win·try/ˈwintrē/

Adjective:  Characteristic of winter, esp. in feeling or looking very cold and bleek:  ”a wintry landscape”.

Little Turtle’s Tipis are hand-made in Bozeman, Montana.  They come in two different heights and are perfect for indoor or outdoor play.  Children can “customize” their tipis with markers and paints, creating an heirloom to be passed down for generations!

Tuli, by the way is a master blacksmith who hand-crafts the most beautiful garden tools and travels the West all Spring & Summer long.    Check out his website here. His tools have been written up in Forbes Life, among other publications.

Not too long ago, a man named John Jenson from Minnesota commented on one of my blogposts.  He’d been going through old photos and found one of his maternal grandmother and two other people who he assumed to be her brother and sister dating back to the 1890′s.  He searched for “Finn” and “Livingston, MT” on the internet (the name and location of the studio on the bottom of the photo) and found ME here!  Not at all what he was expecting to find, but he was kind enough to leave a comment which led to an email conversation.  This is the beautiful image he was researching:

As John wrote to me, “The woman on the left, black gloves, is my maternal grandmother, Hanna Peterson (some documents say Johanna).  She married John Hedlund in about 1897.  I have the list of all the things the bought to start their house in Little Falls, MN and this is dated 12.29.1887 so I assume that this is about when they were married.  A note from my mother’s cousin would estimate it to have been a couple of years earlier.  Looking at the Livingston photo and others taken in Little Falls, I would estimate that the Livingston photo was taken about 1894-6.  I am not sure who the other two people are.  Something I should have found out many years ago.”  John also sent me a wedding photo (of Hanna Peterson to John Hedlund) which was done by Solem Brothers in Little Falls, MN here:

Oddly, I had been wondering about Livingston’s first professional portrait photographer since moving into my new space on East Lewis in October and I discovered that it was C.E. Finn who is credited with taking a photo of not only Calamity Jane but a few others I found on the internet such as this one of Thomas Orr and his new bride:

I emailed this image to John Jenson who was quick to observe that the Orrs are posed on the same carpet as his grandparents, the Hedlunds.  John further noted, that “some things such as backdrops and movable props do not seem to have changed in concept over the years…though granted, much of your [Susann Saarel's] work seems to be outside without backdrops and a much less formal pose.”  Through family photos dating to more than 100 years, John has traced his family back to Sweden and Denmark.

Finally, John says this, “If I knew when I was younger what I know now, I would have gotten more family history recorded.”  John and his wife are from the Twin Cities area and have lived everywhere from Denver, CO to Rochester, NY.  It is most interesting to note that John worked for Eastman Kodak for 35 years.

Putting the bits and pieces together can be challenging if not impossible.  Research photos, take photos, archive photos.  Always record who’s  in them, places and dates (even estimated dates).  Learn how to preserve your vintage photos {here}.  And for goodness sake, please print out your snapshots, make albums and share with your children and family the story of their lives.

Many of you are still so young,  having babies and raising children… but keep this in mind…when you get on in age, when you begin to realize your mortality, it becomes ever more important to share your history, your life, your legacy and to have it documented for the generations to come.   It is a basic human desire to know where it is we came from.  Our existence is temporary.  Memories, stories and photos…these treasures of our lives live on.

Last week, Doug & I attended a memorial service of a beloved member of our Livingston community, Hillary Johnson, the woman who created our very first websites (way back when websites were the new rage).  Only 46 years of age, she touched the lives of so many with her kind heart, words and thoughtful ways.  How our hearts go out to Spur, her adoring husband who lost his beautiful wife seemingly without warning, and whose life surely stood suddenly still and who’s still trying to make sense of it all, it sense can ever be found.

And yet, life goes on…

As I regained some sense of control of my life I took on a few sessions.  That of 7 month old, Luke of Bozeman  (which I will post soon) and 3 week old, Tatum Love of Big Sky.  They, these precious little ones are the beautiful reminder that life is good and fresh and that it renews itself.  How blessed we are to have this time on earth among our loved ones.  To create and witness and share in the miracle of new life.

Thanks to Tatum’s parents, Lindsey and Peter for driving all the way to my Livingston boutique studio from Big Sky and for allowing me creative freedom with their precious newborn.  It was such a pleasure meeting you!

Wedding Day photo by Audrey Hall

My heart.  It knew it met someone special the night I met you.  I didn’t know how, or why back then in 1996, but I knew.  Married within the year, our separate lives culminated into a singular moment on a Montana mountain-top.  An eagle approached from the west, another from the east, flying continuously overhead in a dramatic courtship dance as we said our vows and the Justice of the Peace proclaimed…”Until death do you part.”  And so it was every day from that day on for the next 12 years, through thick and through thin.  You were my heart.  You would always be my heart.  And my strength.  And my weakness.  And never did I want to be without you.

When you came to be broken, so broken asking for help, my heart wanted to crumble into a million pieces, fall down and collapse.  But you stood.  If you had the strength to stand, so would I.  I would not fail you.  I would not fail us or our family.  You needed me now.

…no time to call 911…get in the car.  Sliding down the road, need to slow down.  100 mph on the highway…”are you ok?… can you breathe?’  Call the hospital.  “Be ready, we’ll be there within 10 minutes.”  At hospital.  No one’s waiting.  Rush in for a wheelchair.  Door closes.  Scream at door to open.  Place Doug in the wheelchair.   Push him into hospital.  Suddenly in Trauma room.  Asked to leave.  “You don’t want to see this,” they say.  Alone.  So alone.  Never did I think I’d be without you.  Helpless.  Lost.  Afraid.  Life spins on a dime.  Without warning, the rug gets pulled out from under you and your life is turned upside-down.  Spinning…spinning…

Never for a moment did we give up.  Me on you.  You on me.  When we first saw each other right after the accident, our eyes locked and we both knew…bad as this was, we would survive this.  We would survive.  For you are my heart and mine is yours…until death do us part.