Judy Elizabeth's Flock

February 02, 2012

2012-02-02T11:24:00.003-07:00

Grandpa Peter Bullinger (white shirt) in front of his Engineering & Automotive Shop in Chicago
My Mom, Theresa; Grandma Bessie; Aunt Viola (Mom's wedding day 1940)
An original blotter from Peter Bullinger's Business in Chicago, Illinois
February 02 is my Grandmother's, Bessie O'Hara Bullinger, birthday. We would always kid her about Ground Hogs Day! Grandma came from Ireland and that is about all we ever knew about her "history" before coming to the United States. Bessie was my Mom's mother and lived with us after our Aunt Viola died. She married Peter Bullinger and they resided in Chicago and had seven children. My mother was the third child.

The picture above depicts Grandma with myself, little brother Bobby, and big brother George in Northbrook, Illinois. The dog's name is Blackie. (I can see the milk order chart posted on the wall of our little rental above George's head -- the days of the milk man and bottled fresh milk on our door stoop.)

I tried and tried to have Grandma tell me about her childhood and family. She would never speak of them. She would say that she did not want to talk about the past just the present. After Grandma's husband died during the 1930's it left the family without much money and these were hard times for them. I know my Mom quit high school to go to work to support her Mom and younger siblings -- as did Viola (older sister).

Grandma was not the easiest person to get along with but I loved her and enjoyed spending time with her. She loved to crochet and made beautiful bedspreads, table clothes, and dollies -- some of which I have to this day. In her later years she had many problems with her hips and if she was living today she would probably have had hip replacements and be able to walk about. However, back then she had to use crutches to get around and she must have been in considerable pain. There was a time when I wanted to take her back to Ireland but she would not go she said in a wheel chair. I would take Grandma on little drives to get her out of the house. I so wish she told me about her childhood and her family.

...I read that the ground hog saw it's shadow and we will have 6 more weeks of winter...let's hope it is as mild as it is now. I'm all for that. Just let it snow in the mountains and pack in the moisture for the run off.

Everyone have a great day!

Doing some Backtracking here! Nov & Dec 2011

2012-02-02T10:36:00.003-07:00

Grandpa enjoying the Chaos of all the grandsons hollering and rolling around on the floor!
The boys favorite people at the ranch -- Aunt Kara and Uncle Jason!
My boys making Mom "look slim"...oh well, they tried! Love our boys -- Jason and Mitch!

Puppet making day and the results!

For some reason or other I have neglected my blog. The days, weeks, and months are speeding by. I failed to make at least one post for the month of November and December.

We had Thanksgiving at the home place in Babb with Nichole, Mitch, Kacey, Steven, Bobby, Adam, and Jasper coming for the holiday. We also had some good friends come to help celebrate the holiday.

I had purchased a new stove a few weeks before the holiday. I had hoped we would be able to pick it up and I could test it out before the big day and cooking for 15. However, that was not to be. I did get the stove home a few days before the big day. I baked some artisan bread and other items to test it out. I planned on cooking the big turkey via the convection part of the oven...it was suppose to cook faster and be juicer. I had a meat thermometer stuck in the appropriate place in my bird. I checked the time it was to be done using the convection oven baking. The turkey browned to a golden color and the thermometer appeared to be at the right temperature.

I was so happy...I could take it out and have it set up and then cut it up and have all the mess done before everyone got there. I was talking about the new oven with my daughter-in-law when I decided to begin slicing it up for the serving tray. I let out a gasp because it was very obvious by the juices on the platter that the turkey was not done! I had an hour to get the bird back in the oven to complete the baking. This was my first "turkey disaster" in all my years of making Thanksgiving dinners.

Luckily there was enough white meat to go around. Later I reread my directions (which I thought I had "down" and understood)...and saw that I should have put the convection setting on "Roast" not "Bake"...on Bake it automatically reduces the set oven temp by 25 degrees. Yikes, I was "warming" up my turkey inside instead of baking it! It still amazes me that it was so brown and done looking!

I have yet to figure out the Broil feature. I purchased an all black stove -- since a white stove (propane) turns black by the burners, I thought it would be good to start with that color to begin with. Black has it's problems, too. Fluff of any kind shows up on the stove. Scratches show up a lot more on black than on white or so it seems. I spend my time polishing the all black top by the burners...

The burners are like torches! Thank goodness there is a little burner in the back that you can cook puddings and eggs without them sticking or going to over the top. The first time I made tapioca on my new stove I used the "torch" back burner. I left the pudding for a minute and when I came back the whole top of the stove was a puddle of tapioca...Wail! That was a real clean-up job!

There are five burners with two huge pieces of "Grates" (I think they are called) that cover the burners. If not careful these can scratch the surface of the black finish. Each burner has a metal cap which comes right off for easy cleaning. They are like little saucers.

Hopefully we will adjust to each other and I am really happy about the small not-so-intense back burner. Making puddings and eggs is a very easy pot cleanup!

Christmas was low key and enjoyed at home.

It is still October???

2011-10-30T16:43:00.004-06:00

Marvin and Bobby who is 4 years old
Mitch and Nichole with Jasper the youngest at 10 months
Mitch, Steven (6), Kacey (9), Bobby (4), Marvin, Adam (2), Jasper, Nichole
10-30-2011 in windy Logan Pass on the east side -- Upper St. Mary Lake!

You can tell November is right around the corner.....Mr. Wind has arrived in all his glory and is whipping around the valleys and mountains! Nothing is safe from him! This will last through to spring...I mean, it blows most of the year, but this is the really serious windy season that seems to last forever!

The first few pictures are of Mitch (our youngest son) and his family Nichole and all the boys! We met up with the in Great Falls on October 08, 2011 (I believe that was the date)...we delivered to them 19 of our laying hens for Kacey's egg business. I wanted to get out of the hen business...but I still have 19!..too! They will give us and Jason and Kara enough eggs for our cooking.

I have also confined them in a pen and hen house...they used to have the run of a 40 x 100 foot quonset and who knows where they laid their eggs...it was a hunt each and every day. The piles of lumber and so forth made it a true adventure trying to find all the eggs. I now know exactly where they are and where they lay -- in the hen house!

Have to go check on my bread that is baking! Everyone have a great Halloween!

October 2011

2011-10-25T11:24:00.004-06:00

Window or Yard ornament
Side view
Top view
Red lights inside
Stuff you will need
Logan Pass on an overcast rainy day
Logan Pass on east side by St. Mary
Logan Pass on east side by St. Mary
The wonderful Wild Goose Island photo area! Always a good shot!

October 2011 is just about over. It seems I am lucky to get a once a month entry into my blog for friends and family who do not have a Face Book account.

A friend, Donna Ridgway, gave a written suggestion on how to make a spook for your front lawn or window. I used a 1-1/2 gallon plastic ice cream bucket for this project. Cut two holes to insert the eyes (ping pong balls)...not too big of holes...you actually just want to fit the balls into the holes and hot glue them in place...then I hot glued around them. You will need a can of the foam insulation spray and spray around the eyes and all over the bucket. I painted black spots on the eyeballs and protected them with Mod Poge a clear liquid that seals the paint. You can paint the foam when it drys but I think it looks fine just the way it is sprayed on. My nose slipped because I put it into the wet foam. I have some ears I will attach later with the hot glue. There was a suggestion that you could put a wig on the top and so many other things that you may think up. Then you can put a colored bulb inside and wha-la...a Halloween spook for your lawn or window.

I took a drive up Logan Pass in Glacier National Park last Wednesday -- it was an overcast rainy day...I call that mystic when driving in the Pass. You can only go to Jackson Glacier on the east side now otherwise the road is closed to vehicles past that point. There are still hikes to take etc as long as the road is not closed by snow storms.

I saw several happy hikers striking off on various trails. St. Mary Falls is a favorite; Sun Rift Gorge was a little busy; but it is a lovely to just be able to view the upper St. Mary Lake and see Wild Goose Island. The trees were still in some of their fall finery! The leaves are leaving fast now. We actually had a wonderful fall season this year. Mr. Wind did not come up and blow them all a way within a week like he usually does.

Snow squalls here today on October 25, 2011.

Everyone have a great Halloween if I don't post anymore this next week...and a welcome to November!

Fall 2011

2011-09-30T15:39:00.006-06:00

It is a long way down there!The Highline Trail along the rock wall
Happy Hiker Marvin
Happy Hiker, Judy Elizabeth
A view from the trail

Waterton Lake from our favorite beach
Red Rock Canyon
Prince of Wales Hotel built in 1926 opened in 1927
Cameron Lake
Red Rock Canyon rocks

We decided to get out and about a few days ago. It seems I have been recovering from one knee problem after another in the past 2 years since I retired.

On the 28th of September Marvin and I went to Logan's Pass and it was very cold and windy...we walked around and then came home.

On the 29th of September we went to Waterton Lakes International Peace Park in Alberta Canada (connects to Glacier National Park in the US).

Today, the 30th, we went back to top of Logan Pass to try to walk a ways on the Highline Trail. I awoke felt good and my knees and feet felt good so I suggested to Mavin that we tackle the Highline Trail. We have not been on this trail for at least 30 years.

Lovely day, sun out and warming up. Fifteen minute delay on the way up and at least a 15 minute delay on the way out of the parking lot at Logan. But it is worth it.

We arrived around 10 am and began our hike...we did not go that far because we knew we had to come back and it would be mostly uphill. Picture number 2 depicts the rock wall on the trail. This is where I heard a voice behind me from my husband -- something about going back. I turned because I thought he was joking and by the look on his face I realized he was not. He did not like the feel of the trail or how he felt. I said don't look down just look at the trail. I wanted to go a little further and he agreed. He did not like the fact that the wind had really come up and it could be dangerous for us on that high narrow trail. At one time it was obvious that there had been a cable along the rock wall -- the eye bolts were still there but no cable. I think that would have made us both feel better, but the height and wind did not bother me.

I had hoped to get off the rock wall area and into the trail on the side of the hill but it was also obvious that it would be a mostly uphill hike back to the parking lot at Logan. So we decided to return after having a bite to eat and rest on a large rock past the rock wall.

Never want to "over do" especially since I have had three major surgeries on my left knee in the past 2 years.

I wore my uniform issued boots and they were just right for this type of hiking. Supported my feet and no slippage on rocks etc.

When we got to the bottom of the Pass at St. Mary we decided to stop in and get a bite to eat at St. Mary's Lodge. The food was excellent. We had a prime rib (slivered) sandwich, fries, salad and it was very good!

Our day in Waterton was a delight but we had a really bad meal at Zum's restaurant -- I told them about it but no one seemed to care.

We had a lovely hand made waffle cone and great ice cream at the ice cream shop...that helped with the awful lunch.

It was calm when we arrived in Waterton but the wind did pick up and when we were up by the historic Prince of Wales Hotel on that high hill looking down over the town site of Waterton, the wind was really howling.

The Prince of Wales Hotel was closed for the season. It looked pretty lonesome up there without tourists running about and flowers everywhere. But at least we could find a parking place in a very small parking area by the Hotel.

Cameron Lake is delightful and it was very still and not windy when we were there. A women pulling a kayak came rushing to the lake and had such a look of pure joy on her face. It was a perfect day to kayak for sure! Marvin said he had never been to Cameron Lake which surprised me. Always busy with the ranch over the years. When our sons were young we (the boys and I) would go biking in the town site and drove all over the place. Waterton has always been such a delight to me. Going up to see Red Rock Canyon we came upon a very fat black bear eating berries along the road. Red Rock Canyon was also beautiful.

A very good friend of our gave us a the book "Chief Mountain International Highway" by Chris Morrison. This is a really informative little book about the Chief Mountain Highway and the building of the Prince of Wales and the whole of Waterton Lakes town site.

I am hoping my knee keeps improving and I can do more and more with it. I am able to get back on my pedal bike and to go a ways. I am so totally out of shape that it is rather hard to go too far. And I do not want to overdo anything to cause any problems with it. Three surgeries on the same knee is quite enough for me.

Marvin and I have had a good time these past few days enjoying getting out into our beautiful area that we live in.

Happy trails to all...take care and be good to each other!

Memories and Changing Seasons!

2011-09-18T16:26:00.010-06:00

Top photo is view from back yard
Second photo is of a black bear and cub digging around on the hill side
Third picture is of Marvin and his horse, Spike...ready to get in the saddle
Another picture of the channels of water out back door
Last picture is of Marvin and I in 1970, around Christmastime

I began this post on our wedding anniversary, September 18, 2011...and then got sidetracked! We did not have a traditional wedding by any means. I had always wanted a small wedding if I ever married -- I thought it really foolish to spend all that money on a expensive wedding when you could put it into a down payment on a home or other important life necessities.

However, our wedding was "way small"...we were married by the Marriage Commissioner in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada...they had to call in two clerks as witnesses -- now that is "way small"...we have no pictures of that day, which is really a shame. I remember I wore a lovely light colored turquoise (Vogue pattern) dress that I had made and wore lovely gray leather pumps and gray leather purse. I wore my turquoise jewelry -- my birthstone. Marvin wore western. We stayed overnight in Lethbridge and when we returned to the ranch, Marvin's dad wanted to know "what took us so long"...and the adventure began.

I remember there was a lady at the lodge that told me to go home and think it over and if I really wanted to do this (get married) then to come back. What did she know that I did not, always thought that was an interesting comment to make. However, I did not go home. My parents came out before our marriage and we really should have gotten married when they were here but for some reason I cannot remember now, we waited until September. We planned on getting married on September 11, 1970...but a very big snow storm hit and the roads were really bad -- we spent the day pulling tourists from the ditches. This snow brought on the change of seasons. (One should probably stay a winter in the place they will call home and check out the weather extremes prior to making any long-term commitments.)

Winter did come that year and it never left! We stayed at the guest lodge for the first winter...

We could have lived up at the lodge with Marvin's dad, but I saw the "writing on the wall" and knew that I would be taking care of his father and the lodge from then on if we stayed there.

There was an old homestead on part of the ranch and I thought with a little "fixing up" we could live there...good golly, cows had used it for shelter at some time with all the cow pies in there. Toilet full of "stuff"...we later found out that people would camp out in the old home in the summers. It was certainly going to be a challenge. The home had begun with a log cabin maybe one and then another section attached. A large living room was added on as well as a large kitchen. The bathroom might have been an afterthought or because of circumstances was put in later. There were two porches. I did like the sink by one of the back doors. We had a local person fix up the house inside as much as possible. Outside it was an early gray chipped stucco shack-type construction. There was frame and then chicken wire and then stucco which was chipping off. The roof was tar paper with a full shingle-type paper laid over it. The ceilings were low, like maybe 7 feet. Flies came out like a swarm of bees during the winter whenever it warmed up. I did not know that many flies existed, anywhere. The toilet/plumbing never really worked...we discovered why many years later. Marvin came with a bit of a "hope chest" -- some furniture, dishes, stuff like that -- good thing. I always thought and expressed that a hope chest was rather foolish and that if the person I married could not afford the necessities I could not afford to marry him -- silly me -- I did come with a sewing machine, however!

My first real shock came when I found out that farmers/ranchers lived on borrowed money until the end of year when they sold their product and then got "paid"! These were the days when the fuel companies, farm implement dealers, and other farm enterprises kept a "tab" going until the end of the season when calves, hay, grain was sold and then the farmer/rancher would "settle up" with them. Astounding! (I remember when I worked positions in the Chicago area and they paid once a month -- I thought that was very strange! But once a year!)

My husband put up those sticky fly strips...I cannot tell you how many times I caught my long hair in those darn things hanging here and there! Awful!

Quantity grocery shopping was another eye opener for me. How on earth could you shop for a whole season in one day at some kind of huge food warehouse. (I do remember that this same warehouse did home deliveries in a big truck -- astounding to be sure.) Back in Illinois we shopped for, maybe, a week of food...we had the refrigerator with a small freezer on top. My new family had these big chest freezers. I do remember buying way too many kidney beans and tomato soup that year -- hard to ever buy any more. It had something to do with my Mom's Hungarian Goulash recipe.

I found so many interesting items out in the piles of old cars, wagon wheels, etc...that I would drag them in and decorate our little home with them. The inside was mostly knotty pine with knotty pine cupboards -- a whole lot of knotty pine cupboards! I loved knotty pine, which was good thing.

Marvin brought down an old cook stove that they had in Nebraska. It was really unique (I thought, anyway)...it was nice and large with a grill in the middle and had a cover that folded up and when you were not using it, you could fold it back down and cover the burners. Now, the real problem that I found with this stove was that it ran on Propane...propane was totally foreign to me and the only thing I had heard about propane was when someones home blew up because of a propane leak and that the propane tanks can take off like jets and cremate anything in its course! Then I found out we were going to heat with wood!

Well, all these concerns paled when Mr. Wind arrived on the scene...we lived with tornadoes in Illinois...good golly...the wind was like have a tornado come every day -- day in and day out and all night...how could it blow that hard that long?

The old homestead was not a warm home by any means...the wind howled in and around all the cracks and the old windows rattled...I assumed there was insulation in the walls...however, the cotton and paper had slid down many years ago and there was nothing much to stop the wind and cold and flies from coming in for a visit. We had to get an old bed out of storage that had a headboard so our hair was not rearranged during the night. I used to joke that if I put my arm beyond the headboard to stretch, the wind would blow it back in.

