The Ignorant Angler

This photo brings color and cheer on a cold and snowy Montana morning.  It is my favorite photo from 2014.  No fish.  No grip and grin.  Just a pretty little flower and gorgeous mountain scenery.
The yellow bloom is an alpine sunflower (Hymenoxys grandiflora).  Also known as "Sun God", the large blooms were said to absorb sunshine from the rarified air and while taking on the color of the sun. In A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Flowers (Craighead, Craighead and Davis)  it was pointed out that:
 "Compass flower might be a more appropriate name for they do not follow the sun around but continue facing east.  The direction that any large number face is a far better indication of east than moss on a tree as an indication of north."
Now that I think back on it, these little guys were indeed facing east.  Granted, it was a small sample size.
Most importantly, the fact that I was able to hike to the high country pleased me to no end. Hopefully more good days to come for …

Well, I'm now about four weeks post back surgery, and quite frankly I'm going a bit stir crazy.  For someone who's always been active, the lack of mobility and inability to perform some of the simplest of tasks has been most frustrating. I never thought that putting on socks, and then shoes, would be an accomplishment.  Activity wise, I've been limited to a few daily walks totaling an hour or so.  No big deal other than it's a pittance for one used to covering miles, many of them.
In the past month, I've spent enough time on ice to prepare for the next life.  That is, assuming that I'll be reincarnated as a gutted fish destined for the  supermarket cold case.  I guess that it will just take time.
I think back to a line from an old Tom Selleck movie (The High Road to China).  In it he asked a wise old oriental man for some sage advice.  The advice was......
"The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient." 
 Can't argue with that.
I'll end wi…