Five Signs Spring has Arrived

1. It snowed April 30th. (And yes, it WILL snow again, but the snow is not sticking.)
2. Future elk mommies are wandering around, getting bigger and looking uncomfortable.
3. Nothing is growing, but there is the very slightest hint of green in the yard.
4. The robins have come. (I've wondered what they eat this time of year, since there are no bugs and most of the ground is wormless and frozen.)

5. I have a bluebird pecking at my kitchen windows.

This happens every year. The mountain bluebirds arrive (that's the male on the left, and the female on the right.) and get busy building their nests. Apparently, the terrain around my kitchen windows is prime for bluebird nest-building.

The female bluebird is quite territorial when it comes to her nest. No other bluebirds dare to come close; she'll attack them with gusto.

That's where my evil windows come in. Said female sees her reflection in the windows, thinks it's another invading bluebird, and attacks. Peck, peck-peck, peck. This will go on for hours. She must be quite proud of herself for her braveness and diligence. Think of it as Bluebird Fight Club, only one-way.

The male bluebird could care less. He just sits on the fence rail, patiently waiting for his mate to finish off the competitor, looking a bit confused.

And so it goes. Peck, peck-peck, peck. Another idiosyncrasy that alarmed and bugged me at first, and now I sigh and ignore.

Peck, peck-peck, peck. 

A Revelation at Perkins

I am now officially a Senior Citizen.

(I still can’t say or think that without giggling.)

Dan tried to tell me I was considered a senior at age 50, since AARP membership is available then.  I told him phooey, since all AARP was trying to do is boost their membership.

I realized I had met this status at a Perkins restaurant.  The senior menu is for folks aged 55 and older. 

And then I realized that other restaurants have the same standard- age 55 is the Year of Cheaper Eating.

I don’t find this revelation depressing; I find it hilarious!  I mean, me, old enough to eat reduced portions at a discount, and old enough to join a senior citizen center. It just seems funny.

I don’t feel like a senior citizen.  I’m not sure if I look like a senior citizen.  But here I am, poised to take advantage of all the good things in old age.

What’s even funnier is at that Perkins restaurant I listened to the muzak and giggled more.  It was mid-afternoon, and most of the people in the restaurant appeared to be my age or older. 

The first song was from the group Yes.  Next was a song from Emerson, Lake and Palmer.  The third song was from the group Bread.

O. M. G.  Music from the 70’s is now Old People muzak.

I asked the waitress if she knew what the songs and groups were.  She didn’t, but knew she had heard them before..... and added, “my parents like songs like that.”

Hee hee, I’m a senior.  And it’s the funniest thing I’ve realized in a long while....

Wedding Daze? Days? Daize?

My first baby girl is getting married.  And my second baby girl will have her baby girl with her at the wedding! I’m getting excited, and looking forward to a wonderful few days spent with family and friends.

Life is pretty good.  I’ll soon be able to call two fabulous men son-in-laws, both couples have happy established lives, and my granddaughter is just adorable.  I saw little Juno in person when she was 3 months old, and now at a mature 1 year of age, I’m sure she’ll charm us with her almost-walking skills and flirting manner.

There’s nothing like a wedding to get the happy-vibe going.  A celebration of life, lots of smiles, good food, good drink, and a little dancing in between.  This wedding will be flavored with Montana mountains, western BBQ, hairy highland cows in the background, a lovely old dancehall featured in a Robert Redford movie, and bluegrass music before and after the ceremony.

Memories of my babies have been flitting through my head in the last few days. My oldest with her smile and huge blue eyes that saw and understood most everything, my youngest completely contained in a water bucket in her swimsuit, her knees against her chest with a big grin.  The years flew by much faster than I expected, and they grew into lovely women.  My biggest wish was that they would find their path in life and live it with gusto.  I’m happy to say both have been very successful.

On to good, happy times…..

Compare THIS to Life in the Suburbs...

Consider this my weekly whine.... (actually, I don't whine that much, but I'm due)

Wake up this morning to coyotes yipping in the distance.  (In the east, it's ki-yo-tees; out west, it's ki-yotes.  Still getting used to that.)