I now had made the inside of our home as comfortable as possible and my "rules of the house" were very strictly enforced. Absolutely no shoes in the house -- we, after all, did live in very close proximity to a corral full (at times) of cattle and very smelly stuff. I had a sign posted at the top of door jam as you entered the living room -- it stated "absolutely no dirty bodies beyond this point"...this sign was hung with yarn and would blow in the wind most of the time -- nice fresh air coming from the ceiling, I assumed!

The wood stove was in the kitchen...there was no heat in the back bathroom (the only bathroom) with crazy a "mind-of-it-own" toilet. No heat in the bedrooms...we were finally able to buy a used propane (Propane!) heater for the living room. The electric power would go off and stay off for days, weeks at a time. Thank goodness for the channels of water outside our back door and for the -- Okay, I am going to say it -- the wonderful propane cook stove and propane heater! We could boil our water for baths etc and could keep cooking food.

We lived in this home for about 10 years until we had a new home built beside it...wow, all new and clean -- no mice, flies, bats, skunks, shrews, and so many other critters were left behind!

By now we had a new well and septic system another real plus.

Well, the day is beautiful outside and I just have to get out to this great weather before Winter comes again.........so I will leave this adventure for now.

Everyone take care of each other!

Here We Go Again!

2011-08-01T15:19:00.004-06:00

Me and my beaver pole
Leg brace (0nce again) and my very sturdy beaver walking pole
Marvin just in from baling hay!

As I mentioned in my last post I had to have a new repair surgery on my already repaired patella or knee cap. Incision was right along the lines of the last two incisions...I am so glad that I heal well and rather fast.

My left knee had been bothering me for many years prior to my knee replacement in August of 2009...that was quite a recovery -- had lots of problems with the pain meds. I am best if I don't take anything stronger than a Tylenol. Recovered from that surgery and physical therapy. Was back to riding my pedal bike. Doing great, along comes February 5th of 2011...I just had to go out and feed the chickens. Wrong move, very wrong. There was a skiff of snow covering all the ice that had accumulated over the awful winter. Coming back with bucket of eggs I found myself on the ground and smashed down on my knee repair. I had felt something pop/snap. In between storms I had surgery on February 7th. That surgery went well recovery was quite easy. I was having more problems with my back and bursitis in my legs than the knee cap. Finally was able to get back on my bike, that was short-lived. My knee cap had slid to the left. X-rays...did not hurt...continue with PT...then it began to hurt a lot and more often...had tried a brace to keep the knee cap where it should be, that only worked for a short time.

Back to doctor on July 25th, X-ray showed that the repaired knee cap was coming apart. Scheduled for surgery next morning. I asked for all the same meds that they gave me in February...all went well, I have some of knee cap left. I was told a person does not need a knee cap. But I asked for a much as could be saved...up and walking right after I woke up and had my peach smoothie. Round the hospital floor we went. Had the tubes taken out...did not need the oxygen etc. I was up and walking with the full black leg brace. PT came in on the 27th -- I walked around the floor again and then did the stairs to show them I could go home and take care of myself. Marvin was with me, of course, and stayed with me in the hospital overnight and was wonderful. Doctor in at 7 am, I hurried up everyone so we could checkout and be on our way.

Great to be home -- it was hard to "stuff" that stiff leg into my van but we got the job done. Shopped a little and then on to home -- 3 hours. It was wonderful to get home and see all the flowers etc. There just is no place like home for me!♥ Marvin brought in my red-hot colored walker on wheels in case I needed it but I have swung my leg in and out of bed and walked stiff-legged to the bathroom so much in the past 2 years that I don't know how else to get in and out of bed.

...and so "on the mend again"...there is no pain involved...just a little burning by the staples and the pressure from the leg brace and wrap -- I am using the wrap this time because it helps the brace to stay up...........

Everyone take care .... if you haven't already ....... take really good care of your body parts so they last a long time!

Oh, I have to give credit to my industrious beavers -- they made the lovely heavy-duty pole that I have used since my first patella repair. I am not happy that they have cut down every tree in our back area however!

July 2011

2011-07-30T09:25:00.007-06:00

Beautiful Pink Columbine and Hybrid Lilac Bush
Grand Union Hotel Fort Benton
Beautiful Pink Peony

Grand Union Hotel Front Desk
Grand Union Hotel Side/Front View
Chief Mountain from our hills up north
Grand Union Hotel Front Room

The Grand Union Hotel was built in 1882 in Fort Benton, Montana! It was a hub for visitors that came in on river boats . River boats came in from the Gulf of Mexico to Fort Benton for many years bringing needed supplies and trappers, fur traders, dignitaries, etc to the inner most waterway in the United States. If you get out a map and follow the waterways up to Fort Benton you can see it was a very long way.

I have always wanted to spend a night in this grand old hotel. Our son and daughter-in-law and their boys were camping in Fort Benton in early July. This gave us a chance to visit with them and to stay at the historic hotel and to enjoy the museums in the area and interpretive center. We all toured the reconstructed fort and could imagine how it was in those days when someone would trade a buffalo robe for a cook pot or whatever else was needed to make their lives a little easier in those long ago times.

The Grand Union Hotel is located right on the Missouri River in a great place to welcome all the waterway visitors of the time. We had a beautiful room on the river side. The hotel has been renovated and looks and feels wonderful. We had a great meal in their lovely dining room -- buffalo with huckleberry sauce, finger potatoes, wonderful homemade artisan bread!

Fort Benton these days is really off the "beaten path" so to speak. A person can imagine that it could have been as big or bigger than Great Falls is today. But Fort Benton is not near any major highway or on the way to a certain place. You have to want to go to Fort Benton. It is 206 miles from our ranch through fields of hay and grain. We took the Highline highway US 2 and then turned at Chester Montana and headed out into the rolling fields of hay and grain. Marvin and I totally enjoyed our stay in Fort Benton. Lovely little town with so very much history and beauty on the Missouri River with the beautiful high banks and wide river.

Other pictures of my hybrid lilac bushes that bloom after the regular lilac bushes and are covered with wonderful smelling smaller flowers. I adore my Columbines and the pinks were especially beautiful this year. Along came the end of July and our lovely peonies that our son, Jason, planted. The pinks are totally divine...and the whites are terrific.

It is haying time on the ranch. We had a very late summer this year but everything is still green. We did have flood watches on the St. Mary River that runs behind our home place and the channels outside our back door did get really full and were running wild there for a while. But all has calmed down now. The birds have raised their young and have gone on to other areas.

I had recovered from my fractured patella (knee cap) that happened when I fell on the ice in February...was doing my physical therapy...then the knee cap began a slide to the left of my knee. Pain came along...x-rayed on last Monday (25th of July) showed that the knee cap was falling apart...scheduled surgery on Tuesday morning (26th)...so here I am with my once-again stiff left leg in a full black velcro brace going through recovery again. Hoping this is the last time for that. I was riding my pedal bike before this happened and was discouraged to have to put that away. I have a little bit of the patella left now and hope it stays in place and I can be back up and around on my bike soon. Especially before another winter hits us.

Hoping all that read this are well and enjoying life and all the beauty that surrounds us each day in the simple things such as beautiful flowers and blue skies and tall green grass!

Mr. Wind and other things!

2011-06-26T10:57:00.003-06:00

All lined out!
Female Merganser Duck with babies! They all tried to jump on top of her and sunk her back side!
Getting the heck out there as they rounded the bend in the channel!

June 26, 2011 --The day started out sunny with a bit of a chill in the air. Now, the clouds have taken the Sun and hidden it from view. Mr. Wind is making that soulful sound of a weather change – as is sometimes heard in the fall and winter. At those times I cast my eye to the skies and smell the air for rain or snow.

The skies have turned to an overall light gray and it is spitting rain. Mr. Wind is rather cool and penetrating as he whips my hair around and tries to take the quonset door from my hands. I have just fed and watered my laying hens – and gathered fresh eggs. As I was cleaning the water tubs, the sounds of wind caught my immediate attention. I am thinking Summer is finally here, but the sound of Mr. Wind is not a summer sound at all. Maybe the sound is magnified by the quonset walls and the open areas that the wind can come in and sail right through or dash about inside the metal walls. But it is the "change in weather wind"!

As I come out, I hang on tight to the big metal door so it does not crash onto me!

I just spoke to my husband who is up on the north part of our ranch and he said it is “kind-a snowing” up there mixed with the rain. That part of the ranch/farm is another 500 feet up in elevation from the home place where I am.

Jessie, the young Brown Swiss milk cow, gave birth to a little red bull calf this morning –we were all hoping for a heifer (female) so it could grow up to be another milk cow. Jessie is very friendly and was a bum calf when Jason and Kara purchased her from a dairy heard of Brown Swiss cross dairy cattle (meaning a mixture of two breeds of cattle).

The other day when I was on our back lawn by the water channels I saw a type of duck that I had never seen before. It was a female Merganser with about nine or more little baby ducks swimming in the channel. I will post a picture or two of them. Pardon my rather out of focus pictures, I was trying to catch them as they sped away from me.

Have a great day and hope all is well where you are!

Father's Day!

2011-06-17T11:09:00.004-06:00

My Daddy, Robert Louis Eckart Sr. or Bobby to his family and friends
My Dad's high school graduation picture 1928 from New Trier HS in Illinois
Oops, somehow I put my little brother's pic in: Robert Louis Eckart Jr or Bobby!
George, Robert (Bobby), Otto (Ottie), and Emil Eckart brothers (Otto and George are twins)
Emil (Puddy) and Robert (Bobby) Eckart (in back) Brothers

In celebration of Father's Day I have added my photos of my Daddy, Robert Louis Eckart! He was one of nine children (includes a set of twins -- George and Otto) born to Otto Eckart and Hiley Epps Eckart.

My father was the 8th child in the family and was called Bobby all his life by his family. His family consisted of two older sisters then seven brothers plus the ninth brother, Emil or Puddy as he was known all his life (it might have been spelled Puddie, I am not sure).

Dad's father died when he was young and his Mom died when he was 13 year old. He went to live with his older sister, Lil and her husband William. Lil and Bill were very dear to my Dad and we kids all loved them very much. We were always going for a visit at Aunt Lil and Uncle Bill.

A Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's out there.........take care and have a great day...

Rain and more Rain!

2011-06-08T11:06:00.002-06:00

From our top story deck looking east to St. Mary by the pines and our channels outside our door!
Looking to the southwest from our deck to the channels that wrap around our yard

These scenes will look familiar since I tend to take these two shots at various times of the year. These are my views from my back deck of our home. We are right on the channels, so to speak! Out the door and there is water everywhere. Beyond these channels are ponds and more waterways.

There is a lot of extreme flooding all over Montana this year with the snowpack at 200% in most areas up in the mountains. There has also been new snow in the mountains with rain at our elevation (4400 feet). We have really no idea how bad the waterways will get in our area until the snow really begins to melt. St. Mary is running very muddy and rushing into our channels right outside our door as you can see from the pictures in this post.

Hope wherever you are that you are safe!

Eary Morning Stroll Across the Front Meadow

2011-05-29T09:04:00.006-06:00

"Wait for me Mom!"
Mother Grizzly with three (3) Cubs! (Only 2 visible here)
Sow grizzly, cubs behind her

Sunday stroll across the front meadow -- one little guy is out of the picture trying to catch up!

As I was talking to our family outside of Judith Gap, I spotted this group of grizzlies progressing across our front meadow. A sow grizzly with 3 bouncing cubs. She was coming from down south and heading north west to Kennedy Creek area. Looking for food I would imagine! They looked healthy.

Marvin and I drove out into the meadow and I took these pictures from a distance with my new camera which has a great zoom lens! We would have had a great picture as she crossed our gravel road on her way to Kennedy Creek, except for the fact that Meadow Muffin (horse) thought these were mighty interesting critters and she ran ahead of the pickup and blocked our shot of all 3 cubs and Mom standing up at our wire gate trying to figure out who and what all these critters where that were coming at them. So, they took off for Kennedy Creek a whole lot faster and all we would have gotten from there were some good (maybe) butt shots.

Have a safe and wonderful day from our ranch to yours!

High Water, Lots of snow in Glacier Park, etc

2011-05-26T19:31:00.008-06:00

Many Glacier Waterfall
Channels and St. Mary in background from our deck
Avalanche in Park
Sherburn Dam area
Sun Rift Gorge with ice formation -- Glacier National Park(Jason took picture)
Greenery at Sun Rift(Jason took picture)
Sun Rift water and ice formation(Jason took picture)
Water fall at Many Glacier

I am posting some photos and one video for family and friends that are not on Facebook.

The video is of Kennedy Creek running into the St. Mary River about a 1/4 mile from our home place.

There still is a whole lot of snow to melt in the mountains and come on down through waterways that pass right by and around us.

I am uploading still pictures, too, but do not know if they will show up in this post or not. We drove up to Many Glacier in Glacier National Park to view the Sherburn dam and see how the water is running up that way. The road to Many has really taken a hit this year and is in a mess in many places -- some good sinks. The Park Service is busy repairing the road. It was raining gently yesterday and cold. There is a whole lot of snow up in the park housing area at Many as well as Swiftcurrent area.

After visiting Many we drove up to St. Mary and into the park entrance there. You can drive up to Jackson Glacier area. Lots of snow everywhere. Avalanches that were cleared from the road.

Lots of flooding and road closures in Montana.

Goats at Goat Lick, Montana

2011-05-17T18:15:00.005-06:00

Driving over Marias Pass to go to Kalsipell or Whitefish is a long way, but it is so beautiful now that spring/summer may be here (we just never know for sure if Winter has left us as yet).

Marvin and I were very lucky to see these beautiful mountain goats at Goat Lick area in Glacier National Park right on US Highway 2. On the way back from the west side, we saw these goats and were delighted to see that the winter gate had been unlocked and open at the Goat Lick viewing area. This area is well maintained with restrooms and a short nature walk to view the goats down by the roaring river licking the minerals on the rocks. Wonderful area to take photos of the river below and hopefully there will be mountain goats for photographing as well.

Today was a special treat in that we saw so many goats on the way over and then they were still on the hillside on the way back. Plus a big bonus of the goat right up the hill side by the highway!

The rivers are running very wide and dirty as we drove through the pass.

Is that Green I see???

2011-05-14T15:18:00.005-06:00

At times I get a scolding from family and friends that are not on Facebook and come to my blog and want to see something new.

Waters are a-rising out back in the waterways. Here are some pictures of St. Mary River which is right out back and the many channels and ponds that are behind our home and corrals.

I threw in a picture of Turk (Anatolian Shepherd Guard Dog) and Meadow Muffin (horse) nibbling on new grass on the bank of a channel outside our back door.

There is a whole lot of snow in the mountains that still needs to melt and fill the rivers, creeks, and so forth in our area. There are some mighty impressive pictures on the Glacier National Park website to show how much snow was in the park. Astounding amount of snow.

Our days have been sunny and rather warm -- east wind today. Makes biking a little hard to get back to the house.

I see by my blog entries that we did get snow last May 30th so who knows what the weather has in store for us yet this season.

I am enjoying each day as they come. Boys are working putting a rebuilt DT-466 engine back into the 4-wheel drive tractor so they can farm. The White tractor also bit the dust last winter and trying to figure out what is wrong with hydraulics. Marvin's ranch pickup took a dump last winter, too. Transmission...on one of the coldest stormy days on his way back from Cut Bank. Luckily he was rescued and taken to a ranch house where he could call home for help.

Jason and Kara now have indoor plumbing which is very exciting for them and visitors! Calving is getting to the end. Need to get seed in the ground.

I have a little bull bum calf that I feed during the day -- he loves his little blue bucket full of warm milk replacer or cows milk.

Our Brown Swiss milk cow got a fever shortly after calving this year and it was a struggle to save her. Her little bull calf was a bum until he found a loving mother cow after her calf died.

No trees are breaking forth with any green foliage -- can't blame them. I do see buds. Who knows when we may have lilacs or flowers this year. The beavers were very busy cutting down every tree they could find all along the water's edge. They destroyed so many trees this past winter that it is very sad.

Hope all is well with everyone and that they are enjoying each other and life in general!

April 2011

2011-04-09T18:48:00.004-06:00

Nice day here by the mountains! The temperature got up to 53 degrees or so...but, of course, the Wind had to be around and that made it quite a bit cooler!

Marvin is taking advantage of the rather good weather with no snow squalls to train his horse, Spike. Has a saddle on Spike and Marvin is moving him around. He is breaking him to ride.

In the second picture Spike has spotted his buddy, Meadow Muffin, or she has seen him and is calling to him. They have been separated for a few weeks.

Having sun all day is really nice. Winter has been too long this year.

I will get excited about Spring (which could be another month away, at the least), when I see little flower shoots coming up.

Everyone take care............and I hope there is a nice spring somewhere!

March comes marching in!

2011-03-06T18:31:00.005-07:00

Since I had problems writing anything after I added pictures, I am going to write the post before I add them.

Marvin wanted to see what the Divide looked like on US 89 south of St. Mary Montana and up over the Divide (as we call it).

We went on Saturday (03-05) and today (03-06-11). Yesterday it was still overcast and very hazy with some wind blowing and drifting. Plows were out as were the snow rotary blowers. The drifts were very impressive. Actually, the entire highway from St. Mary up and down was a total "Drift"... I cannot imagine what it took to clear this highway for travel. The drifts were comparable to the big snows that I saw in the early 1970's.

The forest fire of a few years ago had taken all the tall pines that had provided some protection from the blowing snow for this winding highway and left it open to huge drifts that plugged the road this winter from record snowfall and high extreme winds.

