Doesn’t that word make you smile? PLAYFULNESS is underrated! We all need to have days when we determine it is the Word of the Day! Today was that day for me!
It’s a good day to embrace playfulness. It’s a beautiful blue-sky, no wind afternoon. Bob & I are headed to play with friends Who are so dear… and so much fun to play with!
Terry & Jim – really fun-filled friends!
The Bible reinforces the idea of playfulness:
“Moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.”
Ecclesiastes 3:13
Eating Drinking and taking pleasure in the company of our “Hood”
Do you have friends who embrace playfulness?
I didn’t get this posted yesterday. I was having too much fun playing. So here we are another day…
Bob, TazE & I are headed out with friends on our ATV (Lucille – the redhead on which we have a “Ball”)
I wish you could come and enjoy this playfulness with us!
What kind of play is your favorite? What will you do to enjoy playfulness today?
We went up, up, up into the Tobacco Root Mountains yesterday (west of McAllister, Montana) and we touched the sky on the top of the world!
The view looking east to Madison Valley was spectacular.
The view looking north was amazing, too. The camera doesn’t do it justice!
The ride up on our ATVs became bumpy and rocky, but it was fun! Through the trees, across the mountainsides, and up to the top. We could not have asked for a prettier day. After weeks of smoke-filled skies, this was a relief!
The sky looked threatening at the start of our ride.
But the clouds were less threatening as we continued.
Always fun to see cattle roaming free along the trail.
As we climbed up into the trees, the trail became more narrow and rockier.
Come ride with us!! Hang on tight!!
I was glad I wore a jacket, a scarf and a hat. The wind came up and it was quite chilly the higher we went.
CG and Caroline arranged today’s outing. Their delightful friends, Mike & Jane Dodson, were visiting from VA.
Tucked behind, check out Charlie, the Jack Russell. There were 9 guys – eight of whom drove the ATVs…
Here are Mike & Jane with 6 of the ATVs… Our “Lucille” is the redhead at the front of the line – on whom we have a “Ball!”
I want you to experience this mountain-top, blue-sky, perfect day’s vista with me!
Two of the guys and their gals left from the first look-out and didn’t travel to this very top with us… But here are seven of the troopers with TazE being babied by Bob!
Here are Ron & Linda, two who needed to head back down from Lookout #1. It was good to see them!
We took at lunch break at the mountaintop before heading back down.
Took the same trail back down that brought us up to the top. It’s actually easier going down!
Thanks for joining us today.
Maybe one of these days, you can come to Montana and join us for a ride. What do you think?
Don’t overlook your life’s importance or minimize its worth. It doesn’t matter if you’re on an allowance or Social Security. No matter where you are in life, you have so much to give.
The vital part of your life never disappears or fades away. Each of us is vital to God. He gives us the courage to go out and live, to heed His call, and step out in faith on a new journey today.
In faithful obedience, lean forward to hear Him. He doesn’t shout. His call is quiet and personal. Get serious. Listen carefully. Are you up for a new journey? Have faith and step out!
I wrote the poem, “Have Faith and Step Out” in 2002 while we were still living in California. I had officially retired from teaching in 1999, but daily I was looking for new direction, new purpose, new adventures. The International Library of Poetry published the poem in its 2002 Anthology of Poetry and sent me a dozen greeting cards with the poem printed on the front of them. Today I am using one of those cards for a friend who is stepping onto a new path.
The poem has become more meaningful in the nearly 20 years since its creation. The older I am, the more I realize, “No matter where you are in life, you have so much to give.” Your age doesn’t matter. Your place doesn’t matter. What matters is your mindset, your faith, your motivation.
It’s OK to be petrified. Sometimes God takes us to the edge of adventures where we feel unprepared.With faith, He will remove our fear, put us on a bridge, and send us the Light to follow.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Today Bob is out on Lucille (our red-headed ATV on which we have a “Ball”) with his former student, Victor, who is visiting from Alabama. Victor was Bob’s wrestling student back in the 1970’s. He reminded us that Bob also was his Drivers Education teacher. They are on an adventure – going to a lake above Sheridan. Our Boston, TazE, is with them. Ah, yes, step out in faith. Have fun!
Where He leads me, I will follow!
Remember, no matter where you are in life, you have so much to give.
Where are you being called to go today? What are you being called to do? Whatever it is, step out in faith. He will give you grace and glory… He’ll be with you all the way!
Here is the Madison Valley and Range as seen from the Gravelly Range
We went on an adventure today into the Gravelly Range with our friend, Julie, and her dog, Zeke. Come enjoy the Montana Vistas with us!
