Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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A year or so ago, I gave a couple houseplants to a friend up here in the great North of the Middle of Nowhere. I didn't have names for them, so she looked them up. I'm sure she gave me the correct names for them, but my brain changed the one. Therefore, for the past year I've been calling this lovely plant the Pearls of Omar. I stand corrected: it's the Jewels of Opar. Ooops. That's very similar, right? I've never heard the name Opar, but am aware of more than one Omar. The way I came to possess...
Can I talk about this today? They do say half the battle of curing an addiction is admitting you have one. But you can't be cured if you don't really want to be. And I've convinced myself my case really isn't that bad...Dennis may think differently. I will admit to having caused two of our three daughters to become hooked on houseplants and/or container gardening as well. I believe it's genetic, though. My mother hooked me, as well as my sisters. I think my brother escaped unscathed. Maybe it's...
The weather recently has actually been pretty nice, especially for February. I secretly think Mother Nature is doing her best to soften us up for the next bit of nastiness we all know is coming. But when it's been as nice as this, it's easy to lie to ourselves and allow hope to grow that spring is closer than the calendar says. I'm among those who has allowed herself to believe that gardening weather is returning. So much lying to myself! Last week when we went into Markles (drain cleaner was...
We’re off on another trip that involves our grandsons and hockey. This one, unfortunately, is not to warmer southern climes. There’s a bit of prideful boasting involved in this, since both boys were invited to compete in a tournament in Quebec City. The boys are 10 and 12 years old, and I’m still blown away at how far these Florida natives will travel to compete on ice. Us grandparents are also willing to travel that far to cheer for them. I’m sure I won’t be coming home with photos of botanical gardens. I’m writing this column a week early and...
Last week I briefly mentioned there being so many varieties of palm trees at the Sunken Gardens. There were palm trees scattered throughout the gardens, a well as a palm grove. Many of them I'd never heard of. I thought I'd write about those this week, to keep us envisioning tropical climes and ignoring the cold and snow enveloping our corner of Montana. I'd thought I'd be able to do a quick online search for palms of Florida, but no, there are way too many types to cover. I'd said I was amazed...
During our last few days enjoying Florida, we made our usual trip to see the manatees. These aquatic mammals, also called sea cows, used to be mistaken for mythical mermaids. I think those sailors who saw sirens in these huge animals had been out to sea for much too long! (Manatees are the elephants of the sea, and far from siren-like.) There is a manatee sanctuary/viewing center at Apollo Beach, which is really close to where we stay while in Florida. The center is near (and maintained by) the...
We're on our annual winter trip to "sunny" Florida to have the Christmas holiday with our middle daughter and her family. So far, while we have seen the sun off and on, it hasn't been particularly warm. The beach trip may not happen (sorry, Todd). We didn't pack enough pants and long-sleeved shirts! We've already spent a day at an icy-cold hockey rink watching the middle grandson play in a couple games. (The oldest grandson, in college, has skipped hockey this winter.) We've also spent an...
This week I'm going to maybe bore you with the info I've gleaned on amaryllis plants. Aren't you excited? These bulbs are ubiquitous in the Christmas season. They are 'forced' to bloom during this time of year, when we long for that burst of color to cheer us in the blah-ness of the onset of winter. Normally, left in nature, these plants would bloom in the spring. In fact, the word amaryllis is taken from the Greek amarysso, which means "to sparkle." It also means "pride, determination, and...
Let's start this week with some of the previously threatened "too much info" on plants. I have a Flamingo Flower, also called a Flamingo Lily or Tailfeather. It's similar to a Peace Lily, but has red, pink, or purple flowers rather than white. The flowers are called spathes, and the yellow center, which grows up at a 90 degree angle from the flower, is called a spadix. The flowers are waxy, look plastic, and are a single heart-shaped petal. The leaves are also heart-shaped. Flamingo Flowers...
You may be wondering why I titled this week's column as I did. I could have used a number of synonyms (assortment, conglomerate, hodgepodge, jumble, medley) but then I wouldn't have the built-in rather lame joke about olio not equaling oleo. One is based off the thick Spanish stew made of meats and veggies while the other refers to the various fats and oils used to make fake butter. This week's scribblings are neither a thick stew nor a fat fake. So, on to my hodgepodge: First, I'd like to...
We attended the most recent NAN (Northeastern Arts Network) concert held up at the Glasgow High School last week. There are four concerts held here each winter. You've now missed the first two. The next one will be held Feb. 6, and is "a modern-day folk trio inspired by the music and legacy of Peter, Paul, and Mary" called The Band Called Honalee. Really, more people here should make the effort to attend these events. How often do you get quality live musicians giving concerts up here in the...
