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Rouge That Doesn’t Rub Off and Serving Dinner in a Dress Every time I travel back to Lonesome Prairie, I am so acutely aware of its appropriate name. Growing up there didn’t seem all that lonely, as it was what we knew, and of course, school and activities made a difference. I respect the women who live in these remote areas and I think of their unique challenges when it comes to healthcare, childcare, connections, and the multitude of tasks on their plates. It makes me grateful for the farm and ranch women who paved the way. My mom told me...
Mark Twin once said that “The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.” In my 20 years of working with people as a chaplain and later as a pastor, I have witnessed this phenomenon in so many forms. Most often, I see it in people who can’t be alone with their own thoughts, so they drown out their inner monologue with noise, activity, or chemicals to keep them distracted. I see it in people who say things to and about themselves that they would never say to anyone else in the world. In fact, if they heard someone else treat...
When the Quiet Season Doesn’t Feel Quiet As I continue to plod my way through winter, I’ve been mindful in trying to follow my own recommendations when it comes to managing mental health. In my opinion, the current “open” winter creates a sense of restlessness, as this is supposed to be the quiet time of the year, with sounds, energy, and activity hushed by blankets of snow. In my last column I wrote about how the wind challenges our mental health, and it’s been windy here in Montana this winter. I live a few miles away from a feedlot....
The wind REALLY does stress us out. This winter, the wind is a huge discussion topic. In many places across the country, it’s been intensely windy and lasting for days at a time. Here in Montana, much of the state, to date, has had an “open” winter, meaning very little to no snow cover or moisture of any significance. This weighs heavily on the minds of farmers and ranchers as they ponder the health of their fall planted crops and are relying on ample snowpack and generous spring rains to ready the soil for spring crops. If you are feeli...
The Fifty-Nine Days of January I think it was the winter of 1977-1978, one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. I still remember the “treat” of being snowed in on a Thursday and Friday, so we kids had a 4-day weekend. I believe it was this winter when I heard my mom repeatedly say that “January has 59 days.” As an adult, I now understand what she was saying. Many of us struggle during this month with fatigue, sadness, low energy, irritability, emotional flatness, and isolation. Let’s take a closer look as to why we may have these fee...
The following statement is attributable to: Nicole Clark, M.D., Chair of the Montana Medical Association Legislative Committee “The Montana Medical Association is deeply concerned about the recent changes to the childhood immunization schedule announced by the CDC. The U.S. immunization schedule has traditionally relied on a careful, ongoing and robust review of scientific evidence and data by physicians and scientists. This process has ensured that newborns, infants, and children are protected from diseases they may encounter as they grow. W...
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 Arctic 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...
My oldest loves basketball. He loves playing, watching, reading about, and every other element of the game. I’m trying to be interested and engage with the sport because he is important to me. One facet of the sport that actually fascinates me is the argument about which player is the greatest of all time. I don’t know enough to engage it meaningfully, but I’d argue that Michael Jordan has had the greatest cultural impact. From the game itself to pop culture to how the business of basketball is conducted, he is the “slam dunk” favorite...
Kicking the tires while considering change I was fortunate enough to take a short vacation and escape the cold of Montana and enjoy a few sunny and warm clear sky days in Phoenix. No schedules, delicious food, and a professional football game made for a wonderfully relaxing and fun respite. A bonus to this experience was my first ride in a Waymo. If you’re not familiar with Waymo, it is a self-driving car, using artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, and custom software. They’re currently in operation in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Ang...
My oldest loves basketball. He loves playing, watching, reading about, and every other element of the game. I’m trying to be interested and engage with the sport because he is important to me. One facet of the sport that actually fascinates me is the argument about which player is the greatest of all time. I don’t know enough to engage it meaningfully, but I’d argue that Michael Jordan has had the greatest cultural impact. From the game itself to pop culture to how the business of basketball is conducted, he is the “slam dunk” favorite...
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...
