I Used to Hate the Rain

Some of you know I spent a total of about 8 years living in the Seattle suburbs.  There were a few things I liked about the place, the coffee, great restaurants, lots of entertainment, Puget Sound and the ocean.  But I always hated the rain.  The almost constant drizzle.  Gray skies.  Mud everywhere.  Back then the rain meant if I wanted to go ride my horse, I had to deal with the rain or not ride.

Fast forward 15 years....

Rain now makes me smile!  We live in an area that's pretty dang dry for the most part.  Not a desert, but close maybe.  We get enough moisture that we have a nice grass prairie all around us.  Not sagebrush!  But it's also dry enough that every drop of moisture counts.  It's never a bad day for rain.  Rain means the prairie will turn green.  Rain means less chance of wildfires.  Rain means the hay fields will feed the animals next winter. Rain means the people here that make their living growing crops will actually make a living.  There is no irrigated ground around here.  Pretty much everything is dry land farmed.  Without the good Lord sending the rain and lot of people would struggle.  Rain is GOOD!

On Monday it rained!  Really, really, rained!  A gully washer!  Water was running all over the place.  Gutters were overflowing.  It was the most rain I have seen since we moved here.  At least all in one day....

The silly horses have a barn, but chose to get a shower instead!

The rugrats and I were in awe.  We stood at the windows for a very long time and watched the rain.  I know my fields will grow.  I know the garden drank it up.  It was such a blessing....

An hour or so later, the skies cleared....  So we will wait for the next rainy day and be glad when it comes!

 

 

 

Bye for now,

 

B

A Farm Tour

Most of you, dear readers, won't get to actually visit my little piece of heaven.  So as I was walking around the place today, I saw some things I could share with you right here in this blog.  We have only been here about a month or so.  In that time we have been going a hundred miles an hour every day, all day long, to get things up and running the way we want them.  But!  I haven't forgotten how important it is to do the little things that make a farm feel like a home.  Little things here and there can make the difference between being happy to walk up the front steps, or not.





This is now what greets us on our front steps. I found this ancient hay bale picker upper thing (technical term!) down in the farm yard. I think it's neat behind the flowers!



T



The back deck has fresh chives, just waiting to be snipped into salads!

 

 



 

A place to sit and watch the kids play....

 

 

 

The lilac hedges around the farm are starting to bloom.... Can't you just smell them? These white ones are amazing!

 

 

 

 

This tired old bucket was laying down by the grain bins. I think it's happier with it's new job!

 

 

 

I'll leave you with this quick shot of the "girls".  I guess there is always gold at the end of a rainbow!

 

 

It was fun sharing a few special little things with you.  Don't forget to take the time to make some things beautiful in your life. No matter how busy things are....

 

Bye for now,

B

Are Your Wheels Spinning?

 

Do you ever feel like your wheels are spinning? Like you don't ever really get enough done in a day?
With our recent farming endeavour there is now more to get done in a day than ever. Each day we tackle projects that have to get done ASAP. But lots of evenings I sit and think, what did I get done today? It's been such a blur!

Last night I made a friendly competition with a friend to see who gets more done in a day. Which prompted me to write down today's tasks so I could keep track and of course win our friendly bet. Then I added one more thing to my list and decided to BLOG today's projects. Oiy! I'm nuts I think....

 

Today was a major gardening day.

This is the little potting bench I set up to sort my seeds and organize my tools.

This is how things went.....

(Mom made us breakfast)
Got the kids dressed 
Fed the alpacas
Fed the chickens, changed water, gathered eggs.
Fed the horses
Seeded 20 acres of pasture with the 4-wheeler and a seeder, then ran out of seed.
Mowed part of the yard. (Mom did the rest.)
Made lunch for the Rugrats
Rototillered 6 raised garden beds with the small tiller
Took the tractor to town for an oil change
Planted 60 cabbage plants in the raised beds
Planted sunflowers, hollyhocks, green onions, lettuce and sweet peas
Made a casserole for dinner

Some of my little cabbages that I started in my garage.  Now they are much happier!

Some how I managed this list while having 1, 2 or 3 of my sons in tow.  Sometimes grandma had one, sometimes their dad had one, sometimes one was in school.  But right now, I have dinner in the oven and all three are here waiting for it to get done!

Two outta three, hanging out while momma gardens.

After dinner I will go haul some hay to the different areas of the farm where it's needed and doctor a horse that decided to kick through a 4 strand barbed wire fence.  Ugh.  Superficial wounds thank goodness.  Then I'll bathe the kids and put them in bed.  After they're in bed, mom will watch them and I will go put my alpacas in the corrals for the night and tuck in my chickens.  THEN I will get to sit on my porch with a cup of tea and enjoy the views and the perfect evening.  (After a nice hot shower.)  After that I'm sure I'll pass out in my bed until 6:30 am when it'll start all over again....

