Sweet Home Montana: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Oh, my aching arms! I have spent more time than I ever want to again busting rock in tight quarters to get a trench under the house for the plumbing. Now I know why the classic punishment for prisoners is breaking rocks. If I'm ever thrown in the hoosegow, at least I will have lots of experience to draw from. This work is the exact opposite of fun. But whenever I begin to despair, I say the magic mantra, "Indoor plumbing. Indoor plumbing." And it gives me the energy to pound and pry on those cursed rocks some more. At the end of the day, there is very little progress in the trench and I hurt all over. I will be SO glad when this part of the project is over.

Meanwhile, in the evenings I am helping to organize a protest rally for single payer health care at the offices of our dear Senator, Max Baucus. That is lots more fun, but has a much smaller chance of success. No one in power wants to hear anything about real health care reform. They all insist that any health care system has to be based on commercial insurance companies - those same scoundrels that got us into the mess we're in now. I would like to let those who actually provide health care (doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc) operate in the free market, and take the bill paying out of the hands of the middleman corporations who do nothing but drive up administrative costs and give it to a single agency. Is that too much to ask? I guess so, because those in power, including our dear president, are just not willing to listen. Here's a cartoon I made for the rally of our Senator and his listening skills:

But of course, all is not grinding hard work and frustrating politics. I take frequent long breaks to sit on the deck in the sun and listen to the birds, gaze at the mountains, watch hummingbirds and chipmunks dart around and generally surrender to peace and joy and beauty.

Also, the morning rambles around the neighborhood give me the energy and enthusiasm to attack the tasks at hand. And speaking of morning rambles, here are pictures from a few of this week's walks:
Our house seen through the trees on the opposite side of the little private valley, just to give you some persective on what an amazing place it is:

Zoomed in:

And here are the promised pictures of the views from the very top of the ridge:
The Crazy Mountains

The Absaroka Mountains

The Gallatin Range

The Spanish Peaks (Madison Range) in the background:

The Tobaccoroot Mountains

We are at the tail end of the Bangtail Mountains. Here are the foothills below us.

Here is a view from the ridegtop of the Orea Creek Valley below us. The road you see is the county road (Orea Creek Road) that we drive up to get to Tipsue Road, where we live.

You will notice the intense green of the grassy hills. This is the greenest time of year in Montana. Later in the summer these meadows will be golden brown. Here is a view from the top across a huge meadow that crowns a lower, intersecting ridge below it.

Here is a view looking back up at the peak of the ridge from that meadow:

There is a two-track road from the ridgetop meadow that leads back down to our road. Here's the last view of the meadow as you leave it on your way down that road:

I don't miss the flower gardens I have always planted one bit. I have the biggest, most glorious flower garden I could ever hope for. Every open meadow is ablaze with flowers.