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Would you like to end your year or start the new one by getting your FLU or COVID vaccine including Booster? We have appointments available Tuesday, December 28th. Please call us at 406-775-6332 to reserved your spot. This holiday season is unlike any other, to cap off a year unlike any other. Throughout the season, and as we move into a new year, we wish you moments of peace, connections with family and friends, and wonderful glimpses of joy. From All of Us in Public Health, Merry Christmas Carter County! Trish, Kirstie,...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: Lord, just sharing: author and date, unknown. “Our Inn was at the edge of town – we heard the noisy throng move down, and as they came, I saw Pa frown. We heard a tired ‘Hello!’ call; a woman on a donkey small, the man adjusted her wool shawl. ‘We’ve traveled many miles this day; do you have a room for us to stay? All Inns are full on this Tax Day.’ “My Papa looked so sad at him. ‘We have no room and day grows dim.’’ The man turned away with a look so grim. The woman – not a girl! – did sigh, it so...
The poem I want to share this week was written by Chuck Rein, who ranches with his wife Pam on one of the most beautiful outfits on the planet in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains west of Melville, Montana. Chuck wrote this poem several years ago about riding colts with his son Charlie. He shared it at the Crazy Mountain Stockgrowers/Sweet Grass County Wool Growers Banquet several years back. This poem just says it all about those of us who are fortunate enough to call ourselves fourth or fifth or even sixth generations on...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, mending day happens; there are socks, shirts, jeans, you name it and it probably needs mending. Besides clothing, there is upholstery, fences, relationships, and even broken hearts to mend. Mending clothing isn’t all that complicated but on mending day, aren’t we ever so thankful that You did not give us a ‘dozen’ children. We’re thankful and grateful for the three girls (or are there five girls now?) who sort of call us substitute parents even though they were nearly all grown up by...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s been quite some years ago, but turning the calendar page was a reminder of that special time we traveled with a tour group to Sydney, Australia – it was winter up North where we started but they were coming into summer down South. Crossing the International Date Line is unique: skipping a day and going down and having two Thursdays coming back. Temperatures there were around 80`, flowers blooming and the beach teaming with folks in all sorts of attire (or ‘none at all’ since it...
Hello Parents out There | We are wanting to know interest level of parents for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine approved for pediatric ages 5yr -11yr and adolescent ages 12yr -18yr. If you are interested in your child (age 5 -11 or age 12-18) receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine please call us at 406-775-6332 or email [email protected]. Your feedback will help with planning the necessary resources and we thank you in advance for your help. Pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Ages 5yr to 11yr old: This is a two dose series...
Fall is that time of year when neighbors help neighbors with gathering, shipping, weaning, and preg testing. It is a concept right out of a Hallmark card... as long as it is a nice, balmy autumn day. However, when the weatherman plays a cruel joke and the thermometer dips below zero and everything is frozen solid on the morning of the gathering, it is either true friends or non creative friends who couldn't craft an excuse to show up to ride! I am not sure which category we fell under several years back when we found...
With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, I have theorized that apparently the clothes dryer has been shrinking my jeans. It could not be my penchant for eggnog and Christmas cookies, so it must be the dryer. The realization that my diet should include more salad than fudge somehow got me thinking about poor Santa and his obligation to eat all of those Christmas cookies. I wrote this little Christmas rhyme about Santa trying to fight the bulge with the Keto Diet. Special Bulletin From Santa —by Susan Metcalf 'Twas the m...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s been a long time ago, but way back when, ‘we’ viewed a beautiful painting done by William Hollman Hunt titled “The Light of the World.” It pictures Jesus standing outside a cottage door, which is overgrown with dead weeds. The door has no latch. In one hand Jesus holds a lantern, bright with light. The other hand is knocking on the door. The painting clearly shows that we must answer the knock and open the door before we can know the abundance of God’s love. When we were kids...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, when it seems that there’s no hope, things aren’t going according to our plans, or maybe just going askew, it’s then that we must remember that You are faithful, You hear our prayers and intervene in Your way –Your time – and at the right time. We’ve known ‘children’, young or old, who’ve strayed far away from having a personal relationship with You. Case in point: an elderly lady prayed faithfully for her adult children knowing that sooner or later, in her lifetime or after s...
This time of year is like accidentally grabbing the electric fence, In its way of making memories flash within our minds - the shortly lit days of our holidays - memories which are often intense, I think back upon my Carter County Thanksgivings and Christmas’ - quite long ago, The snow on the ground - the end of hunting season - the early sunsets with their golden glow. My earliest memories are of the Belltower community holiday celebrations - with our own community Santa in tow, The small brown paper bags of candy often w...
Being a recipe columnist implies a huge responsibility. One year many years ago, one of my infamous fan letters in the “Agri-News” complained, “The plum cake in Susan’s column was so bad my dog wouldn’t even eat it.” Turns out I had left out the word “self-rising” before flour in the ingredient list, and the reader ended up with plum colored hockey puck material. Recently, I made a mistake in one of my favorite recipes, Carol’s Heath Bar Cookies, but I did catch it and print a correction later. However, I realize not every...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes we ‘need’ a bit of help to understand all about God’s creation and His gift of ‘wisdom’ for us. Several of us stood on the side-line, ‘observing’ some incidents, as JoeJoe – zoomed by on his ‘wheely’ while his buddy warned him to drive more carefully, do NOT run over Grandma, he loudly called. JoeJoe just laughed and said that Grandma had the wall to hang onto, and her grandson on the other side of her - so Grandma was OK. Right then, there was a ‘tap tap tap’ as 3 ga...
