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Forecasting and reflecting I just checked the weather forecast. At this next time week, the day’s high temperature is supposed to be 45 degrees cooler than today. That’s not a bad thing. It’s late November, and it’s time to actually have some winter weather. It’s an opportunity to be grateful for the upcoming change and reflect upon our recent journeys. Here in Montana, during this time of year, we’re given the gift of incredible sunsets. An especially magnificent one provided an exquisite backdrop for last night’s run. I snapped a few picture...
It’s pretty safe to say that we Americans are obsessed with dogs. Our comic strips and cartoons are full of them—Snoopy, Scooby Doo, and the Paw Patrol, to mention a few. Favorite television shows and movies feature dogs as the stars—Rin Tin Tin, 101 Dalmatians, Lassie, and many more. Retailers are well aware of our love for our four-legged friends. For example, every coffee drive-through offers some version of the Pup Cup, and our furry friends know that, too! We dog owners take pride in giving them a good life. Our best efforts to treat...
alue each day before the killing frost We lose minutes of daylight every evening. We gardeners hastily pick our remaining produce, watch the weather reports, and wonder how many more days we can eek out until the killing frost. Some people are geared up for fall, ready to enjoy the cooler weather, hunting, and breaking out the crock pot for soups and stews, while others loathe it. Some rejoice in the winter months, as it’s a chance to bake favorite holiday treats, or be outside ice fishing, snowmobiling, or skiing. Others despise winter and s...
The Necessity of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread A favorite childhood photo is one of my dad and I washing carrots. I was about four years old. My mom had me dressed like an Artic air front was likely to come blasting through at any moment—red overboots, hooded jacket zipped all the way up to my neck, hat, and mittens. Our row of freshly washed produce lined the cement divider between the lawn and garden. From an early age, I knew that when it came to chores, my dad had definite ideas of how things should be done. It was time to work; play and r...
Watching the Clouds, No Matter Where You Farm Sitting in the grain truck waiting for my brother to offload the next combine tank of winter wheat, I looked up at the cotton ball cumulus clouds that dotted the Lonesome Prairie sky. I think of them as “summer clouds”, reminiscing back to being a little girl and enjoying the quietness of a simple summer day, kept company by my dolls and stuffed animals under the Russian olive trees planted by my grandparents. In the warm, no-breeze truck, I realized if I took a cat nap and woke to see them, I cou...
Chopping Ice As winter is drawing to a close (at least it appears to be) I think back on some of my farm life wintertime memories. As a young girl, I remember the sound of the furnace blower kicking in, and if it was the weekend, the sweet realization that there was no need to get up for school. Instead, it was a chance to snuggle down deeper under the blankets and drift back to sleep. I also remember my dad coming into the house with fogged up glasses after milking the cow. I paid attention to when he came in because my job was to get the...
Sitting in the grain truck waiting for my brother to offload the next combine tank of winter wheat, I looked up at the cotton ball cumulus clouds that dotted the Lonesome Prairie sky. I think of them as “summer clouds”, reminiscing back to being a little girl and enjoying the quietness of a simple summer day, kept company by my dolls and stuffed animals under the Russian olive trees planted by my grandparents. In the warm, no-breeze truck, I realized if I took a cat nap and woke to see them, I could groggily believe I was elsewhere…like on th...