I may get "business" cards made up with this image...

What do you think?

Opinionated...

At one of the last gatherings I had with my nearest and dearest friends (whom I won't name or give the reason for the gathering), one of them remarked that she never blogged anymore because she didn't think anyone would want to read what she had to say.  She explained (after I nearly dropped my margarita) that if she said what she REALLY thought, it would be bad.  She said she wasn't brave enough.

It's not like she's going to write anything that would incite violence or compromise her family, legally.  Unless she writes about her famous-in-certain-circles pot brownies...

*JOKE!!*

People post their thoughts and beliefs on Facebook left and right, even my friend, although she's thoughtful about what she puts up.  But most of the stuff there is re-posts with other's words, from online publications, with a tiny endorsement in the status line.  On a blog, it's YOUR thoughts and ideas, explained from YOUR point of view....it's YOU, not just an agreement with someone you highly regard.

My friend has good things, tough things to say.

And she feels vulnerable, because once you put it on your blog, anyone can read, judge and refer back to it. They can even link to it!  It feels as though it can and will be held against you.  Almost as though you need a clause under your blog header that says, "This opinion in no way reflects the views of my mother or anyone in my family, is indicative of my mood that moment on the day of the post, and very well may be influenced by female hormones or lack of sleep."

I know that I'm not the best person to start handing out blog advice or even advice on bravery regarding words in print. But I DO think it's important to feel free to express your thoughts and opinions if you have something to say.  That's one of the beautiful things about being American.  As of right now, we have the privilege, the right, the blessing of being able to say what we think.  Especially on a blogging platform.  If someone is offended by my posts about killing flies or cows calving or recipes that don't turn out so well, they can stop reading it.  That's THEIR right.  (Losing followers by the handful, I'm sure...)

There's courtesy and respect involved in blogging.
There's the great little tool that allows one to invite only certain readers to a blog.
There's the ability to vaporize a post, and believe me, I've done that more than once!

But then...
there's the opportunity to "meet" incredible people you never would have, otherwise! (From Australia, Florida and Michigan, to name just a couple places.)
There's the journaling aspect.  I had forgotten some of the funny parenting/ranching moments until I read back through the Chronicles!
There's the authenticity.  This is your safe place, YOUR publication, you are the editor.

I dearly hope my friend begins blogging again.
I hope that she doesn't hold the pot brownie joke against me. :)
I hope you all read the Chronicles with a greater understanding of how brave and vulnerable someone has to be to write about hole-y underwear, depression, dreams, parenting and more.

I know I appreciate my faithful followers more, now that I've truly thought through all these things.
(You all need to know THIS about me...I'm one of those people who wants an "UN-SEND" button on email. To lay my soul bare here on the Chronicles expresses the greatest trust in mankind and grace.)
Thanks for your kind tolerance and continuous support and interest!

Postcards from the pasture...

Yesterday morning, I had a wonderful surprise when feeding!

It wasn't the flowers, although I was completely shocked to see them already blooming just two days after the snow melted off them.

I remember trying to pick these when I was a kid and they were impossible...now I know it's because they bloom in impossible places at impossible times.  Town kids get dandelions, ranch kids find these little rock flowers.

It wasn't the lonely sage hen who blends so brilliantly into the prairie that it looks like a patch of grass shifting slowly.  Sage hens are r-e-a-l-l-y slow. And I'm not sure they're all that bright.  They are quite deliberate birds, so when I rousted this one out of her hiding hole by nearly driving a 4 wheeler over her, she was less scared than annoyed.  I could tell she was thinking, "Well, NOW I have to find ANOTHER perfect sagebrush to sun in and it took most of this morning to find THIS one...huff!"  (If you look closely at the photo, you'll catch the scowl.) (Who knew sage hens scowled?!?!)

My wonderful surprise was Daisy's new baby!  All spring, I've been worrying that perhaps Daisy was open, no calf, because she didn't look big enough.  About a week ago, though, she started bagging up and looking a wee bit fatter, so we decided she was just going to be a late calver.  I kept telling the Farmer that she was so smart that she was waiting until the spring snow storms were over.  Bless her little bovine heart, she proved me right!

I hadn't been out with the guys feeding for a couple days, so I hadn't seen the cows or checked on Daisy.  But when I drove in the Coal Mine pasture that morning, I could see this little cow with a new baby so I drove the pickup over to check it out.

Daisy just had finished cleaning the calf off as I pulled up.  It was almost as though she'd timed it exactly so I'd be the first one to see her baby that morning.  She was making the little "mmmnnn" mama noises, worried about me being so close and wanting the little thing to stand up.  I left a little cake for her, took proud pictures on my phone and went on to feed the other cows with my heart singing!
The Farmer tagged the calf about 20 minutes later with the OC 1 and announced it was a heifer!