The Gravelly Range is just south-west of Ennis. We were looking for wildflowers. This is the time of year when they usually are prolific. However, it has been a relatively dry spring and summer so far, so the flowers were not as colorful or plentiful as usual.
This field of flowers is irrigated – so they’re not the “wildflowers” we were looking for.
See that line up the mountain? That’s where we are headed.
We drove the pick-up with trailer to the base of our destination and took the ATV up from there.
Julie & Zeke rode in the back. TazE sat in my lap. Bob’s the driver.
TazE enjoyed the views. That mountain above TazE’s head is called the Sphinx.
The clouds made the sky so beautiful and interesting today, but they also threatened rain. Fortunately we had about an inch or two of rain last night, so it settled the dust. And it held off until we were headed back home this afternoon.
On the way up, we saw a lot more cattle than usual. Definitely more cattle than wildflowers!
Zeke was quite interested in the beauty of the Madison Valley vistas.
This is Caroline’s tree! We always think of her when we see it. Caroline loves tree skeletons!
As we climbed, the clouds moved out from the Madison Range and began to cover the valley.
This is a purple sticky wild geranium. Julie has an app on her iPhone that allows her to take a picture of a flower and then have the phone tell her the name of that flower. What a cool app! “Picture This” is the name I think. I need to check it out.
I can’t remember the name of this hairy wildflower. Isn’t it interesting?
We reached a place where the road was closed and we could go no further. So, we stopped and rested a while and let TazE and Zeke run around.
Julie took our photo, and while we were distracted, Zeke went out exploring.
Zeke found some wet, runny cow poop and thought it was great fun to roll in it!
Like I said, there were more cows than wild flowers, so of course, there were plenty of places for an inquisitive pup to explore!!
Julie was intrigued by some of the leaves.
I walked beyond the closed gate and took this photo of the US Forest Service sign and the field of wildflowers beyond it.
They were more brilliant than this photo shows.
Heading back down the mountain, the cows bellowed at us! They were not happy that we were disturbing their peace.
The one we enjoyed earlier was still there on our way down.
TazE continued to enjoy the views with us.
The sprinkler systems keep the fields green in spite of our near drought conditions.
The storm clouds threatened … and we got a few raindrops on our way back to the pickup.
See the squall on the other side of the valley? You can see that it is raining there.
Ah, home – with great memories of beautiful Montana Vistas!
And a beautiful sunset ended our day…
Thank you for sharing our beautiful Montana Vistas with us.
I hope you had a beautiful day, too. Embrace Montana Vistas. Come visit us!
I could have called this “Embrace Maturity,” but that would have been pussyfooting around the issue. Not everyone matures as they age, but aging is not an option.
You do it or you die.
However, I embraced this meme when I saw it:
Aging is a privilege only given to the lucky ones, you know. So, yes, I will count this year … but at 81, I sometimes forget if it is 80 or 81 and if I try to get by with the lesser number, I have an 82 year old husband who is quick to remind me.
Hah! Can’t fool him… He keeps a check on me – – – but he’s not big on donuts. Darn!
My daughter (most of you have met her on this blog in the past – DeDe – lives in Switzerland) sent me this a little while back. She particularly liked it because one of Bob’s nicknames for me is “Rocky”
Most of you also know that I have a sanctuary where I spend the first hour most every morning… and in it I have three antique rockers. Ah, yes, it’s the perfect image of me!
But the chair that brings us mutual joy is the one we put in the back of our ATV and pull out when we stop for a break. The best way to embrace aging is to find a hobby that you can enjoy with someone you love.
For Bob and me, it is joining friends and going four-wheeling on these wonderful Rocky Mountain trails. .. stopping to fish the mountain lakes. Ah, that’s livin’!!
What hobbies make your aging process more enjoyable? One of our mutual hobbies (besides four-wheeling) is teaching Sunday School.
Here are darling Ruby & Cord.
COVID got in the way of being able to meet each Sunday morning with these two darlings and one other… and then these two moved away. As they age, their mom sends us pictures.
Getting picture from family and friends is a great way to welcome the new day and look forward to the next time you can visit.
Aging is easier to embrace if you have dreams – something to look forward to, right?
We dream of next October – when COVID-19 will be controlled and it will be safe to travel to see our daughter, De, and her husband, Andre’ – and stay in one of the hotel rooms above the restaurant.
As we age, some of the benefits outweigh the struggles that come with aching joints and lowered energy levels.
One of them is, when your grandkids act up and get on your nerves, you can just send ’em back to their folks!
Couldn’t do that when you were younger and they were your own kids!
Gotta look for the perks in this aging process!
Oh my! Take ’em home!!