Get my shower ready and hear a steady 'clunk-clunk' on the back deck.  Look out the window and see Chilli and Pepper chewing on an entire leg bone of some critter.

Get dressed, then freak out when Chilli comes in the living room with a gooey hoof- seems that the leg bone belonged to a deer.  Throw the hoof away in disgust.

Go on a killing spree and knock off about 14 flies buzzing around the house (apparently this happens every year about this time).

Attend the morning work meeting; seems the guys are going to 'blow out' the water lines for irrigation.  I'm not needed, so I go back home.

Feeling unmotivated, look around the house and ponder things to do.  Stare at the end table that is covered in dust, which I dusted 1 1/2 days ago.  I know I mentioned before that dust was not my enemy, but it sure isn't my friend, either....

Decide to do the many mundane things I so love to do, like laundry, sweeping (even though I swept last night before the dogs came prancing in with hundreds of burs stuck to them and everything they then touched), cleaning the kitchen, blah, blah...

Look out the kitchen window and see my 2 dogs prancing across the front yard, each holding an end of a nasty, smelly deer hide (that apparently was in the same vicinity as the earlier deer leg).

Freak out again and run after them to get the disease-ridden thing away from them and put it in a trash bag.

Then drive up to the work barn to put the trash and the putrid deer skin indoors in the garbage where other wild animals can't reach it.  (Sighted 2 wolves on our side of the basin on Monday, and the neighbor on the other side of the valley shoo'ed away a grizzly and 2 cubs trying to get into his garage).  Idly consider the fact that whatever eats a deer would probably see both of my dogs as appetizers.

Get back home and look at the clock- it's only 10:30.

Sigh.....

Gerta Gets A Makeover

Gerta is our house, with whom I have an uneasy alliance.  She's a little bit ranch dirty, and I guess I'm a bit of a clean diva.  The problem, I realized in an earlier post, is she was and is a tomboy and loves it, and she does her best to remind me that when it comes to dust, grime and rough edges, she thinks she is the boss.

Gerta reminds me of Calamity Jane in the HBO series called "Deadwood".  (Rachel sent us the first season on DVD to occupy Dan as he recovered, and we have both been enjoying it.)  Calamity Jane is portrayed as a tough, grimy, drinking, profane woman who has a soft heart, deep underneath her facade.

If Gerta were a person, I could see her cussing someone out while spitting chewing tobacco on the ground and loving it.  But... she'd keep you warm and comfortable when you needed it.

In spite of her foibles, Gerta has a new look.  All the buildings on the ranch were painted this last summer, and Gerta went from her yellow house/green roof to a new beige house with gray roof:

Gerta's spiffy new look

What she looked like a year ago

She also got a new garage door installed; previously, there was a picture window in its place.

We are close to finishing what started out as our first project on the house- the front door.  The original door could have been a finalist in the 'Ugliest Door Contest':

We came up with an abstract mountainous scene, which Dan cut out of wood and carved and I painted:

We also painted the door off white.  All that's left is putting a finishing frame around the piece.

Next on our list is an update of the bathroom.  Since this 'first project' took a year, we'll see how quick that gets done..... :)  Pictures to one day come!

Montana Misc. in July

Summer is swiftly passing us by, and we have to celebrate many things:

Family who came to visit:

A double rainbow we enjoyed

Ranch horses courtesy of niece Megan

Eek! Bear claws on a tree.....

Nephews Eric and Ryan with Pepper, and the giant get-well Bear I got Dan

A great visit with my mom and dad late May, Jennifer and Megan in June, and the Godziellas in July (angel helpers when Dan was hurt), the guardian angels who looked over Dan and kept him alive, generous managers and ranch owners who stood by Dan during his recuperation, a first grand-daughter coming soon from our daughter Erika, a new home and future wedding plans from our daughter Rachel, a beautiful place to live and work, the blessing of a pain shot for me in by lower left back (hallelujah!), a new companion dog and playmate for Pepper we named Chilli.....

In spite of the trials, our blessings are many.  Yee haw kippee kiy yiy yay!  (that's Montana talk for "it's all good....")

Montana Blooms

With snow each day on Memorial Day weekend, we went straight to Summer and skipped Spring.  That resulted in a bit of flower confusion- iris blooming on the same par with roses, lilac blooms in July, and general posy mayhem.