I will post a few pictures that we took today when the sun did shine. It was a cold day about 6 degrees above zero but felt very cold with just a small wind blowing.

I had attempted to load a video but it did not process.

Hoping for a few good days before the weather turns ugly again later this coming week -- or so it is being report by the weather folks!

Everyone stay safe, drive safe, and take care of each other!

February 2011

2011-02-21T08:51:00.005-07:00

January disappeared with a flash or so it seems. It was cold, snow, cold, and more snow! I had aches and pains that seemed to set in and stay. Me poor old bones!

Then along came February...more cold more snow more aches and pains. February 5th was a rather cold day with a new dusting of snow over the ice that seemed to be everywhere. I had called my older brother and we talked about our "replacement parts". I was giving my total knee replacement a thumbs up and telling how I felt so confident with my new parts. Oh sure, the knee ached most days, but it was nothing like the old knee that really hurt and it got so bad I could not walk on it at all. My total knee replacement surgery was in August of 2009, the 25th day. It was a long recovery and I think it would have been appreciated a lot sooner if not for the back problems and struggling with my sciatic nerve pain that became constant.

So, I was telling my brother how I felt so good about the new knee and things were going so well. I could ride my old pedal bike and my indoor stationary bike. Long rides bothered it and I would rub it during the 3 to 5 hours drives. My restless legs had become intense since the repair but I was rather keeping that under control until later in the day. Right after the total knee replacement my RLS came at 9 am! Good grief that was a very unpleasant surprise. (Never joke about RLS, it is a very serious, disruptive medical condition. Just imagine if you cannot move your leg/legs for whatever reason and a sensation begins to take over and demands that your legs move -- it also makes me ill. I have had the sensation throughout my body and can tell you that it is no joke.) I have had RLS since a child, it came and went over the years but it became totally chronic and severe in late 2007. You are sent to a neurologist and given some very rough meds that can do very strange and unpleasant things to your body. I was once given an anti-seizure drug that nearly put "me under". There has to be a better way to treat this condition. Off my soap box!

After I hung up from talking to my brother I decided to go feed my chickens in the quonset. I have a contraction that fits over my muck boots and there are small cleats on the toes to keep me from slipping on the ice. I had tried to get a pair of full cleats or chains for the bottom of boots but it seemed every time we were in town everyone was sold out.

I was coming back from the chickens and mid-way to our home -- I was up carrying eggs and the next thing I know I was screaming and down on the ice. When I went down I felt a searing pain and a snap of something. I felt that I had come down on both my knees and my heels hit my butt. The pluses this day were that my husband was home and that he heard my screams and came to my rescue, there was staff at my orthopedic clinic on a Saturday, and that I was able to go to the Browning Hospital Emergency Room for x-rays and assistance. The roads were really awful so it was good that we only had to go to Browning instead of the 3-hour drive to Kalispell. I was given a temporary leg brace to keep my leg straight (another huge plus was that I was not in pain unless I attempted to bend my knee and then it went into spasms because the patella had fractured and moved up my leg and nothing was supporting my knee). I had not injured my total knee replacement parts or my other leg bones. I was instructed to show up for surgery on Monday in Kalispell.

We left on Sunday at noon to beat a storm that was coming in. We stayed overnight in a lovely hotel in Kalispell that gave a discount for medical patients. I saw my orthopedic surgeon on Monday morning and was prepped for surgery that afternoon. All went well, everyone was so nice at Kalispell Regional. I did not have problems with the meds administered -- joy! I did not need any pain meds because I was not in any real pain. I went home on Tuesday afternoon with a 20-inch leg brace. Me and my brace have not been on the best of terms -- it has these Velcro tentacles that attach themselves to everything they come in contact with.

We had a lot of excitement on Saturday February 12th when the wind came up and tried to lift our roof on the southwest side. My hero family got the front end loader and chained it down. There was considerable damage to our areas east of mountains. Some winds were clocked as high as 116 mph! During this time, I did catch my big toe in the carpet as I went to sit down and this kind-a jerked my newly repaired patella...I did have a little burning and a smidge of pain but other than that things seem to be okay...I certainly hope so, anyway! I will see my doctor this week and get the staples out.

So, now I am wondering about what physical therapy I will need. Being an optimist sure does help me, but I have had some real boo-hoo moments that I had this accident just when I felt my knee was doing quite well. But it happened and could have been so much worse so I am fortunate for that and that all worked out with the surgery etc. The surgeon cut down/up the same scar from the total knee surgery. It all looks so familiar! I am house-bound unless I have doctor's appointments.

I hope everyone else has had a good month. Take care and watch that ICE!

Adventures in Judith Gap Montana

2011-01-03T14:38:00.007-07:00

Pictures: (1) Jasper, Judy, Marvin, Kacey; (2) Marvin, Bobby, Kacey; (3) Judy, Nichole, Mitch, Jasper; (4) Adam; (5) baby Jasper Jason; (6) Steven, Jasper, Judy, Bobby, Marvin, Kacey, Adam!

Marvin and I arrived at Mitch and Nichole's on Monday, December 27, 2010 in the afternoon. We had heard that certain roads were very bad, but we were extremely lucky and the only blowing snow was on MT 191 from Eddy's Corner to Judith Gap. They live some 17 miles to the east of Judith Gap.

We were there to babysit our four grandsons while Mitch and Nichole went to Great Falls to have their 5th son. Jasper Jason Reid was born on Wednesday, December 29th at 1 pm. Jasper weighed in at 6 lbs 11 ozs and measured 20-1/2 inches long. He is just a tiny little guy and feels like a feather in your hands!

We took care of the boys from Tuesday until Saturday afternoon...we raised two loud sons but when you get four together -- I told Mitch (our youngest son and father to this group) that I needed a whistle to get their attention when they really got-to-going with the noise. Mitch brought home two whistles when they returned with Jasper...one for them and one for Grandma Debbie who took over from us as we "dashed" out the door to come home!

It was fun to be with our grandsons but exhausting for me...Marvin seemed to hold up a whole lot better than I. He participated in "boy piles" where all four attempted to climb on to Marvin's back or body -- and, of course, they were yelling at the top of their lungs. Lots of "piggy back" rides were given by their Grandpa Marvin. There were times when I just had to demand some quiet time for my sanity...which only lasted a matter of minutes! I got my "snap the fingers and point" back real fast. It worked some of the time. Actually, Coby, the dog was the best at paying attention to my "snap and point" and did quite well at going where I pointed!

Perhaps you know about when the phone rings what this can bring out in children -- it does not matter the amount of children -- this is when they get the loudest. I use to draw my finger across my throat for our two sons or point at them! This only worked upon occasion and was a "hit and miss" with this crew.

Remember Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz...when she got home after her adventure she stated: "There is no place like home, there is no place like home!" Well, I was blabbering this all night when we arrived home yesterday...it may have been the total lack of sleep during our "adventure" or it could have been the long drive home...who knows, but when I hit "my sheets" in my bed last night, sleep came very fast!

I hope everyone is starting on a good note for the new year. Take care and enjoy each other -- no matter how hard it is to do, at times! (Chuckle, chuckle)

Where have all the years gone?

2010-12-08T07:20:00.005-07:00

Me today....

Well, there you sort of have a quick trip through my life in pictures...

(1) At 1-1/2 years old
(2) With my favorite doll and play clothes in the late 1940's
(3) Grade school in early 1950's
(4) At 19
(5) At 23
(6) Probably around 25
(7) With Jena my sweet ewe and Shu-Shu-La in the late 1980's
(8) 1996 at basic law enforcement training

Today, December 08, is my birthday! I am still here! Another day to enjoy! As I write this I can hear the wind dashing about outside and I am hoping the snow is melting.

The years have flown by. As a child the time seemed to stop and just would not get-to-going! Especially if there was something special we were waiting for or a holiday was coming. But now the days rush by, months years all disappear in a wink!

...I am going to leave this post for a while and have breakfast!...

Have a great day everyone!

What happened to October and November????

2010-11-28T14:38:00.003-07:00

That is the question...what happened to October and November? Hmmm...it has been a struggle! Snow, cold, snow and more snow! Pictures all look the same from the last snow.

We had to "cancel" Thanksgiving this past week...or maybe it was the power outage and the fact that my propane cook stove is electric ignited...you can light the top burners with a match, but not the oven. I wish for my old propane stove...it was a life saver when the power went off for days and more some years.

Last month our tractor with the front-end loader decided to bite the dirt...needs a new hydraulic pump. Marvin was coming home from Cut Bank last week and the transmission went out of his ranch pickup. The good part of this adventure was that he was right by a ranch and a was pulled to safety. Jason and Kara went and rescued him. Pickup was towed to Cut Bank the next day. Debating on what to do with that.

We have been snowed in at our home. Jason and Kara's big tractor had the wrong diesel in it and it had jelled and some other problems with that so it was not running. They went into Cut Bank with their diesel truck and the throttle gizzmo went out. No parts to be had. They were given a pickup to take back to the ranch. Got their tractor going and plowed us out on Friday -- our Thanksgiving Day.

We are walking on about 2 feet of packed snow and if you fall off the "paths" you may just not get up. Especially with my new knee! Just to make things interesting the temperatures took a spill below 0 and with the wind chill it was very, very cold.

Luckily when the power went off it was in the 20's so the water did not freeze up. If this happened a few days before we would have been in a real bad fix with the pump house and water freezing up.

This was a crazy year for weather...winter remained into or through May with snow storms...hardly had a summer then in September it began to snow. I for some reason, don't really remember October. But November has been a very tough month for snow, freezing, and below zero temps.

It is in the low twenties today with snow...it snowed again last night a few inches. We had some really tough winds last week which made travel impossible.

Roads into and out of Browning were closed as well as US 2 between Cut Bank and Browning. They are open now. The blowing snow causing "white-outs" is the main reason for the closing and then the snow is blown into drifts across the roads.

...and that is the end of my post for today...I am attempting to make some more little lambs!

Everyone take care and stay safe...do not travel if you do not have to on bad roads.

Hardy flowers and views from peddle-powered boat

2010-09-26T17:20:00.005-06:00

I am always amazed that pansies, violas, and some other flowers can make it through frost, cold, and snow! So I have featured some of these wonderfully hardy plants that live on my deck.

The other pictures are of the channels we peddle-boat on. Nice exercise and lovely scenery. We were just out there a few minutes ago.

Meadow Muffin (horse) was wondering how she was going to get close to us...she was not sure of the water and if she should step into it. She has summered up north on our ranch where there are no creeks or streams to speak of. Boo-Boo (Anatolian mix dog) stands in the back of MM. Boo has learned to swim to keep up with the little boat and us. He sometimes wonders if he could jump into the back or on top of us. Thank goodness he has not tried, as yet! But you can see it in his eyes, if he could figure out how to do it and be brave enough he would jump!

The sky was so very blue and the clouds were so beautiful it was hard not to take a pictures.

The days are getting so much shorter, darn...we really do like all the daylight we have in the summertime.

Egg collection time!

Really Pretty Fall Colors!

2010-09-26T14:46:00.004-06:00

Super pretty fall colors right out our back door! This is to the east on the foot hills. To the west the trees are fading faster.

Fall can be so very short in our area because of Mr. Wind.

Well, yesterday the boys were haying...raking the hay and baling the hay...the old baler bit the dust again...gear box went out...big part. Now what? Have to wait until tomorrow (Monday).

The sun was shining brightly this early am and through noon, but now the clouds have joined hands and hid the sun...and Mr. Wind has picked up...something about 50mph winds this afternoon.

My pansies and other potted plants are still alive and vibrant on my back deck even with the several frosts we have had -- not to mention the snows. Pansies, bless their little hearts, are very hardy and can endure this type of abuse from Mother Nature. I do push them back against the house wall for as much protection as possible. When I first got them and put them into pots, I would drag them into my little sewing studio off the deck. They have gotten too big to do this anymore. I do bring in a few that are in smaller pots.

...off to gather eggs...everyone take care!♥

Back to Haying!

2010-09-25T18:48:00.003-06:00

Good weather has returned...sun, wind, and warmer temps have returned and that means back to haying on the ranch.

Jason (our son) is out in the front meadow baling oat hay for feed for the cattle. This is the first day that the weather has cooperated to be able to get back to haying/harvesting.

The old baler is put back together by Jason and Marvin each and every day. That is the frustration of haying. Fixing the equipment especially when it gets old and well used.

The prices for new equipment astound me. Even for used equipment!

I have certainly enjoyed this day (09-25-10) once the sun came out! Mild weather with a wind -- which helps to dry out the wet swathed hay. I hope this weather continues for months to come.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Birthday Adam Marvin!♥

2010-09-23T12:06:00.004-06:00

Such a grandmother am I...I thought Adam's first birthday was this coming Saturday...but this morning I had a sinking feeling and jumped out of bed to check birth dates...gasp!...I was so wrong -- his first birthday is today!

I looked at my husband and asked how come he did not remember -- he was rather wide eyed that early in the morning but he had nothing to say for himself. We both know that he does not keep track of birthdays, anniversaries or any other dates -- he depends on me to remember and to create and send cards, $ etc.

Our younger son was in Korea in the Marines while I was at law enforcement boot camp one year. The training was intense and that is what my thoughts were centered on. I was talking with some classmates and we were discussing birthdays of our kids...I was thinking about how old our two sons were when I was shocked to realize I had missed our son's "golden" birthday -- his age was the date of his birth! Gasp! He was very disappointed that I had forgotten. My husband was home on the ranch and could have sent a card, but he did not. So, the weight of this lapse of memory fell upon me.

I really need to so note on my calendar who has a birthday and when.

♥♥♥lots of love to our little grandson on his special day.

Scenes around the Home Place on the ranch

2010-09-22T15:16:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, September 21, 2010, we had some very Montana varied weather. It started out with snow, then rain, and the sun may have shown, rain, and gray overcast day. The temperature hung around in the 30's to 40's. Last Friday, the 18th we had about 4 inches of wet snow which melted by the afternoon.

The first picture in this series of pics is of my van with a close up of the frost patterns that were left after our first real frost! My husband alerted me to this most intricate design left by Mother Nature.

The second picture is of our creek out our back door which channels here and there. The third picture is the hills to east looking out our kitchen window -- a great wildlife viewing area! The forth picture is a great view from a friend's home near Duck Lake (a few miles from us). The fifth picture is the snow that fell on Friday, September 17th. The sixth picture is more of the creek/channel outside our door. The last picture is the home of our busy beavers that have made the channels higher so we can use our "peddle-powered" boat to get around. Such fun.

My younger son has complained that I do not keep my blog up so he can see pictures of home for him and his family. So, this is dedicated to you, Mitch.

Marvin and I were off to Cut Bank early this a.m. for doctor appointments. Towns just do not get any closer no matter how many times a person travels those many miles (160 round trip). It really exhausts me. I do all the driving.

I am sad because Glacier National Park has closed Going-to-the-Sun Highway at the top and you cannot drive all the way over anymore this season. I just love to take that nice slow drive over the mountains to Kalispell and west via this road. Now, we must drive "down and around" via Maris Pass. It is a total of 120 more miles. In the winter this pass can be very emotional weather-wise and be a cause for a whole lot of stress with the changing weather and road conditions. We usually head for Great Falls in the winter because it is more on the plains and we only have to get out of our valley and go east where the weather is better.

Driving to Cut Bank today we noticed that many grain crops are still in the field waiting for harvesting. Many of the crops are still green. We have had so much moisture this year and no real hot weather for the crops to ripen.

We are attempting to get our haying done for feed. It was so wet this spring that it was impossible to get into the fields to plant some of our feed crops for our cattle until later in the season. The continued moisture was good for the meadows and for livestock grazing and beautiful wildflowers and green foliage.

It is fall here by the Rocky Mountains -- the elk are bugling, birds are gathering, bears are stuffing themselves with berries -- I am hoping for a long fall and a mild winter (I can always hope!).

Everyone take care and enjoy each day!

September 2010

2010-09-19T10:49:00.002-06:00

September was a very WET month here by the Rocky Mountains in northwestern Montana! I mean really wet (rain and snow) There was actually no summer to speak of (although, we did mention summer on many occasions and we were wondering where it was). Since there is nothing a person can do about the weather that comes their way, you just try to enjoy it.

The good part of the wet year is that the meadows stayed green longer than usual as did our lawns. Everything was lush in our area of Montana. Wild flowers were abundant and beautiful.

Since I don't seem to know how to manipulate this site to add labels to my pictures, I will explain them.

The first picture is what I took of our snow on Friday, September 17, 2010. When I took the picture the flash went off and really highlighted the soft wet snow coming down in the early morning -- the snow amounted to about 3 to 4 inches and melted later in the day.

The second group of scenery pictures were taken yesterday, September 18, 2010, in Glacier National Park on the east side. We live and ranch on the east side of the Rocky Mountains -- the windy side of the mountains! It is a short drive to St. Mary and the east entrance to Glacier National Park. These pictures were taken near one of the most photographed areas in the park -- Wild Goose Island. The clouds were low and it was hard to get too many shots. When the clouds are low and the mountains are wrapped in the cloud "fluff", I call it mystic! A mystic wonderland of mountain peaks poking through the clouds or just the bottoms showing. The waters are serene, no wind howling and churning up the water. Intermittent rain making the foliage fresh and looking new.