So then next time you feel like you don't get enough done in a day, take the time to write it all down.  It is very affirming!  Especially if you are like me, trying to be productive and be the best momma you can be! We really are doing more than we think!

Bye for now,
B

Sometimes You Get a Red Calf

I was out at Prairie Momma Trish's today.  I always come back with good things to write about.  At least I think I do....

Sometimes life doesn't go at all the way we plan!  Lately my life has been just like that.  While I would much rather it was not as upside down as it is, I realize that blessings almost always come out of tough experiences.  Some things that come to us as a struggle can actually be blessing in disguise.

 One of Trish's lovely black heifers was bred to a very nice, registered, black Angus bull.  Trish's black cows always have black calves. That's what they're supposed to do.  Yesterday, Trish got a surprise! Meet "Latte"....

He is a beautiful little bull calf, perfect in every way.  But he's red.  The one and only red calf on the place.  With his breeding he was practically guaranteed to be black.  But he's red as red, with a little pink nose.  But Trish is happy.  He's a healthy calf and pretty as can be.  He's just not what was expected.

With life throwing curve balls at me right and left, I decided to pretty much chill out today.  But the boys got restless and I needed to change my chill out plan.  So we went to Trish's and had way more fun than we have any where else.

 

The chutes became a jungle gym....

 

 

The pea grinder became a sensory play station....

 

 

And the old tractor was the most fun ever!

 

 

 

 

 

And just for fun, here's an update on Charlie.  He's doing fantastic and now gets to go out in the field!

 

 

 

Bye for now,

B

Is it a Farm or a Ranch?

Something that has been on my mind today....  What is your definition of a farm? 



The lucky chickens on Martha Stewart's "farm".

Most of the people I know snicker a little at the little mini farms or ranchettes that people have.  The ones that say, have 2.5 acres, a horse and dog, but they call it a "ranch" or "farm".  Around these parts, if you say "farm" that usually means several thousand acres of grain fields or crop land.  If you say "ranch", that means several thousand acres of pasture that supports at least several hundred head of cattle.

But then, I have some cousins that have a "Ranch" that is all grain and crops and no cows. But I know it's a ranch and always has been. (Ya'll know who you are,*wink*.) You can read about life on that Ranch at www.montanaprairietales.com 



This picture was taken when we were out walking in the wheat fields on a "farm".

So my questions are:  What makes a ranch a ranch and a farm a farm?  If you raise a bunch of goats say, or some menagerie of critters, is it a farm?  Or a ranch?  Also, how big or small should said farm or ranch be to not be the snickered at, mini farm or ranchette?  Is it based on number of acres, number of critters, or bushels produced?  Or should it be based on the owners' own definition?  Some of my dear blog readers are bonafide farmers and ranchers.  Some of you are not.  But either way, I'd love to know your thoughts on this subject!  Feel free to comment on here or on Facebook.  It think it could be a fun discussion!



This windmill is on a "ranch", West of Geraldine.

Bye for now....

B

It Smells Like Spring

One of the challenges I've noticed about living this far from the big town is how difficult it is to get and keep fresh produce in the fridge.  We try to feed the rugrats a fruit or veggie at every meal. Three growing boys can empty a fruit drawer in a hurry.  I try to only make a trip to town no more than once a week and even stretch it to two weeks whenever I can.  I buy 90% of my groceries at Sam's Club.  The cases of everything and giant carts really suit our lifestyle. But the produce that's available there doesn't always fit the bill and of course these months of winter we are without any of our home grown garden treats.

Some of last summer's home grown veggies.

Thankfully, a friend told me about Bountiful Baskets a while back.  It's a produce buying co-operative that is run by volunteers.  You make a contribution and they put it into a pool and buy as much yummy produce as the money allows.  The effort is made for freshness, in season and for a fun variety. The coolest part for me is that we never know what we're gonna get! It's like veggie Christmas!  I can say the $15.00 for the box is an amazing value. This time we got potatoes, cherry tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, pineapple, green bell peppers, leeks, mushrooms, apples, oranges, bananas, broccoli and probably something I'm forgetting.

Every other Saturday morning our group of farmer's wives, school teachers, cowboys and kids all gather at the Geraldine Fire Hall to organize, disperse and pick up our bountiful baskets.  Today when I arrived, not many folks had beat the truck driver.  So my big boy and I pitched in to unload the semi and organize the baskets. He and the other kids were a great help and had fun too.  I think we will now make it a regular thing to have him go with me to volunteer.

Some of today's Bountiful Basket.
 

When we got home my mom was ready to help sort, wash and put up our loot.  The kitchen was suddenly bursting with fresh, green things.  Mom said it smelled like Spring.

