A nice day...
Some of the world is still unspoiled. I live in part of that, gaining the benefits of clean livin', fresh air, open space and gobs of wildlife and nature in general. Here's an image from yesterday afternoon. A drive to a remote, hidden valley, then hiking with pounds of equipment including rolls of barbwire to repair miles of fences up and down hillsides, flats, coulees, and mountain sides. This is in one of the 'easier to get to' areas.
Besides all the wildlife, we get some excellent wild berries including June berries, wild strawberries (tiny!), wild or choke cherries, and my new favorite, goose berries. Okay, maybe because I'm biased when it comes to waterfowl...
A few varieties of delicious wild mushrooms are here, too. Also, I found a species of mint called Mentha aquatica or 'water mint' a few years ago and discovered a big patch of it on the hike (it would be about 50 yards in front of the photo above). It's incredible in tea, for garnish, or just munching on a leaf or two. One of the more potent strands of mint as well, making a very strong aroma and a little 'heat' on the palate.
Tea, here I come!
Here's a big dork who likes NOT to take pictures, or have pictures taken, of himself, unless it's in a huge animal costume or with one. But for those who might want to see one of these types in action, here it is...
Yes, this is part of my daytime job. Almost everything you see in this photo is land that has miles of area I work on (and this would be about 1/3 of the total on the whole ranch). Most of it involves standing at the tops of hills and holding a hammer in hand with a macho-chic look. One reason we repair fences on the property is to keep these blood-thirsty beasts OUT...
Some of our neighbor's cattle. But I wanted to show that not all cattle is raised on feedlots. All of the ranchers out here have open range and grow most, if not all of their own wild hay/alfalfa. A few of these cows were born in March, so they get big FAST on all the vast amounts of grass. I hope one day you will get to enjoy the incomparable taste of organic, free-range, grass-fed beef from Montana. I can understand why Hindu's have a high reguard for cattle; they live very slowly, enjoying quiet peace and days of relaxation, along with a simple diet. Very uncomplicated lives. I feel very sorry for cattle or any animal that is raised in a feed lot.
This is the lamest, lousiest place to put a fenceline! Curse you, hill!
Don't let the picture or smile fool you. The hill is about half a mile at somewhere around 30 degrees. I'm holding the camera level, by the way...and yes, I must hike this thing every year and pile shale around old posts to keep them in place along with pounding staples to keep the wire up when they're yanked out by snow, wind or animals. Oh, and look at all the sweat on the shirt! Don't you feel sorry for me? (It's really water)
But there's nothing like having a day to soak in the glory of Mother Earth, not to mention day after day after day after...
Besides all the wildlife, we get some excellent wild berries including June berries, wild strawberries (tiny!), wild or choke cherries, and my new favorite, goose berries. Okay, maybe because I'm biased when it comes to waterfowl...
A few varieties of delicious wild mushrooms are here, too. Also, I found a species of mint called Mentha aquatica or 'water mint' a few years ago and discovered a big patch of it on the hike (it would be about 50 yards in front of the photo above). It's incredible in tea, for garnish, or just munching on a leaf or two. One of the more potent strands of mint as well, making a very strong aroma and a little 'heat' on the palate.
Tea, here I come!
Here's a big dork who likes NOT to take pictures, or have pictures taken, of himself, unless it's in a huge animal costume or with one. But for those who might want to see one of these types in action, here it is...
Yes, this is part of my daytime job. Almost everything you see in this photo is land that has miles of area I work on (and this would be about 1/3 of the total on the whole ranch). Most of it involves standing at the tops of hills and holding a hammer in hand with a macho-chic look. One reason we repair fences on the property is to keep these blood-thirsty beasts OUT...
Some of our neighbor's cattle. But I wanted to show that not all cattle is raised on feedlots. All of the ranchers out here have open range and grow most, if not all of their own wild hay/alfalfa. A few of these cows were born in March, so they get big FAST on all the vast amounts of grass. I hope one day you will get to enjoy the incomparable taste of organic, free-range, grass-fed beef from Montana. I can understand why Hindu's have a high reguard for cattle; they live very slowly, enjoying quiet peace and days of relaxation, along with a simple diet. Very uncomplicated lives. I feel very sorry for cattle or any animal that is raised in a feed lot.
This is the lamest, lousiest place to put a fenceline! Curse you, hill!
Don't let the picture or smile fool you. The hill is about half a mile at somewhere around 30 degrees. I'm holding the camera level, by the way...and yes, I must hike this thing every year and pile shale around old posts to keep them in place along with pounding staples to keep the wire up when they're yanked out by snow, wind or animals. Oh, and look at all the sweat on the shirt! Don't you feel sorry for me? (It's really water)
But there's nothing like having a day to soak in the glory of Mother Earth, not to mention day after day after day after...