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

The Whole Galaxy

Some of you know this.... I used to live in Seattle.  And Houston.  And the Dallas- Fort Worth area.  And some other pretty dang big towns.  I can say with first hand knowledge how beautiful city lights can be.  The lights of Seattle reflecting on the water of Puget Sound are a favorite memory of mine. But the one thing that used to bother the begeezers out of me is that you could barely see the stars in those places of my past.  Seattle not only has the light pollution but almost constant cloud cover.  It was very sad to know the stars were there an not be able to see them.  Like ever....

These last few nights I have now had a reason to be out traipsing around my yard after dark.  The Judge and Jury need to have one last pee-pee before bedtime!  I'm thankful the weather has been unusually cooperative for such things.  I have actually really been enjoying our little night patrols.  My big boy has been joining me.  He's been in his jammies and slips on my giant thermal Muck boots and coat and we go.... 

Each time I'm outside after dark in Geraldine my eyes are always cast upward.  I probably look like such a goon, staring up all the time.  But the stars are so bright it feels like you could reach up and grab one!  All the little teeny ones are there!  The Milky Way is there! Orion and the Dippers and lots of other constellations that I have no clue the names of, are there!  It actually does make a person feel closer to God to all his wonder like that.

Tonight there is actually a slight cloud cover.  Kinda uncommon out here, but sure enough there's clouds.  A few of the big, bright stars are shining through but that's all we could see.  Payson looked up and said, " Mom, where are all the stars? "  I explained the clouds covering them and that they will be back.  "Ok", he said. " 'Cuz last night we could see the whole galaxy."  Yup.... we sure could.

It's pretty hard to get a decent photo of stars.   At least hard for me.  So here's one of the sunset out west of town.

'Til next time,
B

Fourteen Kids and a Pot of Rainbow Stew

Well, actually it was chicken fettuccine alfredo.... I'll explain.

The other day I wrote about getting my new puppies from Amy, who I've known since childhood.
Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, here's the rest of the story. 

Amy is Tasha's little sister.  Tasha and I were practically inseparable after school and on weekends in the dirty, little ranch town of Cascade, Montana. Our parents all worked really hard and we were all pretty dang good kids.  We had a lot of time on our own.  Tasha said my house was always more fun to play at, but her house was the one with all the great snacks!  We spent the dog days of summer running back and forth and having sleepovers.  Her parents took us night fishing on the Missouri River.  It's almost seems like a magical childhood as I look back.  It's ironic that dogs brought us back together because we each had a dog back then that we adored and they went everywhere we went. Good old Blondie, Pepper and Spike....

Fast forward about 20 years, give or take....



Prairie Momma Amy

Now we've all got long stories leading up to our current lives.  There are now husbands and kids.  Lots and lots of kids!  Tasha has been blessed with four boys and one princess.  Amy has five boys and one princess.  I have three boys.  Add 'em up!  When we got together the other day we had fourteen kids between us! All but two were rowdy boys! They oldest child in our group is eleven, the youngest is six months.  Tasha's house is a nice, spacious farm house but we sure filled it to the brim!  Tasha's boy Wesley was having a birthday so it made for one heckuva party!  There was a level of chaos I am in no way accustomed to.  Toy guns, swords, trucks, legos and a pretend restaurant all going on.  The big boys went hunting and sledding in the yard for most of the afternoon, but the little ones were right there underfoot.  Ya'll shoulda seen it!

But there was some pretty amazing things going on if you looked through the chaos.  With help from my mom, who was there to help referee, I saw that we have fourteen very happy children.  You would have thought there would be fussing, whining, bickering and the like between all those kids.  But amazingly there wasn't!  Other than an occasional "accident" or boo-boo nobody really complained.  Even Amy's infant barely cried.  That is either some kind of miracle or maybe there is something else at work.

Our kids are all being raised on pretty dang old fashioned values like faith, family and working together.  Amy and Tasha are both brave enough to home school their broods.  (I'm not tough enough I'm afraid.)  Our lives all involve teaching our kids to love the Lord and the bigger meaning of life.  We are all three, Prairie Momma's.

Prairie Momma Tasha

Confession:  When it's comes to being a "Prairie Momma", I feel those girls have got me beat.  I know I live way out here, an hour from the big town.  We don't have a stop light or a car wash or Wal-Mart.  There are six kids in my 1st Graders class.  Things are simple here, for sure.  But this "ain't nothin' ". 

