Ozone Falls

Looks a bit chilly to me. But than, I've always been colder than most people. When I was young and living in Northwest Montana I was often the first one in from the ice skating or sledding party. Some people thrive in cold snowy places....I, unfortunately, did not. Although Tim doesn't mind the cold quite as much, it is not his favorite season either. Which is odd, considering he's part Norwegian. Don't they swim in the ice water?! That gene must have become dormant in him or something.

Even though we are having a very mild winter we have had a few cold snaps. We get rain in abundance around here so when the cold weather hits, the cliffs and hillsides often look like this.

This weekend was Tim's Birthday and we decided to visit Ozone Falls which is not too far from us. I took a few pictures from the top of the falls. We didn't go down to the bottom this time. Tim injured his knee in November and it still is giving him problems. We are trying some natural/herbal things, as knee surgery is not an option right now.

Solomon's Seal is one of the main herbs we are using right now. It is an old herbal remedy dating back to the time of King Solomon, which is where is gets its name. He is said to have declared the plant and it's healing  properties a gift from God and named it after himself. So legend tells us. Some also think it gets it name from the leaf scar which sort of resembles the Seal of Solomon. Personally, I like the first story better. 

picture of Solomon's Seal    

I have made an infused oil out of the dried root from Mountain Rose Herbs and am wrapping Tim's knee with it daily now. This herb grows quite well in this part of the country so it is on my "to find" list for the summer. We've just started using it so we shall see if it lives up to the credit King Solomon gave it.

If it were summer that water would look so refreshing! Maybe we'll go back in July and hike down to the bottom. I have confidence his knee will be better before then.

Hope you enjoyed these few glimpses of Ozone Falls. It is a beautiful place. Everyone has special places like this near them. It's just a matter of going out and finding them. We have been making the effort to find as many as we can in our area. When we get out together it just relieves our stress, helps us to relax and forget about all the everyday worries.

 God has made such a diverse and beautiful world. What a gift!