Something is puzzling me this year in the garden. In the front yard, the impatiens are insipid, but in the backyard perennial beds, these bright shade annuals are robust. What could possibly be the explanation? My first instinct was the hot, dry weather and the lack of rain water, but this would be true both in front and back. Naturally, …
It was Pow Wow weekend in Bismarck and the time of the biggest rummage sale weekend of the year in these parts. I partook Friday and found some treasures, with the bonus of driving around river city and seeing how creative residents are in their decorating and landscaping. It is also the weekend of the Sr. Kateri Festival at our …
My favorite month in North Dakota is September. It is a difficult choice. June is filled with new growth in the perennial beds and the planting of the garden and with birdsong. But September. Ah, September. The heat of summer has passed. I dislike the hot weather. I wilt easily. My children and husband were born in September, so it …
The most auspicious day on our calendar arrived. My husband and our twin daughters share the same birthday. (Karma, eh?) And we celebrate big each year. This year was ramped up by a long shot because it was Jim’s 70th. Around this milestone, we planned a family reunion with his six siblings and their spouses, held in historic Medora, N.D. …
“The sun is round. I ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when I can hear it, there is a ringing that we share. I understand all this, not in my mind, but in my heart, knowing how meaningless it is to try to capture what cannot be expressed, knowing that mere words will remain when I read it …
“Steamboats in Dakota Territory: Transforming the Northern Plains,” Tracy Potter. The History Press, 2017, 140 pages. I can think of no one more qualified to enlighten readers on the history of steamboats in Dakota land than Tracy Potter, Bismarck, the author of the book “Sheheke: Mandan Indian Diplomat.” Potter is deeply read in history and his work leading the Fort …
Over an inch of rain in the gauge when we returned from Colorado and some showers this week reminded us that it still “can” rain in this country, and for this we give thanks. I spent Saturday afternoon sitting on the patio, nursing my knee injury and reading a book that I’m reviewing but eventually retreated to the house to listen …
Home now — to return to garden harvest — after a week in which we neglected it for some folks festival fun. I noticed that this is my first of garden notes for August, a sign that my flowers peaked earlier this season. There are just a few daylily blossoms here and there, and I await the emergence of the chrysanthemums. Meanwhile, …
Gentle reader, you might recall that we just attended the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colo., with some of our best chums. It was a fabulous sojourn, filled with the anticipation of the total solar eclipse. By and large, these festivals, particularly the ones hosted by Planet Bluegrass, are filled with blissful vibes and fascinating diversity — oh, and …
“It got to be pitch dark, at last, and the multitude groaned with horror to feel the cold uncanny night breezes through the place and see the stars come out and twinkle in the sky. At last the eclipse was total, and I was very glad of it, but everybody else was in misery. … Then I lifted up my …
Here at Red Oak House, we’ve established a tradition, an annual mid-August BLT party with our good friends Bob and Jodi and Larry and Charlotte. Some years Clay attends if he is in town. We cook up the bacon from Crow Butte Mercantile and slice up a bunch of our home-grown tomatoes. We were pleased today because, usually, our garden …
Today is my Daddy’s birthday. My job was to make his favorite German Chocolate Cake, from scratch. It is a nice continuation of the theme of “chocolate” from my last blog post. I made a run to the store the other day for ingredients. My husband gets pretty nostalgic when he sees the box of Pillsbury Softasilk cake flour, remembering …
“Only when we know little things do we know anything; doubt grows with knowledge.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe With the exception of my home, my favorite human-made place in the state is the North Dakota Heritage Center. I live a short distance from there and go very frequently, to view the exhibits, to eat lunch, to do research at the State …
When I was a little girl, Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman” was a big hit on AM radio. Somehow, because my father had been a lineman in Mississippi in the time period after World War II I got confused and for a little while and was pretty sure he and Glen Campbell were one and the same person. I eventually got …
“… all that we behold Is full of blessings” — William Wordsworth I spent some of the morning with my nonagenarian father, who teaches me each day about dignity and stoicism. When out in public, he almost always wears a hat, and these hats tell about his life. I think the fact that he was in the U.S. Army Security …
