by a British Lord - Lord Palumbo - who is noted for his contributions to the arts and architecture. The grounds of Kentuck Knob have a collection of sculptures the most eye catching of which is the Red Army, about 200 -300 iron silhouettes painted red. There is also a large piece of the Berlin Wall. 

We also took a tour of downtown Pittsburgh on WW II DUKW boat. Much fun! We traversed downtown buildings by wheel then entered the Ohio River and chugged into the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. 

I left Pittsburgh and flew to Tampa, Fl. to visit daughter Sarah and husband Jerry. Sarah unfortunately had to work much of the time, but Jerry was a great host and we went to the new Tampa Historical Center. I was most interested in the exhibit of the Seminole Tribe and the Indian Wars. One of the generals in the war against the Seminoles was Zachary Taylor who later became President. Interesting to me because the person who homesteaded my quarter section was named Zachary Taylor Cox - obviously after the President of that name.

The next day we went to one of my favorite places, Ybor City, the Cuban quarter of Tampa, where we had lunch at Columbia - my favorite restaurant in the US, I believe. Fried plantains send me to heaven :) We went to the El Molino coffee roasters and I ordered Cuban coffee to be shipped home - it is best made very strong and has a wonderful flavor.

So now I am back to being alone again on my hill and watching the snow squalls of April driving through. I loved being with the children and miss them a lot. I wish we lived closer, but at the moment we are driven by our choices, them to the east and me to my beloved west. As Frank Lloyd Wright said when he selected the site for Taliesin West “This is pure abstraction wherever you look.”

Stormy Days

 

daily poem

 

wind thunder lightning

hail and snow all in an hour

exciting weather

abraham would have decreed

god is angry with the world

he must be watching congress

 

 A large storm system is moving through. It started last night and was quite exciting. First there were huge wind gusts (about 50 mph) that battered the house and made the metal surround on the chimney vibrate. Then large dark clouds came racing through bringing rain that changed to snow pellets/hail, along with lightning and thunder claps; finally horizontal snow!  It lasted about two hours and then everything stopped except for the wind which rammed the house most of the night at intervals. This morning brought light snow and a lot more wind. The sun is trying to break through but is acting feeble, at best. 

The last few days I have been entertained by an early chipmunk who is feeding on the seed inside an old thistle sock. He climbs the cedar tree then leaps about 18-20 inches onto the sock. I would give him an Olympic medal for his efforts. The Juncos love him. He has made larger holes in the sock and after he takes his new stash to the larder under the rocks, they move in and feed through the new holes. Symbiosis at its best!

 

I have been catching up on a few chores, but just couldn't face the vacuum today so am blogging, and reading instead. As my first husband, Bob, used to say "It'll still be there tomorrow."