Magnificent Moose in Montana

We just returned home after a couple of days in Kalispell, MT. The weather was picture perfect, we watched some really good high school soccer games, and enjoyed the beauty of Montana.

Yesterday I published a post about bears in Montana.  We didn't see any bears on our drive to Kalispell - but we did

News About Bears: My List of Fabulous Finds (Week 18)

What have your newspaper headlines been this month? 

In our Montana news, there has been a lot of articles about bears! 

While some of this week's "finds" may be more interesting than fabulous, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into life in Montana.


Today's List of Fabulous Finds is all about bears! 

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This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ Bear Road-Kill

The Helena Independent Record ran a story on its October 12th front page about "bear road-kill." An unusually high number of bears have been killed by cars in Western Montana this month. A scarcity of food in the mountains has driven wildlife closer to civilization this year. I would really, really not want to hit one with my car! You can read the story here:

• Bear Road Kill Unusually High in Western Montana; next two weeks expected to be even worse. 

~ ~ Speedy Speed Limits

Most of our Interstate highway speed limits have just been increased from 75 mph to 80 mph. I am not sure if any of the previously mentioned bears were killed in areas where the speed limit is now 80 mph, but I can't help but wonder if it was a factor in any of their deaths.  Like everyone else, I like being able to get where I am going just a little bit faster, but the amount of distance it takes to bring a car to a stop does increase with higher speeds.

• Some Montana Speed Limits Increase to 80 mph.

~ ~ Hunter wakes up to a Bear

On October 8th, our paper ran a story about a hunter in Idaho who woke up and realized a black bear was biting his head! It appears it is not just Montana bears who are having increased contact with humans this year! It's quite a story - you can read it here:

• Sleeping Idaho Hunter Wakes up to a Black Bear Biting His Head

~ ~ Use Caution When Hiking and Camping in Bear Country

A couple of weeks ago a hiker in Glacier National Park was grabbed by a bear, but he managed to deploy his can of bear spray and get away.  This article has the story, and some good advice for anyone hiking where bears are prevalent.

• Hiker survives attack by grizzly bear in Glacier National Park

~ ~ This Bear May Have Been Looking for a High School Diploma 

A bear found his way into a high school in Bozeman on Wednesday morning, and took a look around! Read about the incident and watch the video here:

• Black Bear Wanders Into Bozeman High School

Video by Leon Uebelhoer, foreign exchange student from Germany
Posted by KBZK TV on Wednesday, October 14, 2015

~ ~ Schools and Bears

Bears (sort of) are frequently mentioned in the sports pages of our newspapers - whenever the University of Montana State Grizzlies and the Capital High School Bruins play!

~ ~ The Bears Were Here First

It is a little too close for comfort to have a bear in front of our moving vehicles, or within the halls of a high school, but most people here are happy to catch a (safe) glimpse of one in the wild. In fact, an agreement was just appoved this week by a Federal judge to protect more than 22,000 acres of grizzly bear habitat.

• Judge OKs agreement protecting 22,000 acres of grizzly bear habitat near Whitefis

~ ~ Wildlife out my front door

 So far this year, I haven't seen any signs of bears around our house - but there certainly have been lots of deer. They have no fear. This photo shows how close they let me get to them wih my car, without them looking the least bit flustered.

Deer are not the only wild animals that visit us though. There are definitely bear in the area. One year we found bear scat just 15 feet from our front door, and one summer a black bear wandered by not too far from our house in the middle of the day.

~ ~ A Message from the Bears

A bear's perspective ...  This photo was posted by a friend on Facebook and showed up in my Facebook feed today:

Have you ever seen a bear?

Does your newspaper have front-page headlines about bear? 

Are there bears in your neighborhood?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

How to Easily Ripen Tomatoes in Your Garage

Did you know that you can finish ripening tomatoes in your garage? 

Our growing season is short in Montana, but this year I figured out how to give my tomatoes a little bit more time to finish getting ripe. 

It worked! This tomato was every bit as flavorful as it looks!

I used to be skeptical of this method. 

Several years ago, I heard that it is possible to finish ripening your green tomatoes by hanging the tomato plants upside down inside, before the first hard frost. I could never quite figure out the logistics though - how to pick up the huge plant and move it inside, what to hang it from, etc.  

