The Missouri River in Great Falls at Dusk

More Blackfeet Dancing...

There were 7 Blackfeet Indian dancers at the Lewis & Clark Festival, each doing their own dance. This is the Grass Dance.

This is the Jingle Dance.

Their costumes were specific to their dance, and each costume was hand-made with thousands of glass beads, mirrors, and feathers. Most took many years to create. I look forward to learning more about the dances seen at Pow-wows across the country.

Blackfeet Fancy Dancer

Here is the first posting of the amazing dancers (and dances) we watched last night at the Lewis & Clark Festival at the Interpretive Center. This dancer was the finale, and he was worth the wait!

Heads, Hearts, Hands, and Health

Today marks the end of the 4-H Fair; 3 days of exhibits, horse show, poultry show, cat show, dog show, fashion show... We took in some of it on Friday afternoon with Shelly. The picture shows Dave Wedum, who we know as the guy whose dogs stay in the back of his truck no matter how long he stays at John Henry's, as a more than competent judge. He knows what he is doing, and was a great role-model for instructing children with humor (for the audience, too) and wisdom.

As we remarked at home that we were so impressed by the youth of the area who still participate in a great 4-H program, our neighbor, Laurie, told us that their enrollment is significantly down; everyone is "just too busy." I guess it's the same everywhere.

Departure

Today we said goodby to Whit, Jess, and Sara. They are off to Whitefish, where they'll spend a few days exploring in and around Glacier. Each day there is the hope that the Going to the Sun Road will open, so at least they'll be there if it does.

Before they left, Jess and Sara posed with our new art at The Deli in town.

We'll miss them! (Whit, too)

Yesterday's Vegetable Lasagna (with garden spinach!)

My Montana Vegetable Lasagna

Prepare 12 lasagna noodles as directed on package. Place them on aluminum foil in a single layer to wait for use.

Sauce:
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 10 oz. can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried basil
2 tbsp. vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Combine all ingredients and simmer, adjusting seasoning to taste.

Place a ladle of sauce on the bottom of a 9”x11” pan and cover with 4 noodles, overlapping slightly.

Cheese filling- Mix together:
1 container cottage cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Spread ½ of this filling over the noodles

In olive oil, sauté the following until slightly tender:
1 small onion, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced
Spread these vegetables over the cheese filling and sprinkle on an additional cup of grated cheese
Spread about 2 cups of torn, fresh spinach leaves (from my garden!) over the cheese, and top with several ladles of sauce. Top the sauce with 4 noodles. Spread the remaining cheese filling over the noodles.

In olive oil, sauté about 3 cups of finely chopped fresh broccoli, adding ¼ c. water and covering until slightly tender. Spread broccoli over the cheese filling and sprinkle on an additional cup of grated cheese
Spread remaining 2 cups of torn, fresh spinach leaves over the cheese, and top with several ladles of sauce.

Top the cheese with the last 4 noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese and Parmesan cheese over the sauce.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve with fresh bread from my new-to-me, $5.00 breadmaking machine! (and fresh wilted lettuce salad)

Bynam, Montana

Yesterday, Jess, Sara, and I made an excursion to the town of Bynam, north of Choteau. We visited the Two Medicine Dinosaur Museum...
The Rock Shop next door... (We bought great jewelry for ourselves. We brought Whit a piece of coprolite, which is fossilized dinosaur poop, because he was being poopy and wouldn't come with us.)

We really wanted to have a beer at JD's Wildlife Sanctuary, but it wasn't open yet...

so instead we visited Bynam Reservoir, which is almost full.

Whit, Jess, and Sara time...

Whit, Jess, and Jess's sister, Sara, arrived last night around 7:30 after uneventful flights. They flew into Spokane and drove through a very scenic part of Idaho to get here. Luckily, they were able to do this on our prettiest day so far. Today they may have taken advantage of their last nice day with us to take a hike to Our Lake. Deep snow prevented them from reaching the top, but they made it almost all the way before having to turn around. They're here until Wednesday, when they'll go up to Glacier for a few days.

