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“All creatures, including me, get grouchy as summer turns into fall. Perhaps it is because we know winter is coming. The yellow jackets, hornets, and even honey bees become aggressive. And then there are the rodents that seem to want to move in before winter. I despise mice and rattlesnakes; however, there is no creature on earth more irritating and detestable than a packrat. I believe it is because they mark everything, so they ooze as they move, and they build a huge nest called a midden, wherein you might find e...
The heat headed back to Capitol and Tie Creek, this week, and the mosquitoes are still hanging around. The grasshoppers diminished, but had already done much damage. Maybe the mosquitoes drove some of them off. On various days, the air was filled with smoke from the Canadian fires, and the temperatures stayed mostly in the high eighties. Curt Zolnoski came to visit Clint and Denise Zolnoski’s, on Tuesday evening, to stay to help ultrasound yearling heifers on Wednesday. Curt, Clint, Gene Secrest and Ronda Cordell headed to t...
The vicious mosquitoes attacked in full force, this week at Capitol and on Tie Creek. Dick and Erma Albert went to Rapid City on Wednesday, and stayed over for an appointment on Thursday morning. On Friday, they went to the Old Timer’s Picnic at Camp Crook and enjoyed the lamb and roast beef. They watched a little basketball at the Trevor Odell memorial three-on-three tournament, but after getting some ice cream from the Ladner ladies, they soon moved to the coolness inside the Community Hall. They went to the Saturday b...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, there are ‘rules’ everywhere you look, everywhere you go, everything you try to do, there always seems to be rules. On the road, at the border, and at work, there are rules, regulations, forms to be completed and guidelines to follow. Even silly computers try to tell ‘us’ what we can or cannot do, to what it can or cannot do! Ralph K. shares this passage from Romans 12:9: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.’ Then he adds, “Are these just another set of...
Going back into the classroom has forced me to start going through the tubs of teaching materials that I have collected over 41 years in education. I have dusty tubs of outdated teaching materials that I could not possibly part with when I stopped teaching English and then again when I stopped teaching guidance and library. Seventeen years ago, my husband who has hauled those tubs around for 17 years, told me they should just go to the burn barrel, and he was definitely right. One summer I had to move and downsize my County...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, camping friends shared about gazing up into a night sky lit with stars – way too many to count. E.K. mentioned seeing a mesmerizing sight, but what had their focus was a paper lantern moving above their heads. How still the night was, hardly any wind to blow the ‘globe’ as it floated lazily toward the heavens. Along with their friends and the kids; “We all oohed and aahed as the glowing object moved over the tree tops and eventually beyond our vision”. Despite some rain that weeken...
“You are probably eligible for some kind of award from the Governor,” my husband commented one morning over coffee. After 41 years of marriage, I should have known better than to bite on that, but of course, I had to find out where this was going. “For what?” I asked even though I suspected the answer was not going to be a self esteem booster. “For being the oldest first year Home Ec teacher in the universe,” he answered smugly. “Well, it’s not Home Ec anymore. It is FCS, and you are right I should get some kind of award but...
It is that time of year again when summer vacation has ended and your children will be coming back to school. Teachers will come back for two days of professional development on Tuesday, August 15th and Wednesday, August 16th, 2023, with students reporting back for their first day of school on Thursday, August 17, 2023. We are looking forward to the 2023–2024 school year. We are committed to ensuring that there is effective teaching and successful learning taking place at E...
I recently accompanied a friend to choose a swimsuit for a cruise she has booked. I do believe the economy must be in much worse shape than we have been told, because the swim suit mannequin was wearing a total of 20 square inches of fabric. Either that fabric was ridiculously expensive or Oakley Inc. must be manufacturing on a very tight budget. The other conclusion was that generations from now, some anthropologist will unearth this fragment of fabric and use it to conclude that global warming had to have been rampant in...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, a friend shared a recent time she’d had, saying: “One day I noticed a bird in the street, just sitting there. Odd. Then a young lad showed up, also saw the bird and since I was old and stiff, he suggested that he’d bend down to see about releasing the bird. WE saw that the bird was stuck! The lad gently removed the one little foot that was trapped in a tiny crack, lifted the little foot from the crack; immediately the bird flew away, he was FREE. “I thanked him, mentioned Psalm 124...
I was born Jan. 16, 1930 in Camp Crook, South Dakota to George R. and Jessie (Brewer) Townsend, with a 5-year-old brother, Robert. Camp Crook was an upcoming little community at the time. It had two grocery stores, 2 cafes, 2 garages, and of course, 2 bars. My dad moved the family to Ekalaka in 1935-36. In 1936 I was in the first grade. We lived in and rented a large apartment in an old, two-story, white building on the southeast side of town (north of the ASCS office now). Across the hall was a male musician who played for...
Things are sort of quiet around Capitol and Tie Creek this week. The weather has been very hot. Alvin Cordell saw a temperature of 104 degrees on Monday, and 101, again on Tuesday. The hay fields are mostly full of grasshoppers, but some to the south haven’t had the influx of hoppers like those up on Tie Creek. Even though Dick and Erma Albert’s house blew away, and they are now over at Buffalo, they still feel a part of the Capitol News. Erma had physical therapy, twice this week, and they went to the Hills for sho...
