Early Spring at the Wildlife Refuge & Kootenai Creek in March

You've seen Kootenai Creek in both late Spring & the Fall on my blog. The Hallelujah Hikers decided to start our hiking in "early Spring". We slip - slid along the trail loaded with packed snow & ice. No flowers or wildlife were in sight, although the trails of the deer down to the creek for water were visible at various locations. Limbs & snowdrifts stretched over the creek boasted icicles. After 90 minutes we were chilled through. We drove to the lower meadows of the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge to search for signs of spring & found some: Buttercups, Canadian Geese, a variety of other ducks & a Blue Loon who serenaded us with his mating call.

This Friday - A day of 2 gallows.

Yesterday was spent baking several batches of Hamantaschen cookies for Purim. ( See past blogs at this time of year for the recipie of these three-cornered hat cookies.) As five of us from Beth Tephila rolled out the sour cream dough with its orange zest flavoring, we discussed the unusual convergence of Good Friday & Purim this year. We know that Good Friday is a time to remember the crucifixion of our Messiah Jesus. Purim commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people from Haman's murderous plot as recorded in the book of Esther. Rarely do these days converge on the exact same date but because of the differences between the Jewish calendar (lunar) & the Roman calendar (solar), it happens this year. David Brickner, current leader of "Jews for Jesus", compared & contrasted these two days as recorded in Scripture. Here is my summary of his article:
. Both events took place in the Middle East, one in Persia & the other in Israel.
. Both were preceded by a hero's triumphant procession through the streets
of the city.
. Both gallows were made of wood. We know that Haman's gallows stood 75
feet tall. We know that the Roman gallows, or cross, was made of 2 pieces
of wood, the top piece weighing about 100 pounds.
. Death on a Persian gallows resulted from a broken neck or strangulation,
(some sources speak of impaling instead). Death on a Roman gallows resulted
from suffocation or the trauma of blood loss.
. In both cases, the gallows were built to execute innocent Jews. In the Purim
narrative, Haman plotted against Mordecai because of his (Haman's) wounded
pride. In the Gospel accounts, certain Jewish leaders plotted against Jesus
because He exposed their hypocrisy, among other things.
. In both instances, those who plotted the death of the innocents sought to make
weak rulers complicit in their plot: the Persian King Ahashueras & the Roman
Governor Pilate.
. Executing Mordecai was part of Haman's plot to destroy the Jewish people.
Executing Jesus was part of the devil's plot to destroy humanity.
. Haman's plot was thwarted when he & his sons were hanged on the gallows in
place of Mordecai. The devil's plot was thwarted when the planned execution
took place; Jesus hung on the cross in the place of sinners.
. On Purim, God worked behind the scenes; there is no mention of His name in
the book of Esther. On Good Friday, God's work was evident through signs &
wonders so that even a Roman centurion recognized Jesus as the Son of God.
. On Purim, the Jewish people were saved from destruction so the Messiah's
line remained intact. On Good Friday, God brought salvation to the whole
world via His Messiah, to all who would receive it.

Farewell to Celeb

Celeb, our 5-6 year old spotted Tennessee Walker, has been permanently put to sleep at the Blue Mountain Vet. Hospital. (See Jan. 21st entry for his photo.) His last three months have been filled with suffering since he cut his right rear pastern down into the joint. Three vet. hospital stays, with as many IV antibiotics, were meant to help & heal. No matter how much he ate, Celebrity grew thinner as the days of recovery stretched into weeks. His ribs & hip bones became more pronounced under his sagging skin. He started putting weight back onto the injured leg, only to begin lifting the left rear leg. We examined the left leg for cuts & found none. We assumed that he had overworked the muscles of that leg while the right leg recouped & was just giving them a rest. Recently he learned to walk with just 3 legs... one was his newly healed leg. It was a pathetic sight. Celeb would strain all of his neck & chest muscles as he hobbled around the small area by the feeding troughs or over to the water trough. Louis trailered him back to the vet hospital on the way to work yesterday after we found a blood stain trail on the snow where he had haltingly limped to get water. Celeb was bleeding from the bottom of his left hoof. He was to be examined & x-rayed by the vet after her morning rounds.