I'm afraid winter is here to stay. Our Opheim snow-birds have or are preparing to fly the coop. The last of the couples have just deserted us for warmer climes. I can't blame them. I'm starting to dream of our annual Christmas trip to sunny Florida. I won't miss this brutal cold or that blanket of snow. The two days of ice-fog up here did make everything sparkly and pretty. But sparkly and pretty isn't at all warm. I'm sure the deer that are dining on my lilacs (the leaves didn't get a chance to...
We arrived back home in time to enjoy the last of the beautiful fall weather. (I do hope we get more, but I won't hold my breath.) Didn't we all enjoy a rare relatively warm (and snow-free) Halloween? Costumes didn't need to include snowsuits. We were away on my family reunion trip (and to see our youngest and her family) when those of you still here in lovely northeastern Montana got that first taste of winter's return. We saw the dregs of that first snow lingering in sheltered areas and on...
Editor's Note: This column was submitted on Oct. 22. We are currently out of state, at my family reunion in Nebraska. My father was born and raised in Ponca, Neb. His dad was a railroad man, with a small farm on the side. His mom was a German immigrant. Dad had three brothers and one sister. Dad dropped out of high school, lying about his age, to join the Navy so he could fight for our country in WWII. By the time I was born, WWII was long over and dad had switched to the Air Force. Because of...
Editor's Note: This column was submitted to us Oct. 8. There was ample warning, for those of us who check weather forecasts, that a hard freeze was coming. This forced me to stop (some of) my procrastinating. I'll always have something I'm putting off doing until forced into action. I spent two full days (actually, two afternoons: I still had to cook a noon meal and haul it to Dennis in the field) getting the houseplants sorted out. (This should be a clear warning that I have too many plants.)...
I'm much too good at putting things off. Who wants to think about pulling all the tomatoes when it's still pushing 100°? Even though we're now into October (!), it hasn't seemed like fall. And so, having legitimately earned a Masters in Procrastination, my houseplants are still grouped on the front deck. The dahlias haven't been dug. The gladioli bulbs haven't been trimmed and bagged for winter storage. Shoot. I just had another picking of green beans a few days ago. I say pshaw to fall. (I...
The calendar says it is officially fall, but you wouldn't know it with the return of such warm temperatures. I lucked out and didn't lose my entire garden to frost, even though our thermometer read 31.5° last week. I think all the trees that surround my garden kept enough warmth in there to counteract the brief time it dipped below freezing. There were a few leaves on the pumpkins that curled and turned black. I'm really grateful it wasn't worse since I hadn't covered anything. I'm still...
As much as I hate to see summer go, I cannot prevent fall from arriving. I hate seeing fall because we all know what follows, usually much too quickly. I'm giving in to reality, though, and starting on my regular fall clean-up-the-garden chores. I have all my houseplants that spent these past months outdoors gathered together on the front deck. If a frost threatens (and we've lucked out so far and not had one, although we did drop to 35° a couple weeks ago) I can easily get them covered....
As much as I hate to see summer go, it’s going to. I can’t stop it. And so it’s definitely time to be thinking of clearing up the garden. I’ve been pulling all the dead and dying vegetation. That mostly consists of flowers past their prime, plus the dill and cilantro that’s gone to seed. I’ve pinched off dead marigold blossoms and scattered them around my “volunteer flower” section. This is the area that is almost constantly shaded by the big tree on the southeast corner of the garden. There are many flowers I didn’t plant. Most of them libe...
I’m starting this week with a short lesson, the meaning of doldrums. It’s a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or depression. The term is nautical, taken from sailors describing an equatorial region of the Atlantic. The shifting area features calms, sudden storms, and light, unpredictable winds. Synonyms are: inactive, quiet, slow, slack, sluggish, subdued, stagnant, crestfallen, glum, blue, despondent, woebegone, and bummed out. Almost all these terms apply to me lately. I’ve skipped depressed and despondent, and I hope I’m not sta...
I must admit that the presence of our grandsons (and now our middle daughter) has kept my attention away from my yard and garden. We’ve been golfing, attended two productions at the Fort Peck Theatre (Always, Patsy Cline, and Suessical, the Musical - we highly recommend this current show), to Kiwanis Park for tetherball (mainly to blow off energy before the theatre), and dining in town quite often. The boys are learning to adjust their hockey slap shots into proper golf swings - mostly. This u...
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...
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...