The cucumbers are coming on strong in the garden, so it seems like a good time to share some ideas for utilizing them. It is also pool and river floating season, so Tip #3 below is particularly timely. I absolutely love tips and hacks, so I try to pass them along without too much commentary, but sometimes I just can’t resist sharing comments about the actual practicality of those tips. Tip #1. Cucumbers contain Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc. F...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, not every day is easy... J.J. from out of town, shared that as she was driving the two-lane highway toward her neighbors, a loud vehicle zoomed up behind her, could have passed, but waited until a vehicle was coming toward them in the left-hand lane, then zoomed by her, nearly hitting her car, nearly running into the one coming. In a moment, that vehicle was behind another car, could have passed, but again, waited until a truck was buzzing toward them in the left hand lane, then, a...
Our county 4-H Fair is this week, and it brings back a flood of fond memories of my own 4-H years and those of my children and grandchildren. When I transitioned into the role of 4-H Grandma, it was way more fun and less work than the role of 4-H mom or 4-H exhibitor. I got to show up, watch, visit with everyone in the county, celebrate the thrill of victories, and of course dry the tears from the agony of defeat. One of my not so fond 4-H memories was my daughter Brooke’s 4-H cat project. As a first year 4-H’er she had alr...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, while we lounge in or around the front porch or on the deck in our favorite chairs, the gentle breeze stirs the air and the summer sun warms the body. Several folks had gathered together, they mentioned how it was too warm out back when the July temps were really warming things up, one chap reached for his glass to sip some iced tea. Then he heard sounds in the neighborhood that blended into calming ‘white noise’ that he liked to hear, as did the several friends who were gathe...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes when we’re busy, it’s breathtaking to take a moment to look around, maybe pay attention to what’s around us. Only 3 items on the ‘to-do-list’, so off ‘we’ go. At one intersection, several kids waited to cross the Avenue, the car headed North stops, allowing them to cross to Avenue. So nice, especially since, once crossed, they turned and waved a ‘thank you’ to the driver, he smiled. Then mountains come into view! Depending on the time of year, sometimes even in early summe...
The writers in Hollywood are all afraid of losing their jobs to Artificial Intelligence, so I decided I better try to find out if my writing jobs would be in future jeopardy. I researched how to use ChatGPT 4.0 and decided to have AI write something for me. Like most writers, ideas ferment in our brain--sometimes for a long time. I was always going to write a poem about forcing our youngest child to wear his sister’s hand-me-down boots even though they were red or pink or turquoise until he finally got old enough to rebel. I...
submitted by Carter County Public Health COMING UP ~ REMEMBER TO SIGN UP School Aged Kiddo’s Immunization Event | August 1 in Alzada and August 2 in Ekalaka | Event sign up ends soon ~ deadline is July 28th. Carter County Public Health and Caring Foundation of Montana Care Van are hosting a two location event. Adolescent vaccines will be available for no out-of-pocket cost. Other vaccines for school aged kids may be available, sign up or contact the office for more information. While your kids are thinking about all the f...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a friend shared her ‘silly’ July calendar page, with chuckles, plus some good thoughts. She mentioned that they, and we, had just missed Fried Chicken Day. She was surprised to know that sliced bread was first sold in 1928! ‘Goodness sakes’, she said, “Why didn’t grandma tell Mama so that we’d know that?” We chuckled. Then her son stepped up and asked, ‘What else is on that page, besides probably the Full Moon’, he snickered, grabbed the calendar page and said, ‘Mom! LOOK here, there...
The Big Timber NRA Rodeo and the high school rodeo were successful as are all rodeos due to the planning, preparation, and just plain hard work that goes into putting on a rodeo. The Big Timber Rodeo has a rich history which began with Leo J. Cremer (1891-1953) and his family who built a rodeo legacy based out of Melville, Montana. He established the greatest string of bucking horses ever owned by a single person. After his death in 1953, his business became part of Gene...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, we all love happiness. How about a family get-together; sharing some happy moments, that was fun! ‘Oh, it’s delightful to see you here – lets have some ‘Happy Moments’, eh?’ Elly laughed. Lady #1: ‘Well, as old as we are, I’d say that WE have a happy marriage, peace and a nice home.’ The group agreed, the next gal spoke, ‘I’ll tell you about two neighbor girls. I’d never seen twirling, cartwheels, as those 2 girls did! They’re probably in Middle School. They sure were fun to watch...
Every time I hear a story about someone who has to be rescued from a mountain adventure by Search and Rescue, I think back to a few years back when we set out on a wilderness trek that was not well planned. It started out with the fateful words, “Let’s go to Blue Lake! I have never been to Blue Lake.” The whole family agreed it would be an adventure, and that turned out to be an understatement. My father was an outfitter for many years, and he tried to instill in us a need to be prepared for anything to happen in the mount...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, Fourth of July Celebration is coming RIGHT UP, may we pause a moment to consider what it means to be an American. America was NOT founded on the idea of being “free lunch” – we’re given the opportunity to work, to feel good about ourselves and to help others and to pray for our leaders. Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose GOD is the Lord, whose people He has chosen as His own.” Just sharing: I BELIEVE IN AMERICA! —by William Arthur Ward “I believe in America. I believe it beca...
One of the best things about social media is that it offers a platform to pay homage to our pets who pass over the rainbow bridge. Although often it is true that the dead become greater in death than they were in life, such was not the case when our adopted dog, Marvin, died. He became an international rock star on Facebook when within hours he received tributes from ranch vacation guests as far away as Germany, Norway, and Mongolia. We adopted Marvin rather unwillingly when my Uncle Shorty Roberts died. Two years earlier,...
