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Crazy Mountains

by Jodey, posted in Local Know-how, Montana winter

And when it comes to making the beautiful Ma nature has man beat all ways from the ace and that old lady still owns a lot of Montana.

–C.M. Russell

These are the Crazy Mountains. They are just North of Big Timber, and are often called the Crazies. To the South are the Absaroka & Beartooth Mountains – the ranch where I worked, Hawley Mountain Guest Ranch, is nestled deep in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness area. Notice the sagebrush in the foreground of this picture – it is prevalent in lots of Sweet Grass County and smells so good!

Fun fact:  Big Timber was named for the many cottonwood trees that lined the rivers close to town – the Yellowstone River just North, and the Boulder River which is South of town. Visit the Chamber of Commerce site at www.bigtimber.com to find out more about the area and the naming of the Crazy Mountains.


Yellow Willows in Springtime

by Jodey, posted in Uncategorized

Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.

–Beatrix Potter

Walks to the river are the best!  This picture was taken 3 weeks ago, when the yellow willows were just beginning to show their warmth of color.  Looking up and seeing views like this confirms my belief that there is a power greater than myself, offering moments of beauty that can easily be missed. Really we’ve only got moment by moment in our lives, to choose what we see and how we see it.  I hope this pic brings you some peace, or joy or tranquility.


Big Timber Sheriff’s Report 6

by Jodey, posted in Sheriff's reports

Here we go – “On the Record” from the Big Timber Pioneer. Complete with funny smells, hay bales coming off a semi after going under the railroad bridge (a common occurrence), and toy guns that look too real!

4/26/18

  • April 15 – A caller requested an officer check on their office on Main St. The caller stated there was a funny smell. A deputy did a walk through and didn’t find anything.
  • April 17- A semi driver reported hitting the railroad bridge on Highway 191 North and losing hay bales in the road. A deputy responded and MHP was notified. Montana Dept. of Transportation was notified and used a loader to move the bales off the road.
  • April 18 – A caller reported finding a handgun in Boulder River Park. A deputy responded and reported it was a toy gun.

Daffodils

by Jodey, posted in Montana winter

DAFFODILS

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,-

A host, of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glace,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company!

I gazed-and gazed-but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

One of my favorite poems of all time!  This picture was taken at the guest ranch where I worked.  Spring snowfalls up in the mountains is common.  It isn’t a daffodil, but when there is snow all around I think of this poem often, the message that within us we can enjoy the glee of daffodils dancing in the breeze…..even in winter.

More on Sandhill Cranes

by Jodey, posted in Uncategorized
Can you see it? A head….
Here they are! Two of them – Sandhill Cranes
Driving home from work last week there were two cranes flying gracefully toward the river. They are mesmerizing. I stopped in my car to take in the moment.

Be like the bird

That, pausing in her flight

awhile on boughs too slight,

feels them give way beneather her and sings,

knowing she hath wings.

–Victor Hugo

Listen to this!

by Jodey, posted in Uncategorized

You are listening to the sound of a Sandhill Crane.  One of the welcome signs of Spring is when you begin hearing these big and graceful birds.  I’ve seen them almost every day during the last week, a pair flying gracefully together.  Their distinctive call can be heard long before you see them.  I’m always looking madly at the sky in all directions, trying to discern which direction the call is coming from, hoping I can get them flying on film.    Some of the farmers don’t like them, understandably, because they eat their crops.  I read in Montana Outdoors that in the 1940’s the breeding range of the Rocky Mountain population of these birds dropped to 150 to 200 mating pairs due to unregulated hunting.  But current surveys show the population is up to 20,000 cranes – so amazing! They mate for life, which can be two decades or more. I love that!  It’s the most unique sound isn’t it?

I took this photo in the Springtime at Hawley Mountain when I was managing up there. I was thrilled to be able to capture the cranes in flight! This is now framed on my wall.

Big Timber Sheriff’s Report 5

by Jodey, posted in Sheriff's reports

These are from a few years back, the “On the Record” from our weekly paper, the Big Timber Pioneer.  These are classic.  You just can’t make this stuff up…people popping off, a hard of hearing husband, and some shady business from the 70’s.