Tasha has to drive 40 miles to a grocery store. Any kind of grocery store. After you turn off the main highway you don't see a thing but an occasional farmstead. Miles upon miles of wide open expanse. Her farm is a prairie classic. Wonderful, mature windbreaks define the yard. Perfect antique red barns and buildings sit below the house. An old farmhouse with tricky wiring. Really tricky wiring. But tons of charm and warmth.  They've got horses, dogs and goldfish for now, but give her time.  I think she's planning her garden for next spring....

Tasha's yard

Amy has it even better! She gets to drive and hour and a half to the grocery store. Her closest neighbors are about a mile away. She has a wonderful little farm with a menagerie of animals. Goats, horses, cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, donkeys, dogs and probably more. She's raising what her family eats and drinks and even makes goat milk soap. (Amy, if you are reading this, you are my hero.) 

Amy's Farm

Amy's princess. Could not resist stealing this pic!

So now you see.... I'm a Prairie Momma, no doubt. But these girls have got me beat! I aspire to learn from them as good friends do....


'Til, Next Time,
B

The Judge and Jury

Yesterday morning, my mom and I loaded up the boys and the Boston Terrier and went on an adventure.  Up to the "High Line" and across the state of Montana to a tiny place called Nashau.  Yes, I mean tiny.  Like, the same size as Geraldine.  Actually, we headed out to a farm 20 miles North of that itty bitty town.  I think that area is one of the most desolate, empty places in the Continental U.S.  But is beautiful, with is miles and miles of sky and grain fields.







We were meeting up with two other "Prairie Girls".  My childhood friends Tasha and Amy.  The sisters and I used to all live in another tiny town, Cascade, Montana. They both now live on farms with their families.  Amy now raises Livestock Guardian Dogs. She has a couple of amazing dogs that defend her farm and her family from all  kinds of predators, four legged and two legged. I had been considering adding a "big dog" to our family and happened to ask Amy about hers.  The raving review she gave had me convinced I need to look into finding one!  Well, guess what?  She had a litter all ready to go!  The rest, I'm afraid is history....

Meet the "Judge"

 

And the "Jury"

 

They are 8 week old, Turkish Kangal/ Maremma cross lovies. Bred to defend and protect, smart as whips, loyal to the end.  They will mature somewhere around 100 lbs.  I originally thought we'd get just one.  But look at those faces!  I decided another set of "twins" was in order.  I've been studying up.  Training these guys will be a bit different.  One must be very "alpha" and be aware of the acute sensitivity of these breeds. These photos we snapped during their first little leash training session and they did great! 





 

 



I will keep ya'll posted as we all learn more about "LGD's" and the pickle I just got us into!



 

'Til next time,

B

 

 



Curtain Climbers

Some people have "curtian climbers."  Not me.  I have "fence climbers." 

 



Some people's kids throw sand at the sand box in the park. Mine throw rocks and horse poop. Sorry, I don't have a picture of that.  I was too busy pointing out the difference between rocks and horse poop, and why one should not necessarily pick up and throw horse poop.

Some kids get to have all kinds of "play dates" and scheduled activities.  My poor kids have to play with big hairy friends that don't say much.

 

 

Once in a while they get to go to a mall and ride on those quarter operated kiddie rides.  But Usually a "ride" looks like this.... 

 With or without a big hairy friend to add to the fun.

 

 

There have been people who have questioned my decision to raise my kids here.  I was told they would grow up "sheltered" and "clueless to the ways of the world."  I feel it's too bad they don't see what I see.  The rich experiences and unique challenges of life out here on the prairie.  I hope to raise these kids to know what hard work looks like.  And what a day of rest looks like.  And to be able to see the bigger picture.  I thinks it's a real shame that more kids don't get to play with horse poop.

 

What do you think?

 

(I don't think I've ever said "poop" this many times in an essay!)

 

'Til next time,

B

SKUNK!

Reposted from my other blog:

A couple of weeks ago I started to notice some odd things over at the chicken house. We lock our girls up in their little house each night. But something was getting into the coop yard and leaving some poo behind that I thought came from a raccoon. But coons usually make a huge mess out of everything and there was only a few rocks moved around. My mom informed me it had to be a skunk, not a coon.

Putting the trap together with grandma.

So mom went out and bought us a live trap to trap the skunk and solve our problem. The first night we set the trap inside the coop yard, baited with cat food. Bingo! Then next morning we had us a little skunk in the trap. Hubby got the job of shooting the critter with the .22 rifle. It is legal to shoot "nuisance animals" in the town limits with a .22. After he shot it the smell was impressive! Even though it hadn't actually sprayed, it leaked out all over. The whole yard and a two block radius absolutely reeked! We waited a bit and then Hubby and my mom had to empty the trap into a plastic garbage bag and mom hauled it to the dump, outside of town. They came home with the scent and even though they took their clothes off out in the garage and took showers, it infected our whole house! I had every candle and Scentsy thing burning all day.