The leaves are changing in and around the park. I long to see some really red maples in the mix, but none grow here by the Rockies. Now, if only, Mr. Wind stays away for a while so we can enjoy the lovely fall colors.

I was informed that Logan Pass (Going-to-the-Sun Highway) will close today (September 19th) for traffic going all the way across the pass. However, the east side will stay open to the top of Logan Pass (18 miles from St. Mary) through October 18th -- weather permitting. I do not know the plans for the west side of Logan Pass. There is considerable construction and repair work going on past the top of Logan Pass on the west side.

The last two pictures are of Meadow Muffin and Marvin. Marvin raised this little orphan filly from a few days old -- the first picture is of MM in 2008 and the second picture is of MM just the other day. MM is very gentle and is being introduced to a saddle.

I am having a very hard time realizing that our long-awaited "summer season" has come and gone with very little of that season appearing! We had snows very late into our "spring" and then so much moisture. It is 42 degrees here today.

Take care everyone and have a great day.

August continued!

2010-08-24T13:15:00.009-06:00

Mitch, Nichole, and their four sons came for a visit! We all went to Many Glacier which is about 15 miles from our ranch. Many Glacier is a beautiful part of Glacier National Park. It is located at the very foot of the mountains in the Many Glacier Valley! A great place to visit, hike, or just sit on the deck of the Lodge and take in all the wonderful scenery. There is a boat ride that takes you from the Swiftcurrent Lake and then you have a small hike to Lake Josephine

Here are some pictures of the historic Many Glacier Lodge and the beautiful Swiftcurrent Lake and surrounding mountains!

The first picture is of Steven, Mitch, Kacey, Marvin, Adam, and Bobby -- Mitch and Nichole's sons. The second picture is of Mitch and Nichole. Marvin (grandpa) is with Adam and Bobby on shores of Swiftcurrent Lake. We had marvelous weather to be in the valley. There are many hikes, ranger-guided hikes, horseback rides, and more in the area.

There is so much to do in Glacier National Park -- it is a vast and beautiful area of Montana!

August 2010

2010-08-24T12:52:00.005-06:00

What fun it is when friends or family come to visit and you can take them to all the wonderful places that abound in our fantastic area of Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park.

These pictures are of Waterton Lakes National Park. They were mostly taken in the Goat Haunt Montana area of Waterton Lake. The lake begins in the townsite of Waterton, Alberta Canada and then you go west to Montana. Entry is by cruise boat -- the wonderful 83-year-old International! What a joyful way to visit this area of these wonderful parks. The combination of the two parks is call the International Peace Park.

Marvelous scenery! And, I believe, Glacier is celebrating it's 100th year this year! Happy Birthday!

2010-07-25T11:49:00.001-06:00

Where does the time GO???

2010-07-24T09:04:00.005-06:00

It has been almost a month since I last updated my Blog! Just where does the time go. Life absorbs the days and nights and soon a month has passed.

It is either Monday or Friday it seems as the days and weeks pass with the speed not known to a child! As a child the days seemed to linger especially when we were in structured activities such as school.

The older I became the more I realized that time speeds by...well, unless you are waiting for someone or something!

We have had rain and hail and rain and hail. So, it is certainly still a lovely green by the mountains, but getting the crop in and now trying to hay have become a real challenge!

I have bruises on my left arm from the screen door to my deck off the kitchen! The reason being that the rain and hail would come with a vengeance and I would have to dash out to save my potted plants from oblivion...and during which I would catch my poor left arm on the screen door handle and so came the bruise.

As I grow older and older I am amazed and not entertained by the changes my body seems to be having. At one time, in my innocence, I thought "getting old" would be "fun". Being old and comfortable in my own skin! This may be because I had some really great older friends and I thought they had a good life. It is not that I am not sorta comfortable "in my own skin" but frankly there is too much of my skin covering too much plump stuff underneath. And the knees seem to wear out as do the feet from various activities and injuries that occurred over the years. Also the back and hips and well the list is totally endless and dismal to even continue to discuss with anyone.

I am glad that I was and am still an optimist because if I did not have that crazy plus in my life I think things could get a whole lot worse.

Now, on to more pleasant topics. When the sun shines it is beautiful here by the mountains...I do like the very cool days as well, but that can cause problems with the crops growing.

Driving through Logan Pass in Glacier Park has some construction delays because that old road really needed the attention and repair. And they are doing some very Serious Repair work. However, the drive is still exceptionally beautiful -- what a way to go "to town" as I always say.

The Pass is closed to through traffic from 9pm to 7am Monday through Thursdays. This is in the Top area of the pass. I still like the slow drive to and from the Kalispell/Whitefish area. And don't mind the possible 30 minute delay. The past few weeks there have been two sections that you wait for a pilot car to take you through the construction...and I mean to tell you there is no road to speak of in that area. So watch for the bumps and holes.

We were coming home this past Thursday and ran into pounding rain coming up from the West side...we missed the hail, thank goodness, the wind was wild so the hail would have been bad to encounter. It looked to be pea to marble size along the road as we drove by. I always feel bad for the motor cyclists when a storm hits. I was thinking that we may have to make a space for them in our van if the hail really hit up at the top.

The Thursday before last I took some pictures at the construction stop and I will post them with this update. Also took some pictures of the beautiful rose bush I bought at Hoopers Nursery over by Kalispell! I ♥Hoopers!!!

I think it will be a hot day here today.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! Take care and enjoy!

The Simple Things in Life

2010-06-29T12:22:00.009-06:00

Spring/Summer has finally come to our little valley by the mountains. It has been a struggle to get to this season this year but it has been worth it! It is green everywhere -- that intense green with a tinge of yellow green to make it look delicious.

Since we live in a very windy valley with extreme temps and cold nights (thank goodness) it is hard to grow many types of flowers, trees, bushes, and etc.

I once saw a Columbine coming up through a crack in a slab of cement and knew that was the flower for me and our area. They withstand most of the winds, snow into June and beyond, freezing weather, hail, and other hazards of trying to survive in our high altitude and diverse weather conditions. They come up by themselves each year and spread out and bloom. Love them. I would suppose some think of them as a "weed" since they will continue to populate a flower bed. But that is what I need -- tenacity -- to survive here everything has to have tenacity!

Iris's seem to do well if protected from the wind and in a sunny spot -- they, too, spread out and form their own bed and beyond!

Violas and Pansies also do well and will come back year after year! They also can live through a late summer snow storm!

Our Choke Cherry Bushes are full of blooms and should produce those very tart berries. I so love and enjoy our lilacs. It took quite a while for them to get established but now are blooming beautifully!

I marvel at all the types and styles of the Columbines. I thought, at one time, that I had some orange Columbines, but they must have been snuffed out by a dog laying on them. Darn!

Our delightful dramatic orange poppies do really well on the west side of our home...they have just begun to bloom!

...I thought I had lost this post once or twice my computer goes a little crazy once in a while!

Have a great day and enjoy the simple things in life.

There are days...and then there are DAYS!

2010-06-14T21:21:00.004-06:00

What a beautiful morning it was today -- checked on and fed my laying hens, let Boo out of his dog pen for the day, put out our lovely US Flag, and then decided to play "kick ball" with Boo and Belle. They love this game -- seeing who can get the ball first when I kick it. Actually they want to catch it immediately in their mouth and since I am a very gentle kicker this makes them very happy. I usually do not play kick ball with both of them -- the reason being that Belle becomes totally focused on what she is doing and nothing else (or no one) matters. All was going well, until Belle came running from behind like a cannon ball and hit me in the back of my legs. I flew in the air and flipped over and landed with a thud on the lawn! I was screaming like crazy thinking I had just broken my new knee, I did not want to even try and move it. Belle took off at the first scream. Boo, bless his heart, stayed with me and licked my ear as I lay wailing on the grass. Marvin came running hearing my wailing from a distance. I was afraid to even get up. But once I was "righted" things seemed to be okay, but some things hurt somewhat. Sigh of relief my knee was still intact and I could stand on it and walk. Good job, I was alive and well. So, no more kick ball with Belle for a while and certainly not with her and Boo!

Next project was to begin to paint our living room -- finished the kitchen -- mixed more white paint with the color from the kitchen and decided it was a good enough color for the living room -- at least it was not white (which, at one time was throughout our home). A kitchen chair was sufficient to reach the top of the walls and complete the job. I will worry (or not) about the ceilings later (they are still white).

I was popping in and out of our home changing the sprinkler in our back yard. I noticed a lot of activity from bees (?), wasps (?) -- I totally do not like bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets or what-have-you in that type of structure. I go crazy when they get near my hair! (You can ask my family about my contempt for wasps and hornets -- I was stung below the eye while tubing the river -- after that I carried one of those spray cans with the hornet sprayer on it as we tubed the river...my family stayed away for fear I would spray them along with the hornets. And what about those darn deer flies!)

Back to my day -- there seemed to be an abundance of buzzing objects. Everywhere! Our son, Jason came down and pointed to a swarm of what he stated were honey bees swarming around our chimney on our home. He said they were trying to "get into the house" -- "Get into my house!" my brain shrieked! Then Jason drove off. What??? I am left here with these bees that want to "get into my house!" I don't think so...no, not my house. I envisioned them swarming down the chimney pipe into the stove and into my downstairs! I-eeeee! What to do???

I sprang into action...smoke, I'd smoke them out! I grabbed a pile of papers, carefully opened the wood stove door (you know, just in case they were inside already)...tossed in match -- lots of smoke, good job then added some wood...it was in the 70's here...but this was an emergency...ran outside -- smoke came pouring out of the chimney -- bees scattered! Victory was mine. My son came back (who knew) and said, "Why did you do that?" -- you know start the fire. I guess he was going to help me after all. Actually he wanted to catch the swarm and have it move into one of his hives (like I said, who knew). Okay, now he left again to get a ladder from his place.

I went back inside and began painting again. He did not come back right away. I decided to go check on my chickens. I got to my front porch door...bees (I thought they were wasps) were everywhere...they were slamming against the window in the door...I ran upstairs to go out the back...same scene going on...I was trapped in my own home by a zillion flying somethings! Okay, I thought they are swarming up under the eves of our "let's make a porch in 15-minutes construction" and I knew they would sneak in and get into the porch -- it was only a matter of time. My worse fear was realized when I went back out to the porch...wasps or bees they were inside! I got my can of bug spray and gave them a blast. I felt like I was in the Alfred Hitchcock horror film "The Birds"! I called my son and told him that there was a swarm of wasps...they were everywhere...he came back to get the bees...he told me they were honey bees and would not have "hurt" me! The spray had chased them away. I told him they were wasps and retrieved a small little body on the floor...Oh, dear, they did look like honey bees. Now I really felt bad.

Jason and Kara went looking for the swarm -- in the shop, barn, well house...they were finally located on a bush in the shelter belt of trees and bushes a little ways from the house. They do keep honey bees for our own use. Marvin went and got a new home for the swarm and Kara and Jason put the box by them and in they went...so they now have a new home.

I went in and took a nice hot bubble bath...did some deep sighs and relaxed. And so ends another day on the ranch...

I hope you had a good day. I will post pictures of the swarm -- Jason took the pictures!

Gorgeous Day by The Rockies!

2010-06-05T18:50:00.005-06:00

These pictures do not do the day or the views justice! The green is so much more intense and so very lush looking! Everything is just totally "yummy" -- grass green, trees popping, wild flowers coming out to greet the season.

The first picture is of Yellow and Chief Mountain. The second picture is looking toward the Divide and St. Mary some 18 miles away. The third picture is of Yellow Mountain. The forth picture is of Yellow and Chief again. The pictures do not depict the height that we were at when the pictures were being taken.

I was on top of one of my very most favorite hills on our ranch. It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in our valley by the east side of the Rockies. Our family and friends worked the cattle and calves today getting them ready to go to summer pasture, which is not too far away.

Several of us ladies worked very hard getting food prepared for all that came to help. This is a time of year to renew old acquaintances and meet new people that come to help or to just visit.

This piece of land "up north" is my very most favorite piece of our ranch. Where our home is located it is down in a valley and we can really only see the tops of the mountains. But when we go up north we can see for miles and miles! There is another piece of our ranch across the highway from this piece and there is an even higher hill. From this view point you can see St. Mary River and a long way to the east.

Mr. Wind was howling today, but that was okay because it was just too special a day to let the wind get in the way.

I hope you all are having a great weekend! I have to go and wash some more serving trays from the "feed".

Heavy Wet Snow, then the melt!

2010-05-30T15:57:00.002-06:00

Heavy wet snow during the night and in the morning! Then the "melt"...the sun did come out for a little while. It was 33 degrees at the time of the snow pictures then it was 50 degrees when it all melted. I sure hope our lilac bushes can come out of this. They just had some leaves and forming of blooms.

We have seen snow every month of the year here by the Rocky Mountains. Some very severe snow storms in June and in August. When we travel we always carry an array of seasonal clothing -- just in case we need it!

We traveled to Kalispell on Friday -- snow here, ice and slush on top of Duck Lake ridge then the closer were got to Browning the roads became dry. The drive over Marias Pass was beautiful. Coming back we ran into heavy rains over the Pass with a threat of snow in our high country.

We now will have to watch the creeks and rivers for possible flooding.

But it is so glorious to see all the wonderful fresh new green. The trees have burst forth, the berry bushes were ready to bloom -- will have to see if this heavy wet snow hurt them at all.

We always love to visit a nursery outside of Kalispell -- the flowers and garden plants are so very wonderful to see -- but we know that we can only expose certain hardy plants to our east side of the mountains...high winds, very low night temperatures do not make for a good gardening experience. And the poor outdoor plants that find their way over here. Pansies, Violas, Columbines, and irises do okay. But no delicate plants can survive the outdoors in our area.

I hope the weather where ever you are is treating you kindly this holiday weekend. Take care and be safe.

Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T15:32:00.005-06:00

I was a very lucky little girl! I had a wonderful Mom and Dad. I was especially close to my Mom, Theresa. I was the only daughter sandwiched (as I called it) between my two wonderful brothers.

Mom was a very outgoing, talented person and just the best Mom ever. We were very close and I enjoyed spending time with her at any time during my life.

Mom was musical, wrote poetry, artistic, and cared about her family first and foremost. She always thought of everyone else first. When I was in my teens, I told my Mom she should be "more selfish" and think about herself instead of everyone else. She never splurged on herself she would only buy the necessities.

I would sit with Mom and have her tell me all about her childhood. When I was able to drive a vehicle, I would take Mom shopping and where ever she wanted to go. Mom never did drive a vehicle. Her father had one of the first automotive garages in Chicago when she was growing up. I wanted to have her go driving with me to learn to drive, but she did not want to. That seems so strange to me now. Not wanting to drive -- hard to imagine -- I don't where I would be if not for being able to drive a vehicle.

Mom was an excellent student and had a chance to study art but she quit school to go to work and support her younger brothers and sisters when her father died suddenly and the family business was lost in the Depression of the 1930's. She was always very disappointed that she did not complete high school and continue her studies.

The first picture is of my Mom when she worked at the Boston Store in Chicago, she was 19 I believe; the second picture if of her at the conservatory in Chicago; the third picture is of her and my Dad on their wedding day; the last picture is of Mom and my older brother.

These are some of my most favorite pictures of Mom. Mom had broken her nose when she was very young and was dancing around a table at her home with her sisters. She hit the table and broke her nose, nothing was done but pack it so it quit bleeding. So she went through life with her little crooked nose that she had a hard time breathing through.

One of Dad's older brothers said (when he first met her) ... She is really pretty but what the heck happened to her nose! The brothers were involved with prize fighting (boxing) at the time and I think they wondered if she got the "bend" in her nose from a good punch! Oh, those Chicago Girls!

I lost my sweet Mom early in life -- she was 61 and I was 34! It was devastating for me and still is when I think of her! But she gave me such a wonderful safe foundation to build my life on that she is always with me.

Salute to all Moms everywhere!

...this is a small aside to the weather here in Montana...it is MAY...and it is still snowing on and off...we had two blizzards last week...then the sun came out yesterday, and now it is snow squalling off the mountains...again today. I give up on Spring! Who knows when or if the lilacs will bloom...

April Showers Bring May Flowers!...or not!

2010-04-25T12:54:00.003-06:00

How many times have you heard that saying..."April showers bring May flowers." Let's see, last Sunday it was a lovely warm day by the mountains. Today, it is showering but more so in a snowy fashion. Yesterday, the squalls kept coming and going...big fluffy flakes that went right into the ground. April can bring horrible snow storms here by the Rockies or lovely days.

...many years ago when I lived in northern Illinois in the little town of Lake Zurich on April 21, 1967 (my sweet Mom's birthday)...there came some very horrendous weather. The day started out as most April days did it was warm and humid. (The winter of 1966 and early 1967 had been a real doozy! Record snowfalls, sleet/ice storms resulting in no power for a few weeks -- a very bad winter season.) Then along came April 21st as I was saying -- I was working in Barrington at the time, in the afternoon I looked out the window of the office and could see lots of little tornadoes off in the distance jumping up and down across the farm fields. They would hit and debris would scatter then pick up again!

...Everyone was very concerned about the tornadoes. I left work and began my drive home to Lake Zurich somewhere around 4:30 pm. As I was driving down US Highway 12 a short distance from our housing development, I noticed this huge dark black/gray/green mass to the north -- it looked like an upside down top hat and it was moving along -- not in too much of a hurry, but it was moving as a huge mass of darkness. I was headed in the same direction and would have met this dark mass if it had not been for the fact that I remembered my Mother's birthday cake was uptown in Lake Zurich in the bakery. A banana whip cream cake -- one of the best ever! So I turned around and headed to our little town of Lake Zurich, as I came out of the bakery, sirens were going off -- such a sound, rescue vehicles sped by. They were all headed down Rand Road exactly where I was going. What on earth was going on.

