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Planting and Foraging In the Rain
ShareLast night we went to blissful sleep listening to the sound of soft rain pattering on the roof of our cabin. We had just finished planting out the seedlings, seeds and young plants into the ranch’s huge vegetable garden, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, lettuce, cilantro, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, kale, chard, bok choi, cabbage, peas, nasturtiums, sweet peas and sunflowers. Everything is mulched to protect the ground from the strong sun. The raspberry canes and rhubarb are leafing out, the strawberries are flowering and the apple, plum and lilac trees are all in full bloom, giving the air an exotic perfume. We are lucky that one…
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May Day Social
ShareA brisk spring snow storm passed through last night bringing four of inches of wet snow but with the increasing height of the sun it had all melted by lunch time and the air was like fine crystal. As I stood outside the main house refilling a watering can to quench the leggy seedlings in the green house, I heard some insane chattering overhead. I peered up at the great pine tree that shades the ranch house in summer and breaks the fierce winter gales. At the top of the tree I counted fourteen robins and an assortment of chickadees all socializing in the welcome morning sun. They perched decoratively…
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Snow Falling on Cinders
Share In Montana, April is a very good month to get to the burn pile. Last years accumulation of trimmed branches, dug up roots and broken fencing have dried in their stack through the summer heat, blustery dry fall and has just emerged from a glacial winter. We have had the gamut thrown at us this week of April. Three inches of snow followed by brilliant sunshine and mid sixties, during which Richard sustained his first sunburn of the year, thunderstorms, hail, wind, rain with sun, frost, and now it is snowing again. Large fluffy flakes fizzle into the red hot charcoal; all that is left of today’s bonfire. Bluebells,…
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Are We There Yet?
ShareIt may be hasty to use the present tense, but indications that spring has arrived in our part of south central Montana are building as the days pass. Calving and lambing came first while below freezing nights and snowy, wind blown days held us in winter’s grip. The new life was the sole herald of hope in the bleakness. After the babies gained in strength they could be seen running full tilt with one another or racing the ranch tractor, while their mothers socialized or waited with patience for the little terrors to return hungry to the milk bar. The next arrivals were the bluebirds and robins flashing their exotic…
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At Tara Today
ShareAt Tara today in this fateful hour I place all heaven with its power, And the sun with its brightness, And the snow with its whiteness, And the fire with all the strength it has, And lightening with its rapid wrath, And the winds with their swiftness along the path, And the sea with its deepness, And the rocks with their steepness, And the Earth with its starkness, All these I place Between myself and the powers of Darkness SAINT PATRICK Except for the part about the sea, Saint Patrick might have been describing Montana back in AD 410 or so. In Ireland, they smile benignly at the fervor…
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“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind”
Share There was a flash of brilliant blue across my vision as I walked home to our cabin from the ranch today. There are rows upon rows of different vegetable seedlings sprouting in the warm, humid greenhouse. They are full of hope with their slim stems straining to support newly unfurled leaves. They almost shout at me when I open the greenhouse door, “Wheee, Yoo Hoo! When do we get to go and play outside? The answer is, “Not so fast young sprouts.” The horses and dogs are shedding their long winter fur coats and when we walk around the ranch lands there are bugs starting to rustle about…
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New Life in a Cold World
Share February is the middle of winter. There is more snow recorded in this month for Montana than any other month of the year, the nights are below freezing and during the day the weak sun barely wins the temperature contest against the bitter wind off the Rockies. And yet February marks the start of lambing and calving on the millions of acres of Montanaranchland. A rancher’s year is tuned to this pastoral wheel. He knows that in February his nights will be disrupted by the insistent alarm clock. At 2 am he will repeat his round of the expectant cows in the birthing pasture. The headlights of his powerful farm truck pick…
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One More Cast
Share“I have received your information. Thanks very much for sending this along. We are in the process of collecting resumes and will be in touch soon. -Of course we are thrilled you are Stegner fans!” We clasped each other and danced about the office. What had a fifty-something couple said to garner such a positive response? The country was in a double death grip with recession and high unemployment and although we were working, our resumes were sparse in many important areas. Everything hinged on the fact that we had been swept away by the books of Wallace Stegner. As we looked for work it helped that we had…
Bench Ranch