Skunk #1

We thought we solved our problem and felt pretty proud to have gotten it taken care of on the first attempt. But mom decided to leave the trap set that night, just in case. She didn't bother to put any fresh bait in it, not thinking it would really catch another skunk. Wrong! The next morning we had another skunk. Bait or no bait. So the whole process was repeated. Shoot skunk, stink up the entire North end of town, wait a bit, get rid of dead skunk. Mom decided not to leave the trap set that night!
Then we noticed the rocks moved again.... so mom decided to leave it set....again without bait. What do ya know? Another skunk! This time, not in the coop yard, just out on the lawn. We were told about covering the trap with a blanket and hauling out of town before shooting it. They don't spray if they are in the dark I guess. So Hubby covered it up, set it in the bucket of the backhoe and hauled it out of town to it's demise. It didn't really help though. Hubby still had to strip his clothes off out in the yard and take a shower. They decided to take a break from skunk trapping for a day.....


The Great Skunk Hunter isn't allowed to bring those clothes inside!

Last night, mom left her trap open again. Just sitting on the lawn, nothing in it. "Just because". We teased Hubby this morning that he had to go kill the skunk again. He said, "Nooooo! I just got dressed for the day!" We told him to just go check, they probably wasn't any more skunks to trap.....Wrong again! Skunk number four was waiting for him. He came back and geared up to kill another skunk. Once again this entire end of town stinks to high heaven! The neighbors have all caught on to our skunk trapping adventures and are all very please we are making the effort. The skunk problem has been an issue for quite a while I guess. We have many vacant old houses here in Geraldine. They make prime homes for skunks.

The ladies that work at the bar/cafe tell me that they watch all kinds of wildlife walk right down Main Street late in the evenings. Raccoons, fox, deer and of course skunks! Two weeks ago, the nice lady that lives next door to the little yellow house actually had one come in her house! The blasted thing went in through the doggie door! Her two Boston Terriers had at it and she came home to the stench of skunk and fur all over the place! It got away after making a disgusting mess and spraying everything. Another neighbor lady told my mom how glad she is the we are trapping the skunks. She said she is always trying to keep them out of her yard and has even tried using repellents.

While skunks must have some good qualities, I'm sure. Most folks agree, the fact that they are a main carrier of rabies means it's best to exterminate them from populated areas. I have a cousin who was chased and nearly attacked by a rabid skunk when she was a small child. Her mother's quick thinking saved her, thank goodness. ( If that cousin is reading this, you know who you are! *wink*)

So I guess we will keep leaving that trap open and keep shooting skunks. Hubby will have to keep stripping out in the yard, the town will keep on stinking to high heaven. But I am starting to wonder how many skunks we will get! Any guesses?

 

Update! The fifth skunk was the last skunk standing!  We have not had any other stinky visitors since this post.

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!!

Every year on New Year's Eve, the town throws a big (by Geraldine standards) charity event.  People jump in and put on a dinner/ dance/ auction/ costume competition that benefits the Geraldine Swimming Pool.  Teachers, farmers, truck drivers, bankers, cowboys and mechanics pulled out all the stops and dressed up like pirates.  Donations were collected of items to auction.  There were guns, recliners, art works, veterinary supplies, toy tractors, Muck boots, a ton of hay and more.

Turkey dinner!

As always I'm proud of this town.  Honored to be part of a community that cares about keeping the kids happy and healthy.  Two weeks of swimming lessons cost twenty bucks.  Life guards are hired and the pool is heated.  From June until the end of August we have an oasis.  It couldn't happen with out the donations, volunteers and participation of the New Year's event.

People danced to DJ "Sarge", who is also on the radio in Great Falls. The hokey-pokey, chicken dance and YMCA all made their appearance. People bought drinks with a donation of whatever size and the cash box was left open and unattended on the bar all evening. 

My donation went to the purchase of a wonderful print by local artist Brian Morger.  Folks say he's gonna be famous one day.  The painting is of the Fort Benton courthouse, depicted when it was first built around a hundred years ago. It looks amazing in my dining room.

 

I know most of this post is "small town news" and maybe not of much interest to most.  But there is so much here that seems lost in so many places in our country.  I write about it out of hope I suppose.  Maybe I'll start a grass roots movement in people my age to rediscover the value of raising our kids in small, tightly nit communities!  I guess we'll see....