Another advantage of aging is that we have time to reminisce about the “Good Ole Days” and the songs we used to sing that these youngsters with their guitars and drums don’t seem to understand anymore.
And if those songs and the memories they bring aren’t enough to make you feel good about still being on this earth, try singing this one:
Another way to “Embrace Aging” is to relish the extra time you have to just find a good book, pour yourself a hot chocolate or a glass of wine, curl up in front of a warm fire, and spend some uninterrupted quality time.
When you were younger, that luxury was seldom yours, right?
Now, if you are a youngster (under retirement age) reading this blog, you are probably thinking that I am a dreamer. You’re right. I am! And each day I dream up all kinds of things to keep me exuberant about life.
Yesterday it was effervescence. The day before it was … oh, do I have to go back that far?
Nope! A trick to aging gracefully is to remain playful. Keep your hobbies, and make up ways to keep the sparkle alive. Take those boots that were left at the front door and get creative!
If you can’t get out because you’re snowed in – and you’re longing for sushi, but the nearest place is an hour away, send money to your kids and tell them to go out for sushi on you. But make sure they send you a picture… and drool all over the computer screen when they send it!
Ask your friends to send you a picture of the table they decorated for some recent holiday – and then marvel at their creativity as you sit down for the 10th night in a row at your kitchen counter… thanking God for your life, your food, your kids, and your kitchen counter.
A trick to embracing aging is to always remain thankful for your blessings… even if they aren’t at a yacht club!!
Now, here’s a couple who knows how to live it up: My friends, the Rosens.
Embrace Aging by feeding your mind Hope, Truth and Love on a daily basis.
Don’t let your mind tell you you’re OLD. That’s a state of mind for the senile. It’s not for you!
Tell your mind that aging just adds to your story… and you’re not finished telling it yet!
Sharing more pictures from yesterday’s autumn colors ride I wonder why some are golden while others remain green?So many wonders to behold everywhere we looked!
The picture doesn’t do it justice. With the sun coming through them, those trees were pure gold!
Our friends, the Feldmans, led the way.
I posted this one yesterday. Bob told me today, “Those aren’t aspen.” Well, anyway, I like their color!
Before I leave you this morning, I want to share something I found on FaceBook:
#11 on the list is at least a half hour of journaling and beginning my blog post
I do #9 regularly. I love the Proverbs. There are 31 chapters. Today read Chapter 22. Full of wisdom!
I’m at #11 on the routine list right now. Do you get notices like this from WordPress? I wonder what’s magic about 1337? You’d think they’d wait til 1500 or some round number, wouldn’t you? Anyway you look at it though, that’s a lot of posts.
I hope you spend some time perusing them by putting your favorite topic up in the search bar at the upper right. Topics like bees or animals, Switzerland or Jesus will lend some beautiful results!
I appreciate your visit. I’m off to do #12… See ya tomorrow.
There is no better way To spend an autumn day Than to take a ride with friends Up into the Gravelly Range
We traveled along the Madison Overlooking the Palisades And enjoyed the river view And the hint of what’s to come
Every mile closer to Antelope Basin, our destination, The scenery became more and more breathtaking!
Lake at Antelope Basin
At the 7,000 foot level The autumn colors amaze The aspen are changing color From green to gold to orange
Golden grasses and blue sky Accented the purple mountains And created a wonderland For this appreciative photographer
Wow!
We went in and out of twelve Or more gates to keep cattle in They stood at the road’s edge Unperturbed by our noisy ATVs
When you sing of purple mountain majesty And you wonder what that might look like, Just come to Montana and you will Wonder no more… you’ll just be in awe!
We stopped by Hidden Lake To rest and have our lunch The lake is soooo beautiful And it really is hidden down there
Chuck and Caroline relaxed with Bob After enjoying a picnic lunch Penny & Rex were with us And TazE, too, of course!
Isn’t that blue sky spectacular? And the colors of the trees glorious? Don’t you wish you could be In an ATV traveling with us?
golden aspen
‘Tis time to return to our pickups Load up the four-wheelers Return down to our Madison Valley And look forward to the next trip.
Wish you could join us! I’ll share a couple more pics tomorrow. Have a good night. Thanks for traveling with me vicariously! Hugs, JanBeek
[Jesus said] “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Shalom
The peace that Jesus Christ gives us is “Shalom.” It is a deep peace, filled with health and joy, security and contentment. It is a deep, lasting peace that sustains us through any circumstance. Thanks to Jesus, we can have peace with God, with one another, and with our own spirit.What a priceless gift!
