Winter *)d<_!!*&^%@@#$!!)c:

Christmas is over. Now the long haul sets in. It's a long time to April. At least we've got by the winter solstice and the days will slowly get lighter. I bought a Wii for Christmas so I could have some kind of exercise during winter besides feeding livestock. The cat proceded to chew one of the strategic wires in two. Well, it was fun for the first 24 hours. Amazon came to my rescue and a new sensor bar will be here on Tues. I'm probably the first human to go down with a Wii injury on the first day. The next day after several hours of Wiiing, bad choice of words, my hand was almost useless, swollen and couldn't move my fingers. I hope that I'm not out for the season.

New Faces on the Farm

Goats. We're goat rookies. 40 years of raising horses and now I have something that I've always wanted since I was a little kid. Goats. I bought 2 wethers and had no idea that they were so interesting, funny and smart. Stay tuned, and see how much trouble I get into when handling goats. The big one is pretty trained and the younger one is more of a project.

Super Filly

The best racehorse of this century is Rachel Alexandra. She's competed in all levels against males of different ages and beat them all. She doesn't seem to have a peer. I'm just in awe. I wish the rest of the sports media would wake up and show her some attention, but alas, it's the opening weekend of college football, the pennant races are heating up and the US Open is in the second round. After what she did today beating older males she needs attention. We'll see in the sports news cycles tomorrow. Too bad. The general sports public is missing out because of media bias.

Girl Horses Rule!

Time for a sport to finally have a great thing happen. The wonderful filly Rachel Alexandra who seems to have no peer of either sex has given horse racing a huge shot in the arm or rump it seems. She is breath taking and she knows she's good. She is the 21st century Ruffian or Secretariat or both combined. She's giving little horse loving girls a new heroine. I saw a little girl at the Haskell, a 1.2 million dollar race which she trounced the colts again, hold up a sign for Rachel saying "Sure I run like a girl, try and catch me." No one can.

Yikes, it's August!

OMG! It's August already! Soon it will be Christmas! For a non-skier or hunter in Montana it's time to panic. We got jipped on summer! We had one of those heavenly summers that wasn't drought oriented, but was a little cool sometimes. Lots of moisture compared to the past decade. How many hikes or day trips can I cram into August? The sun now sets just to the left of 9pm. It's all ending! Do I go into the mountains and cut a Christmas tree this year or continue to get them from the FFA? Decisions! The week after Thanksgiving I will be thinking, gee whiz, this came up fast. It was just August.

Bozeman Explosion

What can one say about what happened yesterday? Walking across the parking lot after I arrived at work I witnessed Bozeman's biggest crisis. I heard a very loud 'kaboom', then felt a huge concussion which actually felt like a smack on the side of the head, then out of the corner of my eye saw a roof or something fly up into the air from behind the hill where the cemetery is and saw a black mushroom cloud. At first I thought plane crash, then train crash, then earthquake and last of all, explosion. My last assumption was correct. It is a miracle that only one life was lost. It was a miracle that it happened when it did 8:13 am. Boodles restaurant was still closed. So were the other stores. If it had happened later in the morning or afternoon, it would have been a unthinkable. Now the buildings are all gone, over 100 years old and in a split second, gone. It's odd how when a catastrophe happens, especially close to home, it rattles everyone to the core. I sensed a very on edge attitude all day among my coworkers. We will get through this, but the spirit of the residents is shaken to the core, but already a community is united.

Winter Ain't Over Yet

Raging blizzard today, all day. Left work early in case the roads closed, but made it. We really haven't had a big snowstorm in quite a few weeks, in fact I can't remember when. It was becoming all brown and ice. A very mild Feb. Winter came back today. I wish I was in AZ to watch some spring training games. This time of year I can see the light at the end of the tunnel even though it's dim. Baseball has begun, March Madness basketball is imminent, KY Derby preps are starting. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Now when I hear the first Red Winged Blackbird or see the first Robin I'll feel good. That could be anytime. Haven't seen any gophers yet, but they probably knew about this storm. I think it caught us a little off guard. Typical calving season weather and I'm glad I don't own any heifers.

2009

Finally 08 is gone. Not such a great year. It was fine for me except for the loss of Marty. I still miss him terribly and wonder if he is alive or not. I hate not knowing.

Last year I thought, 'crap, another election year'. It proved the usual thing again with all the hate mongering and bashing. I can't stand it. Mr. Obama will have a honeymoon period because we want him to succeed and there's a lot at stake.

My problem is I fear loss and wonder what will I lose this year? What will we lose this year? I know it's a lousy way to feel, but that's how I've always been. Maybe it's a way to lessen any pain if I expect it. I don't dwell in this, but it's a thought I wish I didn't have every January 1st.

In the present. We just have to get through a back to normal winter in Montana. Fun roads to drive on, lots of snow, wild temperatures, etc. The only problem is it doesn't clear out the riff raff anymore. We non skiers just have to keep plugging away and wait for a distant spring.

On my headstone someday - "Spring always comes"