I drove to our road into the housing development, Zurich Manor, I did not get far -- I was stopped by deputies -- I explained that I just lived right over there -- right over the hill and my Mom was home alone and I had to get to her. No pleading helped -- I was instructed to go back to Lake Zurich, go to the high school, prove who I was and where I lived and to get a "pass" so I could go into our housing area. I did this, it seemed to take forever to get the "pass".

I finally was able to get to our home -- all was okay, Mom was fine, our home was intact. But just a few blocks away an F-4 tornado had devastated homes, a school and so much more. The tornado was later reported to be 9 miles long and 150 yards wide. It didn't look like a tornado -- it was that awful black mass that I had seen moving ever so steadily into the Manor. There had been 10 rotating super cells in the area that day. Causing horrendous damage to many areas of Illinois and deaths.

If you Google "1967 Lake Zurich Tornado" you can get all the information on that one and the other areas that were hit that day. The clocks had stopped in the buildings at 5:03 pm that day.

I asked my Mom what she heard and felt. She said it was like a group of low flying jets roaring down on her and the neighborhood. She felt this sensation of a vacuum inside the house, like the air had been sucked out and then a big sigh! Then she heard the sirens.

I did not know how much this affected me until many years later as my husband and I were driving through Nebraska. As we were driving, the sky became this gray/green color -- everywhere -- it engulfed us -- I said we are driving into a tornado. No, no said my husband it is only dust flying around from the farm fields. "Dust, my arsh," said I. This is a tornado!

We were now totally inside of the gray/green mass. I kept driving hoping to get out of it soon. We then came out and there was sunshine and rain...and a small town ripped apart by the tornado. People standing around in shock...curtains flying wildly out of windows from walls that did not seem to have anything holding them up. I began to weep, really weep.

From that day on I could not watch a tornado being reported on TV without sobbing. This still effects me to this day.

April was always such a renewing month for me as a young person. It also was my Mom's birthday, April 21st -- My Dad's birthday, April 25th and their wedding anniversary on Dad's birthday -- April 25th.

I have lived here in northern Montana by the Canadian border by Glacier National Park for going on 40 years. I traded the tornadoes for terrorizing winds that roar out of the mountains and rip across the valleys and farm fields. The winds, at first, really terrorized me. We, at first, lived in a very old house. The winds would roar down, slam into the house and windows and then suck back to the mountains only to come back again and again. In the old house I would duct tape the windows because I was afraid they would be taken back to the mountains with the wind. I mean to tell you, I became physically sick when the winds blew like this! Hail is a frequent visitor to our valley. In 1978 a horrific hail storm in August hit our area with hail stones starting very small and growing to the size of big chunks of ice. All the windows in the north side of our little old house were crashed out -- piles of hail were inside piled up high against the wall with the shattered window glass. I couldn't find one of our small sons to get him into a bedroom in the south of the house. I was yelling for him -- I could hear this tiny little voice -- crying, saying "Mom, I am under the bed"...he was already in one of the bedrooms.

My husband had been outside with the milk cows -- he had gone under a hay wagon for protection -- which gave him little.

Weather can be so very beautiful and the next minute be so very destructive. Well, now I must think of happier times and days. What brought all this on were the reports of tornadoes hitting communities across the US today on the Weather Station.

I still weep for all the lost lives and total loss of homes, animals etc.

I hope where ever you are you are safe!

I See Green!!!! Hooray!!!

2010-04-19T14:19:00.003-06:00

It is a glorious day here by the Rocky Mountains...65 degrees, blue skies, not much wind...just an all around lovely day.

Don't need a jacket or hoodie...'cause the wind is not howling like it usually does on our windy east side of the mountains.

We had snow last week and it went right into the ground...producing a green glow on our lawn and the surrounding area. We could still get a real doozy of a blizzard but I am in hopes that this is our first day of Spring!

We are calving on our cattle ranch at this time of year. I will have to go "up north" to the calving grounds to get some pictures of the new little calves.

I have a bum calf in our barn down here at the home place that I feed at noon and Marvin feeds in the early morning and evening. We have a Brown Swiss milk cow that gives about four (4) gallons of milk a day -- so having a bum to consume almost a gallon at each feeding helps us to use all the milk. This is the first time the milk cow "came fresh" -- she is just a young first-calf heifer and she lost her calf at birth. The milk cow's name is Jesse and she is very friendly. The barn cats are also enjoying her milk each day. The cats really are not barn cats because they are fed so well, they only grab a mouse or two when they feel like it.

Most of the day, my "barn cats" spend their time on my back deck by the back door lounging on the wooden bench waiting for me to come out and give them a treat. I am very allergic to cats and they cannot be in the house, but I do enjoy them outside. The barn is full of hay and straw and they spend the cold days in there or in the hen house where they stay nice and warm. My cats accompany me on my walks to the hen house, barn, and anywhere else I go. They love to roll in front of me and I am concerned they will trip me...so I have to be careful where I step.

The geese have come back to have their babies and raise them here in our creeks and by the river out back. Ducks are swimming in the creek out the door. I can hear the Sandhill Cranes making that delightful noise that they do as they fly about and land out in our front meadow.

It has been a few days since I have seen any bear -- which is good! I will not walk in the back by the river for a while either.

We are overrun with whitetail deer -- there are probably more than 100 that graze all over us down here by the home place.

I haven't seen the herd of elk that visited a few weeks ago, nor the bull elk that stopped out front on the meadow by the house.

Wishing everyone a great day...........

The Back Yard!

2010-04-11T10:45:00.003-06:00

This is part of my "Back Yard". Some have asked how far the Grizzly and her yearling cubs were from me when I took the pictures a week ago. So, I thought I would take a few pictures to show just how close she was to my back yard.

I have taken these two pictures from my back deck on our home. The first picture is where she was walking in the brush (what is left from the beavers removing everything in sight). In the second photo, you can see my lawn and then the little creek and then down into what we call the "old garden". This is where she was when I took the picture of Boo and her and the cubs.

St. Mary River is between the brown brush and the green pine trees.

Today is a cloudy cold day -- it is about 29 degrees. Yesterday was beautiful -- not much wind, lots of sunshine and in the 40's!

Have a great Sunday!

The Bears are Out and About!

2010-04-03T13:32:00.011-06:00

I was in our home and heard all this barking from our Anatolian dogs outside. I could tell that a bear or bears may be in the area the way they were smelling the air. The wind was blowing very hard, possibly 30 mph at the time coming in from the southwest.

Boo-Boo my young Anatolian was charging towards the haystack to the west and then dashing back.

I went outside to investigate. I saw an adult grizzly then two yearling grizzlies crossing the water to the southwest of my house -- then another grizzly came lumbering down the hill and crossed the creek. I realized that there was a mother and her three cubs -- they are yearling size. They were going down into our old garden area back in the trees.

In one of the pictures you can see Boo barking at them. I was very concerned for Boo's safety and yelled for him to come back. He would come back and charge at them again. Momma did some seem very concerned with his actions at all.

I ran into the house to get my camera and took the following pictures. The bears were about 100 feet or so from me across the little creek that is right outside my back door. I yelled at her a few times and yelled at Boo to come back. She did turn her head but did not seem to be very concerned. The wind was howling and blowing my way -- so my scent was going northeast really fast.

My camera tends to push things away more so than they actually are. We had a group of four male elk right outside our door and my camera made them look as if they were a mile away.

These happenings of bears so very close are the reason I got out of raising sheep those many years ago.

I am wishing everyone a great holiday weekend and safe travels if you are on the roadways.

Tulips!

2010-03-28T14:24:00.004-06:00

Traveled to Kalispell and Whitefish last Thursday. Jason (son) accompanied me. It was a very nice drive and a lovely day. I had a pinched nerve and needed to have an adjustment with a wonderful chiropractor in Whitefish. He seems to be the only one that can do a good adjustment on my poor old body!

The fun part on this long trip is to visit Hoopers Greenhouse outside of Kalispell on the old highway 2. They do not have very much on display because it is so very early in the season. But with the good weather that we have been having it feels like spring is just around the corner hiding and afraid to come out in case we get a very severe snow storm. Snow storms are highly likely until the end of May.

Jason bought a violet for Kara. I bought a bigger pot for the huge Hoya in my kitchen and then I spotted a few tulips in the greenhouse. There was nothing for sale in the greenhouse except for herbs. However, I did get this lovely grouping of tulips. I have repotted them and they are delightfully happy as am I just gazing at them.

Ah, it is nice to have them in the house. The wind is howling outside as I write this -- poor dears they probably would not survive even in the summertime over here where the wind blows constantly!

I positioned them by one of my favorite prints of mountains in Alberta, Canada.

Happy Sunday to all!

Easter is coming!

2010-03-22T13:55:00.005-06:00

My little hens have been busy as usual popping out those wonderful fresh eggs! I love boiled eggs -- I won't call them "hard" boiled because the way I do it they can turn out just right and not all gray or green around the edges.

Be sure the eggs are at least a week or older because they will peel a whole lot better the older they are. Put you cold eggs into a pot and cover them with cold water. Cover the pot, bring them to a rolling boil then turn off the heat. Set your timer for about 12 minutes, leave the eggs in the water covered on the stove for this length of time. The steam will continue to cook the eggs without turning them gray/green around the edges. When the time is up, run cold water over them until they cool down. Of course, I always have to test an egg or two and don't wait until the time is up or they are cool. (Some people say to throw a little table salt in the water -- can't hurt, so I do that if I think of it.)

This can also be applied to "store bought" pasta. Water in pot, pasta in pot, salt, oil -- bring your pasta (or noodles) to a full rolling boil, stir them a little. Turn off the heat cover them and let them steam for say 10 to 15 minutes until they are as you like them. This way you don't worry about them boiling over and having that starchy water everywhere on your stove. Drain water so they don't get softer than you want them.

I truly hate cleaning up my stove when things boil over.

The weather has cooled and there are snow squalls coming and going today. Gray skies.

The beavers are very busy out our back door cutting down every tree in sight and bush and whatever comes into their grasp. They have built a few new "bank dens" -- it looks like a crew has come in this past month and removed a whole lot of trees and bushes.

I have put chicken mesh wire around the few trees that our son has planted in our yard by the water's edge. I hope they don't take the berry bushes!

My knee replacement is going well. It has been about seven months since the surgery. It is nice to be able to feel confident and no pain when you walk. There are many things a person learns to do differently with a surgery like this. I miss not being able to get down on both my knees to clean something or plant things. Even gathering chicken eggs takes a bit of maneuvering to get up from the "down" position. I think long trips in a vehicle are the worst for the knee. Not moving around seems to be a problem.

I am wondering how long winter will be with us. We are not "out of the woods" until May (maybe, May)! We have had some really nice weather even reaching into the low 60's...so nice and a person can really spoiled. We get real excited about the 40's let alone the 60's.

I have been working on Ancestry.com inputting family information that I have gotten from family members. That is a wonderful site. My goodness, the records they have accumulated is outstanding. It is thrilling to pull up a land title, the original hand-written title with original signatures of family members. There are ship manifests, the actual, factual manifests of the voyage and passengers and where they came from and where they were destined.

You can find other documents with your ancestor's signatures on them. Registration cards, goodness the list is endless. There are "hints" throughout your input of family members with other information that may or may not link to that member. Other public trees will pop up with the same family trees as the ones you are doing. You can correspond with the creator of that tree for information.

It is nice to have your information and pictures in one place. You can add pictures to your trees, one as primary and then other family pictures can also be loaded. You can write comments, stories, facts and other items for each family member.

Have a great day and Easter Holiday. I am going to go make some "freezer" jelly -- it is so delicious -- who needs bread with it!

Happiness and joy!

The weather has been marvelous!

2010-03-06T17:47:00.003-07:00

The weather has been absolutely marvelous and totally unusual for this time of year. I am not complaining in the least! The snow has all gone at our level except for a few snow drifts that have melted way down and are almost all gone, too.

There are no pictures to add to represent this time of year because everything is still brown and not a hint of green! The very first year I was here I could not believe that the earth could stay brown for so very long...I mean these are long winters here by the Rocky Mountains!

The norm for this time of year is snow and more snow and cold temps. The temps have been in the 40's and 50's for the past few weeks. Even the mud is beginning to dry up.

I have heard mention that the snow pack is not good in the mountains in our part of Montana which is certainly a big concern for the water flows that feed the many rivers, lakes, and creeks that are in this area.

But there is nothing we can do about that at this point except to enjoy the good temps.
We could get slammed with a storm any day now.

Happy Saturday evening to all and have a great Sunday tomorrow.

Is There a Storm A-Coming???

2010-02-06T16:36:00.004-07:00

It is getting bitter/damp and that makes me think that a storm is moving in. Can you smell snow in the air? I can.

Anyway, I am tired of winter and the white and the brown and no color! So, I am going to add a Green Picture to this entry in my blog.

This picture was taken by my wonderful cousin, Mary Frances! It is of a little "lost" lake in Glacier National Park. Just a beautiful place to stop and see as you travel through Logan Pass.

I do not like really hot humid weather or even very hot weather, but I am really tired of Winter and it can leave any day now. I realize this is a strange wish/desire since it is only February in Montana by the mountains, but nonetheless, that is what I would like to happen. I would like it to "green up"...

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? I really better get to going on making some greetings to send out or it will be here and I will be left in the "dust".

I am enjoying the fact that the sun does come up earlier in the morning and is staying around longer in the afternoon especially if the sun shines. We are so use to the sun coming up at 4 am and then going down about 10 pm in the summer that these short days are really strange.

...that is enough complaining from me for today! Bye for now!

Oy...I am over run with EGGS!!!

2010-02-03T17:53:00.007-07:00

...somewhere along the line when I was ordering little chicks (little pullets) I got carried away! "Oh, let me see, some of these -- some of those -- a few of those -- and have to have a few of those! Yikes! So, we are on egg overload, and it is no "yolk" folks! I have lovely fuchsia all biodegradable egg cartons to cuddle these little treasures in...but not enough homes to "adopt" them.

...gads, so if you live close by, give me a call for fresh eggs!

...I won't even go into the fact that we have a milk cow that gives 2 gallons or so twice a day! I am making butter!

...the picture above is my egg collection for a few days! I love all the colors of the eggs! Who needs any Easter dye for these little beauties!

Weather has been good here for the past week. When I watch the weather station on TV I see that there is a whole lot of bad weather way over there on the East Coast of the US. A lot of people without any power and any means of getting out for supplies.

...that is one good thing about living on a ranch...if we run out of power we heat with wood, have our fresh eggs out in the quonset (metal building), the milk cow is out in the barn, and we can fire up a small generator to run the freezer. We have a propane cook stove. Of course, our well may freeze up, if it is very cold and that would be very bad. We can get water out of our creek that runs right outside our home for washing etc.

...if the weather starts to get bad and I think the electricity may go off I swing into action by gathering water from our well in any container I can, plus plastic 5-gallon buckets, the wash machine will store water and so forth.

...I certainly do hope that you are all safe and not traveling in any bad weather out there! Take care of yourself and each other!

French Silk Pie -- Oh My!

2010-01-27T14:54:00.003-07:00

Oh my goodness...let's all eat French Silk Pie! Now, some recipes call for melted chocolate -- but I am a true blue Hershey's Cocoa Powder girl from Way Back When!

This recipe came from another Judy (good friend) and it gets into a person's mind and taste buds and is never forgotten!

Do the graham cracker thing with your "crust" -- One package of graham crackers pulverized and mixed with real butter or margarine (a Tbl or two melted), throw in some sugar. Set this aside (10 inch pie plate).

Now to the good part:

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup REAL butter (you have to use real butter)
4 eggs
1 Tbl real vanilla
6 Tbl Hershey's unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tbl cooking oil

I use a 10-inch glass pie plate. (the combination of cocoa powder and oil acts like real melted chocolate).

Cream the sugar and butter, add the cocoa powder, cooking oil and cream some more -- scraping the sides of the mixer bowl upon occasion. When this is all creamy, add the vanilla and then 2 eggs at a time. After each addition of eggs beat for about 3 minutes, throw in the last 2 eggs and beat another 3 minutes. Total of 6 minutes with the eggs.

When you are creaming the sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and cooking oil the mixture is grainy -- adding the eggs will take care of this. Do not over beat or you may get a oily mixture -- still good to eat but not very attractive.

The addition of the eggs will make the mixture very fluffy and this is what you want. Scoop this wonderful mixture (try not to sample too much or you will really have a sugar/butter high) into your prepared graham cracker pie plate.

Put into refrigerator so it will firm up. Doesn't take long -- then dive in!

The butter I used was made from Jason and Kara's Brown Swiss milk cows wonderful cream. I made the butter yesterday from all the cream we get off her rich milk. The eggs I use are from our own laying hens.

Then, if you have never made the Hershey's Cocoa Hot Water cake -- you really must, the recipe is usually on the container...if not, let me know and I will give it to you..........so very good! Frost this wonderful cake with cream cheese frosting ( add vanilla and a dash of almond flavoring) OR make the wonderful Betty Crocker's, Quick Fudge Frosting!