During the I Peter neighborhood Bible Study, I received the diagnosis via my cell phone. I excused myself & walked into the next room to listen to the vet. Celeb had developed severe laminitis in the left rear leg. His hoof had separated & the bone was working its way through the hoof. He had only more suffering ahead & no respite in sight. We were offered only one option.

This was Louis's dream horse, birthed in our own pasture. Louis spent hours imprinting Celeb immediately after birth, so he would be easier to train later. Celebrity followed Louis like a dog at mealtimes or whenever Louis was in the field. He will be missed. I am left with some guilt as well as sorrow. I had been praying that God would convince Louis to sell one or more of our horses because they were putting such a strain on our finances. I had argued with Louis to at least sell Celeb's mother - an older bay mare with ringbone. I got nowhere. Now I am left wondering if this was God's answer to my prayers?

Signs of Spring

Calving started a couple weeks ago in the Bitterroot Valley. Our lambing started yesterday. I began the evening chores early since I have nursery duty at AWANAS on Wednesday evenings. After feeding the three horses, I headed toward the back of our garage/barn. I heard a faint newborn lamb " baa" or did I imagine it? As I walked closer to the sheep feeders with my armload of fresh alfalfa hay, I noticed one of the ewes bending over her just-dropped lamb. She had licked enough of the placental filmy layers off his head that her lamb was feebly attempting to cry, while shaking his head. I dropped the hay into the feeders to keep the other sheep busy & ran to the house for water & towels. As I helped the ewe dry off the lamb, I could see she was straining with more uterine contractions. Yes! I was going to observe the miracle of new birth at least twice tonight! Another lamb's head was already protruding when I checked, so I was able to help ease the twin out into the slightly chilly world. The ewe had picked a great place between the barn & feeders. It was out of the wind, in trodden hay & away from the other sheep. I helped clean up both lambs. The next move was aiding them in finding those two all important nipples so they could drink the life-giving colostrum & milk. Then I stayed around observing the nurturing licking & hearing the tiny "baa" grunts of the ewe - waiting to see if there would be triplets. This ewe has had them before. I left for AWANAS after waiting an hour & deciding another lamb was probably not on its way.

Robins, Stellar Bluejays & Meadowlarks are showing up on the lawn & at the bird feeders. Today was a glorious, sunny 50+ degree day. So I caught the lambs with my camera after their nap in the warm hay. They are walking steadily & finding Mama's milk without trouble now.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to you & yours!

Three guesses... now the answer

These additional photos provide the answer. We kosher all of our venison. That means we soak it in a large stock pot full of water. The weight of the water pushes out the blood, ( & most of the wild taste), from the meat & we drain off the water a couple of times a day for 2-3 days & replace it with clear water. In the winter, the counter on our porch becomes out extended refrigerator for large items. During our recent cold snap, the meat we had soaking froze, but the ice froze in this interesting way. It looked almost like some weird jellyfish sending its tentacles out to eat some of the meat. I learned a new word that fits this - cnidarian (jellyfish-like) - from Sherry's free rice vocab. game...by-the-way, there are new words now & I have gone as far as 53 in the total score.


Can you guess what this is? I was fascinated by it when I found it this past week. We are having a more typical Montana winter this year. I just spent over 2 hours shoveling out around the house & in front of our garages. It was great exercise since the snow was so heavy.

Birth/Dedication Day!

Dad turned 82 yesterday. He will always remember this birthday, since he was involved in the dedication ceremony & prayer for his newest great grandson, Levi James Conner. Levi is a little over four weeks old now. He came into the world so alert, although his mom had experienced a difficult delivery due to pre-eclampsia. This is my sister's youngest son's first-born.

The whole family gathered to celebrate the dedication & birthday on a very icy day. As I carried the bluebird house & bluebird feeder, (Dad's gift), down the front cement steps of our home, my feet flew out & I landed on ice against that last step. The resulting deep bruise was worth not breaking the glass in the feeder. Oh, I so often show how much I count on God's continual protection!

Surprising start to 2008

2008 started in ways we would not have guessed. Here's a quick summary:

. Wally, whom I mentioned in the last post, welcomed in 2008 with us, but soon was well enough to return to his own home.

