The Ekalaka Eagle - Your Community Builder

Chris Young had a hit country song a few years back entitled "I Hear Voices", and I think it was written for me! The first line is, "You can say I'm a little bit crazy. You can call me insane." Of course, these things are true, but he goes on to...

The early rifle season elk hunters headed into the back country this week, and there is a chill of fall in the air. I heard a bull elk bugle last night, and my heart longs for hunting camp, but my "town job" and my aching joints remind me that I...

This week my heart goes out to those affected by the wildfires burning across our state. When a plume of smoke rises, my heart begins to pound. I have evacuated from six fires and three floods, so I know the indescribable feeling of fear and...

I have tried really hard to find the silver lining in living with Covid, and I think I have finally found it! Masks should be mandated for cattle sorting! If the Governor does not mandate masks for cattle sorting, perhaps some organization like Crazy...

I am not sure if I have ever seen more floaters on the rivers of Montana this summer. I believe Covid has made camping and fishing the 2020 thing to do. Floating the Yellowstone River is always a fun family outing, but the river demands respect as...

This week, most parents are celebrating the fact that their children are going back to school after the longest summer break on record due to the Coronavirus. The exceptions to these celebrations are usually the moms of kindergarteners and the moms...

School bells are about to ring for the first time since March, and many college students are headed off to campus. My thoughts turn to those parents ushering their kids off to college and kindergarten with high hopes, a few hidden tears, and a whole...

In a normal year, we look forward to the end of the haying season, because there might be a little opportunity to take a short vacation before school starts. This year the hay equipment is about to get parked in the shed, but prospects of a vacation...

The 4-H Fair, which is this week in our county, is going to look a lot different because of COVID. Spectators are being asked to stay home and watch the fair on live feeds. Perhaps that will make fair a bit less dramatic and more relaxed. I have...

Until last week, here in Sweet Grass County, we had no COVID cases, but as of my deadline time, we now have two cases. We do not fall under the Governor’s mask mandate yet, but it might be unlikely that we will stay under four cases in our county....

Western movies often portrayed the camp cook as a cranky drunk. I think this stereotype evolved for a darn good reason, they had to be cranky and/or drunk to survive! Camp cooking is such a fine and pleasant misery that I'd probably do it free gratis...

As the COVID numbers rise, so do the fears that we may have to go back to more restrictions. It is hard to put a cork back in an open bottle, so it will be interesting to see if we are faced with trying to do so. Most families are concerned about...

Many readers know the poetry from Sandy Seaton Sallee even if they don't know Sandy or her husband Scott. Sandy and Scott own Black Mountain Outfitters in the Paradise Valley, and they need some prayers and love right now. Just as their busy summer...

Summer is the time when I decide to roll up my sleeves and clean out some junk. However, my parents were children of the Great Depression, so I can still hear their voices ringing in my ears when I think about pitching stuff that could potentially...

As Father’s Day approaches, the rivers and creeks are running high and muddy, which makes all of us happy--except those planning a Father’s Day fishing trip. This summer of social distancing makes camping and fishing the ideal pastime,...

As the sun sets on the primary elections in Montana this week, and the general election looms ahead, the candidates have had a Covid-19 impacted campaign. They couldn't hold meet and greets, shake hands and hand out brochures, or kiss babies. Having...

To many of us, Memorial Day has become a long holiday weekend that marks the beginning of the summer season, but I hope that at some moment during the weekend, everyone will take the time to think of the sacrifices our service men and women have...

As we head into week 7 of crisis homeschooling, we have been informed by school officials that we will not be returning to school this spring. We know that finishing out the year is our responsibility as parents or grandparents, and no one is coming...

Sunday is Mother's Day, so I would like to wish all mothers a special day. Those of us who have lost our mothers realize how time spent with our mothers is more valuable than any other gift we could give or be given. I have never written a column...

As we head into our sixth week of Covid-19 school closure, I am pretty sure a lot of parents are praying that schools will reopen sooner rather than later. Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up the first week of May, and I have a hunch there is a wh...

Here in our calving commune on Lower Deer Creek, we are going into our fifth week of social distancing or sheltering in place. 102 years ago, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people...

No one alive now will ever forget the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 when we all stayed home to fight an invisible enemy. As I write this, we are not sure whether we are effectively flattening the curve, but most people seem to be trying to follow the...

Even though Covid-19 is a very serious topic, I feel that my job description as a cooking/humor columnist is an essential service in coping with this crisis. I think since everyone is sheltered in place in Montana and much of the nation, we need...

I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee on the morning of March 5, 2020 when the cruise ship The Grand Princess came across the screen. Somehow I knew that was the ship my friends, Judy Vidack and Theresa Hopkins were on. The report said t...

For those of you who are stuck at home self quarantining, I have a bit of reading material for you this week. This tale by Mark Silverstein, who ranches north of Big Timber, Montana came to my inbox with the following comment, "Your Dr. Seuss...