Later that afternoon, I took the wheeler out and tried to get pictures.  It was impossible.

I'm pleased to introduce little Violet to you all!
(She's just exquisitely tiny and perfect...AND she can run like crazy.  Here she is, 5 hours old.)

Daisy is such a good mama!  So...along with being the World's Most Beautiful Cow, she's also showing that she's smart, maternal and has great timing. (Remember her first calf was born on my night watch?  Isn't that remarkable?  What are the odds, huh?)

They finally posed for me, but only for a moment...

I should have little cow birth announcements made up, probably.
Because..you know...everyone is as thrilled and interested in this one cow as I am.
:)

Oui! C'est merveilleux!

It has been a hard, sad month with calves dying in the snow, the Boston bombing at the Marathon, a fertilizer plant explosion, my little dog had a stroke yesterday (lived, but tips to the left badly)!  I had forgotten completely that I had gotten a new magazine in the mail, having laid it aside for more comforting reading.  I picked it up yesterday and it was good medicine for my heart!  I've been meaning to share it with you since December, but obviously pictures of cows in the snow take precedence...*rolling of eyes, here*

I know we get magazines (NOT IN BROWN PAPER WRAPPERS) that make the postmistress say, "Huh...!"

National Geographic Travel, Boston Magazine, Bon Appetit and...

France magazine; 

the topic of this post. 

It's a delightful publication that is delivered every two months, which in my opinion is not nearly often enough.  It has travel articles that are not flowery or run of the mill, very specific advice on where to stay and local (not popular) sights.  It also includes a section for people like me who are trying to learn French and really want to make certain we're translating what we're reading, correctly.  In this section, one half of the page is in  French, the other half in English.  I read the French side first, then flip to the English to see how close I got to the gist of the article.  I'm getting better!  There are puzzles in French, reviews of French movies/music/books/style, food news (AND recipes!), and every issue profiles a different Paris arrondissement (area of town...think Billings Heights and the West End).  At the very end of the magazine are rental properties in France to be had.  

That's just cruel. 

But for the most part, for me, it's a multi-page postcard and letter from France...not incredibly touristy, but not snootily local.  

Yesterday, when I could bear no more sadness, couldn't pray another thought, I happened to see the France magazine and opened it almost absentmindedly.

It was mostly rural France, with the exception, of course of the Paris section.  Brittany, Burgandy, St. Helena Island where Napoleon was exiled and eventually died....

A recipe for beef stew, another for coddled eggs, a review of a family movie (that I need to get my hands on) called Le Petit Nicholas, a snarky article about how to be French if you must (complain constantly).

It was almost like a hug. 

For 15 minutes, I wasn't fretting or sick to my stomach...I was enchanted!

I don't know if I'll ever get to France. Even Paris, Texas is a stretch of the imagination, really.

But every two months, I fall into her culture and remember why I love her!

Cows = Endless Spring Work

But at least they're amusing...to ME.

Here are some pictures of what my mornings look like and who I have coffee hours with (complete with "cake").

Could it be the world's most beautiful cow?!?!

Indeed!  It's Miss Daisy-ma'am, who is nearly always 2nd or 3rd in line for the feed.

The Farmer told me that sometimes when he tags a calf, she'll come running over to check it out and he feared that she may be open (not pregnant) this spring.  I reminded him that she was a little peculiar and that last summer when my bums bawled, she'd hustle over, too.  

Waiting and hoping for a heifer calf from her this spring...

Do you SEE THIS?!?!
This gal got on the bad side of a grumpy porcupine!
Astoundingly, she doesn't seem to have any infection, but man, does it look painful!

Yelling at the kid...

They make me laugh, when they bawl with their WHOLE body!

Snitching goodies before everyone else gets there.
#824 in the Fishing Hole pasture eats cake pellets out of my hand!  She'll re-a-c-h her neck out, then re-a-c-h her tongue out and when she feels the pellet, she curls her tongue around it and BOOP! it's gone!  The other cows scrutinize the whole scene, envious but suspicious.  They're certain it's a trap and that 824 is the bait cow.  Every once in a while, she puts her nose in the open window of the pickup and smells me with her big, slobbery nose.  Cow kisses are not nearly as charming as they might sound...

Here are the cows, trailing in to feed from the hills; some with babies, some solo (having hid their babies in a sagebrush "nest").  Those aren't blue mountains in the distance...just clouds.

This picture delights me!  These old ladies are chewing and smiling, pleased with the way the morning has turned out...
Cows never complain about what I feed them, only about the quantity of the grub.  There's never enough.

