Heat, Rain, Art and Friends

©2012 Ken W. Hall

©2012 Ken W. Hall

©2012 Ken W. Hall

I tried twice yesterday to get this posted.  I am not sure what is going on but it has disappeared twice while typing and now it is not working again.  So if it looks funny chalk it up to little unseen guys trying to play tricks on me.

Last week was incredibly busy.  It began with an art show at the 320 Guest Ranch just outside of Big Sky, Montana.  We drove through heavy rain all afternoon.  It cleared just in time for the four hundred plus guests to enjoy the outdoor pig roast dinner and our indoor art show.

The weather cleared and temperatures reached into the mid nineties.  We relished our cool quiet mornings outside on our deck sharing breakfast with the birds and our cat.  Starting the day with mid-fifty to sixty degree temperatures is very nice.

Friday evening we attended the Ennis Art Walk where our good friend and artist Todd Connor was the featured artist at the Maydak Gallery that evening.

Ken made the Farmer's Market on Saturday sharing his amazing photos with the visitors.   We are proud supporters of our Madison Farm to Fork program.


In between all these events we entertained out of town guests and enjoyed wonderful times of sharing food, fun and laughter.


This week is off to another busy start.  I am off to Idaho and back through Wyoming.  Then we will be at Farmer's Market Saturday and back to the 320 Guest Ranch on Monday.  Summer is definitely here.

Planting Seeds in February

Photo by Ken W. Hall

Photo by Ken W. Hall

Photo by Ken W. Hall

Photo by Ken W. Hall

Photo by Ken W. Hall

Yesterday we woke to five degrees outdoors.  It was fifteen degrees when we left home and headed to the Madison Farm to Fork greenhouse.  Once inside it was a pleasant sixty-four degrees.

Several people turned out to prepare the beds for planting.  I learned a lot from all these seasoned growers.  Many of them have been working the land all their lives.  I felt blessed to be in their company and learn from their years of wisdom born of experience.

Before leaving we planted seeds that will be harvested in time for our Farmer's Market.  It is such a joy to watch this project grow from its humble beginnings a few short years ago.  I am blessed to know the dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly to offer this amazing gift to our small community.  It is difficult to know how to express my deep gratitude to them.

The weather yesterday was awesome.  The wind was silent and temperatures reached into the low forties.  Ken said the weather predictions are this will last all week.  Is it really February?

Fire Clouds

Photo by Ken W. Hall

A few days ago we were having dinner with friends when Ken looks out the window, jumps up and runs outside to retrieve his camera from the car and took this photo.  It really did look like fire as the sun was setting behind the clouds.

We experienced our first really hard frost this week.  It was twenty-two degrees. Yesterday the sky was so clear, calm and beautiful we took a drive to enjoy the fall colors.  The clouds moved in today but it was a little warmer hovering around sixty degrees.

We just got home from shopping at the fall Madison Farm to Fork market.  The home grown produce we had for dinner was delicious.

Photo by Penny Hall

Photo by Penny Hall

It has been an amazing week full of lots of activities.  I was fortunate enough to participate in a Madison Farm to fork program.  It was a blast working with the fourth graders again.

We took a trip to Bozeman for art supplies and stopped by the Madison River to soak up the wonderful sun rays. It was about seventy degrees as the sun was slowly setting.

A couple of mornings it was thirty degrees but today it was fifty-four and only got up to the low seventies.  I am loving this awesome weather.

Saturday we took a break and went for a walk in the bear trap canyon.  We saw a little color as you can see by the red bush.  We shared the canyon with fishermen, rafters and bow hunters.


We observed hundreds of coots on the lake migrating through our area.  The osprey nests are abandoned for the winter.  Fall is definitely here.