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(StatePoint) When the weather warms up, it’s all about relaxing outdoors. But it’s possible you’ve neglected upkeep on your home’s outdoor spaces during the chilly months of winter. To enjoy yourself more this season, take time to spruce up your yard. Here are some quick tips. Do a Survey Take a walk around the perimeter of your patio, deck and yard to survey what needs to be cleaned, repaired or replaced. Did potted plants and lawn ornaments survive the cooler months? Are outdoor light fixtures functioning? Are fallen branches littering the ya...
By Robert Lucke I have long wondered if the Jim Kipp Lookout sign we put up on a bluff above Cow Island on the Missouri River in August of 1957 is still there. I got the brilliant idea one Saturday morning to see if there was any mention of the sign and lookout on the internet. I looked and there were several stories about the sign. That was the good news. Bad news was that the stories were all by me. So, I was as much in the dark as ever. I recently discovered some pictures of that event. One...
The Montana Mint released a list of the top 16 athletes in Montana history and is asking fans to vote for their top 4. On February 12, the website will crown the “Mount Rushmore” of Montana sports. The Montana Mint is also making the content surrounding the contest available for use to Montana media outlets without charge. After polling its fans through various social media platforms, the Montana Mint compiled a list of the top 16 athletes: Brock Osweiler, Colt Anderson, Dan Carpenter, Dane Fletcher, Dave Dickenson, Dave McNally, Dwan Edw...
9 MSU Extension Chouteau County Soil Moisture Survey Spring soil moisture testing took place on March 22nd for locations north of the Missouri river and March 21st for locations south of the Missouri river. Eleven of twenty stubble locations (mostly in the northern part of Chouteau County) measured less than 3.9 inches of stored soil moisture (poor recropping potential). Three locations measured 4-4.9 inches of stored soil moisture (fair recropping potential). Sites with fair recropping potential were located in north central and southeast...
Ah, leftovers—some people love them and others hate them. If you are a fan, there are a few important recommendations for handling leftovers safely. First, it is important the meal was initially cooked to the recommended safe internal temperatures. Within two hours of cooking or after it is removed from being kept warm, your leftovers should be cooled rapidly to keep the food out of the danger zone of between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F. Package leftovers tightly and promptly for storage in the refrigerator or freezer. For big batches, l...
I made a mistake this morning. Not a life-changing, earth-shattering mistake, mind you, but a mistake nonetheless. Easter weekend was busy, but terrific. I spent time with friends, sang great songs with great friends, preached several sermons on the resurrection of Jesus, and then spent the day with my family. I went to bed last night feeling blessed. Beyond blessed, hopeful that God has provided a way to fix the broken parts of our world. Easter is great like that. We take time to gaze intently at what God has done and can do on our behalf....
(StatePoint) Going “green” has increasingly moved from a trend to a global initiative. But the best place for individuals to start minimizing their impact on the environment is in spaces where they spend the most time. Here are some ways people are reducing their carbon footprints at home and work. Flooring For homeowners, there are many different types of green or eco-friendly flooring options today. For example engineered wood floors have a wood veneer, which uses far less material than solid hardwood floors. They’re also more dimen...
Q: Why do I feel near to God one day, but then the next day I’ll feel like He doesn’t even exist? I wish my spiritual life wasn’t such a roller coaster. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, is it? A: No, it’s not the way God wants our relationship with Him to be. Instead, He wants our faith to be stable, and even grow stronger every day. The Bible says, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.” (1 Corinthians 15:58). How does this happen? I notice from your letter that you are married. How do you keep you...
Master Gardener Level 2 class covers the top five issues causing tree problems 1. Insufficient water: If the tree is in your lawn, your tree is going to need 2-3 inches of water in the summer months. Water needs to be applied at the canopy (outside perimeter) of the tree. A tuna fish can is a great device for determining water application rates. Soil probes purchased from Montana Salinity control in Conrad are a great tool for measuring soil moisture in turf. Excess soil moisture (especially in heavy clay soils) is also a concern. When a tree...
(StatePoint) If you love the results of spring cleaning, but not the process, it could be that the methods and tools you’re using to get the job done are making the work harder than it needs to be. To get your to-dos done with less effort, consider these tips. Make it Fun Before you even get started, take steps to prepare yourself for an afternoon or day of chores. Turn on some music to motivate you. Open the windows to get some fresh air. Eat a solid meal so you’re fueled for the tasks at hand. You’ll already be in a much better mood. Avoid...
It is that time of year that many of us will be using a lot of eggs for dying and eating. Sunday dinner will likely include eating the boiled eggs either plain or made into deviled eggs. It is important to keep a few tips in mind for safe consumption. Improper cooking and storage may increase the risk of food poisoning or a foodborne illness such as Salmonella. - Buy clean and uncracked eggs which are refrigerated and promptly refrigerate them in the coldest part of your refrigerator (not the door) upon arriving at home. Also refrigerate unused...
While preparing Good Friday this year, I read a book by Arthur Pink dealing with the various things Jesus said while dying on the cross. One of Jesus’ final words spoken on the cross was a simple phrase: “I thirst.” The book describes this phrase as being a reflection of the same thing people all over the world are crying out, every day, as they go about their lives. They chase wealth, success, the perfect home, the perfect family experience, entertainment, sex, and the next novel thing or experience. The book I read was written in the late...