Close-up of a baby who couldn't figure out what in the world I was doing with a camera.  I'm certain that calves are born with eyelashes as long as they'll ever be.

More happiness...

My Saturday Sidekick, Speed (bump).
His specialty is horn honking and snack distribution (and elimination).
I was recently informed that he has been banned from the jockey box of the pickup because he has a tendency to re-arrange everything, sometimes losing important tools and such.  (Note the TTU cap; very proud of that...)

He's always telling the cows some sort of crazy story, like about cow-eating LEGO guys or something.  They don't pay him any attention...

So, that's what my mornings are like...

Stay tuned for more thrilling posts from 

The Farmer's Wife!

*rolling of eyes*

Easter in Bigfork Part II

On Easter afternoon, we all went to Susan's house for a ridiculously wonderful feast and egg hunt.  I have no idea what Susan's last name is or what prompted her to start the Great Easter Party, but I'm so grateful she includes us!  She fills and hides about 300 plastic Easter eggs in her yard, invites friends and family to a huge potluck meal/picnic, then turns the kids loose to find the eggs.  It's chilly, relaxed, happy, generous and great fun!

This is Susan, lining the kids out just before the hunt...

Angus had three desserts, chips and token strawberries for dinner.  It was glorious!  Do you like the hat?  That was his Easter basket this year, filled with funny little treats.

Three of my favorite people!  Jasper, Sara and Quinn-the-man...

Quinnie and his pal, playing in the dirt...

I have no idea what this gentleman's name is, just that he makes me laugh with his delightful sense of humor!

This picture pretty much sums up the party...

This is one of the more challenging egg hidey holes, if you can imagine!

I thought Grandma C. was going to tear out and find eggs, too, but she managed to restrain herself.  :)

They empty the candy out of the eggs, then Susan can re-use them for next year! Very serious business, this egg emptying project...

Easter in Bigfork Part I

A few pictures from our weekend at Jasper's...

Maggie and Grandma Celestia, playing a duet at the piano.

The tree house lost a major supporting tree, so everything had to be redone.  This was distressing at first, but then thrilling as it became a major renovation project!

The rule at Grandma and Grandpa's house is: Ice cream MUST be eaten before bed. It's a great rule.

Grandpa Jasper took us for a walk by Flathead Lake, which was very low and had all sorts of wonderful sand and rocks exposed that we never get to see in the summer!

This is the most perfect sign for my little speed bump in blue!

He insisted that THIS was the biggest pine cone.  Period.  No amount of fact could dissuade him from the idea.

Toby is the neighborhood dog!  He travels from house to house, eating and visiting, catching up on all the gossip...

This is Captain Goody Two Shoes (I'm NOT KIDDING...he named himself that!) and his crew in the Whisper Go!  I got to paint her name on, finally, and now she's officially Thistle 2721 Whisper Go!

Not many planes out and about this weekend, but this one came and went several times while we were there.

Houdini, sunning himself...

Pinwheels work best with airport air!

FWP 911

There's been a pair of bald eagles living just up the road from our mailbox for the last week or so.  I've been watching them as I sit waiting for the school bus, admiring how graceful and HUGE they are.  Today as the bus driver dropped Maggie off, she said she thought one of them might be hurt, that it was in the ditch off the road, so I said I'd go take a look.  I grabbed my camera, then the kids and I went up to check the situation out.  

Sure enough, the eagle was sitting in an odd position on the side of the road, partway down in the ditch.  I thought it would try to flap or hobble away when I stopped the car, but it just sat there, exhausted I think.  I wanted it to move so I could see what had happened, but no matter how close I got, it just sat there, watching me warily.  At one point I was within 2 1/2 feet, walked all around it and still could not tell what the injury was, although it must have been a wicked one to keep the bird there with all that examination.  

When I got home, I called the Fish, Wildlife and Parks guy I know in Miles City to report the hurt eagle.  He discussed with me what could happen to it, depending on the severity of the injury.  If the eagle could be transported to Miles City, a raptor specialist there would examine it and either send it on to Bozeman for rehabilitation or euthanize it.  The Bozeman facility happens to be where a friend of ours, Gordon Hardaway, is a vet, so we'd be able to keep close track of it!  Once the eagle is healthy, it would be returned back here and released.  I got the number of the local game warden, gave him the information I had and he was headed right out.  

Ranchers are typically not very sympathetic to eagles, simply because they prey on young livestock...it's truly awful to see the results of that...but I couldn't stand the thought of this one dying on the side of the road.

Here are some of the photos I took...

Still astonished that I could get that close!