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Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, it is still March and there is still time in our forecast for some SNOW to come our way! When Snow is falling, we might want to take a minute or two to watch, as falling Snow is rather spellbinding stuff to watch. An unknown author wrote the following about SNOW – so here it is: “A growth process called “coalescence” [combination] is the process of a cloud droplet growing in size [from 1/2500 inch in diameter to 1/125 inch or larger], it is large enough to fall as rain or other for...
COVID Vaccine | Following are dates available to make appointments if you are interested in getting an up to date COVID vaccine. We have dates available for adult, adolescent and pediatric individuals. Please call us to schedule an appointment if interested. • Adult Vaccine Moderna and Jannsen (Johnson and Johnson) available Tuesday, March 8th. • Adolescent Vaccine Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Ages 12yr to 18yr old available Thursday, March 10th. • Pediatric Vaccine Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Ages 5yr to 11yr old available Thurs...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, sometimes rereading things from long ago is most interesting. Take for example a remark like, “Do everything without complaining;” a Bible verse from Phil 2:14. We probably all know a few chronic complainers. They are impossible to help and never seem to be satisfied with whatever ‘we’ do to help them, but they won’t let ‘us’ stop trying, so in the end ‘we’ feel trapped. We just need to make sure that WE are not the chronic complainer, as that gives us a reputation, then pe...
I haven’t been stuck in the mud for some time, Yes that old ‘gumbo’, such treacherous stuff, The vehicle would be wrestled with, so rough, When in this slick clay, try avoiding the grime. You might high-center...stuck, it seemed a crime, One may be on foot, without a rebuff, A neighbor, ‘X’ miles away, enough, For a good hike in the mud, damn this slime. But there was a flavor in getting so stuck, To admit that we might not be in control, But what would I tell Dad about the truck, There is much about this business, still to...
My favorite holiday of the year was this week, which was Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2. It has become my tradition to do a Whoville poem to celebrate Dr. Seuss and my First Amendment right to freedom of expression. Watching the drastic erosion of freedom in the attempted takeover of Ukraine underscores the need to preserve all of our freedoms and guard against tyranny, socialism, and the complete lack of basic common sense that this country is grappling with. Last year, when I decided to run my Whoville poem, my sister warn...
This last summer I walked the streets where once, I drove a maroon colored Mercury, Up and down Main, it was so endlessly, Good to kids back then, an accepted stunt. Learning to drive on icy street, no fuss, It was as fun as fun might always be, Turning by the “Cop Shop” so carefully, It, as American, as one can trust. Memories bubble, ones not to discuss, Of those nights with the eight-track tape playing, And we’d talk of teenage life gleefully, It’ll always stay in me, a total plus. There are memories one might which t...
The Miles City tournament back then, We students looked forward to it, excite, It, a taste of adult’s freedom, of nights, Where we, as teenagers...no books...nor pens. We’d go to the games, to watch our own men, Playing against Sacred Heart, a tough fight, Or perhaps of ‘State School’, boys of plight, There’s a certain school pride to defend. Those times, lightened winter’s burden for sure, And as a nice break, in a larger town, It’s glamour was not lost on me, its stir, Of the high school routine, of its frowns, Perha...
One of Big Timber, Montana's most renowned residents, Gwen Petersen, closed the gate just 5 days before her 94th birthday last week. I am so thankful that my "Ode to Coveralls" poem that referenced her ran before she passed, and her beloved friend, Elaine Allestad, took it to her bedside so her sidekick in poetry and life, Sandy Sallee, could read it to her. Gwen was a great writer of the western lifestyle and a truly one of a kind character who will be sorely missed, but she will live on through her rhymes and rhetoric. The...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, when looking out at the starry sky, a song comes to mind: “My Lord! What a Morning!”[1] (From Rev. 6:12-13: … when the stars begin to fall). A glimpse of falling stars is the Perseid Meteor shower, in early August {HEY! – it’s still Feb.!}. When we were kids out on the ranch, we’d locate the North Star with the help of the Big Dipper, among the host of twinkling stars. We just missed seeing the Southern Cross flying home from Australia one year. Both the North Star and the Southern...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, even though we are a bit AFTER Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be nice to share a poem about love. A bit late, but still appropriate: author and date, unknown: “Love is a smile that warms the heart, a touch that says, “I care”. A glance across a crowded room that only two can share. “Love is walking hand in hand, whispered words and sighs. Seeing joy reflected in one another’s eyes. “Love is cherished memories, and sweet dreams coming true. Love is what you’re being wished today a...
I just cannot resist helpful hints (now known as hacks) or tips on how to remove every stain known to man or cure anything from warts to arthritis with a home remedy. Sometimes though, I have to question the effectiveness and efficiency of the remedies and helpful hints. I have actually had less than miraculous results with many of those tips. A tomato juice bath is supposed to be the cure-all for skunk spray. Do you know how much a tomato juice bath for a small boy costs? It was $92.00 cheaper and much less stressful just...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, February reminds us of Love! Valentine’s Day might be printed in red on some calendars, but there are dozens of names that may fill out the rest of the dates on many friends’ calendars. Chuckle along with me, Lord, as we look around, ‘seeing’ love being expressed almost anywhere. In Church, a young couple stood close together, having their arm around their spouse’s waist. That was special to see — but they were not the only ones doing that. Then, a little girl was hugging her D...