Q: Wasn’t Jesus actually a failure? After all, at the beginning of His last week on earth He hoped people would make Him into their king, but by the end of the week everyone had turned against Him, and they ended up killing Him. A: Yesterday Christians across the world celebrated what has come to be called “Palm Sunday”—the day on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was welcomed by enthusiastic crowds waving palm branches. They shouted, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John 12:13). But Jesus had...
Because everyone turned out early, we started play at 2 sharp and were able to get in 7 rounds of 4 hands each. Not everyone who usually plays was in attendance, but we did have 4 full tables or 16 folks. Of those people, only 10 took home money with Lil Foussard earning top place with 7360 points and $20.00, second place went to Charlene Silvan who won $15.00 with a score of 6360, third place and $10.00 was won by Joe Landinger, who along with his partner, Frank Moravec had a hand with 1000 aces. Frank who won a 7th place for the days play was...
Glyphosate-resistant Russian thistle found in Chouteau County In the fall 2015, seeds of a Russian thistle population surviving glyphosate applications were collected from a chem-fallow field in Chouteau County, Montana. The field was under wheat-fallow rotation and had a history of repeated glyphosate applications. Almost 100 plants screened from the population survived the field-use rate of glyphosate (@32 fl oz/a of 4.5 lb ae/gal Roundup Powermax). Dose-response experiments conducted by Prashant Jha and Vipan Kumar, weed researchers at the...
Big Sandy Students of the Month....
Ben Phillips, the Phillips County sheepman and Charles (Pop) Whitcomb found rich gold deposits up Ruby Gulch, just west of Zortman, Montana. They built a mine and mill and a town for workers to live in called Whitcomb on the side of the steep gulch leading to a pass from one side of the Little Rockies to the other. They made a great deal of money but needed other investors so McNamara and Marlow of Big Sandy invested in the mill and mine and made a lot of money there too long before the turn of the century. McNamara and Marlow knew that the min...
In 2015 the Big Sandy library committee received this letter with a contribution for the new library. “The Mountaineer got permission from the library to run this letter. Imagine the pride that Mrs. Weathers must feel when she hears that her contribution actually went into building a new library for her home town. “Rarely does a person have the chance to make a specific contribution to an establishment and its dedicated staff, which had a major impact on his or her life. The modest check I enclose is long overdue and belated thank you for the l...
Cropping Q &A in February and March • What is the economic advantage of utilizing Thimet 20-G for wheat stem sawfly control? Trials in Montana have demonstrated a 64-100% reduction in damage measured as stem cutting by larvae. The trials also found that farmers can attain a 5.4 bushel per acre yield recovery for spring wheat and a 6.1 bushel per acre yield recovery for winter wheat. • How safe is Thimet 20-G? Thimet 20-G is fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Do not breathe dust. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clo...
I have a very hard time realizing that stream fishing in the Bear Paw Mountains is open all year long these days. It used to be that the season did not start until around the third weekend in May. A friend was talking to me yesterday and told me that at the old Eagles Campground, which is the first large grove of Box Elder trees coming in to Beaver Creek Park from Havre; the fishing right now is great! It must be great not only there because when I drive through Beaver Creek Park; it is rare not to see a couple of fishermen from Bear Paw Lake...
This week Vicki recommends “ASHLEY BELL”. This is a novel by Dean Koontz. Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young women, whose doctor says she has one year to live. She replies, “We will see!” Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science. An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell. But to save her from what, from whom? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she? Bibi’s obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly,...
In 1945, C.S. Lewis wrote “We live… in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” He goes on to describe how times of reading and reflecting are increasingly replaced by busyness and constant noise. In the same vein, he talks about the increasingly common ownership of home radios, which intrudes on silence. People simply have less quiet time, and with it, less time to reflect and think. There’s always some sort of noise or distraction. If this was true in the 40s, it is cert...
Q: My sister used to be very active in her church, but now she’s dropped out and says she wants to spend her weekends doing other things. I admit, she doesn’t seem to miss church, but what can I do to encourage her to reconnect? A: People drop out of church for all sorts of reasons (and over the years I suppose I’ve heard them all!). And some are understandable—if a particular church isn’t preaching the Gospel, for example, or has no program for their children. Instead of completely dropping out, however, I always urge them to ask God to gu...
Twenty folks gathered for games of cards at the Mint Family Room on Sunday, March 6, 2016. After six rounds of play the scores were totaled with the following people taking home the cash: high with 8350 points was Wilma Welty who took home $20.00, and a close second and a prize of $15.00 was earned by Earl Sluggett with 8200 points, third place honors and a $10.00 payback was garnered by Frank Moravec whose final score was 7400 points. Maggie (Cline) Richter had the low score for the day with only 3690 points. Other folks who got their $5.00...
(StatePoint) Alongside all those delicious sweet treats this Easter, think about surprising your little ones with new books. They make an exciting addition to baskets, and are a fun find on egg hunts. “Books are the perfect gift for young children on any occasion, but in an Easter basket, they can be an extra special surprise,” says Nancy Ellwood, Editorial Director at DK, a publisher of adult and children’s books. For preschoolers, consider these titles, which are nice fits for the spring season. Make Noise Babies love reading with paren...