Monthly Archives: April 2011

“It’s a Giant Bumble Bee!” Run Away!”

Last Thursday was what I call a perfect evening.  After another snow storm, it warmed up to 60 degrees and the wind stopped briefly.  So I donned a bright yellow Max Mara cotton sweater, nice black pants and some low heels and sashayed into town.  The Grand, our one upscale watering hole, was jumping.  From welders with blackened hands to me in my MM, we called out in joy that the wind had stopped and maybe, just maybe, we might get a splotch of spring, a wiggle of warm, a blast of balmy.

Patty came in and sunk into a stool and groaned.  She has had 14 sets of triplets in her no small sheep herd.  And this while bottling calves in her cow herd.  She and my husband, Mike,  compare notes on calving while I chatter away with Bruce about the latest Netflix rentals he has seen.

Mike and I decide to head home and make a jambalaya.  But as I ease on up our road I spot “COWS IN THE HAYSTACK!”.  Continue reading

“We Are Not Amused”

Montana has Winter and Summer.  No Spring and no Fall seasons to speak of. Oh, a day here and a day there, but nothing consistent.  So far we have had two more snow storms in April and as we approach May we will be lucky to see 55 degrees.  Even for Montana, this is downright weird.

Trying to Download Spring - April 8

We were supposed to brand our calves today, but the wind is howling and there is still snow in the corrals.  Snow!  Yes, Tuesday we were hit with another 6 inches of the stuff.  Two weeks ago, my neighbor 3 miles away was without power for three days.  We lucked out with power out for only a day.  Yesterday, he had his power go out again all day.  We lucked out and had power.  But to be on the safe side I ordered an APC Smart-UPS 1000XL, refurbished for $219.99 with a backup battery pack.  The whole unit can keep my computer going for over 7 hours, I was told.  Goody, I can peck away beside the fire during the next blizzard.

"We are not amused"