6/2/16

  • May 27 – An individual requested an officer respond to his residence on East Second Avenue. The caller said he was in an argument with his landowner about parking and driving. He said they blocked his driveway and there was a male in a red truck “that is also popping off at me, and I am popping off back at him.”
  • May 29 – Officers checked on a female who was yelling at a house on East Third Avenue. A deputy reported everything was fine. The female was locked out of her house and was trying to get the attention of her husband who was deaf.
  • May 30 – A caller requested information about their grandfather. They said they were trying to cross into Canada but could not do so because of “something that he did here in Big Timber probably in the late 70’s.” The caller was advised to check with the local courts.

Bull waiting for breakfast

by Jodey, posted in Uncategorized

What is life: It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time; it is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

–Crowfoot

He stood there patiently for over an hour, looking toward the spot where a pickup would drive through the gate and drop off a large square bale of hay.  The bulls are fed every few days.  There is one that is much smaller, and I’m not sure if he is younger, but this fella in the picture is the big guy.  He acts like he knows he doesn’t have to throw his weight around – he just walks slowly and deliberately.  He chowed down a little while after this picture was taken.

So I bought a sled – Snow Saga part III

by Jodey, posted in Montana winter

Part II ended with a mound of snow at the end of my already impassible lane. I called friends at Roe Construction.  Chip explained that the plow had been sliding down the hill at the top, and he was afraid of getting stuck.  They had to bring a bigger plow the next day. When he DID finally get a very narrow path cleared (I wish I had a picture!) it was like a luge – just wide enough for my Jeep, and when I drove through the pile at the top of the lane, the snow was higher than the roof of the car! It was really something.

To review, there are times when my lane is drifted in, and I park my car on the road and trek back and forth from the house to my car for work, etc. That’s me below, carrying my bag for the weekend when we were going cross country skiing. The house is down the lane behind me. This is yet another time later last year that the lane was drifted in, and below shows my second trip lugging stuff to my friend who was waiting in her car. She took the pic. I had worked up a sweat and the skiing hadn’t even started!

At the brilliant suggestion of my sister Kim, I bought a sled to aid my efforts in lugging things up and down the lane – I mean, I had done a big grocery run. I needed a better system.  Voila!  This is when I returned from the ski weekend.

Most of the winter the snow is manageable, and when the sun shines after a good snow the land around is a spectacular white and the sky seems even more blue.  In the picture below with Sonny on the lane, you can just make out the moon in the upper left sky. 

You work with what you’ve got and adapt when you need to.  I’m always thankful for my cozy little house, and wood to burn in the stove (and marshmallows for roasting).  Living here I feel Mother Nature daily.  It is more work than other places I’ve lived, but I’ve found it helps to look for the little or big pieces of beauty – even during the storms or the wind. There are always animals to spot, or their tracks, or a new spectacle at the river. It makes the challenges that come with the land more manageable.  Also an adorable Corgi or a cute kitty help enormously during those long winter months. 

And now, ON TO SPRING!!!

We’re going to need a bigger plow – Snow saga part II

by Jodey, posted in Montana winter

This Saga continues with the same circumstances in a different year….

Last year I traveled to my hometown of State College for Christmas, and returned at New Years to a pile of snow in Big Timber.  The plow came to clear my lane and I was able to drive in, but then the wind started.  Different storm, different drifts, same problem of an impassible lane! Sonny bunny is in the pic to the right. I waited impatiently for the lane to be plowed again.  A day went by. The next day I saw a plow at the end, beginning to clear the top of the lane.  Then he stopped and sat there at the top.  And sat there.  And left.  Left!  What? 

I pulled over on the Old Boulder Road during one of the storms to share what some of the drifting looks like.  It’s mesmerizing isn’t it?  And kind of scary…..
This is what the plow was dealing with at the top of the lane. I walked up at sunset to investigate and took a pic.

It’s hard to appreciate how high this mound of snow is – this is a LOT of snow. The plow just couldn’t get through it and ended up pushing it up into a high mountainous pile.  The drifts were so packed the plow couldn’t handle it.