In past years, I used other ways to ripen my tomatoes instead.

There are a number of ways you can ripen end-of-season tomatoes after the weather becomes too cold for them, and I have tried many of them. For example, here are three different things I have tried. 

• One year, when I grew cherry tomatoes in a pot, I brought the entire pot inside, put it by a sunny window, and continued to water it.  Tomato plants are not the most appealing house plant - but we were picking cherry tomatoes for our salads all the way into mid-November! 
• I covered the tomato plants with thick blankets every frosty night, and let them get sunshine during the day, prolonging the life cycle of the plants outside for as many days as I could.
• I picked all of the tomatoes off the vine. I let the ones that had begun to turn red finish ripening on my windowsill and wrapped all the green ones in newspapers. I carefully placed the wrapped tomatoes one layer deep in cardboard boxes. I stored the boxes in my cool dark basement, and most of the tomatoes ripen after a few weeks. They were good enough - but not great.

This year I uprooted and brought the whole plant inside - the easy way!

Nearly two weeks ago, our weather turned and we had frost in the forecast.  I really only had one plant still laden with unripe tomatoes, but we had really been looking forward to eating them.  On a whim, I gently pulled the entire plant up out of the ground and wrapped a plastic bag around the still dirt-covered roots. Carefully supporting the stems and tomatoes, I carried the entire thing into our garage and looked around. What to do with it??

There really wasn't an ideal place to hang the plant upside down, and I didn't have much time to deal with it. I placed the bag of roots in a shallow box, propped that up on another taller container, and let the tomatoes trail down onto the ground in an out-of-the-way area of our garage. I didn't hang the tomato plant completely upside down - I just balanced it so the roots were higher than the stem. This seemed to work well and was really easy to do.

I then proceeded to ignore it.

My results, after a little over a week.

Today, I took a look. All of the tomatoes ripened perfectly, and we will be enjoying every single one. Once I pick them, I'll just have to wrap the rest of the plant up in the garbage bag, and take it to the transfer station where we take our trash, to be recycled.  

This was the easiest and best way I have ever dealt with our end-of-season crop of tomatoes.   Maybe it will work for you!

We ate this garage-ripened tomato last night, and it tasted just like it had been ripened by the sun!

Have you ever tried this?

What tips do you have for growing, ripening, and harvesting home-grown tomatoes?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

Healthy Vegetable Frittata - a Good Recipe for Meatless Mondays

Yesterday, for "Meatless Monday" I prepared a healthy vegetable frittata. It turned out to be a dinner that we really enjoyed. I think perhaps you might as well, so I am posting the recipe here today.

Something besides turkey, for those who recently celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving!
Not only is this vegetable frittata meatless, but it is low in calories and provides several servings of vegetables. I suspect it might especially appeal to my Canadian readers, after a heavy turkey dinner on Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, by the way!

What is Meatless Monday, anyway?

Meatless Monday is a concept I became aware of about a year or two ago. I am not always good at observing it, but lately have been trying to be sure we have at least one meatless dinner some time in each week - if not always on Monday.

The idea of Meatless Monday is not new - according to the Meatless Monday website, it actually originated back during World War I. The US Food Administration encouraged Americans to "do their part" to help win the war, by observing "Meatless Monday" and "Wheatless Wednesday."  The idea resurfaced in 2003, as a public service campaign, suggesting a "way for individuals to do something good for themselves and for the planet."

Again according to the Meatless Monday website, eating less meat is better for our health and our wallet. It is good for the environment as well, because the farming of vegetables and grains uses less water and fuel, and produces less greenhouse gases, than does the meat industry. 

At least right now, I have no intentions of becoming a vegetarian. But, that doesn't mean I can't at least reduce the amount of meat in my diet. Since every little reduction helps my health and the planet, with recipes like this - why not?

Are eggs okay on Meatless Monday?

There has been some conversation as to how eating eggs can be allowed on meatless Monday, since eggs come from chickens - but as there are egg recipes on the Meatless Monday website, I am considering it to be okay.