I continue to work in the yard. My new neighbor, Laurie, said I have school-teacher syndrome; I try to make up for being unable to work in the yard all year by trying to do it all in a week when school is out. Since we were having cold, rainy weather, I told her I recognize transplanting weather when I see it. I moved all my hostas out of the deers' path and into my secret garden. I also moved some plants from previous years to new, sunnier locations. I've spent days digging up the plant from hell. It is truly evil. My friend, Sharon, says I should pull up all my perennials and shrubs and put them in pots, spray the weeds, wait 2 weeks, and put my plants and shrubs back. I think I'll keep digging. The plant has rhizomes that are deep underground, which is why it spreads and is so hard to kill. I've taken advantage of the wet soil to use a shovel to dig it out. I'm sure this is only a temporary fix, but I have succeeded in getting most of it out of one bed after doing this for several years. I need to get flowers planted before the 4th of July.

A sunnier location for my day lillies and irises.

A new, safe and shady place for my hostas. Perhaps this is the year I'll finish the rock path.

On another note, another recipe from my garden harvest. I love pressure cookers. We ate this last night:

Black Bean and Kale Soup

2 c. dry black beans, soaked overnight (mine were grown in Glendive, Montana)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
4 c. chopped kale (from my garden!)
5 c. vegetable broth
1 large carrot, sliced thickly
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt

Heat oil in pressure cooker. Saute onion, garlic, and pepper, add kale and saute until wilted. Add broth, beans, sliced carrot, and seasonings. Close cover securely, and cook 12 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop on its own accord. Open carefully and mash some of beans to thicken soup. Serve with a fresh lettuce salad from my garden, too!

Getting Settled

Exciting Wedding News!

I talked to Jess for a long time today about the upcoming wedding. October 30 is the new big date! She and Whit have worked hard to get things to come together so quickly, and the plans sound wonderful, a reflection of a lot of thought and creativity. We are looking forward to their visit, along with Jess's sister, Sarah, this Saturday. I spent most of the day today working on the upstairs, getting furniture back in place after it came back from Caitie's and Hugh's house last fall. I think we're ready!

Ways to Use Spinach #2

(See earlier post on my bed of greens that were waiting on me here)
Tonight I sauteed onion and garlic and added spinach again, as I did last night, but then added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. Tomato sauce would have been much better, but I'm using what I've got. I seasoned it with oregano, basil, vinegar, and salt and pepper and put it over ravioli I got from Jill's. We had another salad like last night's, but I added some thinly sliced onion. The same thick-sliced bread, too. (I didn't think of taking a picture!)

Friends and Food- We're Back!

We got up in Miles City on Tuesday morning to a beautiful day. At 4B's, where we ate a VERY early breakfast, our Montana-friendly waitress advised us on road work for our route home, the reason for the size of the Yellowstone River (see below); "June Rise," and the recent, unexpected presence of Ricky Scaggs and his wife at one of her tables.



As we got closer to Choteau, the clouds returned. Below is a picture of the view across Freezeout Lake, just south of Choteau. We could see the rain falling from a huge cumulus cloud extending into the high, icy reaches of the sky, and I thought to myself, hail!


Minutes later we arrive at our Blue House to wet sunshine. However, the presence of the hail was everywhere. As we drove into town it looked as if it had snowed! Below is the pile of hail which ran off of our roof into my flower bed.



There were other surprises, as well. During my (very cold and very windy) week here at Easter I got the bright idea to plant a little garden inside our Dr. Seuss fence/secret garden. I bought seeds but had few supporters in town. My cheerleader was Jill Owen, who owns Mountain Front Market (now across the road from us). Since she hails from West Virginia, she was in agreement that it wasn't too early to plant peas. Not only did I plant peas, I planted lettuce, chard, beets, carrots, spinach, and kale with guarded optimism, not daring to imagine that anything would come of it. The local rain (we drove across a green eastern Montana- totally unheard of) was kind, and despite the continued cold weather, everything came up!

The hail storm shredded only the tender spinach, which was nearing the end of its life-span, anyway, so I pulled up most of it for supper last night (more about that later). As you can see, we have lots of lettuce, and the peas are climbing the fence.

This spinach became the basis for last night's supper. Here are the recipes for what I made from my garden:

Black Beans with Spinach

Saute an onion, red pepper, and a clove of garlic until tender. Add the spinach and continue cooking until wilted. Dump in a can of black beans, undrained, about a tsp. of salt, about a tbsp. of vinegar, and 5 shakes of ground cayenne pepper. Mix together and let simmer until the liquid is reduced.

Glenvar's Favorite Salad

In a deep bowl add 1 clove of garlic (I use a garlic press), -this is not optional- it's what makes this dressing! 3/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. mustard, 1 tbsp. honey, and 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar. Mix well until honey is dissolved. Slowly add 4-6 tbsp. oil, beating with a wire whisk as you add it. The dressing will get thick and creamy.