One of the few good things about winter on the ranch is that you can wear coveralls. They are called “coveralls’’ because they hide a multitude of sins like Christmas cookies, fudge, eggnog, and winter comfort foods. You can wear your sweatpants under your coveralls and believe that you are hiding those winter pounds until the day of reckoning comes. When you see a robin and you can smell spring in the air, you realize it is time to struggle into your jeans, because you would look just plain ridiculous running around in co...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: What do ‘we’ see when we look up? In January, SNOW? Moisture is needed, that’s for sure, ‘Twould help Spring grass to grow. As Winter ends, there’s sleet and haze, sometimes that too shows up. But it’s still cold most everywhere – we need warm cover-ups! Days lengthen and we view the stars; like the awesome Milky Way! And ‘sailing’ in the night time clouds, there’s Venus, miles away. Soon geese will pass, some fly up high; somewhere up North they go. It’s cool to watch them change ‘pilots’; their...
I heard on the radio the other day that children get their intelligence from their mothers. That might explain what has happened to my brain. Perhaps I drained part of it for the first child and the rest for the second. I can almost buy that theory--except for the fact that I have another theory that makes more sense to me: Susan's Full Brain Theory. I believe my brain is like a computer that has no memory left. My brain is full, and my folders cannot be compacted. In fact, my brain is so full that according to the bathroom...
submitted by Carter County Chamber of Commerce After discussions about seemingly perennial fire concerns and the core mission of the organization, the Carter County Chamber of Commerce voted at its December 2021 meeting to discontinue its practice of facilitating fireworks displays. The Chamber will continue to support and organize those activities which follow its mission to “develop, aid, encourage and promote projects for the entire county in order to expand business and industry for the entire area.” The Community Yar...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, what fun to dine with tiny tots: [not their real names], Ida, 18 months old and big brother, Evan, age 4, and their grandparents. Both tots are so cute and well mannered, fresh from heaven, curious, just learning their way around the World. Ida is learning to talk. One can only imagine what this bright eyed, puppy-tailed tot will be when she’s two! Ida was more interested in the folks around her than in eating, even when grandma tempted her with a tasty bite: “Open wide - here it co...
Out here in the western agricultural world, there has never really been a need for the women's movement. Women have pitched in to make farms and ranches work since before barbed wire, and they didn't have to burn undergarments to gain respect. Respect came with hard work, blood, sweat, and tears. In fact, as it turns out history has proven that sometimes the best man for the job was a woman such as the legend of Charley Parkhurst. The Western stagecoach companies were big business in the latter half of the 19th century. In...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, humor is everywhere. We can look at health, exercise and even Alzheimer’s, - which, we’re told, that even dogs can get! One way to slow Alzheimer’s, is to go for a walk – with your dog. Fresh air and exercise help the walker as well as the dog. No wonder neighbors are out there, walking their dogs. They probably read that, too, and want to keep their pets AND themselves healthy. Friends had some deer that ‘visited’ their place. Neighbor kids got together and chatted about the dee...
After watching four seasons of "Yellowstone", we have come to the realization that we have been ranching all wrong for our entire lives. . . or else maybe the show is not quite as authentic as co-writer Taylor Sheridan thinks it is. He is quoted as saying, "The challenge to this world is...it's not a terribly difficult plot. But if you didn't grow up with cowboys and in this world, and you don't know this world, it's a really hard world to write because you're going to fall back on the clichés of that world. People tune in...
We are excited to share some news and opportunity for parents of students in grades K-12 at Ekalaka Public Schools. Dental Appointments—ugh. It can be hard to take care of getting this done for your kiddos even though it’s just once or twice a year. Whether its work, the ranch, school stuff, or everything in between called ‘life’ that seems to get in the way. Well, we have a solution! And for this solution to work it needs you – parents. Carter County Public Health has partnered with Ekalaka Public Schools and Smiles Ac...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, we’re into a New Year, a clean month, a bright new day. Thank You, Lord. William A. Quayle, in his book “God’s Calendar,” has some fascinating musings about months. Some for January are: “The Calendar is God’s invention. The matter-of-fact Romans took hold of the almanac and called the months by the names which thereafter God’s months were to wear. God should have named the months – He is so much the Poet; or at least the Greeks, because Poetry and they were friends. Nonetheless, Janu...
As I get older, it becomes harder and harder to find a winter sport that I can participate in, because I don't dare risk my knees, hips, skull, etc. So when our friends, Keith and Holly Williams from Virginia, suggested a snowmobile outing, it sounded fun and harmless. We met them in Jackson, Wyoming and headed out for a three day ride through Yellowstone Park, and then one final day in the Grand Tetons along the Continental Divide. Even though it was 17 below at Flagg Ranch the first morning and 20 below the second morning i...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, New Years can be like a fresh start! Our Mom delighted in opening up a new Diary/Journal which she faithfully kept until You called her home. We were also delighted in looking at the bright new calendars, checking photos and artwork; checking days to see which day of the week anniversaries and birthdays of family and friends fall on. All too soon the neatly arranged rows of squares are filled with various appointments, or as one gal said, ‘filled with the living of our days.’ The whol...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a New Year has dawned; we’ve already flicked the calendar to the New Year, so now we come face to face with the fact that our days on earth are numbered. As we turn to this clean, fresh, new page on the calendar we’ve become aware that we have a new day, a new year, in our lives. It is up to us to fill in those pages. Please help us to choose wisely, Lord, let us forget about the past and begin to look forward to what You have in store for us. Your Word is full of promises for us, a...