Once things get going, Montana makes up for lost time with flowers everywhere- even the weeds go crazy!  Below are a sampling of pretty petals that have been on the ranch in the last few weeks.  Dan has been responsible for many of them along with his crew (he did the planning, buying and some of the planting until his accident).  Enjoy!

 

Let's not forget the dandelions!  Pepper shows them off in her new

 summer cut.

Dust is NOT the Enemy

Today I power-cleaned my house- swept, washed floors, did laundry, dusted, gave the dog a bath, and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom.  I got into the ‘evil’ spots; those little nooks and crannies that any homeowner knows about, but hidden to the casual visitor.

I did it because I finally had the time to get the work done, and for the peace of mind that, for a little while, I could rest confident in the fact that my house is clean.

Somehow, I was raised to think that dust was a thing to fight.  A dusty house was a dirty house.  It was a negative status symbol, a sign that a woman was not in control of her home or her life.

I accepted that, and fought the enemy diligently.

Until I moved to Montana.

Here I’ve learned the silly simple truth that dust is part of life.  It’s in the roads, in the fields, in the air on my dog, and yes, it’s in my house.

I promise you now, that if you visit my home, you will find dust.  I’ll Swiffer it when it makes the furniture turn grey instead of brown, but there will always be some around.

Along with the aspens, the mountains, and the blue, blue skies, dust has kinda become a friend.  It’s constant, it’s dependable, and it’s always there….

Memorial Day Weekend..... REALLY?!??

It has snowed here off and on all weekend.... several times we have had snow covering the ground, with a melt off and we start the cycle all over again.  We're having a great visit with mom and dad in spite of the snow, and have had a couple breaks in the weather to see and appreciate the mountains all around us.  (As you can see, most of the time the mountains aren't visible.)



I found out late last week my good friend Lisa Wilson suddenly passed away. 

It’s rare in Life to meet true friends- the people you connect and stay in touch with over the years, whose triumphs you cheer and whose trials you share and shout into the night over the injustice of it all.

Lisa was one of those rare souls. She had a true servant’s heart and was gifted with compassion and warmth that touched many people. A blessing was she was able to spend time with friends ‘away from it all’ in Florida and get a break from her challenges in life.

I know she’s moved on to a better reality with peace surrounding her, and I remember her during good times…….. enjoy your blessings, my friend.

 

Ranch Dirty

Right now my world is a place of mud and ice.  The snows are s-l-o-w-l-y melting, and although they look snowy, they have transformed into icy, gritty, hard-packed mounds that are fighting their last battle with the warmer temps.

(‘Warmer’ mostly means temperatures in the middle thirties to low forties.  And over the weekend we got eight inches of snow, so it’s an ongoing battle.)

Where the snow has given way, there is slushy dirt and gravel.  The ground squishes and oozes mud on boots when stepped on.  The trucks and ranch vehicles are covering in a thick frosting of dried dirt, and the layers continue to grow.

To make it more interesting, our back yard is a sea of torn-up dirt clods with muddy rivulets of water leaking past into the pasture below.  (Last winter our septic system decided to die, and the new leach beds were put in after clearing out the drifts of snow.)  Our dog Pepper loves the outdoors, and regularly comes to the back door with paws packed with mucky dirt.

The roads are a disaster- one has a choice between snowy slush to skate on, or gooey mud trenches that spray mess everywhere.

The pastures and fields are covered with animal poo that, until now, have been frozen poopsicles.  Since the elk, deer, coyotes, dogs, and other critters wander freely, fragrant reminders of their visit are also on the roads, yards and walkways.  Not stepping in some kind of poo is an impossibility.

One bit of hope for Spring are the birds- both robins and bluebirds have returned.  This morning, while walking up to the work barn for our morning meeting, I realized the bird chatter was a new sound.  “This too shall pass,” I thought.  The snows will melt, plants will grow, the mud will turn to dirt, and we’ll have elk babies to watch as they scamper around.

All griping aside, once I resigned myself to muddy boots, coats and clothes, there is an ever-changing panorama of wildlife, weather and mountains to feast my eyes on each day.  Poopsicles aside, it’s a beautiful place to live.