. Celeb ( Short for "Celebrity") mysteriously cut his rear right pastern clear down into the joint just before Christmas. He too has been on IV meds. but at the Vet Hospital for his infection. He has been home & back to the Vet Hospital 3 times now. The above photo was taken of him when he was 2 or 3 years old. He's about 5 now.

. I developed right sciatica, ( in empathy for Celeb?), was sent to Physical Therapy by my VA physician & am trying pilates exercises for the first time. I feel a bit out of my element, like that cat getting out of the water. Actually, I am also doing some swimming & other forms of exercise to reduce the 10 lbs. I gained slowly over the last few months.

. I finally interviewed with the MD at First Way Pregnancy Support Center re. the part-time RN position last Thursday afternoon. As at least one other RN still needs to be interviewed before a decision is reached, I don't know yet if I will be hired.

. I Peter has taken hours of my attention, as our Women's Neighborhood Bible Study is now studying that book until the first part of April.

Happy New Year!

This was sent by a dear friend to us, but it is appropriate for us to remember all through 2008! It is also appropriate, since I noticed how frail my parents are becoming when I helped them over the ice in the parking lot & up the steps into the church on Christmas Eve. for the candlelight service. Earlier, Dad tried to turn the wrong direction on our car ride to the church. When darkness falls, his sense of direction becomes confused.

Since Saturday afternoon, a dear friend & member of Beth Tephila - in his 80's like my folks - has been with us after his hospital discharge. Wally was hospitalized for a week for the flu & pneumonia. He lives alone now, as his wife lives in a nursing home up the hill from our house. So he is with us for awhile until he recovers. We help him to remember to take his variety of meds throughout the day. We push fluids & encourage him to eat, since he has no appetite. We take his temp. and have increased our thermostat setting from 65 to 72 for the house. Yesterday we also lit a fire in our fireplace. Wally became comfortable when Louis & I began to sweat at 80 degrees.

Enjoy:

Remember this old hymn?

Many years ago, while watching a little TV on Sunday, I watched a church in Atlanta letting one of its senior pastors, who had been retired many years, speak...

He was 92 at that time & I wondered why the church even bothered to ask the old gentleman to preach at that age. After a warm welcome & introduction, he rose from his high back chair & walked slowly with great effort & a sliding gait to the podium... Without a note of any kind,he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself & quietly began to speak...

"When I was asked to come here today & talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson learned in my 50 odd years of preaching... I thought about it for a few days & boiled it down to just one thing that made the difference in my life & sustained me through all my trials.The one thing that I could always rely on when tears & heartbreak & pain & fear & sorrow paralyzed me... The only thing that comforted was this verse:

Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong; we are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me... Yes, Jesus loves me...
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so."

When he finished, the church was quiet. You could hear his footsteps as he shuffled back to his chair. I don't believe I will ever forget it.

Another pastor once stated, "I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children's hymn 'Jesus Loves Me', (for the children of course), during a hymn sing, & it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it the best."

Here is a new version just for us who have white hair,or no hair at all. For us over 40...

Senior version:

Jesus loves me, this I know, though my hair is white as snow.
Though my sight is growing dim, still He bids me trust in Him.

(CHORUS)

Though my steps are oh, so slow, with my hand in His I'll go.
On through life, let come what may, He'll be there to lead the way.

(CHORUS)

Though I am no longer young,I have much which He's begun.
Let me serve Christ with a smile; Go with others the extra mile.

(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long, in my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words so clear, 'Have no fear, for I am near.'

(CHORUS)
When my work on earth is done, and life's victories are won.
He will take me home above; then I'll understand His love.

(CHORUS)
I love Jesus, does He know? Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,that I love Him every day.

My favorite Christmas greeting of 2007

The folks that manage the Lolo Community Church prayer chain sent out this Christmas e-mail to those of us on the prayer chain.

A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston radio station KSBJ FM 89.3 . So profound, the station has it posted on their website. Click below to listen to it. It's short:

Showers of blessing

My nephew, Aaron & wife, Anna, have already prenamed their coming baby boy - Levi. Therefore, the baby shower this week-end had some unique "levi" aspects to it. The decorations included tiny levi pants & the cake was in the form of levis. Anna at 35 weeks is already fully effaced and starting to dilate, so she was essentially on bedrest even at the shower.
She's so petite that she seems half baby.