Thank you, Ty, for this 1st Cor. 18:31
Peace in Quietness
In silence, I commune with my Maker each morning. In that quietness, I find strength and wisdom. In His Word, I find reassurance.
Isaiah 55:3 (KJ version)
“Incline your ear and come unto Me. Hear and your soul shall live.”
In the stillness of the 9-11 Friday morning, Bob and I took our TazE and headed with our ATV to meet friends and spend the day communing with them and with nature.
Jan, TazE and Bob On the road again!
Caroline Feldman Photography
In the quietness of the morning, the roar of 5 ATV’s pierced the air. Headed to McAtee Bridge and on to Ruby Creek, five couples left the Madison Valley, glanced across the landscape to the glory of the Sphynx Mountain, and climbed to the 9,400 ft. level to enjoy God’s creation.
McAtee Bridge over the Madison River
The Talc Mine
Barn near McAtee
See the mountains of talc ahead of us?
Up, up we went to the look out – high above the valley floor. A perfect, blue sky day. We were blessed!
Up we climbed – high enough to find snow at our favorite outhouse!
Time for a picnic Lunch break with the Asbergs, Feldmans, and Washburns
The trail to Black Butte
Pictures don’t do it justice! The red rock ridges were spectacular!!
Don Asberg & Barbara Washburn Dinner time – a BBQ at Ruby Creek Campgrounds
Barb Asberg with Charley Brown and me – A beautiful spot right by the river
And then Saturday afternoon we had the privilege of another river view
Steve Hundley fishing the Madison right below Fran McNeill’s deck
Bob & Steve discussed which flies would be best on that stretch of the river
Steve enjoyed his time on the river
Elaine Hundley and I enjoyed visiting with Fran McNeill at her lovely home on the river
Fran has this plaque on her wall – and we enjoyed an invincible summer day together.
Psalm 46:10
“He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.”
Another of Fran’s plaques
Compassion and Gratitude
In the stillness of this Sunday afternoon, I treasure the blessings of this weekend. The time in the mountains, the camaraderie of friends, the health we enjoy, the beauty of the river, the peacefulness of cloudless blue skies. And I don’t take any of this SHALOM for granted! I know there are others whose homes and businesses are burning right now. I have a heart of compassion for those in Harm’s Way – and I pray for their safety.
Our valley is covered with smoke from fires that are ravaging this western part of the USA. I know there are people for whom “Shalom” is a distant image – a feeling they long to see return. I pray that it will. I pray that my happy pictures gave you pause to smile – and gave you hope for a blue-sky, peace-filled future.
Another of Fran’s plaques… filled with great promises.
In the midst of COVID-19 and fires, racial injustice and political unrest, may you find SHALOM in your heart.
You are blessed to be a blessing – So share your joys – And count your blessings.
Thanks for visiting JanBeek. See ya tomorrow. Gentle Hugs ❤ Shalom!
Days in Montana Are out of a fairy tale: Unbelievable!
Come for a trail ride On Lucille, our ATV, Into the mountains.
Today North Meadow – First past gorgeous Sure Shot Lakes, Then to reservoir.
The fish were jumping – Little ones jumped on the fly. Big ones were cautious.
Lunch was relaxing With our dear friends, the Washburns. Wish you could have come!
Fireweed @ Sureshot Lake
Step up for a closer view!!
This place (Sureshot Lake) is a boys’ paradise!
Great friends: Roy & Barbara Washburn
Barbara’s first fish… Quick, get the hook out and throw him back in!
Barbara’s second fish was even smaller! Eventually she got a 7″ one.
Meantime, Roy caught eight fish – medium-sized – While Barbara struggled to catch the minnows!
And Bob caught one every other cast!
The fish are jumpin’ – Summertime – livin’s easy… And life is peaceful!
I actually was able to hear Ella Fitzgerald sing this in person when I attended her concert in Reno, Nevada when I was in college in the 50’s. What a thrill!!
Lunch break time. I sang “Summertime” to Bob as we relaxed after lunch.
And then after lunch & relaxation, The guys kept fishing!
Barbara & I enjoyed the scenes And did a little hiking Trails above the lake
TazE came with us We enjoyed the clear blue skies With clouds drifting by.
They call this Big Sky There’s a very good reason Unimpeded views!
Makes you want to keep on singing!!
Nothing beats Ella combined with Sachmo!! I love Louie Armstrong, don’t you?
Quake Lake
Quake Lake’s a wonder. Have you heard the great story? Come – and I’ll tell you!
Thanks for joining me for another beautiful Montana day. It’s so wonderful to live in this great state with the wide open spaces… especially during this pandemic. Nothing heals like Mother Nature at her finest… in Madison County, Montana.
janbeek 