I do love chocolate...and for the most part try to be good and stay away from it -- there are times, my friends when you just have to give in and have a bite or two!

Have a great day...I hope you have your Betty Crocker cook book handy...my is near "death" but I cannot part with it!

Cold but Beautiful Day!

2010-01-26T12:20:00.009-07:00

The first picture is of our creek out our back door; the second picture is our hay stack yard and Yellow Mountain to the west of our home; the third picture is from our back yard looking east to the foothills towards St. Mary River; the fourth picture is by our creek again looking toward the southwest and mountains of Glacier. This heavy frost came a few days ago and decided to stay around for a while. It is about 10 degrees and is a damp cold. We usually have dry cold here in Babb.

We had some very nice temperatures a week ago -- in the 40's! All the snow that had piled up very high had melted and you could see the ground.

The frost certainly does make for a good picture opportunity.

Everyone have a great day!

Sheet Rockin' and such!

2010-01-10T11:21:00.008-07:00

I am behind on my pictures of Jason and Kara's progress on their new home. The top picture shows the back of their home and garage; the next picture shows the house/garage from the south side; the next pictures with the French doors is part of the dinning area/kitchen with the wall of the second bedroom/office to the right; the next picture is of Kara cooking on their wood stove/heater; the last picture is of the bathroom and part of the kitchen area.

The home/garage is a 30 x 40 foot building on both floors. You can see part of the stairs by the bathroom wall that lead down to the garage and to the outside door.

They plan on building a deck off the French doors. The garage section will house two vehicles and a shop plus a toilet and storage area which will be walled off from the garage section.

Kara and Jason have moved in and are enjoying the space. There is a lot of work ahead, but they are enjoying working on their home. They are applying the "mud" to the sheet rock and hope they will do it so as not to have to sand very much of their work.

The wood stove heats the upstairs very well and can also heat water and cook a meal. Water is being hauled in from our home since they could never get the water for their home up and running before winter set in.

Speaking of winters -- this has been quite a cold snowy winter thus far. Our road into our home has been a real challenge this year. The boys (Marv and Jason) have been plowing it with our tractors and there are some very impressive piles (little mountains) of snow on our road. When the wind blows, the plowing begins all over again.

The temperatures have been very cold -- however, we are, at this moment, enjoying some very nice temps in the 40's........spring! But we know that we can get slammed with the cold at any time. The -41 below temps were too unbearable!

Our little laying hens are producing a lot of eggs per day. The Brown Swiss milk cow is also producing a lot of a milk per day!

It is wonderful to see the blue skies and have it warmer!

Everyone have a great day and I hope your 2010 new year is going well so far and will continue to be good!

Where Has the Time Gone?

2009-12-29T21:19:00.004-07:00

A belated Merry Christmas to all! I have just finished getting most of my Holiday Greetings sent out. This is perhaps the latest I have been in doing so. I see that the trees are from last year's post but, hey, they really are pretty. They were taken up on Logan Pass in August or some such month...a few years ago!

The top picture was taken a few days ago of the trees that I put up this year. I just did not feel like also putting up the really big tree. This is a shame because the really big tree holds all the ornament memories from when we first started decorating a Christmas tree here in Babb. There are ornaments from family, friends, the children made many, I made many -- as we hung each ornament a memory and a friend or family member came into our mind and we would discuss how the ornament came to us!

I attempted to go out to the storage shed to get some of the ornaments but the snow was so deep and was hard to walk through the drifts, so I settled for what I had in our home.

And it was enough this year.

We were able to spend some time with Mitch and Nichole and their four boys right before Christmas. We attended Kacey and Steven's school Christmas program and that was fun. The drive back was very iffy with the various weather and road conditions that faced us.

We had Christmas dinner in our home with Jason and Kara and friends.

I hope you all are well and happy and wish you the best in the coming new year -- 2010!

Jason gets his new handmade saddle!

2009-12-02T19:25:00.007-07:00

Our youngest son, Mitchell his wife, Nichole and their four sons came for Thanksgiving. Mitch had been working very hard crafting his brother Jason's saddle.

Here are some pictures of the Jason and Mitch; Jason with his new saddle; Kacey Mitchell; Robert (Bobby) Nicholas; Steven Levi and his Uncle Jason.

Their baby son is Adam Marvin and was born September 23rd of this year.

The brothers had a good visit. The saddle is beautiful. Mitch did a wonderful job crafting it.

Jason and Kara are working on their new home. Completing the wiring then insulating. Lots to do yet.

It has snowed and is very cold here today (12-02-09).

A place to rest on their journey!

2009-10-23T11:29:00.004-06:00

The past few weeks it has been very noisy here by the home place. Trumpeter Swans and other migrating waterfowl have been coming in for a "landing" and a rest before they continue on their journey. You will have to look very close in the first picture to see the swans.

At one point there was such a clatter, that I thought a stampede of horses was running through our yard. It was a whole flock of swans taking off at once.

The swans are so majestic to look at...however, it is hard to "sneak" up on them. They are very smart and swim with the ducks. While the swans have their heads stuck down in the water, the ducks keep watch and will respond to any noise or sighting of a human!

The swans are also very noisy when they come in and when they leave.

It has quieted down now and only a few are seen coming in. During the very cold spell in early October they came in like crazy.

The beavers are very busy building up waterways for their own purposes. They love to plug culverts and are very creative in doing so. How they move what they do and put it where they do is truly a marvel! You can see some of their work in the last picture where they have cut off the pond that usually runs into the river or the river runs into the pond at this point.

The days were very cold and gray throughout most of October with a sunny day here and there. It was very strange to see some parts of our waterways frozen over in mid-October! It has warmed up some and the water is open once again.

All the pastures have turned brown, the trees were frozen and still have some green leaves on them -- they were as surprised as we were with the very cold weather we had in October. No fall colors here this year!

Where has the time gone?

2009-10-09T17:43:00.004-06:00

Cold and snow here by the Rocky Mountains! This really is too much winter for the month of October!

Just a few weeks ago I was complaining about the hot and dry temps of 80 degrees and then wham along comes these snow storms and cold temps (14 degrees at this moment in time)!

So, the chickens have quit laying -- and I certainly don't blame them. Icicles hang from the roof tops and could certainly do harm if they fell upon a person's head.

The first picture is taken up north on our land facing the Continental Divide and the mountains to the south. Jason and Kara's home is still under construction. Windows are in and the siding is going on.

Progress on my knee replacement was finally getting better and mobility was getting better and better -- until after the last theraphy I did. The day after the theraphy my knee went crazy with pain. I could not sleep in any position, walking up and down stairs is very painful and I feel as though I have digressed a month to where I had began with walking, stair climbing, and bending of my knee after the surgery. I am very disappointed that this has happened. I don't know what happened unless I did too much at one time with my knee exercises. What a setback! I have been in too much pain to even create little lambs. I feel as though I am starting all over again.

A mini blizzard came rushing in yesterday from the north (northwest)...howling wind, no visibility, blowing snow, and freezing temperatures! Thank goodness it did not add up to much snow. But I would not have wanted to be on the highways around here yesterday when it blew in.

I hope you all have a good holiday weekend. Holidays both here and in Canada (their Thanksgiving)! Take care and if you are traveling -- be safe!

Mountains and ramblings

2009-09-19T15:40:00.008-06:00

These are some pictures I took while traveling over Going-to-the-Sun Highway (Logan's Pass) on Thursday, September 17th. Most were taken while stopping for the construction sites along the way.

The trees are just changing for the fall so it is sad that the Pass will close after this Sunday, September 20th. The closure will be after Logan Pass on the East side of the Park. Most of the current construction is over the top on the West going down. I am told paving will begin on the road that is gravel now. It must be very hard for the construction crew to stop for the traffic so I would imagine this will speed up the repairs considerably with the closure. A traveler can access the top of Logan Pass from the East side (18 miles up) and this will remain open until sometime in October, weather permitting. I think the West side will be open to the Trail of the Cedars area. Best to check with the Park Service for closures, times and dates.

The top pictures are of the beautiful Sun Rift Gorge. I was excited to be able to climb up the short distance to the gorge with my new knee on Thursday. I was very careful and my wonderful husband helped me to be sure I did not trip or fall. No can fall with the new knee!!

My knee is getting better as the days go by. It was a rough three weeks. Meds made me very ill and the pain in my knee at night did not allow any sleep. My leg has almost returned to a normal size and color. The swelling is pretty well all gone. I am going up and down stairs and walking about the ranch area. I still tire easily, am doing my exercises. I have to set up appointments with a physical therapist. More traveling, driving in a car has become almost impossible since my restless legs have returned with a vengeance -- especially in my leg with the new knee.

Have a great weekend. No new pictures on Jason and Kara's building project -- nothing new to report.

Enclosing the house and traveling across Logan

2009-09-09T18:33:00.006-06:00

Busy closing in Jason and Kara's new home/garage! The winds are a-coming!

Drove across Logan Pass today to go to the doctor's...it was a beautiful day with quite a few construction stops on Logan. I took the pictures of the "boys" Mountain Sheep at the top of Logan this morning. This little group has been dashing across the road seems each time we come across.

The second picture is of the mountain by my favorite comfort station!!!!

I am exhausted from the trip so I will end this post.........take care!

Is that a Roof I see!!!

2009-09-06T08:19:00.007-06:00

I took these pictures on September 5th. The roof is going up! The last picture is from the front of the home/garage. Next is from the south side of the building. And the other two pictures are from the back of building.

They will live above the garage. The building is 30 feet by 40 feet.

It is so exciting to see Jason and Kara's home going up. Lots to do for sure, but it is Happening!!!

The veiws from this site are wonderful. Don't know how the wind will be from this site, though!

It appears to be getting fall here by the mountains. Had a little rain last night. Still trying to get the haying done. Always equipment repairs, it seems! So important to get the crops in for winter feed.

In the summer the sun is up before 4 am and goes down around 10pm...well, it is dark at 6am and getting dark by 9pm...darn, I sure enjoy all that light. Pretty soon it will be dark so early and gloomy in the morning.

Hope you are all having a good Labor Day Holiday! Drive safely if you are traveling!

Total Knee Replacement!

2009-09-02T19:15:00.010-06:00

"I didn't wanna do it...I didn't wanno do it"...and so it goes...However, my left knee gave out a few months ago and it was time to do the Total Knee Replacement! Arrrrgh! Right up to the last minute when I was being "snuggled" into the pre-op bed and the tubes were being inserted, I thought, I still have time to stop this, there still is time! But then I remembered the problems with the knee pain and it giving out and there was no trust left in "what was left of the knee parts" on my left leg.

Woe-is-me!!... and so I put my trust into the hands of the surgical team and next thing I know I am trying to wake up in my room. The pain meds made me very ill, different ones were tried. I especially like it when you say you are nauseated and they suggest you eat a dry saltine in a very dry mouth with urges to throwup. So, being a good trooper I try and chew the saltine...it turns to some kind of solid goo lodged against my teeth. Try not to cough, who knows what may hurt. Drink the hospital water. The cracker does not work. Try a little yogart -- does yogart really taste that way??? I was told to drink water, then I was told to not drink water if it was making me throw up -- team, we have to get together if we want this to work. New pain meds were tried -- also shots in the IV to stop the nausea, yikes. Nausea. One night there was the passive exercise machine on the knee surgery, something wrapped around my good leg so as not to get blood clots, an IV that was swelling up my arm and setting off the alarms, the oxygen in my nose and then my nerve pinched on my right side -- the only good side I had left! I thought I would not make it. The nurses propped pillows up against my right back and hips and tipped me over to the left -- yup, off went the alarm on my IV...

The beds are something else! I had Marvin go out and purchase a foam mattress topper for a twin bed -- WOW, what a difference that made. Wish I had thought of that first thing. So, don't leave your foam topper at home.

My husband was allowed to stay in the room with me which made it a whole lot nicer -- not for him, but for me.

Physical therapists helped me with the exercise routine, had me up and walking -- they were very nice and great to work with.

For the most part the nurses and certified nurses aides took very good care of me. I just wish they knew what to do about taking the pain meds. I was given pain meds for the trip home. By the time we got to Logan Pass I was extremely nauseated and wondered how on earth I would do going across the pass with all the delays.

We made it home...yes, home!

I was given pain med prescriptions to take home. The pharmacy put these lovely instructions on the pills -- take with MILK or FOOD. How very simple Milk...I love milk, milk loves me. I could have been taking milk with the pills. Once I started this, no more nausea!

Had some very wild dreams while in the hospital and when I got home. Keeping the swelling down is a problem.

Had a very hard time with my intestinal track! Need better plans in the hospital to keep the old bowels ready to be operational.

So, here it is a week after the surgery, I am walking without fear my knee will give me a sharp pain and then give out. Doing my exercises like a good girl.

The first picture is a lovely arrangement that Margie Lou and her Mom, Linda had sent to hospital. Boy, I really needed that smiley cup and lovely flowers that day!

The other pictures are pretty self explanatory. The scar (about 7-1/2 inches long) with the staples was taken today. I was "lucky" and had some "fracture blisters" on my leg in various places. Felt real good when the tape was stripped off the first time!

I was given a waterproof bandages which I can shower in.

Well, that is it for this post. Gotta elevate that leg!

No more new pictures to share on Jason and Kara's house raising...not much done since last I wrote.

I hope you are all well....................

More Pictures of the "House-is-Arising"!!!

2009-08-21T13:48:00.009-06:00

Took these pictures this a.m.

I just took these pictures this morning (08-21-09)! The first picture from the TOP is what you see coming up Jason and Kara's road. The second picture is Marvin and Jason inside the garage area.

The third picture is from the front and the garage doors ( 7 feet high and 9 feet wide). The forth picture is from the south east side and the fifth picture is from the back -- northwest side.

They will live in the top of the building...the garage/home measures 40 feet long and 30 feet wide.

It is a hot one here today by the mountains...it is 85 in the shade...........

Everyone have a great weekend and take care of each other! Enjoy!

I need to add that there will be dormers in the front and back!

Kara and Jason's home taking shape!

2009-08-18T15:47:00.008-06:00

Okay, I have my pictures a little mixed up but that is okay, too! It is an exciting time here on the ranch, Kara and Jason are getting their home framed in up north on their land. They will have the garage on the bottom and their living area will be upstairs so they have a fantastic view of the mountains to the west and south! There will be a second toilet in the garage area. After the cement pad was poured and completed it began to rain and rain. But it has now cleared up and Jason's good friend, contractor Clint Billedeaux and his great crew are hard at work getting it framed in. It is 30 feet by 40 feet with two separate garage doors and two walk-in doors downstairs. There will be a sliding "patio" door up in the living area for a planned deck.

Jason and Kara will do the work inside once the outside work is completed. There will be lots to do to get this completed.

......everyone have a great day!

Going to "town" over the park pass

2009-08-13T15:06:00.005-06:00

Going to "town" for us in the summer means we will travel Logan Pass or as it is also called, "Going-to-the-Sun Highway". We travel over the absolutely beautiful pass to Kalispell to see doctors and to shop. It saves us 60 miles or thereabouts in travel. And you can drive slow and enjoy the sights.

Being summer and the need for so much repair on this historic highway, construction stops allow for some good pictures. The pictures of the, as I call them, mystic clouds down in the lower valleys of the Pass which are following the river down below! These were early morning shots -- we hit the pass at about 6:30 a.m. and came home around 4 p.m. The middle picture was taken on a construction stop on the way back. Going over we had only one stop and coming back we had three different stops.

Today, in our valley at the ranch, it is in the 50's and overcast! A good day to bake bread, make hot meals and create!

Everyone have a wonderful day and if I don't post anymore this week -- a great weekend!

My Little Up and Coming Hens!

2009-08-08T14:46:00.006-06:00

I went out to sit with my little hens and thought I would take some pictures so you can see how varied their colors are. I have 24 Ameraucana and four Barred Plymouth Rocks plus five Buff Opingtons.

The gray hen is a "blue" Ameraucana and I love the look of the all white Ameraucana. The Ameraucana hens lay "brown" eggs but they come out in blues and greens and maybe a "brown" pink egg. The Ameraucana develope a "fluff" of feathers on each side of their faces. A true Aracuna has no tail to speak of but look very similar to the Ameraucanas! The eggs from the Ameraucana have very hardy shells.

These little hens were born June 16th of this year and still have some growing to do before I release them to join the older hens that I have now.

Ameraucanas come in all colors and the wide variety of colors you see in the pictures are the Ameraucanas. They seem to be very hardy for our cold climate here by the mountains. I have had Barred Plymouth Rocks before and they are very docile chickens and also seem to be hardy for our climate. I have always enjoyed the Buff Ophingtons, because they, too, are gentle and hardy and live a long life.

Many years ago we purchased Red Leghorns and they were the meanest chickens ever. They picked at each other and if you reached in to get their eggs, they drew blood on your hand!

Haying Time on the Ranch

2009-08-08T11:34:00.010-06:00

Haying time on the ranch -- one of the most important parts of ranching -- bringing in the hay crop to feed the livestock during the winter months.

The first picture is of a bunch (alfalfa grows in a bunch) of alfalfa or a single plant of alfalfa. I love these colors together. Some of the alfalfa is two-toned -- a purple and a lavender blooming on the same bunch or plant. Some is yellow or white blooming in another plant of alfalfa.

There is a picture of our front meadow that is at the home place and visible out of our windows. The other pictures are of my dog, Boo-Boo smelling a bunch of sage which grows wild all over and smells delicious!