Sunday morning I was listening to the “Ted Radio Hour” on Prairie Public Radio. The subject of the interview was talking about physics and the universe, and he said, “We should be grateful for what we know and humbled by what we don’t know.” Amen, say I. I have so much to be grateful for in my life. This weekend, I …
“A billion stars go spinning through the night, blazing high above your head. But in you is the presence that will be, when the stars are dead.” — Ranier Maria Rilke My daughter, Chelsea, and I packed up the car and headed for southwest North Dakota this past week. I know, it seems I’m always traveling, especially odd for a homebody …
The lure was Fort Abercrombie, but no contest, the highlight for me on our latest blue highway North Dakota road trip was getting to ride the combine. Not just any old combine but a great big John Deere with GPS steering, driven by, of all things, a farm worker from Slope County, someone who’d grown up about 15 miles from my …
Crenelated landscape. That’s where we’re home from. The Bad Lands of North Dakota, where we gathered for one of Badlands Conservation Alliance‘s summer outings. Driving there, we listened to the excellent radio segment “Natural North Dakota.” We’re members of Prairie Public Radio and partial to the vast majority of their programming, mostly listening in the car. Jim drove while I also …
“Well I’ll be damned, here comes your ghost again …” — Joan Baez “Diamonds and Rust” I am now going to write about one of the most painful chapters of my long life. I am going to remember David. David Ohm. Dead these 40 years now. I can hardly believe that when I write it. And write this story I shall, …
Sunday was another North Dakota road trip for us, the destination being Edmore, N.D., and the occasion being the visit of Jim’s California cousin to her mother and hometown. After a breakfast of sausage and pancakes with the last of the summer raspberries, we packed up a cooler and the Sunday Bismarck Tribune — for road reading — and headed …
This year, I resolved to try new things in life. After years of my husband urging me to write more, I started my blog. It has been surprisingly gratifying. I spent a lifetime writing newsletters, press releases, letters, memos, emails and the Stoxen Library blog, and one does get better at writing by, well, writing. Reading thousands of books by …
I rolled out of bed early this morning (Saturday), eager to attend the Central Dakota Daylily Society 2017 Blossom Blast. The two gardens on the tour this year were members of the club I greatly admire, very serious daylily growers, and I certainly wanted to see their work. The tour did not disappoint. Members gathered, talking of last night’s rain …
How beautiful is Raspberry Griffin daylily, pictured above? It makes me smile. I cannot express, gentle reader, how happy it makes me to know that my dear friend, Bonnie Estes, of Arkadelphia, Ark., enjoys seeing my flower photos on my blog. I am deeply indebted to Bonnie and Dr. Jack Estes for their kindness and generosity to me in my …
Yellowstone. There aren’t many more words in the American lexicon that conjure such powerful images of Western history and geography. The Yellowstone River courses through much of the giant state of Montana, and its confluence with the mighty Missouri River is in extreme northwestern North Dakota, near Forts Union and Buford. I’ve visited both, on multiple occasions, and urge everyone …
Three-quarter of an inch of rain in a wondrous thunderstorm this morning (Wednesday) started the day off right here at Red Oak House. For the second day in a row, it will be cool enough for us to leave the windows open all day. Vegetable harvest has begun in earnest and Jim has frozen many bags already. Last night, we had …
When I spotted that the Bismarck Tribune was looking for someone to review “Pioneer Girl Perspectives: Exploring Laura Ingalls Wilder” (Nancy Tystad Loupal, editor, South Dakota State Historical Press, 2017), I immediately contacted the editor. Our home library has an entire shelf of books by and about Wilder, the famous prairie writer, and I’ve read them all, more than once. I still …
Peak daylily time rewards me with new blooms each day. Here are today’s (Friday’s). Jim did a big-time bean harvest today (Friday) and has frozen a bunch for our winter enjoyment. We are triumphant over winning the battle with the rascally rabbits this year! Pesto/shrimp pizza with our broccoli and tomatoes for supper. And how about this glorious cloudburst? A horrific …
Earlier this week, when Jim and I were in Medora, we made time to go to the Chateau de Mores Visitor Center, to see the new exhibit featuring the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Chateau de Mores is one of the premiere sites of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and if you’ve not been there, I attest that it …
