52 hike challenge #22

On the weekend of Mike's birthday, my parents made the decision to come for a visit the following week. This was notable for two reasons: one, we are in the middle of a global pandemic so extra precautions had to be made, and two, we are a family of planners so I've never known my parents to do embark on a vacation (or anything, really) with only three days of preparation!

After two long days of driving, they arrived on Thursday night. On Friday my dad and Rose went on a hike to "pride rock." Of Saturday my mom, Rose and I went on a hike down the old creek bed that Rose loves. 

As you can see, we attempted to physically distance during their visit, which was definitely hard to remember to do. We also played lots of "balloon catch" and "balloon monkey in the middle," and we had all sorts of wonderful meals. I loved having people to bake for!

We also went to our friends' house on the river and went fishing for a few hours on Sunday. We did not catch any fish, but I did catch a small shrubbery and also the shoreline. The river, meanwhile, caught my dad's glasses. (The wind suddenly blew, which caught his hat, which tangled in his glasses, and both the hat and the glasses flew into the river. He got the hat back downstream, but the glasses sunk somewhere and it was too deep and fast-flowing to find them.)

As always, their visit felt way too short. But at least we got to see each other!  

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop

19. 5/3/20 - 1.5 mi - to the neighbors' horse pen and back

20. 5/10/20 - 2 mi? - Tower Rock State Park

21. 5/16/20 - 3 mi - Mount Helena (prairie trail up, powerline trail down)

22. 5/30/20 -  1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up

Recent projects

We've worked on a number of house projects recently, so I wanted to share my excitement...

(1) I know I already told you about our AMAZING new stove, but it's so incredible that I had to mention it again :)

(2) I've also been on the lookout for a cheap screen door for the greenhouse. I have one that I'm rehabbing, so more to come on that!

(3) Mike also started my Mother's Day present, which is redoing the wall to the loft. So far he's gotten it framed in, but we still need to buy the dry wall, shelving, and door(s). I'm so excited about this!!

(4) For 2.5 years I've hated this mirror every time I walk in the bathroom. First, it's split in thirds, so you can't get a good view of your face without it being broken apart by the purposeful crack in the mirror. I had no idea that I hated split mirrors so much, but I do. Second, it's OFF CENTER. Seriously. I don't know why they decided to put the lights and the medicine cabinet off center from the sink/vanity, but it drives me crazy. So I eventually reached my breaking point and took down the mirror, but the new one I got wouldn't fit with the huge backsplash, so now I need to exchange it for a new one. More to come on that too...

(5) We've been on the lookout for chicks all spring, but apparently the coronavirus pandemic made everyone want to raise chickens, so they were in incredibly short supply. We finally found a specialty chicken breeder who just sold us 12 more. Which meant that Mike had to finish in the underhang of the chicken coop so the new chickens and the old chickens could be separated for awhile. Here he is taking measurements for the underhang:

 And here are he and Rose putting the finishing touches on it:

And here are some of the new chickens we got! One is a rooster and the rest are hens. The dad is a Bielefelder and the moms are either Dark Cornish, Splash Partridge Brahmas, Dark Brahmas, or Blue Cochin x Light Brahmas. Should be an interesting flock as they grow older!

(6) We also moved the gate to the airbnb. You'd think the snow fencing would make it obvious that this is a driveway, but we've had a lot of people take a wrong turn and think this is the main road. Hopefully by moving the gate out here to where the snowfencing it will make it more obvious than when the gate was right in front of the rental. 

(7) Since I couldn't hang the medicine cabinet I bought, I spent a little time this weekend rehabbing the laundry room side of the bathroom. I made and hung that little shelf for the clock and the toothbrush chargers (above the dryer), which isn't much but I'm pretty proud of it.

So, there you have it. Lots of work in the last month, and more still to come!  I love our little homestead. :)

52 hike challenge #21

Yesterday, Rose and I decided on the spur of a moment to go on a hike together while Mike was busy doing some Saturday chores around the house. I've been meaning to explore Mount Helena City Park for awhile, so yesterday seemed like the perfect day! The good news is that's a huge park with lots of trails, but the bad news is that the number of trails made it difficult to choose a path. :) 

After reading several reviews on AllTrails and TripAdvisor, then scouring the trail maps from the Prickly Pear Land Trust, we came up with a plan to go up the Prairie Trail and down the 1906 Trail.  I had the PPLT map downloaded on my phone plus took the above photo at the trailhead, but it still felt weird to hike without an actual hard copy map in hand! Apparently I'm an old-school hiker. 