At this time of year, our biggest concern is getting in the crops -- swathing (cutting), baling, and bringing the bales of hay into a stackyard where the hay will be stored until it is time to feed during the winter months.

So far, August has been wet and cool...being wet makes it hard to do the haying but the rain is wonderful for the meadows that are grazed by the livestock, the trees, and the entire area here by the mountains. Usually, at this time of year, the grass is turning brown from lack of moisture -- so it is wonderful to still see the green grasses.

After a rain, it is so very delightful to drive through Glacier National Park over the Pass (Logan Pass or Going-to-the-Sun Highway). You can smell the pine and all the vegetation is freshly moist with the rains! So very joyful.

I had better end this and check on my new young hens and my older hens. Boo-Boo gets his time to run about and then he goes back to his kennel area so I can let the hens out and they can catch the too many grasshoppers that are everywhere this year. When I let the hens out, I watch the skies for hawks and birds of prey. I have had Anatolians that did not bother my hens as they ran freely about the ranch area, but my two Anatolians that I have now can not be trusted to not snack on my hens!

Everyone have a wonderful weekend...it is sunny here today and a beautiful day.

What is that crop??

2009-07-31T14:55:00.007-06:00

This is Jason's pride and joy -- his crop of Sainfoin (a forage legume) that he seeded up north and this is the second year of the crop. This will feed our cattle this winter. It looks a little like alfalfa -- fact is I thought it was a type of alfalfa until I was told otherwise. Sainfoin is a crop that will not give your livestock bloat (which can kill livestock). Sainfoin has good drought tolerance and is extremely winterhardy. It is also good on dryland (which is what we have -- no irrigation on our crops).

I love the pink blooms and the lovely green stems. We have alfalfa down at our home place and it has a lovely purple bloom with some white and yellow here and there.

It was a beautiful field to see growing and blooming. It is baled into hay bales now to be stacked and ready for winter feeding.

I have included a picture of our son, Jason, standing on our old (we did buy it new) Hesston swather that keeps going (I sure hope it keeps going, who can afford a new one)! Jason keeps the swather going -- and going and going...

We all wish we had more fields of this lovely legume to bale up.

Have a great day..........we have had rain, so it is nice and green here by the mountains. Rather cool today, which is also a joy! We are extremely late in our growing season for our planted crops this year. And, our peonies are just blooming...or finishing blooming!

Enjoy your life, family and friends.............

Where are those bee hives???

2009-07-16T19:32:00.002-06:00

...this little visitor came back to finish off the bee hives that he/she had already torn into. The hives were in a corral area by the creek (which is very close to our home). This young black bear was probably on it's own for the first time and found the hives and tasted the honey and decided to come back for more. The hives were moved to a safer place.

We have many bears in our area and they especially like to roam by the river and creeks. Bear tracks can be seen on the sandy part of the bank back by the river most any day.

...My son took this picture when the bear was trying to peer over the tall grass in the corral area to see who was there and if it was "safe" to come eat the honey.

Tubin' the River

2009-07-12T16:08:00.011-06:00

Boo-Boo by the river
where we "put-in"
to float down...
second picture is
the river to south
east...

Bear tracks on the

sand on beach small

bear tracks....

The "pond" out back

of the house by the

river....

...it was a little overcast and not too warm but we decided to tube the River!.. I was dubious and did not know if I wanted to put my aging body on an inner tube at this point in my life...not to mention that the water is extremely cold, I mean really truly cold! But, everyone else was going...I kinda pondered it for a while and thought...what the heck, live each day to the fullest (and try not to get broken in the pursuit of "happiness").

...the tubes were repaired and all was at the ready. Walk back to the River...still had a chance to "pull out" of the fun! Tube in the water, daughter-in-law holding the tube so I could get on and then she gave me a push into the current (too late to turn back)...oh-my-gosh (and other superlatives) and shouts/screams as my bottom hit the cold water. Actually, I scared my dog, Boo-Boo and I think, at this point, he ran back to the house.

..well, I was underway...this was not so bad -- actually it was fun...it has been a few years since I have done this. We spent many summers floating the river out back of the house. It was always such fun. There were times when I would tube the river with my Anatolian Burak before I went to work in the afternoon...very refreshing...then walk back to the ranch. Of course, I was much younger, weighed less, and all my limbs worked!

I think this would be a good exercise for the flappy underarms...hmmmm...after a while the cold is not so cold and all that nonsense is forgotten as you paddle your arms and hands in the water trying to stay with the current and away from the shore.

It was really too much fun...a forgotten fun perhaps of years past when we did it with the children and friends and family. I actually would have been willing to go "again"...

I will add some pictures that I had taken the other day at the river. I never know where the photos are going to load and how they will assimilate into my narrative. I have to take some Bloggin' lessons. So hang in there with me about my photo inserts...I usually just put them in at the beginning and hope for the best.

Happy Sunday to all...........

Cousin Mary Frances comes for a visit!!

2009-07-11T10:18:00.007-06:00

Annie Oakley AKA Mary Frances

(She's harmless folks, these are all

black power and unloaded!)

Still did not have her

"riding legs" together!

The Magnificent Four!

Annie AKA Mary Frances

on Butterscotch

Move 'em up!

The blue speck in the background is

Mary Frances

Mary's bear (the brown speck in the grass)

Trip on Waterton lakes

travel on the International

ah...a wonderful shot towards

Yellow Mountain

Looking towards Chief

we were way up on top

of a high hill

Looking towards Camp Nine

...This is a ode to my wonderful cousin, Mary Frances, who came for a ranch visit! Boy, did we have fun with Mary. She got to do everything and then some. Mary helped herd cattle and move them to a summer pasture.

The weather was beautiful -- not too hot and not too cold. Mary and I had a great day on the four wheeler. We went to the top of two really high hills on our property and could see all over the valley. These are views we tend to take for granted until we have the pleasure to show them to friends or family and then are awed by the grandeur that lays before us! To exclaim, Wow, is an understatement of the beauty that surrounds us every day.

Mary arrived on the 30th -- but getting to and from the airport is an all-day trip! But from the next day until she had to leave -- the days were packed with fun things to do.

I think Mary enjoyed the ride and rounding up and moving the cattle the most. There is such a camaraderie between all that participate. Everyone has a good time.

Our trip to Waterton Lakes, Alberta, Canada was a little wet, but the rain made everything so lush at Goat Haunt and the townsite of Waterton that it was worth it! If you ever have the chance, take the drive up the Chief Mountain Highway (17) to the Waterton Townsite -- it is such a beautiful jewel nestled in the Rocky Mountains. And an absolute must is the boat cruise on the International Ferry which can seat 200! You can ride on top or down below. It is a wonderful trip down the beautiful Waterton Lakes to Goat Haunt, Montana. The trip is narrated and is a total joy. You have about a half hour to walk to the Rangers Station at Goat Haunt before you have to walk back to board the boat for your journey back to the townsite. If you go any further than the Ranger Station you will have to have the proper documents and go through US Customs and Border Protection inspection. You can take day hikes and catch a later boat after your hike. The shops and resturants in Waterton townsite are fun to visit. And your visit cannot be complete without some delicious icecream in a homemade cone at the icecream shop. Take your cone and sit on the shore of Waterton Lake and just enjoy the day!

Mary Frances only had a little more than a week and this is just not enough time to show our visitors all that our wonderful area has to offer. We were able to drive through Going-to-the-Sun Highway (Logan's Pass) and visit places we have visited on previous trips together. It was a glorious day. It is best to get a very early start in order to (perhaps) see wildlife and to beat the traffic. When you get on the west side be sure to stop at Lake McDonald and put your toes in the water...skip a few rocks/stones and just enjoy your day!

Mary has not seen bears on her previous visits, but we were able to see a bear up Many Glacier Road when it was near dark. So, my picture is rather dark, but the bear was very close to the road. Then each day when Mary was here someone would come and say...oh my gosh I just saw a grizzly and two cubs...I just saw a cub...I just saw a .... at least Mary got to see one bear!

While we were back on the sand by St. Mary River, we found a small bear track, rather fresh, I might add.

...and so I end this post with a great big thank you to Mary Frances who came to visit and was such a total joy to have (she also cut the grass and pulled weeds!!!) and to share time with and to share all the beauty of our area with and to bring back the wonder of why we live here and love it! Thanks, Mary Frances, we totally love you and want you back -- real sooooon!

...all your cousins in Montana...we miss you so much!!!

My Mobility Mobile

2009-06-21T11:10:00.010-06:00

My two feet

My two pedals

My wonderful Coast King...which I call my Coast Queen!

...because of the internet and other sources of information...it appears companies, agencies, etc. all know the age of a person...when a person is nearing the age of 50, you will probably receive information on joining the AARP...whaaaa...okay, I know there are certain types of benefits gained from joining the AARP...when traveling, motel clerks ask, "Are you a member of AARP?"...it appears there is a 10% discount on the room rent...Well, I have to tell you I have resisted joining AARP until this month...this after a-gazillion messages from AARP ...but I broke down and sent in my fees and received my cards...I only joined in my name...but, bless the internet or the records that are kept (somewhere)...someone knew I had a husband and knew his age and sent along a card for him, too -- bless the snoop who knew (?)...or not.

...now, just the other day I received some more communication this time in regard to one of those motorized chairs...whaaaa????...I tossed it promptly in the garbage, but then on second thought, I retrieved it...you just never know...but it was beyond recovery...some sort of goo was stuck to it...eweee...so back in the garbage...I am sure I will get more of the same information again.

So, that brings me to my mobility mobile...bless my Coast King (which, by the way, I call Coast Queen)...I purchased this wonder some 35 years ago...people ask how many gears I have on my bike...I answer, two -- my two pedals...lordy, they look at me like I am beyond hope. Actually have four gears...my two pedals and my two feet!!! I have purchased and tried two of the bikes with the fancy gears...I just did not do well on them..."Where are the breaks???" I also tended to "strip" the gears, I just never got it right!

I use to tear around on this wonderous mobility mobile -- rip and zip around the trails out to the plowed fields and down our murdeous gravel road...I would do this special "mount" -- one foot on the pedal, get the bike rolling and then throw the other leg over the seat and rip off...oh my goodness! I did learn to ride a bike on a boys bike with that bar in the middle (the killer bar, when you accidently slipped off the seat and hit it...I can still hear the screams and feel the pain)...but the bar did keep the bike from flipping all over the place when you took your hands off the handle bars and road with the wind!

At this point in my life, I keep my hands planted firmly on the handle bars, my mounts are putting my butt gently on the seat, placing my feet carefully on the pedals, giving a push with one foot and off I go...slowly, carefully...going out of my gravel road is a "uphill grade"...it does not look this way, but believe me it is all Uphill! Coming back I go like crazy, peddling like there is no tomorrow...knowing if I crash and burn there may be no tomorrow...or it would be painfull.

So since my left foot is full of problems and my hips...and oh I won't bore you with all the kinks in the old body...walking is not a choice anymore...so, out comes my wonder mobility mobile! And I am off with the wind in what is left of hair (I got a little sissors happy a week or so ago)!

My dog, Boo-Boo, loves to run along side...we have a race when I come back and it is Downhill!

I always thought getting "old" would be fun...just enjoying life, not worrying about the "packaging" anymore (what you looked like)...just becoming a jolly older person...I thought the aches would hit somewhere in the eighties...The other day I was walking back to let my pup out of his kennel and my left foot was really in pain...I thought to myself, "I feel like an old lady"...then it dawned on me that I was an old lady...not reallllllly old, but old enough! Yikes!

...It is Father's Day...a happy day to all the fathers out there! It is overcast and 58 degrees here today...which is fine with me...I do not like it too hot. I like it about 70 degrees. And, of course, there is a wind blowing so that makes it cooler.

...happy day everyone...take care, enjoy, live life to the fullest, and be kind to others!

The Clouds are joining hands!

2009-06-14T13:52:00.002-06:00

It was a very nice day...well, it still is except for the clouds "joining hands" and forming some very powerful looking formations...and is that thunder I hear???

Our family is working the ground and getting the seed in. The weather and equipment have not cooperated...but, then, do they ever?..

Being as I am the official "camp tender" (so designated by myself)...this time of year brings the most greasy, dirty, awful smelling laundry...well, second to calving time which just was over...but grease is something else to get out of the shirts and jeans! There was a time when I, too, climbed aboard a tractor and went round and round and up and down in the fields -- that was possibly the most boring job I did on our farm. I would try and think of wonderful things -- do some mental designing...but the smell of diesel would interfere with my thoughts. I had the task of farming with the 806 IH, no cab and that exhaust on the top of the front of the tractor spewing that diesel back to me........ughie!

May was a very bad month for our family we lost a wonderful member, Sylvia Hendricks. Sylvia is Kara's sweet precious Mother. (Kara is our daughter-in-law.) Sylvia was here visiting during the bad snow storm the end of April. She became ill and Kara's Dad took her home. She went to the doctor and it was discovered that the cancer she had years earlier had metastasized and was attacking her liver and lungs. Sylvia died on May 31, 2009. It is hard to comprehend that within a month, Sylvia was diagnosed, treated, and died. A wonderful, delightful, gentle, caring, giving member of our family left us.

We may have lilacs in July sometime...who knows when the peonies will bloom. I see the irises are actually budding! The columbines want to bloom, perhaps they are scared to do it because they may get frosted at night! I have some lovely irises that just will not bloom again...they are a frilly variety...such a very hard place to grow any kind of flowers, trees, or what-have-you...the wind and the extreme temps are just too hard on plants.

When I was in Idaho Falls last week, I was astounded by all the blooming plants...rose bushes, trees, flowers of every kind...I remember all those lovely things from northern Illinois where I was raised and lived 27 years of my life before I came to Montana.

Our part of Montana is very hard on flowers, bushes, trees of any kind, and gardens. The growing season is very short. Flowers and folks have to be hardy to live where we do!!!

I went out the other evening to gather eggs (I was later than usual) and when I opened the door to the quonset it was very quiet...way too quiet...the hens always run clucking to me to see what I may have brought to them for treats. Not a hen in sight...I knew there was something really wrong and it would not be good. I called for the hens...nothing...then I heard a little chatter from the far corner of the quonset...some of the hens were hiding...I called to them...

With chickens there are always feathers around...but I could not believe the amount of feathers all over the quonset! I found a piece of feathers that use to be around the neck of one of my Araucana hens...with skin attached...this was the most injured hen...the skin and feathers had been ripped right off the back of her neck, and I could see her neck bones...she had more hanging from the front of her. Other hens were missing their tail feathers and back feathers! It was awful to see. Many were hiding in the wood pile...it is a good thing that there are so many hiding places in the quonset because whatever got in there and tore up my hens couldn't get them in the wood pile. The quonset is closed off on the NW end with a heavy four-foot metal section with 4" x 4" openings. We know our dogs were not in there, nor can they get in there. We have sighted a fox running around our area. I thought it was "neat" to see a red fox running around. I don't know if we will ever know what got in there and did all this destruction to my hens. I now go out every hour or so and check on them. I have put up chicken wire over the metal mesh section to close off the 4" x 4" openings. I sprayed the injured hens with emu oil first aide spray and hope for the best. I had a hen that had most of her feathers and some of her skin torn off by a dog and she made it back okay...her feathers eventurally all grew back as did her tail and injured wings. I kept her separate so the other hens would not peck at her.

Well, it is time for me to do a chicken check and collect eggs.

Everyone take care and stay well.......enjoy and be good to each other....

Watching the Waterways!

2009-05-26T15:05:00.005-06:00

This is the canal and at this point it goes under the Kennedy Creek. The canal is to the west of us.

This is Kennedy Creek which joins up with the Saint Mary River which runs behind our corrals. Kennedy is to the north of us.

In the distance up against the hills is our ranch with Kennedy to the left in the picture. (Saint Mary River runs along the back tree line by the bottom of the hills.)

Kennedy Creek

This time of year we think of flooding or the possibility of flooding. Our home place is located in a flood plain. We are rather surrounded with water of some sort or another. And if the snow melt is hastened by a lot of rain, things could get rough or really wet -- fast!

Yesterday my husband called for me to come to the front door of our home. "Listen to the creek," he said. You could hear it roaring down to the Saint Mary River which is behind our home. The canal runs under Kennedy Creek and then comes back up to go between meadows and drops down by Camp Nine Road and travels on its way to Malta, Montana.

And so our thoughts turn to the "what ifs" of the waterways each year at this time. We were in the flood of 1975 when Kennedy took out the bridge over highway 89 cutting off traffic. Highway 89 is the only road from the Canadian Border on down to Babb and on south. We evacuated our home place and went to higher ground during that flood. For us to get back to the ranch we had to travel the canal bank east and drive over planks where other bridges were out then come in from Browning and back to the ranch. Browning is 45 miles from our home place plus the miles it took to get to Browning. That was a year of adventures to be sure.

Our trees and bushes are way behind. I hear tell that lilacs are blooming in other places...our bushes are just getting leaves (I hope). The clumps of quakes (aspen trees) usually are budded out by now or have a very good start. Not this year.

Our grass around our home is actually needing mowing just from the rain the other day.

...I did see Shooting Stars the other day! They are always so lovely to see!

....take care....

Drive up Chief Mountain Highway!