My little brother is very focused and driven. A few times since we moved to Montana, I have gotten together with my brother and his family for vacations. His family has a vacation nickname for him: “The fun dictator.” I didn’t appreciate the moniker until we began to take vacation with them. As someone who is driven and focused, even when he travels, he strives to fill every minute of every day. It was fun, but it was exhausting. During our joint family camping trip at Yellowstone Park, I hung a hammock up at the campground. I didn’t use it...
Branding O’ Branding Free Verse by Ty Terry, a senior at B.S.H.S. Roll out of bed, the moon still high in the sky so high in the sky you stop to ponder who gave the world such beauty Then you continue your search for the horses on that starry night Wanderin’ around trying to spot them It’s almost like searching for a needle in a haystack All of a sudden you hear the thunder of hooves The stampeding remuda headed to the corral for their morning feed As they feast you go hook up to the trailer For you have a branding to attend It’ll definit...
The printing press was invented in the late 1430s. It is difficult to overstate the world changing impact of the arrival of the movable type press. Before the arrival of the press, books were copied by hand, were quite rare, and cost several years of wages to purchase. The majority of texts were concentrated in monasteries or elite libraries. Within a few short years, the price of books dropped dramatically. By 1500, more than 20 million volumes had been printed across Europe, more than every scribe had managed to copy in the previous 1000 year...
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...
When I got out of college, I spent a few months in Houston working as an exterminator. I learned all about insects and rodents, as well as how to kill them. One that caught my attention was the pharaoh ant, which is quite common worldwide. These are the really tiny ants that are nearly blind, but have a strong sense of smell. They follow chemical trails and look for simple sugars for food. If you spray them with regular poison, they recognize the danger and split their colony into smaller parts, spreading to new parts of the house and making...
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...
Last week, I had an opportunity to treat myself to something fun. I began looking around at things I use daily. I have a record player next to my desk that I picked up used from Facebook Marketplace. I often listen to records while working at my desk. I enjoy it, and it makes a positive impact on my work day. I began thinking about upgrading my turntable. I rapidly discovered that the player I enjoy now is kinda cheap, but with exceptional sound. It never sounded inadequate, but the more I read about turntables, components, and other matters...
Managing horticultural landscapes and houseplants in the fall is important for healthy production during the growing season. Below are a few recommendations for Chouteau County gardeners. • Apply protective mulches to perennial beds. • Use a humidifier to maintain humidity for houseplants. • Prune out dead limbs of woody ornamentals. • Do not fertilize or transplant anything after Indigenous Peoples’ Day. • Continue to water landscape plantings (trees, shrubs, and perennials) until the soil freezes. • Apply winter mulch to strawberry beds as so...
MSU Extension Urban Alert system for Chouteau County gardeners Chouteau County gardeners can sign up for “MSU Urban Alert,” a system developed to rapidly share information about plant disease, insect and weed issues in urban settings. Urban Alerts can be set up to go to E-mail or text. The MSU Urban Alert focuses on issues in homes, gardens, parks or other outdoor urban settings. MSU Urban Alert might warn people to avoid mistaking the fruit of the poisonous vine white bryony with grapes, for example. It could provide the latest inf...
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...
During my time as chaplain at the Children’s Home, I had a season where I was in conflict with another administrator who worked with me. We were at odds on all manner of issues, with many of our conflicts becoming quite heated. Over time, our arguments became the source of a great deal of stress and tension in my world. Many days, I would find myself grinding my teeth and getting increasingly angry on my drive home every day. Eventually, I realized that I had to do something to deal with the problem. A friend pointed out that Jesus taught his f...
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...
The article below is a portion of an article written by Peter Kolb (MSU Extension Forester). The article is available in full at the Chouteau County Extension office. The article explains the natural phenomenon of fall needle drop, insect management, and proper watering techniques for pine and spruce trees. Every fall a lot of concern arises when conifers such as pines, spruces and firs start to drop their older needle cohorts in preparation for winter. This is essentially an energy conservation mechanism for surviving the winter as all living...