Beltane (May Day)

To the ancient Celts, today is the first day of Summer. They rightly called June 21 Midsummer. It was a time for celebration as the earth softened under the longer hours of sunlight. Celtic days were measured from sunset to sunset, so the celebrations actually started on Beltane Eve (this is also the reason for Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Eve"). People would gather from across the land, bringing flowers and food. Every fire in every household would be extinguished. Two great bonfires would then be started with the wood from nine kinds of trees. Throughout the night, there would be music and song and people dancing. Leaping over the fire was considered to bring good luck to your crops as the height of your leap would equal the height of your harvest. In the morning, as the fires died down, each family would carry some embers back to their own hearth to start a fire. The people would walk from house to house led by the May Queen and her consort, The Green Man (the old god of wildwood). They were in a cart covered with flowers sitting in a leafy arbor. Their unity represented the sacred marriage of earth and sun. A Maypole would be erected in the village commmons and the celebration would continue throughout the day.

Springtime in the Rockies

Today was, well, let the immortal words of Winnie the Pooh suffice; "Today was a blustery day!" Jenn decided to stay home today as she's been working long hours (and I see she has a post up!) and take a well deserved quiet day. Tiika and I headed up into the hills for a spring snow hike. It's been sunny and warm here so the wintry blast was a welcome change.Tiika is saying "Enough with the pictures! I thought we came out here to commune with Nature". Right she is and I put the camera away and we took off for some serious hiking (tramping as they say in Kiwi land!). As you can see by the untrampled snow on the trail, in spite of it being afternoon, no one has been up here.As we reached the lower elevations, I spied one of our beautiful Glacier Lilys sitting in the snow. I couldn't resist the picture as this is a classic description of "Springtime in the Rockies". In reference to an earlier entry, Old Man Winter is truly gone. Our dear Lady of the Spring is a bit of an Ice Maiden when she first arrives and can't resist a few cold, frosty ones!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

In honor of Earth Day, I'm putting up a collection of some of our personal favorite places in this area of our dear planet that we call home. Click on any photo to see the details.









































In Praise of the Earth (For Earth Day)
Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.

When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.

John O'Donohue,
(from To Bless the Space Between Us)

May the blessings of Gaia be with all of you
Happy Earth Day!
Love,
Rob, Jenn & Tiika

Winter finally says "Farewell, till I return"

While there are many indicators of the return of spring, the first flower means it's truly time to say good bye to Old Man Winter. Usually, it's our brave little buttercup poking it's head out to say hi. Even if it means pushing aside a pine cone! Soon our meadows will be bloomimg with Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, etc.

The Training Continues...

We went for a nice ride on Sunday. Jenn & Tiika were all excited and chose the road less traveled. That bridge actually held for us in spite of its rickety appearance and we rode till we found a nice place by the river. We stopped and rested our weary bones.















There are several ways to "rest". Some choose a swim and a good stick while others are content with a cold one. We had a big hill to climb on the way back so calories don't count! We read, ate some jerky and nuts, lounged around and generally just enjoyed being there. Finally, the sun was fading into the western sky and it was time to go home. We mounted up and hit the trail and, yes, the bridge held again!

My Kind Of Traffic Jam

I had a little bit of a delay when I came home today.This herd of bighorn sheep was hanging out in our driveway and yard. I sat at the entrance to our yard for about 20 minutes watching them graze, not wanting to disturb them. I stayed perfectly still so that they forgot my presence and milled about the car munching contentedly on some new spring grass. When they moved enough so I could get out of the car without disturbing them, I went into the house to get the camera. By that time, they had crossed the street to the neighbor's.

I tried to get this one to come over and play with Tiika, but nothing doing. Good thing, as not all dogs are as friendly as our Tiika-girl. We left them to their grazing and headed into the hills, grateful to have shared a moment with the bighorns. Jenn will be sorry she missed them.

Making Canine Snow Angels

Today we decided to spend the day at Lubrecht Forest. We arose early and the day promised to be sunny.



