Because tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day and leprechauns are a type of fairy or sprite in Irish folklore, which are often looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I thought I’d talk a little about gold. Sure, you’ve heard of the California Gold Rush but did you know […]
Montana
Marlene’s Homemade Huckleberry Jam Recipe
Nothing compares to the wholesome goodness of a jar of homemade huckleberry jam. The aroma and flavor are out of this world! And the knowledge that you made it fresh yourself is very satisfying. Jump to Recipe ________________________________________________ Summers are warm and sunny in Montana, but the growing season is short. Everything grows like crazy […]
A Quiet Walk in the Park
I always check the Daybook column in the newspaper for things to do. Thursdays, I scan the Outdoor section for events and often find fun, affordable, and free activities the whole family can enjoy. This month I found that Glacier is offering “Winter Nights” cross-country skiing. They are ranger led treks under the […]
Spam-O-Rama in Bigfork, Montana
Besides Ski joring, dog sled races, ice skating, sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, and bar stool races…what else do Montanans do to chase away the winter blues? They carve SPAM! Spam-O-Rama celebrated its eighth year of Spam carving merriment on a recent Saturday afternoon in Bigfork. About 50 carvers and spectators showed up at Bigfork’s Garden Bar for the […]
Where the Buffalo Roam
Oh give me a home, Where the buffalo roam, Where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day. The poem “My Western Home” was originally written in the early 1870’s by Dr. Brewster M. Higley in Smith County, Kansas. It was first published in December […]
Giddyap! It’s Skijoring Time
What do you get when you have a skier hang onto a rope pulled by a cowboy on a horse that’s running around a snow covered course? Skijoring of course. And they’re off! It’s Whitefish Carnival time and last Sunday’s skijoring championship brought out lots of rugged Montanans of all ages to watch the annual event. It was snowing, but the temps were […]
Happy Groundhog Day 2010 – Phil Sees His Shadow
Phil saw his shadow this morning in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania forecasting 6 more weeks of winter. Last year on February 2, I wrote a blog post about Groundhog Day saying that the 2009 prediction was no surprise to me. It’s still no surprise to me this year and it’s kind of hard to imagine anyone seeing their shadow right now with […]
The Baby is Turning 12!
Saturday will be E’s 12th birthday and because I intend to be enjoying an afternoon of ice skating with her on Woodland Pond, I’m posting these birthday greetings today. E is the baby of our family of 5 kids. She shares this status with her older brother who is 32. Yes, we had a nineteen-year […]
Grandpa Davey Reads Weird Ben
Listening to Grandpa Davey reading “Weird Ben” to the grandkids via Skype last night was such a hoot. Sitting in his chair in front of the webcam with a blanket wrapped around him, he raised his voice and told everybody to shut up and began reading M and E’s eight page story that they wrote when they were little. I absolutely adore […]
The History of Dutch Elm Disease
Pictured on the cover of this morning’s newspaper is a man in a bucket truck cutting tree limbs. It’s captioned that he is cutting branches from a tree infected with Dutch elm disease. Crews will have to destroy from 75 to 90 of these majestic trees by April. What is Dutch elm disease and why is it named “Dutch”? It seems […]
