Author: Jodey

Okay technically it’s a White Claw box. This is my cat Reggi, along with Lily our frequent house guest. Watch to the end of this one minute video – it is worth a good laugh!

You’ve got your Elk stew meat, your Elk round steak, some dear steak, and some deer and antelope ground meat.  I also just found in my freezer a package of deer loin chops that were excellent in my stir fry last night!  Most locals I know eat meat mainly from hunting that is stored in their freezer (most people have an extra freezer).  I’m happy to have a close friend who is generous in sharing the wild game she so expertly hunts.

 

NOTE: I’ve been collecting excerpts from the Big Timber Pioneer’s “On the Record” for several years. Each Sheriff’s Report post consists of a few of these which tickle my funny bone at the time of writing the post.

From 6/8/17 Pioneer – An individual on McLeod Street reported their neighbor’s smoke detector was going off.  A deputy made contact with the individual and reported they had fallen asleep while boiling potatoes. 

From 6/23/16 Pioneer – The undersheriff was advised that a crew of Kirby Vacuum Cleaner salesmen would be in town.

From 5/26/16 Pioneer – – A caller reported someone had placed a snake in her mailbox on Lower Sweet Grass Rd.  The reporting party said she noticed a silver car sitting by the mailbox earlier that evening.  Dispatch asked if the snake was still in the mailbox.  The caller said, “Yes, it is.  I don’t want to get that thing out of there.”  She said her husband thought it was a bull snake. A deputy responded to the scene and removed the snake.

– An individual reported a hawk that was possibly injured near the Greycliff rest area on I-90.  The caller brought the bird into the sheriff’s office.  A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden transported the bird to an individual’s home, as they were unable to contact the raptor center.  The bird was identified as a falcon.

Calving season is a palpable part of the year in Montana.  The timing varies depending on the ranch, but with each storm or low temperature, people’s thoughts go to those battling the elements during calving season.  By April many young ones can be seen on the hills and fields that are beginning to green in Springtime.

The greatest cowboys are the ones with the biggest hearts.

—–Ty Murray

But we, insofar as we have power over the world and over one another, we must learn to do what the leaf and the whale and the wind do of their own nature.  We must learn to keep the Balance.

–Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

This is an excellent example of life in Montana in April. One week I’m raking up branches from a wind storm, the next week I’m shoveling snow. I don’t dare put the shovel away yet – you never know! This photo was taken on April 11 this year.

How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment. We can start now, start slowly, changing the world. How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make a contribution toward introducing justice straightaway. And we can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! –Anne Frank

During a late Spring rain shower a year ago, this extraordinary double rainbow appeared, right over the road leading out.  It seemed to frame the road with infinite potential – saying – what will you choose?  How will you live?  There is so much possibility!

NOTE: I’ve been collecting excerpts from the Big Timber Pioneer’s “On the Record” for several years. Each Sheriff’s Report post consists of a few of these which tickle my funny bone at the time of writing the post.

For most people who live in Montana, animal interactions and sightings are frequent. Even for those who don’t have a cattle or sheep ranch as a business, many people own horses and chickens. This week there is a bear harassing livestock, and I love the name Pelican Fishing Access – white Pelicans are often see around here on the rivers and reservoirs. Here we go with some of the more entertaining reports (more to come!):

From 1/31/19 Pioneer – A caller reported chickens roaming around Pelican Fishing Access. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was notified.

From 4/11/19 Pioneer – A caller reported a deer head in their yard on Spring Drive and said a predator probably left it there.  The caller was given the number of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

From 9/29/18 Pioneer – A caller reported a bear harassing livestock on Hwy 191 North near mile marker 19.  The livestock owner was notified.

From 6/9/16 Pioneer – June 4 – A Montana Fish, Wildlife and parks game warden asked dispatch to call a couple on Old boulder Rd. to inform them of escaped burrows.  An individual called back to report the burrows were back home.  They said, “they were just feeling a little frisky today and wanted to go on a walkabout.” (This is my neighbor! They had sheep and the burrows were their ‘watch dogs’. She is a powerhouse, funny dynamic and in incredibly good shape – she’s over a decade older than me and I’m afraid to go on a bike ride with her for fear I won’t be able to keep up!)

From 5/3/18 Pioneer – A caller spoke with the undersheriff about a neighbor’s horse running loose on Upper Deer Creek Road.  The state brand inspector was notified.