Shred fresh lettuce in a large bowl and slowly add a tiny amount of the salad dressing, mixing well as you add it. It takes a very small amount of this dressing, so be careful. Save the rest in the refrigerator for the next salad.

I served the salad and beans with thick-sliced bread from Jill's. YUM!! A great way to start our summer! Since I'm on a greens kick, I'll post more recipes that I use. Many thanks to my students this year who were the inspiration and researchers to find these good ideas.

And last, but not least, we had our steady stream of welcome-back visitors. Our next door neighbor, Laurie, came over immediately (I suspect she is responsible for the lack of weeds in my garden), Rosell came by, then later Tony, and Mike and Calvin sat on the porch with us for a while. I'll call Shelly today, because she'll never forgive me if I'm in town without letting her know, and if it ever warms up, I'll go see Sharon to get whatever flowers she has left over. Today it is pouring rain and Harry's trying to decide if we have an umbrella anywhere in this house. Nope! Never needed it before...

Greetings from Miles City, Montana!

We left Minnesota this morning in rain and clouds, but finally found our first sunny skies in North Dakota. This beautiful farm was along I94.

The real highlight of the day was the giant prairie chicken. We didn't stop at the giant buffalo or the giant Holstein cow, but there's always next time.

Tonight we are in Miles City after driving an extra hour to shorten our trip tomorrow. We're 375 miles from Choteau! That's nothing when you were at 2,200 miles! I'm getting better all the time, but now Harry's got a sore throat and a cough...

Greetings from Red Wing Minnesota

While traveling across country on our way to Choteau, we've spent the days discussing our excitement about the very recent engagement of our son, Whit, and his wonderful girlfriend, Jess. We're pleased to start off the summer's blog with our exciting find here in Red Wing, Minnesota; the perfect wedding reception location!

We honestly do love Red Wing. It's a beautiful, old town along the Mississippi River with a rich history. I wanted to return after driving through it last year, and I'll want to do the same next year, as well.

The sun only peeked out this evening after two days of rain. We hit thunderstorms as soon as we entered West Virginia, and it has never stopped. The clouds actually make driving easier as you head west into the sun, but it was sad to spend our time in beautiful Wisconsin today in clouds and fog.

One last story for those who make it this far down...

I've been sick for a week with some sort of virus, and our first day on the road yesterday was difficult for me. I should just say I wasn't totally "all there." We stopped for lunch at a rest stop in Kentucky. It was drizzling rain and we dragged out the cooler and the bag of food. The story is about this bag. Before we left I found just the right sturdy, square, cloth bag and filled it with all the food newly purchased before leaving, including two unopened bags of chips, a new can of mixed nuts, a box of half and half (Mini-moos) containers, a box of my prized Pepperidge Farm pretzel crackers (impossible to find), and- because it fit neatly in- Harry's new fifth of Evan Williams bourbon, which he was transporting to Choteau. We threw together a wrap at a picnic table and ran back to the truck to eat it on the road. Harry opened the door of the truck to put in the cooler, and I put the bag down to help him. Then I got in the truck and we drove away... Hours later I turned around to get something out of the bag, and there, behind our seats was a BIG EMPTY HOLE where it was supposed to be. I couldn't believe my eyes. I left it in the parking lot beside the truck.

I think we're over it now, but it was very painful. I think I'm grieving over the lost half and half and crackers (haven't found any since) as much as Harry grieves the bourbon! My only hope is that someone found the bag before it was run over and enjoys the contents as much as we would. Maybe it was someone needy...

Montana's Farewell Gift....

Dave Yerk and his girlfriend Shoney took us to the airport this morning in Grandma's car. We had about an hour delay due to some mechanical problems, and while we waited guess what happened?

This was Montana's parting gift after a pretty cold week.

The Last Day

Earlier this week Harry was able to get out on his bike for a quick trip. At this bridge he saw a weasle-like animal we have since discovered to be a mink. Another first.

This morning the mountains were so beautiful that we took a ride to Eureka Lake, just north of town.

The "New" Garden

I spent the last two days digging a garden edge around the inside of our side yard fence. I figure it's the only way to compete with the deer. However, I'm now faced with the dilemma of what to do next. I planted the peas, lettuce, beets, chard, carrots, kale, and spinach seeds, but have elected to not water them. If I do, and they germinate, I may be giving them a death sentence if there is no more water to follow. Instead, I've purchased a soaker hose to put in tomorrow, and Rosell will start watering them weekly when she returns from her trip to Spokane. This is an experiment only!