A satisfying meatless meal - even for a hungry teenager

This fritatta was easy to make, used up a variety of vegetables in my vegetable bin, and really tasted yummy. Made with mostly egg whites and just a small amount of cheese, it is really healthy. Served with a big salad, it was a satisfying dinner - even for my hungry teenager.

Here's the recipe - enjoy!

Meatless Monday (or Any Day) Healthy Vegetable Frittata

Printable Recipe: Click here.

With a green salad, this frittata is perfect for a delicious low-calorie meal. A crusty baguette would go nicely with it, as well. 

This recipe serves 4. 

Blogger Awards Are Like Presents ... or a Pat on The Back (Part 2)

Last month, I was delighted to be nominated for two blogging awards. 

Last Saturday, I wrote about the first award that I received, the "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award" from Lana at Two Teens and their Mama.  

Today, I am revealing the other award.

On Wed Sept 23rd my friend Leanne, who blogs at Cresting the Hill ~ of Midlife nominated

How To Do "Anything": My List of Fabulous Finds (Week 17)

This week's List of Fabulous Finds is all about "how to do" things.  In less than a year, my youngest child heads off to college. I have been thinking a lot lately about whether or not I have taught him well enough "how to do" all the things he will need to know. 

I worry less about whether or not I've taught my kids enough, when I think about the wealth of information at our fingertips today. The Internet is a powerful resource.

The following links are good examples that the Internet provides information on how to do just about anything.

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This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ How to sew on a button

A button fell off one of my son's dress shirts this week. I've shown both my kids how to sew a button back on, but this in not a skill that is regularly practiced.  Wondering if help would be available, I searched on-line and sure enough, found a video that gives even better directions for this task than I ever could.

• How to sew on a button 

~ ~ How to fold a suit without wrinkling it

I think my children know how to properly fold clothes, but even I learned a trick or two in this

A Photo Album, a Lunar Event, and a Furry Friend

Words for Wednesday was a meme originally created by Delores of Under the Porch Light. She used this weekly writing prompt to encouraged others to write something creative. When she could no longer continue to host it,  Elephant’s Child took over for a while, and then organized volunteers to share the responsibility. Drifting through Life hosted in July, Randomosity in August. 

During September the challenge was posted here, and now October's prompts will be created by Margaret Adamson and her friend Sue, but published on the blog Elephant's Child.

Today, I am continuing the fiction story I have been writing using the Words for Wednesday word prompts from last week. 

To catch up with "The Mindy Story" so far, click the link to any chapter below:

• Part 1, Cleaning Products Don't Work Unless You Use them

• Part 2, A Perfect Match.

• Part 3, Fiction, Sangria, Roasted Red Pepper Spread and a Picnic

• Part 4, Stitches and an Uncomfortable Surprise

• Part 5, A Banana Relapse Will Require a Repair

• Part 6, Capturing Fruit Flies, & Wine Glasses for Two

• Part 7, A Coffee Date and Cathedral Windows  

• Part 8, Chicken Broth and Walnuts - - Oops! 

• Part 9, A Mystery and a Secret 

• Part 10, Blue Bird - Blue Bell - - Blue Bonnet! 
• Part 11, Lemonade and a Pleasant Conversation 

When you are ready, here is Part 12  ...

Another chapter in the unpredictable life of Mindy ...

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A Photo Album, a Lunar Event, and a Furry Friend

Mindy was working hard to finish putting the rest of the photos she had printed into a sparkle-covered album.  She had purchased this particular scrapbook (with glittery hearts across the front) because she had wanted a romantic place to keep all of her photos from time spent with Ryan. It had been almost a year since they had begun dating, and the album was nearly full.

Mindy hadn't seen much of Ryan for about a week. He was really busy with his new job, working for a new builder in town. It had been hard for him to give up his own business, but he said he preferred the regular income to the independence of having his own handy-man business. The full-tiime hours, on top of still going to classes part-time, and trying to attend to the needs of his parents, just hadn't left him much free time.

Earlier in the week, Mark (Ryan's dad) had climbed a ladder to replace a bulb in a sconce on the wall above a stairwell. One of the ladder rungs had given way, and he had slipped and taken a bad fall.  Home alone, Mark had been able to crawl to the phone and dialed 911, but then became too out-of-breath to speak. It had been a good thing his parents still had a land line - the ambulance, as per protocol, was dispatched to his address and help arrived. Had Mark called from a cell phone, it might not have been so easy for the paramedics to locate him.

