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Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know Lord, when people mention the word ‘treasure’ one right away thinks about jewels, diamonds, rubies, precious stones, riches, money, wealth, a pot of gold, a cache of silver, but there are other things one could or should treasure. What about relationships? Things You Can Count On Now! There is a grace that is sufficient; a mercy that endures; an atoning blood that cleanses; a hope that doesn’t disappoint; a love that never fails; a purpose that works all things together for the good; a...
When we Lavells were frequenting our grandparents ranch near Belltower, there were three livable houses on their ranch. I have written about the first two. Today I am going to tell you about the Anderson place. It is worth repeating that Grandma and Grandpa Coons were a perfect team. He was a slow, solid worker. She also was a worker extraordinaire, and took a one hundred and sixty acre homestead and made it into a creditable, if small, ranch by buying other properties of people who didn’t make it. Despite being less than f...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, this sounds like something that happened to us! So, just sharing – author and date unknown: “After I finished loading the groceries in my car, I drove out of the parking lot to turn left onto the highway. The red light stopped me, but at least it gave me a chance to notice the beautiful sunshine. Staring at the light made the wait seem longer. I began to mentally rehearse all that I hoped to accomplish that afternoon. As soon as the light changed, I moved my foot from the brake to th...
As summer changes into fall, the creatures get grouchy. Perhaps it is because they know winter is coming. The yellow jackets and hornets and even honey bees become aggressive. However, there is no creature on earth more irritating and detestable than a packrat. I believe it is because they mark everything, so they just ooze as they go, and they build a huge nest called a midden wherein you might find everything that has been missing in an outfitter camp for the last five years. They do not make good tent mates. When I...
We have been in the retail/food service business now for two and a half months, and many readers have asked how that is going? The answer to that is very well after the first couple days. The first couple days were not our brightest shining moments I can tell you. On the first morning, patrons were lined up on the sidewalk fifteen minutes before we were supposed to open. We were fortunate that many customers were eagerly anticipating our opening. Our ribbon cutting ceremony was supposed to be the first thing that morning,...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, recalling a ‘happening’ from a long time ago, was fascinating. Several of us gals had to deal with those pre-college physicals. None of us were really that tall but several of us were delighted to see that we WERE taller than five-feet. Woo-hoo – even though it was only one-quarter inch. Time passed, we’d kept in touch, then several of us were less than thrilled when a recent measurement set two of them, once again, at under five feet. Friend K.G. said, “No wonder my motto has a...
Every year when we wrapped up our ranch vacation season and turned the "dude" horses out to pasture, I marveled at how they were the key to the success of our operation. These old ranch horses endure a lot of greenhorn mistakes, but they bring their riders safely back to the corral every single trip. Sure they get pretty smart about tricking their riders into letting them drop their heads for some bites of grass now and then or brush a little too close to some overhanging tree branches, but for the most part they are saints...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a while back, rummaging through some papers, an interesting article about oils popped up. ‘Keeley’ wrote that she’d recently begun learning about essential oils and how in ancient times, God gave His people these healing oils to use for health. Quoting her: “Aside from enjoying the scents and experiencing their healing power, I’ve been fascinated to read about the Biblical basis for their use and the documented stories of their success. I love history, but when something in the pres...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a while back, friends stopped by one cool day; we sat out and watched a variety of birds checking out the birdbath. Sparrows seemed to enjoy dipping, sipping and just checking around. A few Robins came by, sipping deep, followed by several Black Birds. Even a colorful Woodpecker stopped to check things out. That was amusing, too. Then two Asian Mourning Doves came, which aren’t really ‘friends’ to the original Mourning Doves who used to visit. These spoiled brats dominated the Bir...
The chokecherries did pretty well this year despite the heat, drought, and smoke, so around our place that means the bears are coming down out of the Deer Creeks for a berry eating frenzy. I am always torn about mentioning bear visitors to our cabin guests, because I am afraid they will pack up and head out. I grew up on Sun Canyon Lodge, a guest ranch out of Augusta, Montana, where bears in the yard were almost daily events. Then a book and a movie entitled "Night of the Grizzlies" came out and effectively struck fear in...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, a while back, a friend shared about bearing a grudge against one of your children who was one of their friends, adding that hanging onto bitterness and keeping grudges alive is truly consuming work. She was exhausted and really didn’t know what to do, as bearing a grudge was/is hard work as it left little energy for blessing others, praising God, or even enjoying life. Then she read that the only way to get over a bitter heart toward others is to actively love and serve them in ways t...
My Grandma and Grandpa Coons had two other places with houses on them besides the home place. Grandpa was a hard working guy but he never got excited or hurried about anything. Grandma was just the opposite. She was shorter than five feet and less than one hundred pounds but she was made of high tensile steel. She was the one who finagled and was able to buy other places that made their original homestead into a creditable ranch. The Briggs’ place was one of these places. They bought it from someone named Briggs. The Briggs p...