2009-05-15T14:00:00.011-06:00

Summer is here...because Chief Mountain Port of Entry opened today for the summer season! I took a drive up the highway and took some pictures of the Chief...a wondeful mountain that is 9060 feet high. I will post them here in my blog. The Chief can be seen for hundreds of miles around and each view is really different. If you look for The Chief from Cut Bank, Montana (80-ish miles from here, it has a very slender rise into the sky -- from the Chief Mountain Highway (17) it is broad and longer, but as you go up the highway it too changes.

And, of course, no ride up Chief Mountain Highway would be complete without a bear sighting. This little cinnamom bear was right off the highway. When I first saw her she had two little cubs with her -- one light colored and one dark -- the little cubs shot into the brush. She, however, just stood there while I tried to take a picture from my car window.

I was going to take a picture of the port, but it is a mess with some kind of construction going on!

Happy trails everyone!

Good Friday Morning!

2009-05-15T07:37:00.007-06:00

Early morning pictures -- first picture is looking out over our little creek towards the mountains by St. Mary (about 10 miles from us); second picture is a closer look of the mountains; third picture is out our back door and yard by the creek and where we see a lot of bears. Beyond the trees is the St. Mary River. Third picture is of a creek that runs by our yard. Yellow Cat always takes a walk with me, my "fierce" protector (besides my Anatolians).

So, it snowed and rained last night! It is about 34 degrees this morning with ice on the deck. I hear the weather is suppose to improve this weekend. Great Falls is calling for temps in the high 70's! You just never know in Montana what the weather will do from minute to minute!

Queen Victoria Day weekend in Canada this weekend! Happy Holiday All! Travel safely!

Have lots to do, so I will leave you all with this little post!

What is all the RUCKUS about!!!

2009-05-13T17:52:00.003-06:00

...that is what I was yelling this morning about 0630 hours...the dogs were just going crazy outside my window by the quonset! What the heck was the problem! I got up to look out the window and there was a grizzly...totally too close to the house...right by the quonset with the dogs barking at him -- very up close and personal they were. The bear ran a-ways and stood up...at first I thought that is not such a very big bear...but when it stood up, well, I had to rethink my analysis of the situation. This looked like a total disaster -- milk cows, calves, little bull right by the grizzly. Grizzly rearing up with it's arms in the air! The milk cows were going wild and as were the calves. My old Anatolian was struggling to stay on her feet and still go after the bear. Turk, Anatolian, was right in there with the bear. The bear decided to go west and then north over to the Kennedy Creek area! Dogs in pursuit.

This is one of the few pictures I could get of the bear going down our ranch road. This was taken from my front yead, 'cause I did not know which way the bear was going to go. Darn camera does not take closer pictures. The bear was a grizzly and rather cinnamon in color. The bear did not appear to be too old. Might have just been weaned and was confused as to where it should be!

How it got this close to our home is a mystery at this point. There was fresh snow on the ground and my husband and I looked for tracks coming from the back by the creeks and waterways. Could not find any. It may have come down the road...won't ever really know for sure.

After the bear left, I went out to the quonset and saw all the scuffle marks from the bear -- it looked as if the bear went into the heavy mesh wire that closes off the northwest side of our quonset (Mr. Wind blew the doors off many years ago and wrapped them around the semi truck that was parked near...whole 'nother story). I called for my hens that live in the quonset...not a sound could be heard. Finally found them all huddled in the extreme east side of the quonset, making little sounds to each other. Such drama so early in the morning. I notice I have less eggs today...

During all this bear/dog/chicken stuff I was yelling for my husband who I thought had gone out to milk. But since I saw the milk cows dashing wildly around the corral area from the bear, I knew he was not milking in the barn. When all the excitement was over I went back to the house. I now was worried that perhaps an older bear (bigger) might have gotten Marvin because we had seen a pair just a day ago. Then I saw Marv walking toward the quonset from the northeast. He never heard me, the dogs, nor saw the bear. He had been walking back
"behind"by the creek area and did not know there was a bear or anything going on. (A few years back, Marv had been walking back in the trees by the creek when he heard a clacking sound...there was this BIG grizzly clacking it's jaws together! Now, that is a YIKES! They both decided to go a different way!)

...and so that is how my day started out! Rather a jump-start to the daily activities! Nothing like a little adrenalin pumping through your body in the early a.m.

...and so another day is coming to an end........hey! It is almost the Queen's Birthday in Canada and that means that the Chief Mountain Port of Entry will open this Friday the 15th for the season...does that mean it is summer. I hear tell that the snow up on the Chief Mountain Highway is very HIGH...plowed and open (?) but the sides of the roads tell a different story (so I am told). It seems in the past, the snow was a common occurance on the Queen's Birthday (Queen Victoria Day in Canada).

...so all you Canadians....hello and have a good Holiday weekend! Drive safe!

The day after Mother's Day

2009-05-11T17:38:00.002-06:00

It is the day after Mother's Day. I hope everyone that reads this had a good day yesterday. I was kind-a down in the dumps yesterday. My sweet Mom passed away in 1977 from cancer, she was only 61. Then you hear of other Moms that are not feeling very well, it makes me sad.

In the past few years, or so it seems, I have been either having close encounters with Grizzly bears or at least see them close by. No sightings yesterday. But this morning my husband called for me to come and see something. There was a sow and her cub right out back of our home by the creek. Our dogs were going crazy. I will not be going walking beyond the little creek.

So, my walks will be very limited, it seems wherever I have loved to walk before the bears are now!

But getting back to yesterday. We are calving on our ranch, so everyone is very busy tending the cattle and little calves. I was home alone, doing some sewing and a few other things. I decided to make myself some fried chicken -- how I love fried chicken! I bread it just so and it is delicious -- so much better than eating out. I totally enjoyed the chicken, pears, and boiled potatoes!

This is short, but I have some lambs to finish up on! Everyone take care.

Now for some good smells!

2009-05-03T12:48:00.012-06:00

French bread hot out of the oven!

Miniature orchids -- most orchids that I have had did not have an odor, however, the light colored one does -- very delicate and sweet.

This is a Hoya bud and at the end by the leaf the little spur or stubs of the plant that the bud/bloom comes from ...never take these off, they form the bud/bloom year after year.

A Hoya Bloom, very sweet smell and sticky they drip! Also called the wax plant, the flower appears to be made of wax.

I planted some cosmos seeds in my poinsettia and they grew about a foot or more and then are blooming. What fun. This delicate flower would probably blow away if planted outside in the summer.

At one time I had so many plants, my living room was like a conservatory! My son and a friend built me a pond 3' x 5' with a fountain! What fun, I had with all my wonderful plants and flowers! I found out that the only way to really have any green in Montana because of the long winter seasons, was to grow plants inside. The sun from the windows made them huge. Some plants loved the east and north exposure. I had mega plant books and plants! What a total joy it was to see them grow huge. However, as I became busier with my job and did not have winters off, my plants began to suffer.

One day, I began calling friends and asked if they wanted any of my plants. They had to come right away before I changed my mind. I did keep my tree, but after so many years, it finally started to die out. I also kept my Hoya.

The Hoya came into my life in the 1970's. I never was a plant lover because of my allergies. I enjoyed looking at flowers and such but never really wanted to grow any. A long came a neighbor and wanted me to plant sit their Hoya. Gads, the thing looked awful. It was housed in an old rusty coffee can and was all stiff looking. Well, I kept this thing in the living room of my old home and it sat there in it's rusty coffee can and did nothing! No growth, no blooms -- nothing. The neighbors came back and said they did not want it back -- that I could "keep" it! Wow, I was very pleased -- so not! I thought what the heck, let's get it out of that rusty coffee can and into a nice pot. Long story short it began to grow and put out new leaves. However, I decided to buy some plant books. I found out that a Hoya likes to be pot-bound or it won't bloom. It can take upwards to 7 years or some such for it to bloom...gasp! Anyway, the plant likes a north or east window and it thrived. Finally, it did bloom -- I found these funny little plastic-looking pink things stuck to my rug and wondered what the kids had been into. They declined to take responsibility for the little pile of sticky mess. I looked the plant over and glory be!...it was putting out blooms after 7 years. So, this mama plant thrived and bloomed its heart out...until one of it's very long vines came to rest upon an open bag of potatoes that were sitting on the floor in the kitchen. I had noticed that the potatoes had some kind of white fuzzy things on them. Well, they took over my wonderful (by now, I had become very attached to this darn plant) Hoya and were destroying it! I tried everything I could find to "do-in" the mealy bugs, but nothing worked. So, I decided to take a small cutting off the Hoya and throw away a plant that had been with me for over 20 years! Awful! But the cutting rooted in water and now is a big plant in the east window and is blooming profusely every single year in the spring. I mean to tell you that sweet smell can knock you off your feet in the morning. The plant is covered with blooms. And, is so pot bound, that I worry about it.

Another good smell is the smell of bread baking! Yum, just took the French bread out of the oven! It is called the Best French Bread recipe! It is so very easy to make! Most of the work is done in the bread maker, then when the dough is just so, I take it out of the bread machine and roll it into a wonderful loaf! Just finished eating some!

....now, I really must get some other things done!

Boy! Do the Anatolians smell bad this morning!

2009-05-03T12:07:00.003-06:00

The skunk has struck! I heard all this barking last night from the Anatolian guard dogs -- Turk, Feather, and Boo-B00 and wondered what on earth was happening out there.

Well, this morning I knew the answer. Wow, Turk and Boo smell awful. And both want to "cuddle" and be petted. So, now I don't know if the skunk "bit the dirt" or he just sprayed both of my male dogs in the face (Boo smells bad all over) and scurried away! I went into the chicken area and rattled the tarp on the wood pile. Cautiously peeked into the wood pile and in the chicken house and in the spare tire the chickens love to lay their eggs in. Nothing, as yet.

Boo does not seem very concerned that he reeks, he is out laying on the deck in the sun or in the temporary housing I built by our home in the front area. Since his kennel and house were buried with snow, I built him a temporary quarters with sheep panels, tarps, tie downs, and fresh straw. I tried to drag him into the front porch -- no way would he even put his nose in. Then, I worried he would not go into my new construction. However, he loves it! And relaxes in there during the day and whenever he wants to take a nap. He found it on his own after I built it. I do love Boo! He is a very smart dog.

Each day we see more and more of the ground. The snow is crusted and there is slop below.

I had better close this, there is always something to do -- I have orders to fill and my bread is about done rising and needs to be popped into the oven.

...sunny days to everyone!...happy may!

I Saw the SKUNK!

2009-05-02T10:03:00.005-06:00

...Okay, I have now visually confirmed there is a skunk in the chicken coup (quonset)! I was in the quonset (40' x 100') checking for eggs -- 'cause the girls (hens) lay eggs here and there trying to hide them from me! Anyway, I was pulling the tarp up and over the stack of lumber in the quonset so the chickens would not have poop all over them. The rattling of the tarp must have scared the skunk...it ran out right in front of me! YIKES! It is a big skunk as skunks go...not a little baby skunk...but a very BIG skunk.

I don't know who was startled the most, me or the skunk. It scurried off...and I scurried off -- I do not want to be sprayed by a skunk!

We have this rather tough black cat, he does not like "strangers" in his territory. He is all black except for his white boots, white spot on his chest! He was the one that smelled of skunk, I would imagine that he let the skunk know that he was in his territory! He is not a very big cat either, but Tough!

We have four cats that are all neutured male cats -- the black cat, and 3 orange males. We also have one female cat, Yowler. For some reason, I have not named the cats (except for Yowler). In the past when I named my favorite cats, it seemed something happened to them. However, they have been with us, outside, for some more than 10 years. They are well-fed and live in the quonset or the barn. They also "live" on my back deck. They have little beds out there and a bench they love to sun themselves on. And, of course, they like to be close to me and the back door. Treats come out that back door. They also hunt for mice in the haystacks.

It is rather humorous when I go for a walk-about there is this string of cats with their tails high in the air following me, along with my dogs.

We have one little kitten that lives with Boo-Boo in his kennel area. Boo pretends he is tough with the kitten, by barking at it. But the truth is the kitten sleeps with him and enjoys his food and beverages! Boo-Boo is an Anatolian Shepherd that is mentioned many times in my posts. He is my puppy/dog. He is a year old and getting bigger. Boo does not like Yowler, her name tells it all. She is very snarly with Boo and therefore Boo does not like her. Actually, Yowler is snarly with most every animal.

Yowler is quite old, we have never been able to get her to a vet to be spayed -- therefore she does have kittens which we find homes for on other ranches. Yowler is a very good mouser. She was so disruptive to all the other cats that we found other homes for her in the past. However, Yowler, always comes home. She traveled from the first placement approximately 20 miles; the second placement was probably 40 as the crow flys. Well, when she came home the last time, I knew we just had to put up with her outbursts. I will hold her and pet her and she is so very happy -- but, beware, if something disturbs her -- she becomes a fighting machine...and I may be in the way of the flying claws! Her yowl when she is mad is something else, it un-nerves a person -- therefore her name, Yowler!

We have one of her brothers and he is independent by certainly does not have a temperment such as she does. Two of the other cats are her kittens from many years ago.

I am very allergic to cat hair when inside. For some reason, as long as I do not touch my tear ducts or get any of their hair close to my face, I can be with them outside. But, if I go visit someones home and they have a cat living in there -- my lungs go crazy, my eyes itch like crazy, my face gets red...well, it is not a pretty sight nor can I breath very well. So no cats reside in my home.

It was a cold night so everything froze and there was frost on the vehicles. I think this is good because the snow will not all melt at once and cause too much water flowing at one time. There are frozen puddles outside and it is 10:30 a.m. here by the mountains.

....well, I better end this and get on to my chores..........enjoy your day!

Good NEWS!

2009-04-30T11:54:00.002-06:00

The snow has stopped. It is now 41 degrees with a wind of 4 mph at almost noon today. Yay! The snow is melting...the drifts are going down...the sky is trying to turn blue...the sun is out!

Now, not to get hit on the head with a clump of snow when it comes cascading off the roofs! It is still hard to walk about, because the snow is still very deep.

Marvin was able to get in and out with true determination and CHAINS on his pickup tires. Frankly, I did not think he would be able to get out and then back in. What a guy! I am so going to keep him!

I am planning on going out again and see if there is a skunk in the hen house. The cats really smell of "skunk"...or maybe the dogs got into one. But the smell is in the air. I also noticed that some eggs were eaten yesterday in the quonset. That usually means a new skunk has taken up residence in the quonset. My cats have been very good about not eating eggs.

One time I was searching for eggs inside the hen house inside the quonset and I was running my hands under their nest area...there was something in there and it was not a chicken! YIKES! These little eyes in a little black face with a white stripe was staring back at me. There are times that I can move quite fast if I have to, and this was one of those times.

I really hate it when the skunk burrows under the chicken house and has it babies under there. I mean how convenient for the skunk. Fresh water daily, fresh feed, fresh eggs what else do they need. There is even mineral out.

The back part of the hen house where the egg boxes are located is rather dark, so I go in there kind-a blind and feel around...well, I use to do that, but now I am bringing in a small flash light to check them out BEFORE I put my hands in to feel for eggs.

For some reason I am very tired today. Well, it is time to take my old dog Kaina out for a walk and check on the "skunk" problem.

....everyone take care....hope you are well...

The wind is from the WEST!

2009-04-29T15:27:00.008-06:00

Where is that darn door to the chickens???

Marvelous Marvin shovelling out the door to the chickens. East side of quonset. The worst side to be on at any outbuilding during this storm.

Marvin between our home and the old house!

Judy and Boo-Boo (Anatolian dog)

Here are a few more pictures to try to show how deep the snow is in places...like around our home. The drifts are now being blown around by the west wind and they seem to be getting smaller in places!

Where is all this snow going to go???? We live right off a channel of water, beaver ponds, and the St. Mary River...we may be roaring with water if the 60 degrees they are forecasting for this weekend materializes! JOY! Get the sandbags!

With this storm the snow pack in the mountains should be good...I would think, hope.

My rain gear is coming in handy with the deep snow. Pop on my rain pants and nothing gets wet and the wind does not get through! All right, that works really well.

Take care everyone! Stay safe and be good to each other!

I am feeding all the wild birds with my chicken feed. They love going in the quonset...I just wish they would not poop all over everything. Those darn starlings are everywhere! I am just glad that I just got more feed!

As Marvin and I were walking in the backyard by the channel of water, two Blue Heron flew up from the water...such a joy to see...could not get my camera out fast enough. They took off and went to rest in the trees by the horses across the channel. It is fun to be this close to water until a person thinks of flooding! Always something to be concerned about!

It just keeps a-coming!

2009-04-29T08:54:00.008-06:00

Here are some pictures to depict the depth of the snow that swirled around and formed huge drifts. It is unreal, you can hardly get through the snow to walk anywhere. It is up to my hips in most places on the flat. Then there is the bare earth at places around the house. The bare spots are nice for our old dog, Kaina. She is nearly blind, deaf, and has trouble walking. She lives in our front heated porch. I have to take her out so she can follow me by smell so she doesn't get lost in the snow. Poor little girl! She is a blue heeler cross and has been a fierce protector of the ranch and her family (us)!

Some of the pictures were taken from our deck and you can see the depth of snow that swirled around the old house, which we use as storage. It needs to be torn down as part of it was already.

It is hard to see the depth of the snow from pictures. Marvin shovelled 3 feet of snow off the deck, this is the probably the third time it has been shovelled off ! It is in the 20's with the wind makes it quite cold.

This is suppose to continue until 6a.m. on Thursday! or did they change that to Friday!

I hope where ever you are you are safe!