Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Spring. It's come on suddenly: the snow is melting away. Our creeks have been running enough to have filled our bird sanctuary/reservoir. A friend said their dam filled up. We'll see how long those stay filled. We're always hopeful the life-giving rains will return. But we're realistic enough to not hold our breath! The snow that had blown into the shelter belt all winter was about twelve feet deep last week. It's condensed down to about eight feet now. We've had a few fairly nice days since I...
I'm not feeling very turtle-ish yet. Let me explain: years ago Dennis and I caught a comedy routine that contained the line "Hope springs in turtles." We still occasionally use that line. I had to go look it up in order to give credit to the comedian. His name is John Bowman, and the bit came from his In Stink routine. I will caution you that his language wasn't devoid of "bad words." The bit had to do with a stoner explaining that even though turtles are "slow and pokey" since they're carrying...
March has arrived, coming in like a lion. We're therefore hoping spring will really be here at the end of the month. All the continued strong winds combined with fresh snow, as well as freezing sleet mixed with rain (at 24 degrees!!) has me still ignoring those seed catalogs. I have, however, purchased new gladioli bulbs, new large dahlia tubers, a couple bright pink peony roots, and several packages of onion sets. This is obviously long-range planning. All of those are being stored in our...
We had a nice trip to watch one of our grandsons play 10U AA hockey just outside Chicago over the President's Day weekend. (His team competes at the single A level, but got bumped up.) Now that I'm catching up with the mail, and specifically the Courier, I see no one took me up on writing a guest column to cover for my absence. You still could, of course... I'm trying to think spring, but the recent nasty weather hasn't helped push me that way. There was lots of fresh snow in Fargo, but the road...
I must need a vacation from writing. I keep putting off getting this column done each week lately and so I miss the actual deadline. Luckily, the editor/manager at the Courier has been putting up with my tardiness. I am taking next week off. If someone else would like to sub in for me, I think the paper would appreciate it, maybe. And maybe you’ll have a new gig. I’d be okay with being replaced… We’re heading off to near Chicago where our youngest lives. We’re driving (well, Dennis is), so we’re very hopeful the weather will behave and that ro...
I’ve been busy getting our paperwork ready for the accountants. It’s tax season, my least favorite. This is a yearly task that I dread, and so I procrastinate. However, I think it’s a necessary evil in order to have public services that benefit us all. And so I do it (also so we can avoid hefty fines and/or prison. No one wants to suffer either option.) Seed catalogs: I’ve started to glance at them - if only to winnow out the duplicates. Just today I tossed the third issue from Burpee, and the second from both Gurney’s and Seeds ‘N Such. They...
Today is houseplant watering day, so technically I could say I’m tending my “green spaces in rural places” as a former editor termed what has become “my” column. It isn’t really gardening in the traditional sense, but it keeps my hand in. Outdoor “real gardening” is getting closer. I can tell from the number and variety of seed and plant catalogs showing up in our mailbox. So far I haven’t cracked open a single one of them, but I’m also not tossing them into “file 13” where the ones that showed up in December went. One of these days, when the...
This week I’m fully back into cooking our meals at home again. There’s a LOT of dining out when we’re on vacation. I’m also once again doing the Whole Life Challenge, so I’m using recipes that work for my chosen nutritional level, which remains the most lenient of the choices. I’m not going overboard (full-on vegan, and something in-between that level of craziness and just skipping real sugar and wheat flours). While we were in Florida, we dined at P.F. Chang’s, at Dennis’s request. He loves their Mongolian Beef - go figure. Kim and I share...
We arrived back into Montana from sunny, warm Florida Thursday night, and we were back at home by Friday evening. It just kept getting cooler (I don't dare say colder after you all endured the way-below-zero temps we avoided) and whiter the farther north we went. There's plenty of snow on the ground up here by Opheim. And while we aren't too excited about these conditions, at least there's some much needed moisture in that white layer of yuck. As Dennis said, it's "more than we had last...
This week I had planned to write about mangrove trees. We'd been to see the manatees, those huge seal-like mammals that were supposedly mistaken for mermaids by sailors who'd obviously been out to sea much too long. After you've seen live manatees, you really have to wonder about sailors' imaginations or deliriums. Anyway, there are lots of mangrove trees alongside the walkways and creeks and the estuary at the manatee center here in Riverview. I even took photos of some of the mangroves. (The...
First off, I feel I owe all of you another apology. Maybe a double one. We are on vacation in warm, sunny Florida, and so are (aren’t?) missing out on all that delicious below zero temps you’ve been enjoying. So that’s one (that we’re warmer than you right now). The other is because of the timing of the holidays, I lost track of what day of the week it was or what the deadline should have been. So I didn’t get a column written last week. I’m crying crocodile tears over that lapse. (In other words, sorry, NOT sorry.) We haven’t just been enj...
We've had some frosty days, some very windy days, some snowy days, and some that combined all of those. The frosty days are my favorites, so pretty, they make everything sparkle. The trees look as though they were dipped in glitter, while the snow looks as though diamonds were scattered over the ground. The days that combine snow with wind induce a frenzy of cooking and baking. Having the oven on helps heat the house, and with the baking, it smells heavenly. We're lucky to live in an age where...
Since I wrote last week, the only thing I’ve done that could possibly be counted as gardening is to water my many houseplants. Granted, they do create green spaces in my house, but that doesn’t begin to compare to seeding, weeding, and harvesting a garden or doing yard work. Since watering plants indoors can’t be stretched to fill a column, I’m throwing more recipes at you. None of the ones I shared last week have yet been made but I’m still planning to. But that means these new ones I made need to be eaten to free up freezer space. I’m sure...