For all but eight years of my life, I have lived on the east slopes of the Rocky Mountain front range out of Augusta and Big Timber, Montana. For the half century (approximately in case you are doing the math) that I have lived in the wind, I have tried to get used to it, but I don’t think one can get used to wind. Because it is futile to fight the wind, I have decided to try to put a positive spin on it. For example, if you have something that you no longer want, you don’t have to haul it to the dump--just leave it out and a...
One of the nicest compliments I receive is when readers tell me that they have hung my column on their refrigerator or mailed it to someone (often anonymously) to try to make a point humorously and semi-tactfully. Since we are going into the holiday feast season, and since several readers have asked me to rerun my code of conduct for the holidays column, I am sending out this list of Grandma's house rules that might serve as a gentle reminder for family dinner etiquette. Grouchy Grandma's House Rules for the Holidays: #1. I'm...
Alzada Area | We are looking into the interest of doing another Flu Clinic in Alzada. If you are interested in having us come down to your area, call us at 775-6332. We need your help to determine when is the best time to hold one. Currently we are looking at holding one possibly on November 16th. If we miss your call we are likely helping another. Please leave a message and we will get back in touch. COVID-19 Booster Shots | We recently received the go ahead to start booster covid-19 shots. Here are some guidelines: For...
Editor's note: Ekalaka Public Schools Social Studies Teacher Mr. Adam Miller recently tasked students with writing a letter for Veterans Day. Following are seven of those letters. Dear Grandpa Ronald, I would personally like to thank you for the sacrifice you have made for our country. You have risked your life for America, and on behalf of that I would like to thank you. Your service means so much to me and everyone around you. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of...
As Veteran’s Day approaches, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to all Veterans, but I especially feel deep sadness for those who served in Afghanistan who are feeling betrayed by their leaders who botched the exit and effectively erased all of their efforts as we handed the country back to terrorist organizations, gifted them 85 billion dollars worth of military aircraft, weapons, and equipment, and sacrificed many of the support personnel who were left behind with an unfulfilled promise that we would get them out. Time can n...
We have entertained a lot of international guests at our ranch over the years, and I am always amazed at how much they know about the United States--especially in comparison to what I know about their countries. We recently had guests from Toronto that found 47 of the 50 states’ license plates during their visit to Yellowstone Park. I still don’t know how that car from Hawaii ended up in the Old Faithful parking lot, but I saw it with my own eyes. What was an even more impressive feat was that those Canadians took a pie...
One of the unsung heroes of the horse world is the horse packer. He has to understand horse anatomy and mule psychology, spend long days in the saddle, have nerves of steel, a strong back, and it helps if he ends up in one piece at the other end of the trail. Jerry Yoder was the packer for the K Lazy 3 when it was owned by Brett and Julie Todd, and I was always really nice to Jerry (just ask him), because he was responsible for the eggs and other valuables that I needed to cook with. He also looked the other way when...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s been a long time ago, but just thinking about it as we watch the falling leaves, brought back some special memories when we were on a trip visiting kin, out of state. Several of us decided to go walking through the woods near their home. We were constantly amazed at the amount of life that filled the forest. At that time of year, we watched birds busily tending to their nest. Branches and vines were woven in intricate patterns. Deer and other wildlife lounged in the cool saf...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: The joy of living beautifully is special every day; what turns our ‘crank’ this Autumn time? Kids say, “Let’s play with clay!” We’ve families, feasts, flowers, and friends - that makes this month really great. We’ll party some – you wanna come? Just call – we’ll set a date. Some folks were bragging ‘bout their trips, ‘bout sailing and sunset. They saw a lot and loved it all, had traveled there by jet. Some waterfalls, the neighbors saw, loved Rainbows overhead; vacation time was real special – t...
Many readers commiserated with me in my pack rat war that I recently recounted, but to be honest, the pack rat war was not the most fierce battle I ever fought as a camp cook. Now, hunting camp cooking is ordinarily a delightful experience! You get up at 3 a.m., try not to singe your bangs lighting the kerosene lamps, fire up the wood stove, cook all day, prepare elk heart appetizers, wait anxiously for hunters to arrive several hours past the optimum serving time of the entrees, and pack 50 gallons of water 2 buckets at a ti...
Every time I read a Baxter Black poem, I am inspired to become a cowboy poet, but "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service is my favorite inspirational poem. It was his signature poem that launched his career. He got the idea from a story he heard while attending a party. He left the party, walked around in the woods all night composing the poem in his mind, and then sat down to pen it the next day. This poem is no "Sam McGee", and I am no Baxter Black, but when my favorite packers at the K Lazy Three told me this...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, living near cattle ranches, one’s noticed how some cows are prone to wander while grazing. A cow just keeps on moving, always looking for the “greener grasses”. Near the edge of the property, the cow might discover some cool fresh grass under a shade tree. Just beyond, there might be a broken-down part of a fence and right there was a tasty clump of foliage. Then the cow might push farther beyond the fence and out to the road. It has slowly “nibbled” its way into being lost. Cows aren...
