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Hello God, it’s me, Mara: Relaxing day with a bit of snow, MORE SNOW is on the way. So, we’ll just wait, putter a bit; shovel another day. Twould be so fun if girlfriends came, but they’d have to fight ice! However, they moved out of town; memory of them is nice. We could think back some years ago, when two gals paid a call. Of course, that day, there was no snow, for it was early FALL! Now those two gals, are all alone, but they know how to share, Their hubby’s left, gone on ahead, these gals know how to care. “Play u...
As I sit here tonight looking out at the 20 plus inches of snow coating everything, I have to believe that this might slow the buying frenzy of out of state buyers who have flocked to Montana from highly populated areas. Almost as soon as things began to open up in Montana after the shut down, our state has been inundated by visitors looking to just hang out or buyers snapping up property in our beautiful state. Some of them might be rethinking that decision this week. We have had a couple outbreaks of nasty winter already...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes when several of us gals gather together, depending on the season, or the reason for our gathering, we usually chuckle when we share, when we ‘remember when’. Some younger gals don’t recall when or IF Grandma OR Mom hung clothes upon the line, but they thought this was a good poem to share; so here we go, a poem about ‘way back when’; author unknown, but a few of us DID remember when. POEM: A clothesline was a news forecast to neighbors passing by. There were no secrets you c...
As the election draws nearer, I feel compelled to point out that Joe Biden’s 4 trillion dollar tax plan would raise taxes on all of our households both in life and at death, according to analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Biden has set his sights on all estates including businesses, farms, and ranches, but he is taking a different tack from merely raising rates on wealth transfer. He proposes to levy a tax on unrealized appreciation of assets passed on at death. “When someone dies and the asset transfers to an heir, that tran...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, Fall is certainly in the air - just enough to make our blood strum; so, we know that it is time to tidy up for the coming winter. Town or country, cabin or mansion, postage-stamp garden or farm year. Reading from Eccl 3: 1-11a, we discover that: 1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2. a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3. a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to b...
The general season for elk and deer is starting. This means that many hunters are contemplating robbing a bank or at least a convenience store to make ends meet AND stay within the hunting budget their wife has given them. You see, phonier than any hunting or fishing story you have ever heard is the myth that hunting saves money. At our house, the hunters definitely boost the local economy and the economy of several brick and mortar sporting goods stores and a couple online sites. I figure that every meal of wild game we...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the wind! Is it forever the Wind? It’s hard to have an excess of praise as the windy air crisps the skin and cracks the lips. It’s not quite that bad right now, but one day it surely felt like the foehn wind that came right out of the book, “Wolf Willow’ by Wallace Stegner, which we quote: “The wind that hundreds of miles to the west started up the mountains warm and wet had dropped its moisture on the heights and then came down on our side, totally wrung dry….dry and gaining tempe...
I really am not a Tweeter. In fact, I do not have a Twitter account, but I do love to write fake Tweets. In fact, there is a special holiday coming up that positively screams for fake Tweets. Columbus Day is my favorite holiday of the year. It is the perfect holiday because you don’t have to buy cards or gifts for it, decorate for it, cook for the celebration, or even gather all of the family together for it. It is just a day off for some of us. There are no Columbus Day traditions that must be observed. It is a truly s...
I realized the other day that I had a drug problem when I was growing up. I saw a meme regarding this topic on Facebook, and I realized I indeed had a drug problem. We were drug to church, family functions, and community socials. We were drug by our ears and maybe drug to the woodshed if we disobeyed or disrespected anyone. We were drug to the sink for a mouthwash if we used profanity. We were drug out of bed to do our chores seven days of the week. We were drug to the homes of family, friends, the elderly, or the less...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, ‘Twas exciting to discover, after reading various excerpts from GOD’S CALENDAR, written by William A Quayle, some very interesting opinions and viewpoints about the month October – so fascinating, just had to share, therefore, here we go! “The month of October is called the Aster month, Indian Summer month, wan/pale month of dimmed sky and drooping eyelids and leaf-a-flutter, falling but loath to fall – chaste/faithful October, with thy starry aster fields in tryst with Thee. “Aste...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, during this Pandemic time, the passing away of dear ones just ‘feels’ different than it used to, a long while ago. As we grieve for friends who have recently passed on, it was truly most interesting to reread 2 Cor 5:1-10, to ‘learn’ a bit about our future! We read: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dw...
Chorus: The jaws of a beast, One looked at when entering. The man who created it, Marshall Lambert - small town genius. He only walked to work, striding away. Mr. Lambert was a true American. I sat up front, In Sophomore science class. Talk of early horses, Two toes or three, Fossils in the County, Mr. Lambert knew. Chorus: The jaws of a beast, One looked at when entering. The man who created it, Marshall Lambert - small town genius. He only walked to work, striding away. Mr. Lambert was a true American. He had twin boys,...