In the past, The Courier has compiled an insert in late November to early December of holiday recipes from its readers. If they'd sent out such a request this year, I missed seeing it. [The paper did not]. And not having yet seen any sign of such an insert and gardening being at a standstill, I'm offering up some of my favorite Christmas/holiday recipes. Caramel Popcorn • 3 qts popped corn • 1 1/2 C unsalted peanuts • 1 C brown sugar • 1/2 C butter • 1/4 C light corn syrup • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2...
I'm pretty sure everyone has talked about, commented on, or complained about the recent two-day windstorm we had. Wasn't that a doozy? It showed how vulnerable we are to Mother Nature. And yet we need to be grateful our winds weren't accompanied by rain and/or sleet or snow. The northwestern coastal areas have it so much worse than us. Flooding and mudslides are harder to recover from. And aren't we grateful we have houses to shelter in? Shingles and roofs can be repaired, unlike the bird nests...
As I'm writing this it is snowing up north. In fact, it is snowing enough to turn my yard white. The temperature when I arose at 6:30 was a balmy 36, but the deck was wet and slick with frost. By 9 a.m. it was down to 30, but 'warmed' back up to 31 in a half hour. I'm so glad I'd cleared the front deck of furniture and other obstacles that would make snow removal more difficult. The batteries for the snow blower are well charged, ready for use. The leaf-mowing I did last week will be the last...
This week I'm offering up a WLC-compliant dessert recipe that even Dennis ate with relish. Of course, he also slathered his portions with canned whipped cream, known to us as "Whoosh" for the sound it makes when being dispensed from the can. I'd bought a bunch of pears and apples through the fruit truck that periodically comes through Opheim and is organized by Janet Bailey. (I thank her for continuing to contact me about it's schedule since I'm rarely around to avail myself of what's offered wh...
I'm on hiatus from gardening. During the past week absolutely no outside work was done (at least by me). There's still a lot I need to do, however. Sometimes the list gets so long that's it's daunting. This afternoon (written last Friday, the deadline for my column) the plan is to remove and store the window screens and wash the outside windows while it's fairly nice. I'll maybe remember to let you know if my plan was successful. It's so easy to get distracted and sidetracked, especially when...
The season for gardening has come to an end, unless you count taking care of potted plants indoors. I'm going to count it just to keep my column from turning into strictly recipes! Most of my inside gardening consists of watering the way-too-many plants I brought inside for the winter. Of course, there's also the disposing of leaves (and the occasional flowers) that dried up and turned brown from the shock of moving into the more constant warmth of the house. There's also the bi-weekly turning o...
Another week has flown away. We’ve had our first couple dustings of that dreaded “s” word. All the tomatoes were picked before those flurries happened. The back bedroom exudes the scent of green and ripening tomatoes when the door is opened. Several batches of them have been roasted, usually along with onions, garlic, and fresh herbs (the final pickings of basil, parsley, and marjoram needed to be used). Mostly I’ve puréed them into sauce, although I did can one batch as whole tomatoes. The pantry is filling with those lovely jars of red deli...
I’ve been slowly working at finishing out the garden. This process always takes much longer than setting up the garden. Just planting seeds (as if it were that easy) goes fairly quickly: throw the seeds in the ground, add water, and wait. (Let’s ignore weeding.) Digging root crops, cleaning off the dirt residue, and storing them isn’t so quick. Then there are the above-ground crops that require more prepping for long-term storage. Whether you can, freeze, or dehydrate (or use a combination), it’s time-consuming work. The last of my corn on...
As I sit here composing this weeks musings on gardening in northeast Montana, I’m enjoying my vase full of the last of my gladioli blossoms. I freely admit I was very late (hello, procrastination) getting the bulbs into the ground last spring. But, the silver lining in that is that I have these beautiful flowers at the end of September when most others don’t. (I will get the bulbs dug and stored before next week, I swear!) I’ve been regularly deadheading my small marigolds. Those snapped off blossoms continue their purpose in life even away fro...
I’ve been bringing my greenery inside. There are entirely too many houseplants now enjoying the steady temperatures a well-insulated house provides. It seems I just can’t let them freeze. There are several duplicates so I may be advertising a few to sell. It always takes a while before the plants settle into their good fortune. A few of the amaryllis are showing limp, yellowed leaves. I’m going to try hard to remember to treat them (and all the plants) to a bit of fertilizer every other week or so. There are still a few hills of potatoes to be...
It was predicted by the weather service that the temperature at Opheim would drop to 36 Thursday night. I'm so glad I paid attention to that report. We actually saw it drop to 30 before dawn Friday. I spent the morning last Thursday gathering all my potted and house plants onto the front deck. The deck furniture was used as tent framing. The plants were tucked under the chairs, table and arched bench. Some of the larger ones went atop that bench. Lightweight blankets and beach towels were clothe...
We managed to finish harvesting all our wheat last week, with hired help. That help came in the form of another farming family: mom, dad, and oldest daughter all pitched in. There were a couple young sons riding along, absorbing the strong work ethic. They operated a combine alongside ours, drove the grain cart (transferring the grain from the combine to the semis), and drove said semis (depositing the grain into our bins) to and from the fields. They were a valuable addition, so besides the monetary compensation they earned, I fed them a large...
