June 23, 2021

My 16 year old son got his first real job today!!

I wanted him to wait to apply for jobs until he was fully vaccinated...and he is now. We built a resume which was a challenge since he doesn't have much of a work history. We noted he was a 4.0 student and an academic letter award winner...he's played piano since he was 7 years old and he received an award of excellence from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2019 and he played travel baseball for a decade...none of which applied to the job he was going for but these experiences and commitments help build the young man he is today.

Anyway, he was hired as a cashier at the local Ace Hardware and get this...the manager who hired him also hired me as a cashier at another small hardware store back in 1983. I worked there through college. He didn't know that Owen was my kiddo until after the interview. Can you even believe that? Small world indeed.

I'm in tears, I'm so thrilled. Thanks for reading.

June 22, 2021

Red Alert: Montana Governor proposes open season for trappers on wolves, otters etc.

You might not live in Montana, but wildlife and wild places belong to all of us. The link below describes the horrific proposed changes. Email addresses and phone numbers are in the article. If you have a moment, please email, call or reach out to these commissioners. Threaten to not come to Montana...or patronize Montana businesses. I'm a small business owner and I might be slitting my own throat but these changes cannot stand. Wolves and river otters belong in our mountains and rivers.

Trappers have too much power and influence. I can't even take my dog out for a hike without the worry and risk that she will get caught in a trap.

Targeting these animals puts other species at significant risk. I'm sick about this. I don't know what else to do.

The link below is from Footloose Montana, an anti-trapping organization so please know that it is biased but they're not wrong about what is being proposed.

https://mailchi.mp/51e42489888a/mr-potato-head-6783254?e=cca76a12e6

ETA: If you can afford to donate to Footloose Montana, here’s the link to their site: https://www.footloosemontana.org/
Footloose fighting hard to end trapping on public lands in Montana. They are well coordinated with similar organizations in other states.

June 15, 2021

My planned group hike on Sunday didn't go as planned.

I was supposed to hike into an alpine lake in the Rattlesnake Wilderness with my husband, son and one of our employees. There’s no trail to the lake and 10 minutes into the hike, I knew I couldn’t make in. It was raining, there were downed trees by the hundreds that I could not scale for even the short two miles as the crow flies. I sent the guys in without me and I went back to the trail head feeling really dejected. I walked up the hill overlooking the trailhead to take in the view and saw a trail that was behind a Forest Service locked gate. I grabbed my backpack and started in. What the hell? It’s better than feeling sad in the truck all day.

It was 7 miles to where the trail ended because of downed trees...I ate my lunch at that spot before I hiked the 7 miles back. I saw western tanagers, blue birds, red tails and a big black bear. I’m not gonna lie...I was really happy that bear was black and not a grizzly. I’m in decent shape but couldn’t outrun a griz. I posted the pic below of a log that the black bear crossed just before I did. Crazy!

It ended up being a glorious day. I made it back to the truck just 10 minutes before the guys did. They said their hike was hell. Mine was amazing and I’m grateful for the day.



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June 6, 2021

My little garden buddy today.

Pine Siskins have settled in to my feeders this past week. I stopped putting out oil seed in an effort to keep out the house sparrows and BAM! In came the Pine Siskins, nuthatches, chickadees and Evening Grosbeaks. It's been really fun. The Pine Siskins will let me get really close to them...they don't seem fearful at all.

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June 6, 2021

A River Runs Through It.

The Clark Fork at sunset. Spring runoff is high and the river is rocking!