Although aways completely independent, Ryan's parents suddenly needed quite a bit of help from their son. With four broken ribs and a recently collapsed lung, Mark needed assistance with basic activities-of-daily-living, and couldn't do any of the household tasks he usually did. Ryan was trying to be there to help his mom as much as possible.

Mindy had wanted to help too, but she didn't want Ryan' parents to contract the miserable head cold she had been suffering from for most of the week. Ultimately, she had realized the best thing she could do would to be to stay away from them! 

There was one thing she had been able to do for them, though. Ryan's parents had a pet bunny, still living even after all their children had left home. Ryan's mom was allergic to it, and it had always been cared for by Ryan's dad. When Mindy found that out, she had offered to keep it at her house until Mark could take care of it again.  Ryan had brought the hutch, the rabbit, and all it's supplies to her house in his truck. She rather liked having a fluffy little furry friend in her home, although it made her nervous to take care of someone else's pet. More than once, she had called the vet to inquire if its eating habits and behaviors were normal for a pet rabbit!

With just a handful of photos left to place in the album, Mindy stopped to admire a few. Her camera had done such a good job of capturing the "super moon" during it's eclipse on September 27th. Mindy reminisced about how lovingly Ryan had hugged her as they gazed up at the night sky. He had remarked that they would only have to wait 18 years to see the next super moon lunar eclipse together - in 2033! 

She had been so sure his comment had been the lead-in to a proposal. Now she felt a little ashamed of how grouchy she had been for the rest of that evening, when she realized Ryan was not planning to propose that night.

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The word prompts that I used in this story segment  (from last week's Words for Wednesday challenge) were:

album, lunar, sparkle, furry, sconce, inquire
AND/OR 

builder, contract, attend, ultimately, land line, fall

Don't forget to visit Elephant's Child today, to see the Words for Wednesday Word prompt for this week!

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Are you as surprised as Mindy that Ryan hasn't proposed? 

Do you think she should talk with him about her hopes for the future, or just wait and hope that he will propose?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

Blogger Awards Are Like Presents ... or a Pat on The Back (Part 1)

Last month, I was nominated for not one - but TWO blogging awards. What a nice surprise!

I would have mentioned receiving these awards sooner, but between all the design changes you have seen here, hosting words for Wednesday, and just trying to stay up with my weekly series posts - writing about them just didn't fit into my publishing schedule.

Now, however, I finally can!  I'm going to tell you about the two awards in the order I received them - one today, and one next Saturday.  Please be sure to visit the websites of the bloggers who nominated me - as well as the ones to whom I am passing along the award.  I bet you will enjoy them as much as I do!

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Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

On September 17th, my friend Lana L. nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award.  I am honored, and receiving this award from Lana makes it feels extra-special.

Lana and I have uncovered so many coincidences between us we practically could be sisters! She started her blog Two Teens and Their Mama just a few weeks after my first post was published here; we have kids the same age; we were married the same year (1 week apart); we have many similar interests and hobbies; ... and so on!

Our friendship has grown with our blogs, and she was the first of a wonderful network of supportive blogging buddies with whom I have been lucky enough to connect. If you have read this blog for long, you know that I have mentioned her here from time to time. We even both wrote posts about the first time that we met in person.

The goal of this award I received from Lana is to learn a little more about our fellow bloggers. The nominator

Week 16: My List of Fabulous Finds (Moon, Mars, and More!)

There's a large variety of topics in this week's "List of Fabulous Finds" - with links to articles and videos about the moon and mars, college applications and homesickness, uncommon uses for household items, a recipe I just can't wait to try, and some "things that swim."

Don't miss checking out any of these links!

Sometimes watching videos posted on the Internet can be a waste of time, but I found the ones linked here to be very entertaining and informative. Of course, I also had to include a few photos of my own - one of which I was very surprised by how well it turned out!

Enjoy!

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This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ A Discovery about the Red Planet

There's been lots of interesting news about stuff beyond our atmosphere this week! NASA may consider this evidence of flowing water on Mars to be "game-changing," but I won't be standing in line for a trip to the red planet any time soon!

