Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Spring has officially Sprung for me and a new year has begun. The first calf on the cows was spotted yesterday. The cows don't get the attention the first calf heifers do. I knew the cows could be starting any time now so it was not a surprise, nice to see but not a surprise.

The tractor tire is still giving me problems. We can get enough air in it to feed every day for now. New tire and tube looks like the answer. Damn the bad luck.

Spring beckons! All things to the call respond; the trees are leaving and cashiers abscond. Ambrose Bierce

Typical Montana weather. Saturday was a nice, warm, beautiful day. Air was clear, birds were singing, just a spectacular day.

Biscuit guarding the flower bed on a beautiful warm day. Taken 4/22/2006.

Then Sunday rolled in. Cold, light snow, low clouds. Kind of a miserable day. I won't say the moisture hurt but it wasn't a lot of fun.

Nice and warm yesterday, 75 degrees, and today was light snow and cold, never got above 35 degrees. Springtime in Montana. Taken 4/23/2004.

Just the way it goes I guess.

Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. William Alexander

It's that time of year again to start moving critters out to the hills and off of feed. The green grass is coming along really well and the pastures I am going into have quite a bit of old grass to go along with the new grass for them to chew on. With the storm coming I won't turn any cows out but the yearling replacement heifers are well able to take care of themselves so we trailed them out yesterday.

I can sure tell it is wet around here. You would be riding along all fine and dandy when all of a sudden you would hit a wet patch and your horse would sink into the mud a foot or so. For that to happen around here it has to be really saturated and not drying well. I again call for warm temperatures to use the moisture in the ground. The forecast doesn't look like it's going to happen though.

Oh well, take the good with the bad. With the storm coming the yearling replacement heifers are really going to feel abused at not getting their feed but by Saturday its supposed to be getting warm and nice again. Their tough, they can handle it. The question is can I?



The yearlings on their way to the waterhole in the Mountain pasture, where this picture was taken. They are always the first bunch we take out to the hills in the spring. Taken 4/4/2006.

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" Robin Williams

Blue Skies, no snow, spring is definitely here. The feel in the air and the sounds of nature all change and feel more alive now than they did earlier in the winter. It's great, a new year in Montana, The Last Best Place.

It truly is amazing how with the warmer weather and the lack of snow the change that you can literally "feel" going on around you. I can "feel" the grass straining to grow, the earth soaking up the sun, and the animals basking in the glow of the warm temperatures. It feels like a new year has just begun.

You should here the frogs out here. I swear I haven't heard frogs sound off like this in years. It's almost deafening. They must be greeting this joyous time of year too, the new beginning of another cycle of life. Change galore for all to enjoy.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. Doug Larson

Flowers are starting to show their color. I guess that means spring is here. This comes up in a sheltered flower bed against a cement wall so it gets a lot more heat and warmth than the average spot around here. Still, spring has sprung. Taken 3/7/2006.

Spring is strong and virtuous,
Broad-sowing, cheerful, plenteous,
Quickening underneath the mould
Grains beyond the price of gold.
So deep and large her bounties are,
That one broad, long midsummer day
Shall to the planet overpay
The ravage of a year of war.

Ralph Waldo Emerson