Even with the relatively gradual (for a mountain) incline of the Prairie Trail, it was still a tough workout! Thankfully Doug has never learned to stop pulling when he is on leash, so Rose and I were able to get a little boost up the hills from him. :) Even so, our hearts were pumping and we were pretty winded by the time we got to the summit.

Water, turkey sandwiches, and sun chips never tasted so good!!

The views were spectacular! We could see all of Helena below us, plus the mountains in every direction. It was really stunning.

We wanted to take our selfie at the actual summit (we ate our lunches in relative seclusion about 20 feet from the top), but the actual peak was crowded with a bunch of other folks  (all keeping >6 feet distance from each other, thankfully) enjoying the view. And Doug started whining that he couldn't play with the other dogs so we started back down the trail fairly quickly. 

Our original plan was to take the 1906 Trail down, but a large family CARRYING A BOOMBOX headed that way. UGH. Forcing your music on other people in the great outdoors is one of the most obnoxious things you can do, IMHO. There was no way I wanted to listen to their crappy music when I was trying to enjoy the sounds of nature, so Rose suggested we take the Powerline Trail down instead. I warned her that it would be pretty steep (about .6 miles down, as opposed to the 1.75 miles or so that it had taken for us to go up), but she said she was tired to so she wanted the fastest route.

Steep doesn't even begin to describe it! Even her young knees were burning by the time we got back to our car. I was MUCH less appreciative of Doug pulling me DOWN the steep terrain, although he certainly couldn't understand why I seemed to appreciate his pulling earlier but not then. Oof-dah!

In the end we had some good mommy-daughter bonding time, despite (or perhaps because of?) our constant complaining. Last night as I put my feet up back at home, she even asked if we could go on another hike today! We'll see, I said, we'll see...

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop

19. 5/3/20 - 1.5 mi - to the neighbors' horse pen and back

20. 5/10/20 - 2 mi? - Tower Rock State Park

21. 5/16/20 - 3 mi - Mount Helena (prairie trail up, powerline trail down)

Happy Mother's Day weekend 2020

Mother's Day weekend this year was filled with excitement! Here are the highlights...

On Thursday night, Rose lost another tooth! She loved that it was her 8th tooth and she had just turned 8 a couple weeks ago.

Saturday morning I caught an incredibly beautiful sunrise off our deck!

After enjoying the sunrise, I baked a Dutch Baby for breakfast, one of my favorite treats. 

Mike had some errands he had to run in Helena, so Rose and I got to spend the morning together. She is the the undefeated Candyland champ. 

After dinner we got to do our "family walk" down to the garden. I love our tradition of a postprandial stroll each night in May-September.

This particular photo (below) was from a few days prior (5/4), but it shows that our two outdoor cats, Bart (on the right) and Stalker (on the left) usually follow us on our walks on our property. Bart moved here to MT with us in 2017, and Stalker was originally a "garden cat" (like a barn cat, but for our gardens). But last year he and Bart ran into each other and totally bonded. We were glad these two boys had each other and seemed to really enjoy each others company. 

But recently Stalker has been acting weird. Just not himself. He mostly stopped going on walks with us, would meow for lots of attention, and seemed to spend more time just laying in the quonset (where he and Bart have their cozy, insulated house). 

Then, SURPRISE, on Saturday night we found out that Stalker isn't a boy!

Do you see that tiny little kitten?! Stalker is a MOM!

I've had such a mix of emotions over this: shame at being an irresponsible owner who did not neuter her pet and thus contributed to animal overpopulation, embarrassment that I was unable to tell a girl cat from a boy cat (LOL), and a little bit of excitement that we could watch this little kitten grow up.

Rose, meanwhile, is THRILLED. This girl loves cats so much, and she is absolutely in 7th heaven right now. Now she has decided that she may want to be a feline veterinarian (instead of a history teacher or a scientist), and she has been doing tons of research on how to help Stalker take care of her kit. I love seeing her excitement!

