Snowing Again

Woke to an absolutely beautiful 18 degree morning, sunshine and no wind.  We left for Billings dropping Emmi off with Nat about 8am. 

I dropped Michael at Harbor Freight and went to get my hair cut.  My hairdresser was running just a tad late so I was a tad late in picking Mike up—he told me it cost me an extra $50 cause he had more time to wander in his favorite store and find things he couldn’t live without.

Lunch was next on our list followed by a stop at Big R, a local ranch type department store selling everything from vet supplies to lawn furniture to blue jeans.  I got blades for my pet clippers so Ms. Emmi can get a haircut and we bought Michael a couple pairs of Wrangler jeans.  When did men’s Wranglers get to be $30 a pair????

We made a huge grocery store run at Costco and a final stop at Wal Mart.  Our refrigerator and pantry are full. 

Stopped and picked up Emmi then home to unload.  While in Big Timber the wind came up and it started to snow.  By the time we got home the temp had dropped and it was and still is snowing.  I think Mother Nature has her months mixed up, she thinks it is January!

Last night’s sunset.

That Was Some Wind

Last night about 8pm the wind really started to howl and within minutes the ground was white.  We probably got an inch or two of snow with most of it sticking to the side of the house and trees—horizontal snow again!  Our power flickered several times during the evening and it even thundered once. 

We tried to take a walk this morning but the 22 degrees coupled with the wind drove us back inside. 

Michael spent the day in the shop working on Steve’s project and I spent the day working on a quilt with a little housework thrown in for good measure.

This afternoon late I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip/oatmeal/pecan cookies, Nat loves them.  He is going to babysit Emmi tomorrow while we are in Billings so the cookies are his payment!  I almost had to hide them from Michael, he thought they were pretty good!

That’s about it for today.  The rosy red finches are back and any day now we should see the lazuli buntings.

Emmi lays here on the rug looking out the window at the birds and hoping a deer will come by so she can bark!

Batten Down The Hatches

The good old weather man says we are going to have 70 mile an hour gusts tonight so we are going to batten down the hatches, put anchors on the horses and Emmi and I guess we are ready.  The sun is shining this afternoon, we can be grateful for small favors!

Mike headed over to the West Boulder today so he and Lonn could finish work on the flatbed for Lonn’s truck.  It’s done.

Our USAF granddaughter, Laci, has received new orders and we are all very excited.  She is going to Italy for two years!  I need to start quilting night and day so I can save up some money to take a trip to see her.  Michael isn’t sure he wants to go to Italy but I think it would be cool. 

I spent the day quilting and finished a quilt which is a gift so no photos until the person getting it sees the finished product.

Emmi chewed up an ink pen today, thank goodness she didn’t get to the ink part before I found her. 

Photos are from our walk this morning.

This little guy thought he was hidden.

Looking up the East Boulder.

Hope all our leaves don’t get frost bit—forecast is for highs in the 30’s the next few days!

This and That Sunday

Not very much going on around here today, the usual walk and then another walk this afternoon.  Crummy weather—cool, windy with the occasional snow/sleet storm blowing through. 

Michael spent the day in the garage and I spent the day downstairs sewing.  I completed a project as a gift and worked on a quilt. 

Emmi kept me company—late this afternoon I decided to repair a couple of her toys, one being a duck.  When she saw I had the duck I almost had to fight her for it so I could get it sewn up.  She is a very happy puppy now that she has her newest duck back. 

Kind of a boring day and a boring blog, sorry!

A Movie

Another cool and windblown day in Montana.  We took a long walk this morning with the Emmi girl and I saw this little flower hiding beside a rock:

It was a short morning at home, I got in a little quilting and Michael worked on the skid steer for a while before we ate a quick lunch.  Then it was off to pick up Nat for the matinee performance of a movie filmed here in our county about people we know.

