Dishwasher emptied
Mom searching, then asks Billy—
Where’s my coffee cup?
Hottest summer day
Hurry, take selfie of us—
Before ice cream melts
School cafeteria
Entrepreneurship’s classroom—
Rick’s noon candy sales
Taking time to search
Looking for smallest wonders—
Summer’s precious gifts
Wonder asks questions
Images from deepest space—
Searching for answers
America’s roads
Discovery of wonders—
Travel’s shining gems
Hidden in forest’s depths
Creator’s kingdom reigns
Moving with quiet breath
Feeding nature’s unbroken chain
Spontaneous landscape
Creator’s rhythm sings
Breathing beauty’s freshness
Witnessing all that summer brings
Trees towering above
Creator fills each scene
Overflowing with peace
Reaching to heavens, grass so green
Tranquil waters roam free
Creator’s grace gives back
Nourishing youngest plants
Equipping wilderness backpack
Busy traffic drives by
Immune to forest’s sigh
Missing treasures within
Creator frames sunset’s goodbye
About a month ago, photos taken around my home in the state of Ohio were posted in the Buckeye Photo Gallery. Today’s gallery brings an invitation to visit Montana’s Big Sky Country, which is my native state.
This past summer (August, 2024), my camera enjoyed a journey filled with capturing the landscape around Madison County in southwestern Montana. On the left, the Madison River flows downstream from the river’s canyon exit. Its destination will be the headwaters of the Missouri River, located near the community of Three Forks. The photo on the right looks downstream on the river, as one moves away from the canyon. The weather conditions were very windy, and fortunately, the camera remained steady.
An hour’s drive from my hometown of Billings, takes one to Carbon County and the town of Red Lodge. Both photos capture scenes found on main street. The photo on the left features the Carbon County Courthouse. On the right, the corner building has been repurposed into a retail shop on the ground floor.
My wife and I always enjoy visiting the city of Bozeman, which is home to Montana State University. This community was home to me during my college years (1974-1978). While Main Street has changed a great deal from my time, the atmosphere remains welcoming with a vibrant commercial district. The Rockford Coffee Roasters welcomed us for mid-morning refreshments with our youngest Montana daughter and her two-year old son. Across the street sits the venerable Ellen Theater, which opened in 1919.
Enjoy the contrast of these two photos. Taken during the summer of 2023, the photo on the left captures a smoky sunrise above the Billings neighborhood where I grew up. The final photo was taken during the summer of 2021. A rest area outside of Billings, along Interstate 90, shares a bit of humor as well as functionality for its canine visitors.
Waking up on cold, frigid, winter morn
Looking like snowy storms, soon to be born
Pulling warm covers over this bare head
Let’s fast forward to new season instead
Always dreaming with bigness every night
Never alone, tasting perfect delight
Traveling ahead to hot summer day
Feeling urge to jump up, shouting to say
Has one ever seen more beautiful sky?
Sensational, unblemished blue so high
Treasure State’s journey, mines purest pleasures
Opening saddlebag, full of treasures
Shining high above, fullest sun in view
Sharing smiles with heavens, always be true
Western hospitality, comes this way
Be sure to come back, as we always say
From warmest hearts, joy overflows with grace
Montana’s Big Sky, lifetime’s “Last Best Place”
This poem reworks the theme from a previously published poem from 2019. The much-improved verses were inspired by the 1990 publication of The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology. Through eight chapters and over 800 pages, the works of numerous Montana authors can be read. Each illustrates the unique way of life and history found in Montana’s Big Sky Country.
Vacant lot’s dirt piles
Imagination’s new heights—
Scaling new mountains
Stomach’s emptiness
Texting mother for some lunch—
Tree-fort food service
Calendar’s big day!
School year finally begins—
Parents celebrate
Teen’s summer wallet
Idleness experienced—
Running short of cash
Thinking career change
Job singing summertime blues—
Shifting tides come home
Summer heating up
Mercury scaling new heights—
Dog days, welcome back
The inspiration for this poem comes from a photograph published on Jan’s blog in her “Wordless Wednesday” post. Check out her site for some wonderful poetry, inspiration, photography, and so much more. There is probably a hint (yes, definitely) of the rustic and tranquil life experienced in the small communities of western Montana.
Photo by Wiriyah Ruechaipanit on Pexels.com
Picturesque, isolated hamlet
Resting below mountainous shadows
Nestled along lake’s calming fingers
Life’s narrative writing tranquil prose
Sunrise crawls over the mountaintop
Cruising silently in their small boat
Early to rise anglers find their spot
Baiting hooks for trout with rainbow coats
Soon village shops begin to open
Curious shoppers fill crowded streets
Welcoming Farmers’ Market today
Locals selling homegrown goods and treats
Later, stillness returns to the town
Sunny, summer day comes to an end
Sun setting behind lake’s dozing shore
Waiting for tomorrow’s best friends
Photo by Maximilian Münzl on Pexels.com
Originally published May, 2020.
Calendar page turns
Hello Summer, my dear friend—
Makin’ memories
Another refill?
Do you really need to ask?
Pour one more cup please
Life’s daily puzzle
So many empty spaces—
Piece waits in the wings
Photo by Mateusz Dach on Pexels.com
Under the shade of a massive oak tree, Fred relaxes in his backyard hammock while enjoying a perfect summer afternoon.
A slight, friendly breeze helps to keep the bugs away, and Fred always thinks better when he spends time in his comfortable hammock. He looks up into the canopy of branches in the tree above, and his eyes begin following an intensely busy squirrel which is scurrying back and forth . . . back and forth.
Fred’s thoughts begin to wander as he imagines his own creation of the “perfect” treadmill. While his model will have the usual cup holder, he will add a necessary tray for his pepperoni pizza.
Thinking . . . How can a person calculate how much wood a woodchuck could chuck, if he could really chuck wood?
Worried about an upcoming family reunion, he recalls telling his close friend, Wally, “How will I remember all of their names?”
Wally confidently replies, “Easy, just call everyone ‘cousin.’”
Remembering his granddaughter’s wedding reception last summer, he asks his wife, Doris, to dance. He tells her, “They’re playing our favorite song.”
It takes the couple a little longer to arrive on the dance floor, and the song is nearly half over. Fred calls out to the DJ, “Play it again Sam!”
Several minutes go by. The “always in a hurry” squirrel pauses and thinks to himself, “What is that noise?”
Looking down, he spies Fred blissfully sleeping and dreaming, and his loud snoring serenades the entire backyard with . . . well, almost charming tunes.
Originally published March, 2020.
Big Sky Buckeye 