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Our family tradition that does not deviate from year to year is taking a drive to find the “perfect Christmas Tree.” As years passed, our whole family would go, usually including a few friends, and of course, our dogs. We would spend the afternoon looking for “the tree,” hiking, eating special snacks we brought along, and photographing our family and nature. The area we go to is close to our ranch, also off the beaten path. We have been surprised by many wild animals, such as elk, deer, wild turkeys, pheasant, bobcats, and yet no bears,...
Summer is nearly gone, and I cannot say I will miss much of it. I was dealing with back pain most of the summer, which definitely puts a damper on gardening and doing the work I usually enjoy. Generally, we have an enjoyable summer, busy working, but still having time to stop and smell the roses. Nevertheless, this summer, it seems the wind blew more, the grasshoppers were overwhelming, and irrigating and watering was never done; we just went from one field or garden to another. The respites were not there from an occasional rain shower or...
We are climbing on the wings of summer and will soon be in full flight to hot days, warm nights, and delicious garden produce. Thankfully, we have had some pleasant rains giving us much needed moisture, which brightens the countryside with shimmers of green and abundant flowers. The yucca plants are in full bloom as well as cactus and other wildflowers. Our yard looks great, all green and lush with flowers blooming in my flower gardens; my rose garden is so beautiful with many different colors...
Hello April! Wow, that March lion cut loose a few days late! We were somewhat prepared for the storm as the warnings were out there, but it's always a surprise when the weatherman is right. It had finally dried out enough at our place; we didn't have to wear our muck boots everywhere. We were moving cow/calf pairs to green grass; the calves were loving it, bucking, kicking, and taking long naps in the warm sunshine. The meadowlarks were serenading us in pairs just in time for nest building and...
Having grown up near the Missouri River in an isolated area, I don't really notice self-quarantine! We were always more than 5 miles away from anyone and are still pretty much that way today. My Mom and our family moved here in 1951; she had an outhouse and toilet paper was a luxury item they couldn't often afford or get to town to buy. Sears and Roebuck catalogs provided for their necessary needs and sometimes grass and sagebrush. So, the toilet paper shortage wouldn't have affected them much....
It has already been a muddy Spring, which is unusual, with it still being February. For us, the moisture is a blessing as it is for most farmers and ranchers, but it can also be a curse when trying to haul hay or feed livestock on our county and ranch roads. Vehicles and tires are soon mud encrusted with our usual gumbo, and deep potholes take a toll, as well as the strain of getting through the mud where there is very little gravel. When we have appointments or meetings, we feed extra so we can spend a few days at our place near Big Sandy,...
Here on the river, it is always a benefit to get through January with decent weather; this year has been exceptionally nice, we are enjoying it. With the thawing and water running, then freezing, we have to deal with icy situations, still certainly better than the deep snows of 2018! Life is much more enjoyable when Mother Nature is being kind; we can do some catch up on remodeling projects that weren't finished when we planned. We continue the daily chores of feeding, keeping the waters...
We had friends from Pennsylvania visiting as we were making plans and preparing to market our 2019 calves at auction. They are also farmers and ranchers; they had brought their local Lancaster Farming paper with them to show us their markets and sales. What a difference from our auction yards in Montana where mostly cattle are sold, sometimes a horse, pigs, sheep, or goats. At their auctions, they sell the usual livestock; then, they sell alpacas, yaks, chickens, rabbits, parakeets, guineas,...
I pray everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving, as another month slides into the sunsets of times gone. I reflect on reasons to be thankful living here by the beautiful Missouri River. We appreciate being apart of the broader community of Big Sandy. A relevant source of food supplies of grains, beef, and numerous variety of other crops to feed the people in our glorious state of Montana as well as the 50 United States we are proudly apart. God Bless our country, home of the brave and the free! God...
There are many homesteads here at Pearson Ranch along the beautiful picturesque Missouri River. The Johnson's, Bakers, Coopers, among many other names, lost in the sands of time. There are no longer existing homesteads, just humps of dirt where sod shanties were or holes that were root cellars or storage for steamboats passing through. A few covered cisterns still exist in school sections where country schools stood. The Kabo school was on our ranch, my brother Jack and I were the last...
Rain and mud made it questionable whether Big Sandy's F. E. Miley School would be able to come to Pearson's Pumpkin Patch on the scheduled date. With shortages of bus drivers, it was not looking good for any date changes. Thankfully they had just enough wind with a little sun, the road dried and the buses made the journey. Every student was able to pick their favorite pumpkin, find their way through the hay maze, have a few treats and take part in the fun duck races. The wheat pit was also a...
Growing seasons are unpredictable in most parts of the country, and living here by the Missouri River is no different and sometimes worse! We always plan to plant our seeds in the garden around the 10th of May. Then we plant our plants and seedlings out around the 25th of May. It is a super plan, but most often, we have to expect or plan for variables. This year we had the garden rototilled ready for planting right on schedule. Then the variable came in the form of rain that lasted for days until my garden was a bog! We had planted potatoes...
After a summer of planting, irrigating, weeding, and cultivating, we are now enjoying the fruits of our labor. Yesterday we picked melons for three Farmer's Markets in our area. We spend many hours picking, cutting, taste testing, sorting, and analyzing the tastiest, juiciest, melons for our customers. We have become melon snobs, and only the best will do. We are always amazed at how many other species, besides people, love cantaloupe. We notice the damage as we are picking and we sort them as...