For years even back when Nat was a child huge bands of sheep, 20,000 to 30,000 per summer would be moved up the Boulder road into the mountains south of Big Timber some 60-80 miles to graze on public lands which border Yellowstone Park.  The sheep were tended and protected from predators by sheepherders living in tents throughout the summer. 

When I came to this area there were only two ranchers still moving sheep up the Boulder drainage.  Usually someone would call and let us know the sheep would be on the road on certain days, the moving days could certainly make you late for any appointment you might have!  The sheep were moved by ranchers on foot, horseback and four wheelers.  There were thousands of sheep on the road and they left thousands of their calling cards behind!  The owners would move the sheep in segments, about 10 miles per day,  stopping along the way at various ranches until the sheep reached USFS land.

In 2001-2003 a young man decided to document this sheep drive and chose the Allestad family as the subject ranchers.  The movie this young man filmed has received good reviews in such publications as The Los Angeles Times.  The movie, Sweetgrass, began showing in Big Timber last night and we attended the matinee performance this afternoon.  It is strictly a visual movie with very little dialogue although some of the sparse dialogue is very colorful as one of the new sheepherders expresses his frustration with the unpredictable animals.  

We thoroughly enjoyed the movie especially Nat and Mike as the sheep are moved into country the two of them used to visit while helping maintain the family hunting camp also located in this remote wilderness. 

The movie clearly demonstrates how grueling this 60 mile trip was, how unpredictable a sheep can be and the perils the sheep faced upon reaching the wilderness grazing area.  The Allestad family’s last trip was in 2003 due in large part to the US governments insistence upon reintroducing wolves back into the area.  In 2002 Michael’s cousin Pete was one of the sheep tenders for the Allestad family.  He tells harrowing tales about the summer he spent defending the sheep from wolves and grizzly bears.  A tradition, a way of life is now gone probably forever.

More Winter

When I got to town this morning, Jill told me I was dressed as if it were winter outside—I asked her what did she call 29 degrees, snow, and howling wind cause where I come from, that ain’t spring!!! 

Emmi and I braved the elements and took our morning walk while Dad headed off to help Lonn with the truck flatbed building. 

Ran some errands in town and had lunch with Jill at the new place in town—had quiche, shrimp bisque and a delicious salad.  Then we split a dessert, chocolate mouuse that was to die for! 

I was home just after 1pm and got started on the quilt again.  Finally got in the groove and managed to make some headway—two feather wreaths and some crosshatching done.

Michael was late getting home and we are just relaxing in front of the fire, glad to be inside and warm.

I just love digital photography—you take a photograph, download from camera to computer and get the best surprises such as this photo I took of a little white flower (probably a weed) with droplets of water on its leaves: 

And this photograph really captures the storm which was blowing through: 

And then there is Emmi—she has decided the birds on the feeder are invading her territory and she goes out each morning to let them know who is boss.  Our deck sits about 12 feet over the little creek and Emmi sticks her head under the lower deck railing so she can see—makes me a little nervous!

Horizontal Snowstorm

Now does this look like a late April day or a January day?  The weather has been truly miserable today—howling winds, horizontal snow and sleet, only about 29 degrees.  The fireplace has been going full bore all day and we haven’t ventured farther than the garage except to take a very short walk before the snow started. 

A good day for quilting.  I got the quilt back on the frame and all the borders quilted, I only have to do the center of the quilt now.  I tried a new method of quilting all the borders first instead of as I go and I am not sold, got a couple of tucks in the backing that had to be removed making me grumpy.   Sometimes new ways are not better ways of doing things!

Emmi has been a little restless today—I was quilting and thought to myself, “it sure is quiet upstairs.”   The basket that holds her toys was in the middle of the living room floor and pieces of the basket were everywhere, she had one of Michael’s slippers and all the toys out of the basket.  A mess—then when I got out the vacuum cleaner Emmi attacked it—barking and growling.  We played fetch with the duck for about 15 minutes, maybe that will tire her out for at least a little while!

An evening to curl up in front of the fire with a good book!