Thanksgiving - a time to mourn & rejoice with extended family

The two elderly folks on the left in the first photo are shirt-tail relatives through my sister's husband. At Thanksgiving we felt the emotional push pull of mourning with Ginny & Bob over the suicide of their son, Bernie, this Fall & the rejoicing of new life entering the family through Anna's baby due any day & Kylie's newborn daughter, Caimbrie. This is life in a fallen world. The promising new life & the sometimes tragic ending of those who struggle with Bi-polar disorder or something else that seems to wipe out hope. The Light of the World is the only answer in the season of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah or anytime of the year.

Santa Barbara in December

We left Montana with its foot of settling snow & frigid temperatures to enjoy balmy coastal California for four days and to help Louis's older brother, Bob, celebrate his 80th birthday. The middle photo is of the three brothers - Bob, Louis & Jerry - together for the first time in 35 years. The last two pictures show the view from our hotel room. The first two were taken outside a restaurant near Santa Barbara where Bob lives. Louis was able to talk to Bob about the Lord & plant some seed.

Happy Hannukah!

Today is the second of the eight days of Hannukah. Our joint Beth Tephila & Beth HaDerek party last night was a wonderful time of rejoicing in our Shammas (the servant candle who lights the other candles). May this holiday season be a time of rejoicing in the Light of the World for you as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

...just watch the seconds, thirds, fourths...helpings!

God says, "Have a Nice Day!"

How I needed this reminder a week or so ago when a large white truck slammed into my Yukon.

I had enjoyed my day immensely...shopping for toys & clothes & other items to pack into Samaritan's Purse Christmas shoeboxes. After filling the boxes & delivering them to our church for later shipment, I started my drive back home. It was dark as I started to turn back onto Highway 93. Bright headlights, appearing from between Black Jack's Casino & the Hayloft Bar across the street, within milliseconds zoomed towards me as I felt the impact of two vehicles colliding. I squinted to see if I could see the license plate as the vehicle backed up a little, but the headlights were still too bright. A white truck drove past me & I assumed was going to turn around so we could exchange information about insurance companies. I pulled to the curb & waited. After about 5 minutes, it was obvious no truck was coming, so I drove over to the truck stop where it had headed & started looking for a white truck. Perhaps the driver was waiting there for me. No deal. It was a hit & run accident. A saying of my military boss from Fort Leavenworth popped into my mind: "No good deed goes unpunished."

I called the police & reviewed the accident. The policeman, who came & surveyed the damage & scene, said the other driver probably either was drunk or didn't have insurance. Hit & runs were common in this area of the casino & bar. He thought I had at least $2000 damage to the left front side of my car. The appraisals I got the next day for my insurance company were both just over the $2000 mark. Sadly, I will be out the $500 deductible & without my car for 4 days or so when the parts arrive at the body shop. I am asking the Lord to help me respond in a way that will give Him glory.

Minutia of life

This photo is for Elli. Others liked the simple ghost costume, like you.

My life doesn't seem very bloggable at present. Yet, beautiful Fall days - even with the leaves blown from the trees after several hard frosts - & wonderful friends, make my life full to the brim.

. Above is my friend Jan, to whom we long-term loaned Glory, (one of our goldens shown in the photo with Jan), & later Glory's daughter, Genny. Genny returned to our home in September after Jan had been hospitalized with pneumonia & recurring symptoms of lymphoma. Jan never made it home again. She transferred to a rehab. unit to regain enough strength to walk with a walker. Her blindness was almost complete at this point. (She had been losing her eyesight over the last 5 years.) God kept placing her in my thoughts, so I prayed for her & visited her 3 times in the rehab. unit. Esther visited Jan as well, during one of her breaks at the Nursing Assistant Course. Jan passed from sleep in that rehab. unit right into her real home with the Lord in early October. We were so blessed to have known this gentle soul.

