The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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It seems to take a while after sunrise now for birds to gather at the bird feeder by the kitchen window. On winter mornings like those recently, when the temperature struggled to rise much above zero, the chickadees, house finches, and English house sparrows didn't show up until half an hour after sunrise. I don't blame them; winter mornings are meant for sleeping in. All animals that spend at least part of their lives in Montana, inside those man-made boundaries we call...
Agricultural techniques, like all other facets of life, have progressed over time. With cattle and other agrarian businesses, the cultures themselves have changed. I'm old enough to remember when a large percentage of the labor on our ranch and others was dedicated to subsistence, rather than productivity and profit as it is now. Almost every ranch kept a bunch of chickens for eggs and meat, and most maintained a herd of sheep – selling the wool for profit and using the a...
I don’t know about you, but my favorite thing about the holidays is the food. It’s something of an understatement to say that I like to eat. In fact, I would say a good portion of my life revolves around food – deciding what to eat, purchasing food, preparing food, planning my next food-centric excursion…you get the picture. Picky eaters are one of my biggest pet peeves – especially adult picky eaters. Granted we all have the odd thing we just can’t stomach (mine is mushrooms), but if you’re a thirty-five-y...
Editor's Note: This is the second part of a column celebrating 'This is Montana,' a University of Montana program delivered to an estimated 80-plus high schools and newspapers. Enjoy! Although Montana's history may be young, it certainly is deep, and much of its evidence is written on the land. Knowing that an old trail – the Mullan Wagon Road – followed the Clark Fork River, explains scars along a bench or hillside and the disappearing pieces of a cribbage that supported a b...
Dear Readers, The holiday season is upon us, times of glad tidings, holiday parties, and family gatherings. When we gather to celebrate, there is often food available that we don’t normally eat. It’s great food, and why not partake, it’s the holidays; we’re supposed to eat more. If you are one of the lucky ones who can eat through the holidays, not gain a pound, and then get back into your healthy routine come January 2nd, my hat is off to you. For some of us, it’s just not...
In the days of loose hay, when the cattle were fed by hand, Christmas meant two days of extra work. - the day before and the day after. In order to lessen the time spent with the cows on Christmas morning, most ranchers spread the next day's hay in an adjacent meadow, then closed the gate. That meant feeding twice, a process that took all day. If things went correctly, all the rancher had to do on Christmas morning was open the gates and let the cattle onto the hay that was...
Editor's Note: In September 2013, University of Montana geography faculty member Rick Graetz and Kayde Kaiser, a geography graduate student, launched the "This Is Montana" program as an outreach effort that is delivered to an estimated 80-plus high schools and newspapers. Articles penned by UM faculty and others cover numerous Montana-oriented subjects, ranging from a series on the Missouri River to a discussion on the six-mill levy. Every few weeks, the stories and...
Dear Dietitian, I have been eating healthier and drinking more water. I've heard that we need 8 glasses of water a day, but I don't enjoy plain water, and I have a hard time getting that much in. Do you have any suggestions? Signed, Laura Dear Laura, Good for you for your health change! The answer to how much water we need each day is not exact because it varies according to age, weight, and activity level. The good news is there is more than one way to meet your fluid needs....
Since we are now officially in the second week of December, I imagine that most of us are frantically and stressfully getting ready for a birthday party. I know that may sound like a strange way to say “getting ready for Christmas”, but that is what it is. Of course December 25th is not the real birthday of Jesus, but it is the day people chose to commemorate the entrance of the Eternal One in to this world we live in. The affluence of our society has turned a very Holy and special celebration in to a reckless debacle of deb...
I was eating lunch at the hotel in Barra do Bugres, where I had been sent by the Peace Corps. The establishment offered rooms plus meals, and was the only place to stay back in the early 1970's. In the middle of the meal a mud-spattered Jeep roared up. In the back of the vehicle was a dying man with his intestines spread everywhere. He had been wounded in a knife fight, and they brought him over 40 miles of muddy, evil road looking for medical help. Someone had put an empty...
Dear Dietitian, I have recently lost about 20 pounds, but the problem is I cannot seem to lose weight around my midsection. What foods can I eat to lose belly fat? Signed, Maria Dear Maria, Oh! That stubborn belly fat! I know it all too well. While researching this topic, I found several sites on the internet with claims that certain foods will burn belly fat. The problem is it is a MYTH that any food will burn fat on a specific area on your body. Food is fuel for your body...
In 1908, pioneer missionary Victor Plymire and his wife were sent by a mission society in Pennsylvania to bring the Gospel to Tibet. A young married couple, Victor and Grace abandoned themselves to God to be used as He willed. God accepted their surrender and implemented this stage of His plan for their lives. After a long arduous journey through China, they ended up in a remote area of Tibet, alone. Leaving Grace in a small village for days and weeks at a time, Victor walked up and down the steep mountains and valleys...