• Dark Streaks on Mars

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~ ~ Lunar Eclipse

Sunday, September 27th was a "BIG" night for the moon! Skies were clear and it was a beautiful evening in Montana.

A few friends were visiting, and we had a great view of the "Super Moon" lunar eclipse from our deck...

I'm actually pretty pleased with this photo that I took ...

Words for Wednesday - and My Method of Choosing the Prompts

Today I am hosting the Words for Wednesday Challenge for the last time, and I'm going to reveal my method of choosing the prompts this month!  

Yesterday, I posted a new section of my "Mindy Story"  using my word prompts from the previous two weeks. I hope everyone has enjoyed using the words I have selected! Strangely enough, some of the prompts fit better into my own stories using a different connotation than the one I had originally been thinking of when I selected them! It's amazing how versatile the English language can sometimes be!

Words for Wednesday was a meme originally created by Delores of Under the Porch Light. She used this weekly writing prompt to encouraged others to write something creative. When she could no longer continue to host it, Elephant’s Child took over for a while, and then organized volunteers to share the responsibility. Drifting through Life hosted in July, Randomosity in August. During September the challenge has been posted here, and October's prompts will be created by Margaret Adamson and her friend Sue, but published on the blog Elephant's Child.

How to Participate in Words for Wednesday:

The writing prompt is usually in the form of six (or twelve) words, or a phrase, but may also be a photo, an idea, or anything that might inspire a piece of flash fiction. 

There are no deadlines or rules or prizes. Everyone is invited to participate, as often or as little as you choose. Feel free to write a single sentence or an entire story from the prompt.  

Publish your work in the comments below, or on your own blog with a link back to this blog post. If you publish your work on your own blog be sure to also leave a comment here. That way everyone can find, read, and comment on your post.

Note: As with any comments on this blog, anything considered inappropriate, derogatory, or offensive will not be published. 

Here is the prompt for this week:

album, lunar, sparkle, furry, sconce, inquire
AND/OR 

builder, contract, attend, ultimately, land line, fall

My methods, revealed!

I used to always wonder how Delores (and the others who have hosted this challenge) chose the words for the prompt.  Suddenly it was my turn to host, and I

Lemonade and a Pleasant Conversation

Due to a busy schedule (or probably more accurately, poor time management!) I haven't written anything using the Words for Wednesday Challenge for a while - even though it was my turn this month to supply the prompts! 

Today, so I can get caught up, I am publishing a chapter of my fictional short story, "The Mindy Story" using the last six of the words from the prompt on Wednesday, September 16th, and the first six words posted on Wednesday, September 23rd.

At the end of this post, there will be a sneak peak of this week's prompt. Tomorrow, I will post a full explanation of the rules, and I will also then reveal how I have been picking these words all month!

Now - for another chapter in the unpredictable life of Mindy ...

To catch up with "The Mindy Story" so far, click the link to any chapter below:

• Part 1, Cleaning Products Don't Work Unless You Use them

• Part 2, A Perfect Match.

• Part 3, Fiction, Sangria, Roasted Red Pepper Spread and a Picnic

• Part 4, Stitches and an Uncomfortable Surprise

• Part 5, A Banana Relapse Will Require a Repair

• Part 6, Capturing Fruit Flies, & Wine Glasses for Two

• Part 7, A Coffee Date and Cathedral Windows  

• Part 8, Chicken Broth and Walnuts - - Oops! 

• Part 9, A Mystery and a Secret 

• Part 10, Blue Bird - Blue Bell - - Blue Bonnet! 

When you are ready, here is Part 11  ...

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Lemonade and Pleasant Conversation

The sunshine was not as intense as it had been while she was weeding, but Mindy was enjoying sitting on Ryan's lovely deck. She had gotten there just after he arrived home from work, and he had invited her to

It's the Weekend!

The weekend seems to have come up quickly, probably because my husband and I spent Monday/Tuesday celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, Montana in the beautiful Paradise Valley. (Yes - those are real names!)

The gardens, main lodge and some of the buildings at Chico Hot Springs.

During our weekday get-away, we had lovely weather and enjoyed the fall colors. Driving back home through Yellowstone Park, we had expected to see some herds of elk. It was the wrong time of day though -