The website for Bountiful Baskets is www.bountifulbasktets.org .  Maybe they have a site in your town!

'Til Next Time,
B

Snowy Sunday

What does a Prairie Momma do on a day that's cold, windy and snowy enough that one doesn't want to play outside? She makes jam!  What does she do if she doesn't have any brand new jar lids in the house and the store is 30 miles away?  She makes freezer jam!

This morning I noticed that there are only two more jars of my home made Flathead Cherry Jelly in the pantry.  Now that I have learned to make jelly I am a jelly snob.  I occasionally think about buying some at the store.  I pick up the jar, read the ingredients and shake my head when I get to the  "high fructose corn syrup" part. Back on the shelf it goes. 

My big boy took this photo for his Momma.

I plan on becoming the Jelly Queen.  It's actually pretty easy once you get over the whole, huge boiling kettle, steaming hot jars and lids, big ol' fruit mess thing. So even though I am still far from being a domestic goddess, I'm now one step closer! The best part is I can spend cold, snowy days doing something productive and dare I say, fun.  A little side bonus is the cost, or lack of.  Each jar of today's jam cost about $1.37 to make.  The jam in the store is what I consider outrageously expensive.  So if you want to save money and doing something interesting, give it a try! Of course I know some of you are old hands at jelly making and might be having a giggle at my expense. That's ok!  If it weren't for other momma's knowing these things, us younger gals wouldn't have anyone to learn from.

So there it is.... my exciting Sunday afternoon in Geraldine. 

'Til next time,

B

Uncle George & AM Radio

A view from my past....

Today I drove the old blue van to Fort Benton.  I was in need of some things from the hardware store.  Mainly one of those chain, security locks for my door.  Not because we have any sort of crime here in Geraldine, because we don't.  But because my rugrats have become very adept at getting all the doors open and escaping outside. They wanna go "ooouuut!"  Sometimes I actually can't keep my eye on both of them at the same time, so I needed a lock! 

When I drive one of our older vehicles that doesn't have XM Radio, I always have it tuned to KMON AM 560 radio.  It's a country station that has been on the air in Great Falls for at least 40 years, maybe longer. They still play all the really good music from the 70's and 80's plus the current stuff. You can count on the weather twice an hour and the Ag Report at Noon.

 

I remember hearing  "On the Road Again" and "The Gambler" all the time, back when I was a little red headed, pig tailed little girl riding in my mom's old, olive green Ford car.  Some years later, KMON AM 560 was playing on the radio of my '78 Ford truck every time I drove to town from my Uncle George's ranch at Dupuyer, Montana.  By then I was a crazy teenage girl with hair down to my waist, wearing boots and Wranglers as though my life depended on it.  I was my great uncle's "hired man" and KMON was faithfully tuned in just before noon dinner each day.  We'd be heading back to the house from feeding the cows and he'd tune in to hear Paul Harvey's "Rest of the Story" as we bounced along in those old farm trucks.  Uncle George is with Jesus now.  But I will never forget his wisdom or his sermons for me as I worked along side him, listening to the radio....

Dupuyer, MT

A Cup of Sugar

At five minutes before six tonight I saw a note that sent a wave of panic through me.  I was looking at Payson's stack of schoolwork from his backpack. There it was.... a little note that said, "Don't forget to bring cupcakes to school tomorrow!"  Somehow I had missed the memo from last week.  I quickly scoured the pantry and realized I did have a cake mix but I only had three cupcake wrappers.  The clock now read 5:57. I dashed down the block to the tiny store we have here, hoping they'd still be open and hoping they'd have cupcake wrappers. Knowing they close at 6:00, my chances were slim on both counts.  I pulled up and saw the clerk driving away to her house, store all closed up.

Next, I stopped by my grandfolks.  Grandpa sometimes bakes a cake.  Ya never know, maybe they'd have cupcake wrappers.  Nope.  No such luck.  Then I thought of my friend Miriam. She is always baking something yummy from something she grew in her garden.  She is the queen of homemade bread and jams. I knew she'd have cupcake wrappers!  I popped in to find her making dinner in her charming, colorful kitchen.  I apologized for disturbing her and laughed and hugged me. 

I told Miriam of my serious, potential mommy fail and she rescued me!  She had just enough cupcake wrappers in her cupboard.  A few years ago it was all too common to borrow, "a cup of sugar" from our neighbors.  When was the last time you borrowed anything from a neighbor?  It seems much more common to run to Wal-Mart.  Here in Geraldine it still happens quite often.  Miriam said when she is out of something she goes to our other friend Kari's house.  We are happy that we finally have a little store that has some basics on hand.  But the hours are short and supplies are limited.  The next store is in Fort Benton, 26 miles away.  It makes a lot more sense to ask a neighbor than to spend and hour driving for a cup of sugar or cupcake wrappers.