Do you have small children who are destroying your life and your perfect tree this holiday season with their clumsily placed homemade ornaments? Do you, too, spend hours after they go to bed rearranging the ornaments on the tree and wondering how many years you’ll have to look at that construction paper wreath, and the snowflake made of glitter dipped popsicle sticks, hanging beside your handmade Murano glass bulbs from Italy? (Can you scrap them after elementary school, do you think, or will you have to wait until the k...
On June 16, 1805, Captain Clark of the Corps of Discovery – with an extremely ill Sacajawea accompanying him – halted below the confluence of Belt Creek and the Missouri River ("portage creek," to the Corps), setting up what would become the base camp for their month-long assault around the "great falls." As part of Meriwether Lewis's effort to cure the young mother, he used the water of a sulphur spring that is located across the Missouri from the mouth of Belt Creek and cal...
Back in the 1950's people didn't travel much. The vehicles of the day weren't that reliable, tires weren't dependable, and the roads were difficult. Our maternal grandmother lived in Deer Lodge, 50 miles distant from Helmville, and a trip to visit her was a big event. Once a summer we spent a week or so in town, where our mother could renew childhood friendships and we kids could make them. Four of the six of us were born in four and a half years time, with two more coming a...
Dear Readers, Chances are many of you who are reading this are taking some type of herbal supplement. Be it ginseng for better energy, saw palmetto for prostate health, or echinacea to boost the immune system, many are turning to natural remedies for their health. It is important to realize that just because something is natural, does not mean it is good for you. Many herbal supplements interact with other medications, so it is important to talk to your health care provider...
One of the greatest chapters in the Bible is Psalm 119. It is an acrostic poem that exalts and praises God’s Holy and Majestic, Live-giving and Life-changing Word. An acrostic is a Hebrew poem that runs through the Hebrew alphabet, and has (in this case) eight lines whose first word starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Aleph. The next eight lines start with a word whose first letter is in Hebrew Beth, and so on. That is a neat way in which the Jews were guided to write some of the Psalms. It was, I am told a...
Every American school kid knows the story of the first Thanksgiving holiday, or at least the version of it referenced on cutesy holiday décor and in our first-grade lesson plans. The reality of the feast that took place in the Plymouth settlement in 1621 and has widely become accepted as the “first Thanksgiving” was probably significantly different than the scenario portrayed in our grade-school Thanksgiving plays. The pilgrims, essentially a group of religious separatists looking to escape England’s volatile politi...
"... by every rule of nomenclature, the Missouri being the main stream and the upper Mississippi the tributary, the name of the former should have been given precedence, and the great-river should have been called Missouri from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico." Many people, especially Montanans, agree with this unknown author's statement. However, the Mississippi was explored first and thus designated the primary stem, leaving the Missouri to receive tributary...
Dear Dietitian, These days I am traveling a lot for work and eating out once, sometimes twice a day. How do I make healthy food choices? Sincerely, Chris Dear Chris, Traveling for business is often hectic and leaves little time for meal planning. The key to success is to plan ahead. Try to stay on your regular eating pattern as much as possible. Use these tips for a healthier experience: Eat three meals a day and have healthy snacks available when you need them. Things like...
Dear Dietitian, What makes "blue zone diets" like the Mediterranean diet so healthy? Sincerely, Chris Dear Chris, Blue zones are areas of the world where people live much longer than average. The term was trademarked by Dan Buettner who identified these five regions of the world: Sardinia, Italy; the community of Seventh-Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California; Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; and Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula. The Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) is a type of...
One afternoon, back in the 1990's, an old friend and I were philosophizing. The question came up as to what technological development of the 20th century had, or will have, the deepest effect on human society. Of course: cars, airplanes, consumer electricity, and the atomic bomb were mentioned as possibilities, but we were both in easy agreement that the transistor is the thing that has caused (and will cause much more) change in our civilization, as we call it. The...
By now, just about everyone in town is aware I am a vintage enthusiast. Most specifically, I have a passion for vintage clothing, but my love for the remnants of days gone by is not limited to fashion - I am also a fan of vintage dishes and kitchen implements, old furniture and home décor, vintage books and classic movies. What I am not a fan of, is vintage attitudes. Let me elaborate. It’s true that I love and often lament the “old fashioned’ manners of bygone eras when people sent thank-you cards, RSVP’d, and didn’t t...
With the elections behind us it is time to celebrate! Yes, no more attack ads, the road-side placards are removed and the political phone calls have ceased! The people have spoken, and it seems once again we voted for “change”. It was a little over 10 years ago that the people voted for “change”, and we got a President who for the first time was a black man. With his election President Obama made more promises than a Chicago politician could ever live up (or down) to. For man...
Robert Frost wrote that one time he came upon the owner of the land next to his. The man was building a fence in the woods, where there was no actual need for one. When Frost asked him why, the fellow responded simply, "Good fences make good neighbors." The neighbor had it backwards, I think. By rural Montana custom, it is "Good neighbors make good fences." Ranches and farms often share miles of fence, along with water, ditches, pasture, creeks, and a myriad of other things. T...
