Opinion

A week at the gym

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Just when my muscles have grown used to working, it is almost time to go back and sit at a desk as the school year approaches. The entire month of June, my body thinks it enlisted in the Army and no one told it. By July, the severe muscle cramps have subsided, and by August, I can walk up a hill without needing oxygen. Then, it is back to the office every day to let my muscles deteriorate for another nine months.

Hands off the rocks

Hikers are flooding our public lands, so I ask the question: Why can’t people just leave the poor rocks alone?

Marvin: Terrible cow dog, a very good boy

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Often it is true that the dead become greater in death than they were in life. Such was not the case when our adopted dog, Marvin, died, and he became an international rockstar on Facebook when within hour she received tributes from ranch vacation guests as far away as Germany, Norway, and Sweden.

A serious appeal to laugh at yourself

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The Danish cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, who once upon a time ignited a world of uproar and outrage over his depictions of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad, has recently died - thankfully of old age, and not by any of the violent attempts on his life his cartoons inspired.

Disasters put things into proper perspective

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It is a tough year in Montana with drought, grasshoppers, and now wildfires. As I write this, our Musselshell Ranch is under evacuation order from the Peterson Fire. We are praying that our place will be spared while knowing that our neighbors to the north are losing almost all of their pasture as the fire explodes, and we can only pray for their livestock, their structures, and the fire fighters. All we can really do is wait to see which way the wind blows the fire.

Notes from around the block: Prairie Dog Heaven

Many years ago, traveling across the state of Kansas on Highway 5O, we stopped in a charming town called Cottonwood Falls, home of the oldest working courthouse in Kansas.

As Lake Powell dwindles, wonders open up

On May 9, protected by neoprene, I bobbed around in a flooded canyon in Utah’s Lake Powell. The reservoir had fallen below 35 percent full, which gave me the unique opportunity to free-dive through an underwater bridge that was now suddenly within reach.

Letter to the Editor

Regarding the February 25, 2021 “sad story” of the former Madhatter Saloon building, it was constructed by my grandfather, Robert Brownlee. Born 1859 in Scotland; at age 7 he immigrated with his family to Canada. His later 1886 move to Montana saw him go on to become a well-known Sweet Grass County rancher, politician and businessman. Today his Grandson and Great Grandson, Tom and Bill Brownlee, reside on the same Main Boulder family ranch that he purchased in 1906. Following Robert’s 1947 death, the building’s title passed to his daughter, my mom, Irene Braughton (Brownlee). Mom subsequently sold the building to the Madhatter Saloon owner.

The right to celebrate

It may be presumptive of me to say so, but I think there’s a bit of pent up patriotic spirit that needed loosing this Fourth of July.

Cucumbers for cooking, cleaning and cellulite

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I absolutely love kitchen tips, and I try to pass them along without too much commentary, but sometimes I just can’t resist sharing comments about the actual practicality of those tips. For example, Martha Stewart claims that if you have a headache, you should rub a cut lime on it. That might work, but it is a bit messy when there is a large body of research that suggests that if you add salt and tequila to the cut lime and ingest it, all of your aches and even your worries will go away!