So with Miriam's help I was able to produce two dozen, red velvet cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting.  Payson requested sprinkles and I actually had those in the pantry! The mommy fail was avoided thanks to my sweet neighbor.  Now I just need to remember to put cupcake wrappers on the list for the next trip to town....

'Til next time,

B

Around Montana

Yesterday I drove 3 hours south to a tiny town called Wilsall, Montana.  I have a horse named Fancy that is getting fancier by the day thanks to my horse trainer there.  It's a bit of a drive to go see her, but a beautiful one. Then I get to ride and learn a lot!  It's so worth the trip!

I took a little time during my drive to stop and shoot a few photos.  Just whenever something caught my eye.  So here is a little tour around Montana....



Near Monarch, Montana

The whole drive down to Wilsall I think I saw no more than ten other vehicles on the road.  It is one of the most amazing, unspoiled drives in the state. 

But I did see cows.... lots and lots of cows. :)

 

The Crazy Mountains near Wilsall.

The Crazy mountains used to be called The Crazy Woman mountains when I was a kid. Legend has it that they were named after a white woman whose family was massacred by Indians and went mad.  She refused to leave their graves. The mountain man Liver Eating Johnson found her nearly starved.   He then looked after her, bringing her food whenever he passed through.  Robert Redford made a movie called "Jeremiah Johnson" that was loosely based on this legend.

On the way home I was witness to one of the most remarkable sunsets I have ever seen.  I pulled off the highway to capture it.  Believe it or not, I didn't have to tweak the exposure or color at all.  Here it is in it's glory.....

I hope you enjoyed the tour....


'Til Next Time,
B

A New Skill

More often than not in the months of September through April the roads look like this....

Or worse.

 

It doesn't always make it easy to run to Fort Benton or Great Falls to get supplies or run errands.  Sure, we can usually get through if it's important, but it doesn't mean it's fun.  The other day we had a foot of snow fall and since then we've had some serious wind every day.  The snow is now melting off but there are huge drifts all over.

 

I decided today that I didn't want to drive through the drifts and winds, but the boys all really needed a haircut.  Now this is no big thing for lots of super moms out there.  But it was a big deal for me!  For the first time ever, I cut all three boys hair.  Long ago when I was a very broke single mom I would occasionally take my horse clippers to poor Payson.  A buzz cut worked and was free, but not that cute.

Today I got out my mom's clipper kit and followed the example of the last gal that cut their hair. ( I was watching!)  And did the best I could on two very squirmy toddlers and Payson.  Thank goodness Payson is a pro!  I think the results turned out pretty good!  Nobody will have to wear a hat every day for a month or anything like that....

Notice my big boy is trying very hard to look tough here. ;)



I'm feeling quite proud of myself for this.  A new skill that means one less thing I hafta make the trek to town for!  A little more self sufficient every day, just like a good prairie mom....

 

The rugrats aren't impressed.... They just think their mom is hilariously funny!

 

 

'Til next time,

 

B

Gandolf

Today at 2:00 pm.  The town of Geraldine is just beyond the sign.

On January 12th, 1888 on front rolled through Montana and brought one of the deadliest blizzards in our history.  They called it The School Children's blizzard because so many children died on their way home from school.  The storm hit quickly and many were unprepared.  The day prior had been unseasonably warm and they weren't dressed for it.  Teachers didn't know how bad the storm was before they sent them out. 

Wednesday was spring like.  Warm, sunny, no wind.  I thought how strange it was for January.  That night we learned of the pending storm.  Now we know far ahead that we need to prepare.  We know how bad it will be and how long it will last.  We can plan ahead and have the pantry stocked. I often think of the people that settled this place.  I'm always amazed that anybody even survived here before the days of decent insulation and central heating.  They had to keep themselves alive and their animals too.  Ice was chopped with an axe to water the stock.  Hay was so much harder to put up and store, but somehow they managed.  Kids walked miles across the prairie in all kinds of weather to get to school and sometimes it cost them their lives.  We have so very much to be grateful for.  Yes, in some ways our world is worse off than in 1888.  But in many ways it's better.

Pony looked so miserable that I put him in the barn for the night.



Payson walking home from school.  The whole
20 yard trek.

Now we have the National Weather Service that tracks and now also names our winter storms.  This one is named Gandolf.  Gandolf has made his way East to North Dakota tonight.  A bit of snow is still falling but it's lightened.  Tomorrow will be warmer and sunny once again.  The snow drifts will be the highlight of my big boy's weekend.  The rugrats and puppies will enjoy it as well.  I will make hot cocoa and smile at their rosy cheeks and be thankful for the storm....


'Til next time,
B