Several years ago, we decided that ranching for fun and not profit was not really working for us, so we decided to lop off a few acres with a view up the creek and down the Yellowstone and make money the old fashioned way--selling the rural...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, dear Lord, the snow falls fast, Winter is on our mind. Icicles guard, the wind does moan, a warm place the birds can’t find. Sparkle of frost on windowsill recaps our childhood ‘view’; we’d ‘scratch...

The January 3rd issue of the Eagle had an article about the Montana Greats Project which was recently published in the Billings Gazette. This article invited Ekalaka people to give their opinions on the greatest athletes from Carter County. I...

A heart attack is serious business, and time is of the essence. If you think you or someone you know is having symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 and seek help immediately! The most talked-about symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. On TV,...

I share the copy machine at work with the Sweet Grass County Extension Agent, Marc King, so one day I found an interesting email mixed in with my pile of papers off the machine. It was a bulletin from MSU about a biomarker study of the effects of...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes friends share interesting things that they’ve found on the ‘net’; take for instance, a penny. Who’d have thought that there was a day to celebrate a Lost Penny, which is the 12th of Februa...

Since I am not as familiar with the great athletes in all of Carter County, I will focus on the great athletes that were born or raised in the Tie Creek area of the county. In the early years, most every community had a baseball team. For several...

As the poets and pickers headed home from the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko Nevada this past week, I was sent a poem perfectly timed to the upcoming calving season. Trent Nelson is a cowboy poet who was born and raised in northeastern...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: Horses were the means of transportation 80 years ago. A family with four girls had a big white horse named Daisy. These little girls loved all of their farm animals but especially Daisy as she was their means to get to the...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and continues to...

Although the Green New Deal seems to have been abandoned, there is still a lot of talk on the 2020 election trail about other brain flashes such as student loan forgiveness. I marvel at this concept. I grew up frugal and green, because my parents...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, the Bible states that GOD knows our purpose on this earth before we were ever born. In this age of options, opportunities, choices, and more, You Lord, of all creation, made us for a specific purpose and re...

I just love those helpful hint columns and books full of tips on how to remove every stain known to man or cure anything from warts to arthritis with a home remedy. Sometimes though, I have to question the effectiveness and efficiency of the...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes it’s pleasant to think back when we were just little kids and remember, now and then, how we’d pretend to be asleep, and watch for or wait for Mama to tiptoe in to check on us or just watch us...

I will continue on as reported in my last article. In 1910, the Scruggs family came to Ekalaka and filed on 320 acres on Rammey Creek about fourteen miles south of Ekalaka. After a couple of hard years, a house was built and then enlarged, wells and...

I am going to start this article a little different by presenting names of a few individuals who I received cards, Christmas letters or phone calls from during the Christmas season. I felt these names may bring back special memories of school mates,...

The most challenging cooking jobs I have ever had were my many years of wilderness camp cooking in the Scapegoat Wilderness for Brett and Julie Todd. Every time I rode out of camp, I would marvel that I had kept all those people fed under extreme con...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, sometimes we need a reminder about certain things. How fun to discover that this coming Tuesday, the 21st, is called Hugging Day! Hugging Day is a special day to embrace the hug. Give your ‘mum’ a hug...

Since our son Bret bought into our ranching operation when he came back to the ranch after college, I am no longer the right hand man in this operation. I have been demoted back to assistant nobody, which is a great title. I love my life of...

Hello God, it’s me, Mara: You know, Lord, mending day happens to all of us; there are sock, shirts, jeans, you name it and it probably needs mending. Besides clothing, there is upholstery, fences, railings, relationships, and even broken hearts to...

New federal law raises the minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. On December 20th, 2019, the President signed legislation raising the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. According...

Hello, I’ll start this week by wishing all of you a Merry Christmas. And probably a Happy New Year! Twas two nights before Christmas as I write this. It is with some regret, and also some relief, that I am letting you know that I am going to...

The holiday season can be extra stressful for adults and children with the change of routines and the extra demands of our time. We are running around trying to make sure we have the right presents for each family member and friend and our kids...