Postcards from Wyoming

Sunrise in Sheridan from where we live, and the snow Mama snowshoeing at Sibley Lake in the Big Horn National Forest, 45 minutes from Sheridan. The weather was almost perfect: 25 degrees, sunny skies and a light wind. We enjoyed snowshoeing for the first time, and promised we would be back out there in the next weekend or two.

Snow shoeing at Sibley Lake

Here we are at Sibley Lake, a state camping/hiking/skiing area. It was a great day. Look at the sign Jorge is standing next to, the top of it would normally be at his waist or higher.

Montana birds

Winter in Montana is for the birds, literally. As long as we have black oil sunflower seeds and suet out, we get daily visits from chickadees, nuthatches, nutcrackers, flickers and 2 species of woodpeckers. An ocassional magpie will also come by and take advantage. Flickers are very skiddish, flying away at the least indication of human approach. Nuthatches are nervous nellies, constantly moving and making their barely audible chirping noises. Chickadees are the irresistible champions of winter in the Rockies, voicing their signature song and comfortably approaching their food, even when we are close by. Here is a female downy woodpecker in single digit temperatures showing off some high speed wing motion, examining its meal, and pecking at the tree trunk for bugs.

The Beast vs. The Monster, and the winner is...

ME! Here is the HQ16, and the big quilt on it. I made this quilt a few years back when I had first started quilting, and the border is not quite right. For those of you who don't quilt, it means there is extra fabric that puckers and screws up your quilting, so it has been a real challenge. Both in size and the fact it doesn't lay completely flat. The fun part is, as I quilt, I can see my improvement, and feel like I might actually get the hang of this. Since this is a quilt for Jorge and I, I am not too worried about the quilting. Plus I'll bring it to the laundry mat (even my huge front loader would not like to wash this thing), and wash it, it is amazing what sins can disappear with a little soap and water!

This has brought me to a whole new level of sewing, and it is more fun then I could have imagined. It will be fun to finish all my UFO's so I can get them to the Beast, and come out a winner everytime.

The Hot Tub

Here is the hot tub where we sit at night and spend as long as our skin can stand staring at stars and solving the worlds problems.

For Sharon, the inside of the house

Sharon- here is the pictures from the living room and kitchen in our house in Montana. I'll take more after I do some painting and decorating this summer.

Another Quilt Top ready for the Beast

This is a quilt top I just finished, and I'll quilt it after I get that king sized monster tackled. Jenny is standing guard while I take pictures.

The first quilt on the HQ16

This is the first quilt I have quilted on the new "Beast." I didn't like it and was going to just let it sit, but now it has a little special meaning. You can see the stippling (the beige area - just meandering), and the stars and loops on the squares. The bright colored print is the back of the quilt. Next is my 'king' size!

The Wyoming-Montana Express

Eleven times in 2006 Linda and I made this 740 mile round trip; never boring, always beautiful and interesting. Well worth it when our mountain get away is waiting for us in MT. I counted 5 bald eagles on the way back to WY after Christmas. On the way back today I caught a glimpse of (bottom to top) the Tobacco Root Mountains (tallest peak 10,600 ft), the Absaroka Mountains (tallest peak 11,206 ft), and the Beartooth Mountains (tallest of all at 12,799 ft). I thought the light and cloud formations made them particularly attractive today.

Postcards from Montana-New Years '07

Snowy pinecones dance in the breeze at dusk as a nuthatch scurries away from the suet, too quick for the automatic shutter speed.
A young pine basks in the moisture. A dead tree stands guard on the west end of our property. Dead weeds are covered in shinny crystals that will moisten them back to life in the Spring.