As I continue to plod my way through winter, I’ve been mindful in trying to follow my own recommendations when it comes to managing mental health. In my opinion, the current “open” winter creates a sense of restlessness, as this is supposed to be the quiet time of the year, with sounds, ener…
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: I began ranching along with my two brothers decades ago. When our dad died, we were given the land jointly but later decided to divide it into equal pieces of land – a division that all of us thought was fair at the time.
- By BILL LOWMAN
Now is a good time of year to settle in with a good book or two. I just finished a 374-page book I got from a good friend in Albuquerque, N.M. It’s a very well documented research of most all the “infamous” gunfighters of the south’s reconstruction period following the Civil War and on up to…
- Doreen Rosevold
Recently, I’ve been ruminating about my disdain of freckles. I’m the only one in my family who has these imperfections. They make me look like a banana that will soon become inedible from over-ripeness. The only good thing about them, I guess, is that they hid high school acne and can still …
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
This winter, the wind is a huge discussion topic. In many places across the country, it’s been intensely windy and lasting for days at a time. Here in Montana, much of the state, to date, has had an “open” winter, meaning very little to no snow cover or moisture of any significance. This wei…
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: We have a somewhat sizeable estate and would like to find a way to protect it. We have significant assets in qualified retirement accounts – over $700,000 – and know distributions will soon be required. Should we be looking at setting up a life estate on the land for our childr…
- By BILL LOWMAN
I’ve always wondered about those oral pill capsules of the vitamins, over the counter drugs, and prescriptions. They appear to me at least, and I’m guessing, to the largest share of the general public, to be made of plastic. Plastic is a petroleum product. How could that be safe and healthy …
- Doreen Rosevold
I’m so sad that the penny is going away. I don’t care if they cost more to make than they are worth. The penny has played a significant part in culture for the past 200 plus years and I will miss it.
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
I think it was the winter of 1977-78, one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record. I still remember the “treat” of being snowed in on a Thursday and Friday, so we kids had a four-day weekend. I believe it was this winter when I heard my mom repeatedly say that “January has 59 days.” As…
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: Years ago you worked on my mother’s estate. She had a will that divided everything by 25 percent each to four children. One was – and still is – farming. My mom had set it up so our brother on the farm could buy out the other children on very favorable terms – low interest, con…
- By BILL LOWMAN
The more I read, the more I realize that no matter whom you are, no matter your social standing, no matter your degree of physical dominance or intellectual superiority, we all live with personal abilities and disabilities.
- Doreen Rosevold
Here we are in the dark of winter. It is cold. It is icy. The weather is unpredictable and we keep a tissue box nearby. Everywhere we go, there seem to be people with drippy noses, coughs, fevers or stories of food leaving their bodies in extraordinary ways. Many are just in a bad mood.
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
As I was driving into Billings on a chilly morning in early January, I saw a rancher chopping the ice at his roadside pond for his cows. Seeing that made me smile, as it reminded me of my dad. In the wintertime, it was the first and the last chore of his day. He didn’t have a large herd. He …
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: We have a farming son and three other children. Our estate has grown incredibly in value over the past decade. Land in our area can range anywhere from $2,500 to $5,500 per acre – depending on who wants it.
- By BILL LOWMAN
In our rural, sparsely settled states, us common everyday working people have a much better opportunity in meeting and becoming personally acquainted with our elected representatives, senators, and governors than those of heavily urbanized states. I have met six of our past North Dakota Gove…
- Doreen Rosevold
It is two days before Christmas as I write this. The parking lot of the large chain store was filled with thousands of other desperate people today. I ended up parking a long way from the door.
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
Today is the winter solstice (Dec. 22). Upon wakening, Rudi, my German Shepherd, and I went outside and were treated to a spectacular eastern sky backlit with delicious orange cream, pink, and lilac colors. It was an intense visual treat. Partnered with the stillness of a Sunday morning and …
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: We have two sons who are farming with us who are now in their 40s, have good marriages, and we trust them to handle property properly. We have some land coming up for sale in the area that we feel would work great in our operation. We would like our two sons to buy this land, b…
- By BILL LOWMAN
To start with, it was a warm, open, snowless winter – a good time to record a drought and get it out of the way. Other than a short week to Elko, Nev., to celebrate our 40th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, it was daily cattle feeding and sporting events for the grandkids. Spring cal…
- Doreen Rosevold
Today is our 53rd wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it myself. Weird things happen when you have been living with someone that long. You both change a little. For instance, I no longer get jealous when he looks at another woman. I’m just glad he can see. I no longer wish he would hel…
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
I was fortunate enough to take a short vacation and escape the cold of Montana and enjoy a few sunny and warm clear sky days in Phoenix. No schedules, delicious food, and a professional football game made for a wonderfully relaxing and fun respite. A bonus to this experience was my first rid…
- Michael Baron
Dear Michael: We have had our son farming with us for many, many years. We need to ensure he can take over the farm when we retire or pass away. He already does most of the work and makes most of the decisions now.
- By BILL LOWMAN
Rural country schools were very popular in the homestead era. My home county maxed out at 82 in its heyday. Some were established as early as 1908, but most sprang up in 1913 – that being the first year of our Golden Valley County’s legal existence, dividing off from Billings County. But the…
- Doreen Rosevold
It’s always difficult for me to write a Christmas letter. I want to reach out to family and friends, but I don’t want to make the mistakes I have witnessed by generations before me and after me. And I don’t want to repeat my own previous mistakes.
- By DARLA TYLER-MCSHERRY
I just checked the weather forecast. At this next time week, the day’s high temperature is supposed to be 45 degrees cooler than today. That’s not a bad thing. It’s late November (at the time of writing this column), and it’s time to actually have some winter weather. It’s an opportunity to …