It was a crazy amazing day. I went for a drive -- north to Dixon and Camas Prairie, then over to Plains, Paradise, St. Regis and Superior. Spring, spring everywhere. Everything so green. Got caught in two deluges -- raging first-rate downpours. Wisps of clouds hung low in river valleys against snow-tipped mountain backdrops, punctuated by blasts of sudden sunshine around the next bend.
Found gorgeous Joseph's Coat roses against a wonderfully defunct building in Dixon. Saw brilliant purple patches of something -- anyone know what? -- flowering between Perma and Camas Prairie. (Sorry, no pictures; I never quite found the perfect pullout.) Saw numerous frisking calves and a herd of black and white-banded cattle -- odd, they looked like pigs -- and the gray-spattered Appaloosa of my dreams.
Had a patty melt at the busy Circle diner in Plains. Much excitement and squealing children there, as apparently there was a rodeo about to start. Pulled up at the Grainry Gallery -- a multi-vendor antique and crafts shop in an old grain elevator -- just as the proprietor was leaving. She insisted on reopening for me, and what do you know, I found the perfect new purse, made by a local artist.
Remembered what Montana is like outside Missoula -- by turns beautiful and desolate and coarse and growing. Cluttered trailers rusting into the earth, cozy timber homes nestled among trees, old farmhouses surrounded by fields. Boxy manufactured homes perched on hillsides, McMansions plopped down on riverbanks. Even a teepee or two back in the woods.
Wondered what my home will look like, where it will be. Planned and plotted and dreamed. Worried about all the what-ifs. Felt guilty for my desires, my need to consume and occupy. Forced my attention back to the positive, time and time again. Made mental notes -- something like this, nothing like that. Hoped for a place at peace with its surroundings, a home with a bit of magic and love to it.
Tried, finally, to let it all go, to trust that the right place will be there, waiting for me, at precisely the right time.
4 Comments:
Beautiful picture! It sounds like it was a really good day.
You are making me so homesick for Montana with your perfect prose, Patia. Thank you for giving me little tastes of it through your blog - THAT is why random people show up on your on your blog all the time :)
Thanks, Granny!
Anna, I don't know about "perfect prose," but I do appreciate your comment! Nice to know what at least a few of you are doing.
BTW, I got my plane ticket for Chicago. We must meet for drinks!
Doing HERE, I meant.
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