Gavin Petit Daylily opened this morning (Thursday) and it is, indeed, a showstopper. Out loud I say, “Wow!” each time I first see it. Others are reaching their peak bloom, too. Worthy of sharing. On a pass through the vegetable garden, a bonus was the discovery of the first shelling peas. I added the peas to the cold pasta salad waiting …
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” — Henry David Thoreau Today’s Writer’s Almanac pays homage to HDT. I love when Garrison Keillor’s voice comes out of my …
Gentle reader, I’ve been writing about the past, but today, it is time to return to my garden notes as the daylilies are exploding in all their glory. Between my sister and I, we have 219 varieties of daylily. They are fairly easy to grow and hardy in our northern climate. I was first exposed to daylilies by my friend …
Poor little river of my heart, my Little Missouri River. In this year of drought, you are sadly diminished. Monday night’s storm was mostly lightning and thunder and just a trace of rain. This morning dawned another scorching day. Prairie fires continue in western North Dakota. The bison and horses and birds continue their wild lives here at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. …
Residents of the prairie for generations have lived in dread of prairie fires, and this is a year when we are all on tenderhooks. The news that there is a serious fire now in the Bad Lands, although not a surprise, is very disturbing. (Now more than 3500 acres.) I remember the dry summer and fall of 1976 and a …
This hot July weather has me thinking about making hay on our Slope County ranch. This year’s drought has us all worried, and it is especially worrying for those rural folks who rely upon their hay crop to feed livestock. Haying, like so many of the farm/ranch chores, was a full-on family effort for us, with someone running the equipment …
After a pleasant morning drinking coffee and reading the paper on the patio, it was time for some work around here. I weeded the asparagus, cut basil and mowed the lawn, while Jim peeled garlic for my later project, homemade pesto. He even had me shoot video of his method of peeling garlic. You can see it here. I use …
When we purchased Red Oak House, we were thrilled to have so many mature trees, however, we recognized how these should shape what we would do with our landscaping, especially in the smaller front yard. I’m no fan of mowing grass, and it grew in a rather insipid fashion under the shade of the red oak. Hence, I purchased these …
A drought sky (above) here in North Dakota. Everyone who has half a brain is worried about the drought. July has turned hot, hot, hot. After a pleasant interlude at Crooked Lake with family for the July Fourth holiday, where we talked with our brother-in-law about how sparse few hay bales he’s been able to make this year, we returned …
I come by my DIYerism honestly (hey, I just invented a word!). My Daddy was in the U.S. Army and read his issues of Popular Mechanics voraciously, and I’ve watched him do countless projects over his lifetime. Even at 92, he has a pretty serious workbench in his garage and will putter out there on one thing or another. On …
We had the most delightful guests this week for supper. My mother, Marian Crook, and her sister, my godmother, Junette Henke, came for the afternoon. Fresh walleye was on the menu. While Jim pounded away on his keyboard in his office, we three women sat at my dining room table with stacks of papers and maps and books and went …
Many people take the breathtaking beauty of the Bad Lands for granted, going on with their lives and assuming it will always be as it has been for thousands of years. Well, gentle reader, it ain’t so! Stalwarts have been diligently working for decades to protect the remaining wild landscapes so future generations can enjoy the grandeur. The effort culminating …
Spring flowers have given way to the summer blossoms in our garden. We eat fresh greens every day and give away radishes. The garlic crop is pathetic, and it makes me sad to look at it as, the new bed Jim prepared last fall was too rich. Our purple-hulled pea crop is also a disappointment, as I fear we were …
We spent the weekend in the Little Missouri National Grasslands, camping in Slope County, at the Burning Coal Vein U.S. Forest Service campground, attending the Badlands Conservation Alliance outing, gathering with old friends and making new friends. While Saturday was cool and windy, Sunday was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny. We also got a brief, but enjoyable, visit with …
These lovely summer mornings I’ve been riding my bicycle on Bismarck’s trail system. This morning, as I pedaled, my mind wandered back to riding on Slope County dirt roads. On many occasion, I had to dodge bullsnakes and rattlesnakes, giving them a wide berth. Once, a pair of raccoons wandered out from our shelterbelt, startling me. I remember them as …