. Another friend, Janie, also has had the lymphoma diagnosis for about two years. She looks like she has a good case of the mumps on the left side of her face. Her submaxillary gland appears to contain at least 2 goose eggs. She asked me to accompany her to an oncology appointment this past week as she hoped to delay a surgery to remove this gland. After 4 hours of waiting in the oncology clinic & then arguing her case, she won temporarily. Strong antibiotics are being tried first. Janie teaches me so much vicariously. She's open with her Christian witness despite ongoing health problems.

. Today I reduced a huge Halloween pumpkin that Louis brought home from DirecTV into 23 cups of pureed pumpkin. I baked a couple of pumpkin pound cakes & froze the rest. Perhaps I should give out baked pumpkin treats for Christmas gifts this year ?!

. Although I turned in my resume, was interviewed & watched the current RN do an ultrasound at First Way Pregnancy Support Center, I have not heard yet whether I will be hired for 2 or 3 days a week as the next RN. Thursday evening the Center has a fund-raising dinner, which I plan to attend. Perhaps I will hear something then.

. Our hiking is over until Spring. I missed the last hike. Esther had moved into a studio apartment with her friend, Melissa & only hours later, up-chucked all over the nurses' station at work. She had a temp. of 102 degrees, so she called me 30 minutes before I was leaving on the hike to ask if I would come & spend the day with her. I did. So far I have escaped that virus myself.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun ...at the Women's Retreat

The Women's retreat at Flathead Lake was thoroughly enjoyed by 21 women. I loved speaking on shalom & restoration via the Biblical feasts, but am relieved to have the retreat so well received & now past. Laura's lodge was perfect for this number of women. Thanks to anyone who lended prayer support. The talks were taped & will be shared with at least one unsaved Jewish woman, so I'm continuing to pray for this outreach.

Kim Williams Nature Trail & "The M"

The Hallelujah Hikers so enjoyed our last hike up the Rattlesnake Canyon Trail, we decided to hike one or two more weeks despite the cooler weather. This first photo was taken from the trail to "the M" looking towards the Rattlesnake Canyon to the North of Missoula.

Although hunting season has started & Monday was overcast with temps in the 40's, the Hallelujah Hikers climbed Mount Sentinel to the East of the University of Montana campus. Our Fall coloration has lasted over a month already because we have not had the series of hard freezes that we sometimes get by late October. Part-way up the trail to the white-painted "M" on Mt. Sentinel, I took this shot toward the start of the Bitterroot Mountains & Highway 93 that lies at the foot of the Bitterroots.

This is the center of the University of MT. campus as viewed from about 1/2 way up the "M" Trail. The building to the right is the University Center where only 5 nights earlier we had heard Michael Reagan speak.

Before hiking the "M" trail, we hiked the 5 mile round-trip Kim Williams Nature Trail that runs from the University along the right bank of the Clark Fork River as it enters Hellgate Canyon. InterState 90 is on the other side of the river.

These were my four co-hikers. Three are retired school teachers & the other retired last year from an administrative job with the Forest Service. We are all in our late 50s & early 60s. We wore several layers of clothing on this hike due to the low temperature & a cold breeze.

We discussed how to reach other women for Christ at our second Fall retreat starting tomorrow. It will be held again at Laura's lodge by Flathead Lake. Laura has on the blue coat with light grey pants. (I'm baking two challah loaves & cooking chicken soup with matzah balls for tomorrow evening even as I work on this blog entry. I'm also the main speaker, so I'd appreciate any & all prayer support.) We prayed for several homeless men that we passed one by one along the trail. We also sang our usual praise songs. These hikes are always multi-faceted & up-lifting.

Deer - no, mountain lion - damage

My sister & her husband took almost three weeks to drive with my parents about 7000 miles. They drove to Wisconsin & crossed into Canada from there. After viewing Niagra Falls from the Canadian side, they crossed back into New York State & traveled along the Northern East Coast to view the Autumn leaves. Only once did they come close to hitting a deer...somewhere in upper New York. When they were within 10 miles of home, a grown mountain lion ran out of the trees & smack into their car. Mike, my brother-in-law, is a true mountaineer. He grew up in Western Montana & has been a sawyer for a living - essentially living & working in the forests. He had never heard of a mountain lion doing such a thing, until one bunged up his fairly new car!