Sunday morning we did take a short family hike, per our Mother's Day tradition. 

The rest of Sunday was a blissful day of relaxation for me - I took a bath, read a book, and had a delicious dinner. And, of course, checked on Stalker about 20 more times.

Monday morning it was back to work, after one more quick check on Stalker. 

Lo and behold, there are now TWO kits!!!

Stalker seems to be doing a great job as a new mom, and Bart is usually sleeping with them to keep them all warm. 

Rose has named the kittens Ivy and Jay, after her two favorite characters from the Warriors books that she and Mike have been reading. She and I would both hang out with the "Quonset clan" all day if we could, but Mike sends me to work and her to EFC each day so the cats can have rest and privacy. :)  

I'm starting to feel more excitement than shame about having unplanned kittens. I think this is part of the transition from MN to MT for me. In the past, I was a city girl who followed all the rules for responsible pet ownership. But now I'm a bit of a rural girl who is adjusting to new rules for working farm animals. So as I continue to make this mental shift, I'm choosing to focus on my happiness when I see Rose falling in love and possibly planning her future career as a result. I'm sure there will be plenty more photos yet to come as these kittens grow up!!

52 hike challenge #20

I have a mother's day tradition of going for a hike and having a turkey sandwich. We missed this last year because I bought my new (used) Forester that weekend, so I was eager to get back to the tradition this year! 

I didn't want to go far because of the coronavirus, so we just went to a VERY small state park a few miles away from us. There's a formal trail for about .5 miles, but it ends when the incline gets steep. We've done that first section a handful of times, but yesterday we decided to see where the little unofficial trail leads. After huffing and puffing up the hill/mountain, we were rewarded with some beautiful views of the Missouri River and the Big Belt mountains!

I may not have gotten my turkey sandwich yesterday, but I did enjoy my time with my family!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop

19. 5/3/20 - 1.5 mi - to the neighbors' horse pen and back

20. 5/10/20 - 2 mi? - Tower Rock State Park

52 hike challenge #19

Yesterday when Rose and I went on our hike, we saw our neighbor's horses and she really wanted to give them a treat. We only had some crumbs of chips left, so we agreed to come.back the next day.  After clearing it with the owner, she and I headed over with same apples in tow this afternoon. 

Unfortunately the horses were hiding once we got there, but it was still a nice walk.

In related news, we learned after dinner that our chickens love apples!!

Finally, in unrelated news, we got a new (used) stove today!!! So far it's been amazing.  It has a simmer burner and a power burner, and it's actually insulated so you don't burn your hand if you touch the exterior while the oven is on!! It's amazing.

 Back to work tomorrow...

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop

19. 5/3/20 - 1.5 mi - to the neighbors' horse pen and back

52 hike challenge #17 and #18

We finally have spring here! It's been so amazing. 

Friday afternoon I was able to leave just a smidge early, so we went on a "family adventure" to see "Pride Rock" together. Bart (the cat) and Doug (the dog) also came with us. Stalker (the other outdoor cat) stayed home for some reason. 

Then today Rose joined me for my "neighborhood loop." I had guessed it was somewhere between 4 and 4.5 miles (with some big elevation changes!), and today I discovered that my phone has a built-in fitbit and it's actually 4.25 miles. So, pretty good guess, I thought!

Hope you're all getting some beautiful weather too, and that you're able to enjoy it!

52 hike challenge 2020
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back
8. 2/9/20 - 2 mi? - sledding, and to/from the neighbors
9. 2/15/20 - 4.25 mi neighborhood loop
10. 2/22/20 - 1 mi? -  Lincoln Sculpture in the Wild
(there were at least a few more in here that I, alas, forgot to record)
11. 4/5/20 - 2 mi? - up to the highest peak in our neighborhood
12.  4/10/20 - 2 mi? - down a new drainage next door and back around by the gardens
13. 4/12/20 - 2.5 mi - out and back 

14. 4/18/20 - 1 mi? - down an old creek bed and back up
15. 4/22/20 - 1 mi? - down to the parking lot to pick up my car
16. 4/26/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock" 

17. 5/1/20 - 2 mi? - over to "Pride rock"

18. 5/2/20 - 4.25 mi - neighborhood loop