Update

Although the weather is still cold and very windy, Harry broke out the Harley for a little ride. Note our new neighbor across the road, Jill Owen's Mountain Front Market, filling what was once a neighborhood eye-sore. I can make a hummus run and be back home during a commercial!

Easter in Choteau

We discovered after we arrived on Thursday night that the snow geese were at Freezeout Lake. Sunday afternoon we arrived at the lake around 5pm and were so lucky to meet Mike Schwitters and his wife Connie. Mike is the snow geese expert with Fish and Wildlife and he educated us about our amazing sight. The geese were arriving from the coast of Oregon, a trip of 600 miles. They came in at an altitude of about 2 miles, diving down with their wings locked, coming in and out of view as tiny white specks that grew larger or seemed to appear out of nowhere. One in 1,000 are dark, called a "blue goose," a genetic aberration, and their numbers help to identify the migrational flock's destination, in our case from southern California to Saskatchewan. The flocks rest at night and go out to feed in the morning (7:10 am to be exact!) and again in the evening (what we were able to see as we waited, around 6 pm.). The video does not do the sight justice, but it's the best we've got.

Odds and Ends

Before I give up this blog (we arrived back in Blue Ridge this evening) there are a few things I never documented, some from early in the summer and some from our way home. Here they are, in no particular order...

Here are brothers, Inigo and Owen, Hugh's friends who paid us a delightful visit in mid-summer.

Believe it or not, this is the view into an intercontinental ballistic missile silo, many of which surround us in Choteau. The only difference between this one and the ones around us is that this one is not manned with a nuclear warhead and solid rocket fuel.

On our way across Montana we stopped in the town of Judith Gap, where Harry took this picture of me standing in front of a wind turbine blade.

This may be the all-time best find from our two wonderful thrift stores. This is a maple table loom Caitie and I bought for $20 (see tag). Its replacement value is about $500!

Here is a great picture of Hugh, gleefully opening a box sent from the Dinosaur Days celebration at Bynum. He won a dinosaur!

I got this picture of me hiking on my "favorite" part of the Our Lake trail from Jenny Pippen. I figured out I hiked over 30 miles this summer (but not all at once!).

And last, but not least, my favorite video. Listen as my new friends, Jack and Ronda, tell me this is their last water feature. (they have many in their gorgeous garden)

On the Way Back to Virginia

As we drove across the country we came by several wind farms. This one is a new one in Iowa.

Edie Comes to Choteau

On Saturday night we welcomed Dave Yerk's newest family member, Edie. Here she is pooped out after playing with Mike, Calvin, and her big sister, Brit.

Harry Coaches Caitie

Before we left, Caitie finally gets her lesson on how to ride Harry's bike. Do you think he trusts her?

Mike and Calvin

Mike and Calvin are supposedly showing Harry how to install a new window. I don't see Harry anywhere...

Bear Print Update

After description of the prints and viewing of these pictures, it is the opinion of two friends who are bear biologists and Al Wiseman, who lives in the mountains among black bears and grizzlies, that our bear was a GRIZZLY! Pretty exciting, but also pretty sobering, considering their freshness.

Bear Tracks!

On Monday, Meg and Mary and I hiked up Clary Coolee. Just as I remarked that the wooded area we were passing through looked like bear country to me, Meg found these tracks! As you can see, they were fresh... After checking out the difference between black bear and grizzly bear tracks, we've decided they are probably black bear tracks. All four paws were clearly visible in the mud. Apparently, a grizzly bear print would have been almost a foot long!

Glacier Minus Caitie

Meg and Harry contemplate at Upper Two Medicine Lake.

Meg and Hugh look over the Going to the Sun Road at Logan Pass.

Mary Finishes the Grizzly Marathon!

Hugh's mother, Mary, came to visit on Wednesday to run in today's marathon, which she did! Here she is, crossing the finish line, after running more than 26 miles!!!! WOW

Metis History in Teton Canyon

One of our special friends, Al Wiseman, pictured here with his son Ron, is the unofficial Metis "historian." Yesterday we attended the unveiling of this historical marker in Teton Canyon, where Al was honored as the moving force behind this recognition.

Motorcycle Meg

Meg has fallen in love with Harry's dirt bike. Subsequently, we now never see her...

Caitie and Meg Go Hiking

Meg succeeded in getting Caitie out for a hike to Our Lake.