Just minutes on the trail and Tiika spots a deer! After an unsuccessful attempt to get the deer to play, it was time for the first of many snow angels.

Tiika thinks it's amazing how many sticks you can find in a forest!


And all the dens to visit, but still, no one wanted to play. Except me, who is always willing to throw some sticks.

Our favorite trail sign, it usually means you won't see too many people. Today, however, we had the entire forest to ourselves. After a long, hard climb, it was time for a lunch of sausage and goat cheese. The cheese is only for me despite Tiika's drooling. She does make an awesome living napkin!



Then it was time for more snow angels and games!


Even after a 9 hour hike, somebody was still sad that we had to return. No it wasn't Tiika, it was me. Tiika is a Qi Gong Master and is happy and content whatever her environment. She just looked me with her kind, wise eyes and I could feel her thoughts "Oh, Robhopper (I know, doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Grasshopper), someday you will learn."




Jenn returns tomorrow and this blog will go back to what you are used to. I'm sure she'll have many stories to share from ArtFest and maybe a picture or two of her projects.

ArtFest and the Rites of Spring

While some rites of Spring are Universal, others are definitely personal. Last weekend we witnessed the spring migration of the snow geese and the trumpeter swans. As one of my favorite ecologists once observed,

"One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the Spring."
Aldo Leopold
Definitely Universal!

This week, Jenn joined her friends to participate in ArtFest . Definitely personal, but no less important. It is talked about, called about, emailed and prepared for as soon as the packets arrive for next year's festival. She left Tuesday and will return Monday night.

Tiika and I do our own spring ritual. Her idea of spring is to run through the woods and discover all the wonderful goodies that the melting snow reveals. I follow along and try to keep her from rolling in the worst of it. If not, there's a stop at the river on the way home and she swims with the ice floes. However, this is Springtime in the Rockies, which brings up another quote:

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck, 1899

One day we went out and the weather looked like this . It was nice hiking in shorts and a t-shirt.


Tiika always likes to stay in front, but I'm not sure if she ever notices the sky.




I do and thought we might have a different hike today. Sure enough,
this is what it looked like when we opened the door this morning.













I hiked in fleece pants and a pair of gaiters. It will be like this through April and I've been snowed on in July, which brings up the last quote:


"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
- Robert Frost

This is why you'll find both fleece pants and a pair of shorts in my pack. Oh, to be Tiika, who seems to be perfectly dressed all year long and can swim any time she likes! This is fun, but we both really miss Jenn. The last picture is of, in my humble opinion, the two best hiking partners on the planet!

Wild Winged Weekend

Guest Post by Rob:

Twice a year we're given a chance to participate (in a small way) in the migration cycles of our feathered friends. This weekend we drove up to Freezeout Lake (120 miles NE of Missoula) to be part of the spring migration of the Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans.

They first amass in northern California from Mexico and the southwestern United States and then fly non-stop (18 hours) to Freezeout Lake where they rest for four or five days and then continue their journeys. The flock splits up here heading for Siberia, Alaska or the Canadian Arctic.

Click on pictures to see birds up close

This year, their numbers were estimated at 350,000. What a beautiful sight they made rising off the lake at dawn and heading for breakfast in the barley fields surrounding the lake. They return after feeding and spend the rest of the day on the lake. They repeat the process in the evening, returning after dark. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed watching them, especially when the flock, for no apparent reason, would all lift off to about 30 feet and then settle back down. We were close enough to hear the wingbeats as they flew off. It sounded like thunder! They honk incessantly and we wondered how they ever managed to get any rest! I slept fine as their sounds soothed me to sleep. Jenn and Tiika seemed to sleep well also, despite being outside in 25 degree temperature. Love those sleeping bags!

In addition to our bird friends, we met some nice folks around the lake who ended up being torn between watching the birds and watching Tiika! Our Tiika girl makes friends wherever she goes. I wish we were taking her to New Zealand with us as I'm sure she would open a lot of doors.

We headed home after the second dinner flight happy and peaceful. As you can tell by the picture, Tiika was enthralled!