Results from the Weekend

Well, I did go hunting on Saturday. I shot one pheasant! We saw several more, but they were all hens and illegal to shoot. I saw one other rooster, but a shot at him would have meant through a tree and over the head of my hunting partner...I didn't take the shot. I also got a deer this weekend. I don't deer hunt very often and I didn't kill this one; my neighbor did and gave it to me. So Sunday I processed deer meat all afternoon. I now have a nearly full freezer of deer steaks and roasts, and I still need to grind the hamburger (approximately 25 lbs of it)! I would imagine that the grocery bills will be lower for a while! The dogs also made out good yesterday; I gave them all of the trimmings!

Plans for this Weekend and Beyond

I bought airline tickets for a trip back east for Christmas yesterday; they are terribly expensive. The airlines surely know that they have you around the holidays. I guess it is still cheaper than driving, but it is a huge chunk of money to lay out for travel.

Now, for the weekend plans. I think that tonight I may go to the Roadrunners 4-H club party. That should be fun. Tomorrow I am planning on going pheasant hunting in the morning before I have to go to my part time job serving beer and porn to the citizens of Big Horn County. I am looking forward to the hunting, maybe I can work off enough agression killing birds that I can put up with some of the idiots that come in looking for beer and/or porn. Sunday, I don't have any firm plans, but I may go fishing or maybe go over to Billings for a while...who knows!

UNO and 4-H...what could be better?

Well, this weekend was fun. Saturday we had a few friends over for a small function. We had WAAAAAAYYYYYY too much food; but it was all tasty! I made a crock full of chili, which turned out very nice. I tend to make things hotter than most folks like, but this was not too bad; especially since a couple of guys thought that they would test their masculinity and eat the super chilis that I use to spice up the pot before the peppers could really make the chili too warm. After that we ended up getting a rowdy game of UNO going; anyone who doesn't think that UNO can be a contact sport should come to my place and play!

Sunday was our 4-H achievement day; where we recognize the kids' accomplishments during the 4-H year. We had a decent turnout, but it was the first day of general deer and elk season in Montana so our turnout was affected by this all important holiday. I gave out the overall achievment in agriculture award this year to a girl who is not a ranch kid. I chose her because her knowledge base jumped exponentially during this year after taking on new projects (she did swine and lamb for the first time). It is very encouraging to me to see 4-Hers take an interest in ag who aren't exposed to it as a way of life. I also got to recognize my teen club during the program. What a great group of kids this is to work with! I have seen growth in these kids that has completely blown me away. I don't want to brag, but I think some of the best leaders will come out of this group. They are amazing! Now, my only concern with this group is where are all of the boys? My "typical" teen leader is a thirteen year old girl...you'd think that would be a selling point to the boys! Oh well, I recruited a couple of boys yesterday to join so we'll see what happens.

Finding a Niche

I am hosting my first party in Hardin this weekend. I don't know how many folks I have showing up, but it should be interesting in the little house. I think the plan is to do some cooking, so I guess I should go to the IGA this evening and buy something tasty! It is fun making a niche and finding friends in this community. It is rather easy to meet people, partly due to my job, and partly because this is a fairly open community; albeit with some social issues (but what location doesn't have its social issues?).

Intro...The First Post

I just returned from Miles City, MT from annual conference. I do enjoy Miles City...a really neat cowboy town; I highly reccommend a visit for anyone planning to be in Eastern Montana. I toured the Fort Keogh research farm and got acquainted with my colleagues from around the state. Montana is a great place to live and work. I do enjoy the remoteness that is afforded to one in Montana. Next week, is national 4-H week and I have planned some activities with my teen group to recuruit new members into 4-H; one of which is pumpkin painting at a local day care facility...that ought to be fun don't you think? I got to experience the first sugarbeet harvest of my life last week! That was a blast!