Chris Young had a hit country song a few years back entitled "I Hear Voices", and I think it was written for me! The first line is, "You can say I'm a little bit crazy. You can call me insane." Of course, these things are true, but he goes on to describe these voices of his ancestors in his head. Not only do I have those, but it is fall cattle working season so I am dealing with voices ringing loudly in my ears--despite my suggestion a few columns back that masks would help muffle the sounds of families working cattle. There...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the following is an old story, but having just ‘lost’ a couple of friends, this story seemed somewhat right on, so to speak. The author of this ‘long ago’ story is unknown, but it seemed so fitting for this little description to be shared, so here goes: “A little boy was riding alone on a train on a very hot day when all of the travelers were extremely uncomfortable; and the scenery was not too interesting at all as they passed through the desert of Arizona. A lady sitting bes...
The early rifle season elk hunters headed into the back country this week, and there is a chill of fall in the air. I heard a bull elk bugle last night, and my heart longs for hunting camp, but my "town job" and my aching joints remind me that I probably better leave the wilderness camp cooking to the next generation. Nevertheless, I find myself thinking back over thousands of great memories of almost twenty years of camp cooking for Brett and Julie Todd at the K Lazy Three. Sure, there were ten below nights, getting up at...
After learning that ‘Tony’ Quam and his wife Maria both came from Norway, I learned that they got married in Yankton, South Dakota and moved to Deadwood, South Dakota where Tony worked for the Homestake Mining Co., in the shops. A strike by the union shut down the work and after information from Peter Sjoblor to Anton and two friends, they decided to check out the homestead land near Ekalaka. Oh yes — June Olsen and his wife Henrietta, his daughter Beverly and son-in-law Harty T. Roberts ran the Drug Store until 1955 when...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes while rummaging around looking for one thing, one uncovers something that was saved from long ago – how about this one saved from when working in lower elementary grades – just sharing some cute ones: WHY GOD MADE MOMS: Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions: Why did God make mothers? 1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 2. Mostly to clean the house. 3. To help us out of there when we were getting born. How did God make mo...
I am going to return my article this time to another homestead family, which after reading about in the "Shifting Scenes," I found very interesting and informative and feel you readers will also. This article is about Anton "Tony" Quam, his wife Maria and their family. Most of the information was written by Ruth (Quam) Berg, their only daughter. I may have to write two or three articles to cover this early homestead family. Let's look at lots of quotes by Ruth. "Anton Quam...
This week my heart goes out to those affected by the wildfires burning across our state. When a plume of smoke rises, my heart begins to pound. I have evacuated from six fires and three floods, so I know the indescribable feeling of fear and helplessness natural disasters evoke. The good part is that years later, I can look back on those experiences and see the bright side. We have had four large fires burn through our Musselshell ranch, and we have evacuated twice from our Big Timber ranch. We have lost buildings, pasture,...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, while looking through the book “Your life is in God’s hand,’ by Thomas Lindberg, it’s interesting how he reminds us not to fear, fret, fright, fume or forget. “Don’t fear”, he writes, then gives an example of slipping a piece of paper inside a book, then shutting the book, demonstrating how we’re hidden with Christ. (Colossians 3:3). None can touch us without going through Your caring hand, Lord. Long ago, there was a song; “Why Worry When You Can Pray,” a depiction of “Don’t f...
I have tried really hard to find the silver lining in living with Covid, and I think I have finally found it! Masks should be mandated for cattle sorting! If the Governor does not mandate masks for cattle sorting, perhaps some organization like Crazy Peak Cattle Women or WIFE or some other women's ag group will recognize the value of ranching spouses wearing masks during fall sorting and begin to promote the concept. Let me explain my rationale for the cattle sorting mask mandate! Pre-conditioning, weaning, and shipping is th...
I have been thinking about my Grandpa Coons and about all of the things that he did that we, his grandkids, loved. I have written a story previously where I called him the greatest man that ever lived and I stand by that. Grandpa was born in 1879, so he was old when I knew him. I have always marveled that it is 2020 and my Grandpa, born in 1879, was a huge part of my life. What a span of years. Grandpa sang me songs and told me stories that related to what the slaves sang and at least one song that went back to the Revolution...
Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sitting by the window full of sunshine with the address and birthday book open, one can’t help but remember, that You are in command with both life and death. So – as time has passed, it is time to change a few lines in these books, so with pencil in hand, we give Retirement Center addresses to a couple dear friends and an Auntie, now all in their declining years. Our mobile society sees Church family and our own family moving, one place or another, all due to lay-offs or job chang...
I am not sure if I have ever seen more floaters on the rivers of Montana this summer. I believe Covid has made camping and fishing the 2020 thing to do. Floating the Yellowstone River is always a fun family outing, but the river demands respect as every year it claims lives. This is a tale of a floating incident that had a happy ending, but it underscores how quickly river accidents can happen. Remember, it is cool to wear your life jacket even when the river is low and slow like it is now. Even if it is not cool, I always...
This week, most parents are celebrating the fact that their children are going back to school after the longest summer break on record due to the Coronavirus. The exceptions to these celebrations are usually the moms of kindergarteners and the moms facing an empty nest as their last child heads off to college. Both of those moms feel like they are sending their babies off into the scary unknown, and they usually shed a lot more tears than their offspring do under the circumstances. Kindergarten wasn't a big step for me,...