School is about to start, which means teachers are having back to school dreams, kids are buying supplies and clothes, and parents are celebrating the fact that they made it through summer vacation. As an English teacher I am so excited to see that the Alberta Bair Theater is opening up again this year, and one of their performances is "Schoolhouse Rock Live." Two generations of students that passed through my classroom can sing all eight of the parts of speech songs by heart, and I know for sure what everyone on my...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: Just sharing about a Grandpa, Lord: Grandpa was ninety years old, sitting feebly on the patio bench. He didn’t move, he just sat there with his head down, staring at his hands. Granddaughter, Alexa, sat down beside him. He didn’t acknowledge her presence, making Alexia wonder if he was OK. Finally, not wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, she asked him if he was OK. He raised his head and looked at her, smiled and said, “Yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking.” “I didn’t m...
All of my life I have heard stories about 1936. That was the summer that my Great Grandfather Roberts stopped eating, because he could not deal with the drought and Great Depression any longer. They had tried to winter their cows on slough grass hay from South Dakota which they had purchased for a king's ransom with all their savings, but the cows got thinner and thinner until most of them had to be shot. The grasshoppers were so bad they would eat the shovel handles left out at night. My father was 16 years old that summer h...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, it’s amazing what one can find out about plants, all sorts of plants named from A to Z, found in books, computers or even from friends! How about Alpine Currants, [Yum!], beautiful Baby’s Breath, lovely Canna Lilies, beautiful yellow/gold Daffodils, our neighbors Hardy Pink Hibiscus, and remembering Mom’s lovely pink and red Impatient! Thinking back to long ago, how about Aunties Jacaranda Tree! WOW! Rhubarb is special to many folks too, especially the Pie that our Mom used to make...
I arrived back in town on a hot July afternoon some days ago, A passed brother-in-law to remember - and a town with new construction - with obvious determination - grit and goals, And Mother Nature seems to be giving another of her serious tests, With scant rain and hoppers - conditions aren’t now the best. Adversity has been faced before by farmers and ranchers - and those who depend upon them - of all the difficult rows - before - had to be hoed, And though each family in the county face problems which may differ - t...
Just when my muscles have grown used to working, it is almost time to go back and sit at a desk as the school year approaches. The entire month of June, my body thinks it enlisted in the Army and no one told it. By July, the severe muscle cramps have subsided, and by August, I can walk up a hill without needing oxygen. Then, it is back to the office every day to let my muscles deteriorate for another nine months. My friend, Judy Sondeno, who lives near Sidney, Montana taught with me for many years. As colleagues, we dieted...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, some recipes are worth sharing! Here’s one for any time – even if this one doesn’t have salt! Author unknown, it’s called: HAPPY HOMEMAKER CAKE: “Mix two heaping measures of love with common purpose, sweetened with two full hearts. Sprinkle in a few little ones according to taste. For a rich color break in the yolks of two purses. Do not make it too rich as by doing so, it crumbles and separates easily and this is not what we want. Stir yolks in the batter thoroughly until it is...
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, and 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 Sweden. We adopted Marvin rather unwillingly when my Uncle Shorty Roberts died. Two years earlier, Shorty had asked me to take his constant companion, his Jack Russell terrier, Jackson, to be euthanized. It was time, so I had reluctantly...
My Grandparents, Fred and Lena Coons, homesteaded near Belltower in 1911. Grandpa came out and homesteaded and after some time Grandpa and my Mother joined them. My Mother was born in Malvern, Iowa on January 10, 1910. She was just a little one when she came out to Montana. They built a house, I don't know what year, which I loved and spent a lot of time in. They called this the home place. I was born in this place in 1938, with my Grandma attending Mother. At the time that I was around there, they had two other places with...
It is a tough year in Montana with drought, grasshoppers, and now wildfires. As I write this, our Musselshell Ranch is under evacuation order from the Peterson Fire. We are praying that our place will be spared while knowing that our neighbors to the north are losing almost all of their pasture as the fire explodes, and we can only pray for their livestock, their structures, and the fire fighters. All we can really do is wait to see which way the wind blows the fire. My heart breaks for the affected landowners, because I...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, life isn’t all sunshine and laughter – our seas are not always calm but You know all about it, Lord, for You created us. We’re clay vessels. We tend to wear out and get ill, both mentally and physically. Sometimes medicines help and sometimes, it seems to us, that the side effects are worse than whatever it is we have. At a recent art show there were hundreds of lovely pictures and drawings of plants, animals, scenery, sky; you name it and it was there. Some paintings looked like ph...
As I sit here, memories come to mind. As a child, I have come to Ekalaka to visit many times. Each visit builds on a journey of the past to the present, for which I am grateful to know my father's path. As an adult, my Kalstrom cousins, the Waterlands, and many others have welcomed my family and I. We reminisce of days gone by. A small place we have come to stay, in this quaint town of Ekalaka. A building our family calls the "Little House" on Kalstrom Way. Many town's people...
I absolutely love kitchen tips, and 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. For example, Martha Stewart claims that if you have a headache, you should rub a cut lime on your forehead. That might work, but it is a bit messy when there is a large body of research that suggests that if you add salt and tequila to the cut lime and ingest it, all of your aches and even your worries will go away! My friend Julie Kinsey...
