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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...
It always seems the weather quickly turns cool once the kids are back in school. Now that we're having really cool (sometimes downright chilly) mornings and evenings, it's time to start winnowing out my houseplants again. Each year, I get to decide which will make the cut and spend the winter inside with me and which are going to freeze and die. Such power I have! I have pulled all my onions, not wanting them to get waterlogged and rot in the soil since some rain finally arrived. They've been...
First off, let me apologize for not getting my column written last week. We'd had a lot of rain and couldn't harvest the sodden wheat. That led to a sudden decision to 'get out of Dodge.' Dennis had a golf club that needed repair so we hit the road to Billings Friday afternoon when I usually write this column. I just wasn't up to trying to write while bouncing down the road. We traveled to Billings via Fort Peck, Brockway, Flowing Wells, hopping on the interstate just past Terry. Let me tell...
The corn is starting to bear a few smallish ears. While they're on the small side, skinny and short, the flavor is big. The stalks are really tall so the size of the ears is a disappointment. The live trap is set between two rows, where it will be somewhat easy for me to drag it out should it fulfill its duty and be occupied by a heavy, snarling raccoon. This year, I'm shucking the corn inside the house and disposing of the husks and silk in the garbage. I'm hoping the lack of good corn aroma...
For the past few weeks, whenever the wind has blown, dried up leaves from the shade trees have been blown down. They’re scattered all over the lawn. The stress of the drought has overcome the amount of watering of the yard I’ve been able to do. I’ve concentrated more on the garden, for my edibles. It’s so sad to see all the devastation from the lack of rain. Because of the drought, and at Dennis’s suggestion, I’d removed the grass catcher attachment from the mower, figuring the lawn needed the extra mulching to help hold in what water it go...
While we've had a couple of "cooler" (80's rather than 100's) days recently, we still haven't had any rain to speak of. The sky teased us with a few sprinkles last Thursday: we called it an 8" rain as there was 8" of space between raindrops. Laughing is better than crying which would only waste more moisture. Now, the brutal heat has resumed. It's a constant struggle to keep both the garden and the yard watered. Some sections of lawn aren't getting watered and look as bad as the rangelands. A...
EDITOR'S NOTE: This column was slated to run in the July 21 edition, but was held due to lack of space. In case anyone who isn’t advertising in or writing columns for the Glasgow Courier hasn’t noticed yet, the deadline for each week’s issue has been moved up from noon on Monday to 5 p.m. the previous Friday. That means, for those of who live outside Glasgow and depend on the U.S. mail service, our weekly Courier arrives on Thursday, not Wednesday, so that what we submit is almost a week old before we see it in print. Dawdling (or procr...
We've had a short break from the brutally hot weather. Twice last week we woke to temperatures that had dropped into the high 50's. Having the windows open overnight was a treat. Blankets were wanted. Then on Thursday we were blessed with almost a half inch of rain. I almost didn't recognize the sound of it hitting the skylights. Dennis thought the ground would have absorbed that so quickly that you wouldn't know it had rained at all. He found out differently when the loaded semi couldn't make i...
As is normal each spring, some things perk up faster than others. Such is the case with rhubarb, chives and asparagus. Hating to see such things go to waste, I have a couple recipes and a suggestion to share that take advantage of these spring crops. Spiced Rhubarb • 2 1/2 # sliced rhubarb • 2 C sugar • 1 C water • 1 C sugar • 1 C cider vinegar • 1/2 tsp cloves • 1/2 tsp mace • 1/2 tsp allspice • 1/2 tsp ginger • 1/2 tsp cinnamon Sprinkle the rhubarb with 2 cups sugar, let stand overnight. Reserving the juice, drain in the morning and add wat...
Finally, a Sunday without snow, although it’s cold and blustery, with spits of rain. Unfortunately, those spits were not nearly enough for this dry country, but they do help to keep our hopes for more rain alive. There was some advancement made towards the summer yard-to-be this week. A couple afternoons were spent clearing more flowerbeds; only three are left. Under a deep layer of dead leaves I found my daffodils were up about 6”. Flower buds appeared soon after the unveiling. Lots of other greenery was uncovered as well: day lilies, lil...
It’s starting to feel like I’m living through the movie Groundhog Day: another Sunday heralding a return of colder weather, with the prospect of intermittent bouts of snow flurries thrown in for good measure. Early on Sunday, the sky to the west of us looked bruised. That’s the direction our weather usually comes from, although last week it came out of the east. I’m not really happy with what Mother Nature keeps throwing at us. Where are those April showers? Those are supposed to be rain, not snow! We need some May flowers to cheer us up. At...
Why does it seem that every Sunday brews up some not-so-nice weather? Or is it just me that feels that way? Way up here, far beyond the Middle of Nowhere, this past Sunday gave us lots and lots of wind, sharply dropping temperatures, and snow flurries. Mother Nature in Montana goes out of her way to make sure we'll appreciate those rare, really fine days. I'd like to show more appreciation... Since the nasty weather is keeping us indoors, we're appreciating all our modern conveniences - heat,...