Seventy two mornings waking up in the schoolhouse. Each of them with a variation of light. Today the clouds are a Dutch painting, ranging gray to white in each single puff and the blue of the sky flirting in and out, all complimenting the green fields below. Perhaps, last night’s rain has cleared the air and brightened the colors to this affect. There is argument among those of cloud appreciation and even within meteorological circles as to the accuracy and truth of clouds painted by Jacob Van Ruisdael and his contemporaries. But here it is out my window in Montana. Six degree’s difference in latitude, Haarlem to Harlowton and worlds away in climate yet... I think of Dutch Landscapes when I am here, especially on a day like today. Is it the Golden Age Landscape painter’s choice to make compositions with 2/3 sky? Which matches our reality in this big sky country. This is my last morning to sit on the bed with six beautiful windows looking out. I will carry this view with me for close to 300 other days of the year.
