Living in the Montana Rockies

I’ve heard it said that God laughs when you tell him your plans, but its hard for me to find any humor in dashed hopes...

After several days of shoveling snow (forcing myself to continue because my vinyl-walled storage shelter was slanting and in danger of collapsing under the weight), I was in serious pain in my upper back, between my shoulder blades. Robert insisted I see his chiropractor. I was examined and x-rayed, and the diagnosis is scoliosis, arthritis forming spurs on two vertebrae, pinched nerves and blood vessels causing my arms and hands to hurt and go numb (my left arm has for years), the spine in my neck is straight when it should be curved, and in one spot, the vertebrae keep getting out of line, which causes pain across my left shoulder and down my arm. Age happens. Both of us have now been told no more heavy lifting. I cannot shovel snow or anything else any more. And no playing my fiddle for the time being. I have always known something was wrong...my left arm gets sore and goes numb and my fingers swell up; I can neither sit nor stand for any length of time, and I have to stop fiddling and shake out my arm until I can feel my fingers. Now I know why, but that’s little comfort. Robert will not be able to plow everyone out any more, either. The last time he did, he spent four days in bed, in pain and not able to move around. It is difficult for us to accept that we have limitations. The bummer about my physical disability is that the treatments cause as much pain as the problems cause, only in different places, and in addition, it gives me a headache. We won’t be able to build our own house after all.

However, my doctor said that horse back riding is the best therapy there is for a spine! So Robert took me to the Bozeman Saddle Outlet—over 500 saddles in stock! And we found a beautiful old saddle, intricately tooled, and we bought a bridle, bit, reins, breast strap and a used saddle pad to match the slightly red-toned dark brown leather of the saddle. I also have new fleece lined deerskin riding gloves and my old leather cowboy riding boots. I built myself a saddle rack using an old 2' high wooden step ladder onto which I attached a black 5 gallon bucket with baling wire, with a strip of carpet attached with screws on top to keep the saddle from sliding off. I have spent the last few days with leather conditioner/preservative rubbing the saddle until the leather has become flexible like new. I am cleaning every bit of the tooling with a cloth and Murphy Oil soap and a toothpick, then putting on the conditioner. It’s nice to have something to do, since the ground outside is covered in ice, and I have already fallen once, so I do not want to even think about going riding until it’s safe.

On the way home from the doctor, Robert pulled in to a mobile home dealer and asked if there are any used homes? The one they had has the same floor plan that I drew out as we were planning the house we wanted to build! It’s very old, 1967, but in reasonably good condition. And Robert said we can still cut down some of his trees and have them milled for siding and decks, and we can add insulation and vapor wrap all the way around the outside under the wood siding. So, for a total cost of $7,500, delivered and set up, we have a 20' x 52', three bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a laundry room and a huge kitchen, dining room and living room. It has large windows in all the right places! It is still at the dealership. We need to wait until spring for the ground to thaw enough (it is frozen 2 ½ feet down) for Robert to expand the homesite with a backhoe and put in concrete strips to set the house on. I hope that this is not one of those winters that lasts through May.

We have been having record high temperatures across Montana. It snowed another couple of inches last night, after a pouring rain. Rain is really unusual here at this time of year. The ground is slushy and the road, covered in ice and now slush, is really scary to drive on. My car won’t go at all; the Jimmy, with 4WD, slides sideways and we go all over the road. Fortunately, there’s rarely another vehicle on the road, because we use both sides! While I have my foot on the imaginary brake from the passenger seat, Robert keeps saying, "Relax! I’ve been driving this for ten years. That’s why the Jimmy has a winch. If we go off the road, I just hop out and attach the winch to a tree and pull myself out and drive on!" I do not want to go anywhere; sliding sideways in the jimmy on the slick road is not my idea of fun! I told my doctor yesterday that I think my high blood pressure is from the drive to town.

We have two neighbors with three horses about a half mile up Pole Gulch. Yesterday I saw them riding by, so I went and told them I’m all set to ride the two horses that run free. They invited me to come up any Sunday or Monday and go riding with them on one of their horses! I asked them about the ice on the road, and they told me that they keep their horses unshod in the winter and let them feel their way along, and they do just fine on the ice. Wow! Cool!!

Zac and Ann dropped by to visit. I thanked them for the ½ chocolate cake and the load of logs that Zac dropped off as a thank you to Robert for plowing their road. And we’ve had to tell them he can’t do it any more. They live on the side of a rugged mountain-more stone than woods-at the end of Pole Gulch. The end of the road is steep, and Zac couldn’t get his vehicles home in the deep snow before it was plowed. They are in the shadow of huge mountains, and get no sun in the winter. They said that their pipe from the spring froze, and they only have 200 gallons of water at the house. They must dis-assemble the pipeline and thaw out each section, then hope for a warm day to refill their storage tank. Robert said he’s had to thaw pipes before, and where they’re buried, he had to chip the frozen ground to get to them. I can’t even get a chip loose, the ground is so hard! Our new water line to our new house will be buried under the frost line so we won’t have to worry about it freezing.

Just another day in Paradise!

Kathleen:-)

Just another day in Paradise!

My belongings are stored in a huge cargo container in front of Robert’s trailer, next to the road. His workshop is also in a huge cargo container (10x40). Today he set up a couple of heaters, one propane, one kerosene, for me to use so I can hang out in my container if I want to. I have my big desk at the front and a rocking chair. It is so neat to sit and rock with the doors open and look out into the woods with the trees all weighed down with snow (the stuff is actually pretty heavy!) and just be off by myself for awhile.

The sky is a special shade of deep blue. There are still several varieties of birds living here, including the elusive solitary turkey. The birds feet leave long, flowing trails in the snow, some with their tails dragging, joining the foot tracks like a dot-to-dot picture. I think they are surviving on berries from the juniper trees. I have been putting bacon grease and peanut butter in the bark of one tree. Now I have chickadees greeting me when I walk down to our property. A bird flying high overhead had a pretty loud flap, or maybe it just seems so in the silence.

Last night, Robert and I rode the ATV with the snow plow on the front over to Jim’s house to dig him out. Only the main roads (all gravel) get plowed, so the side roads have to be cleared by those using them. Spring Valley Road, where we are building, is one of those side roads, and it is posted Closed and Hazardous from September 1 to July 1. Anyway, Jim’s on one of the side roads, 3/4 mile from the main road. On the way over (through miles and miles of mountains, woods, and valleys, with no homes or people) sunset was beginning. We were looking down on the clouds–we were way above them–and they looked like burning embers. Some glowed a red-orange among black clouds scattered like coals, and they appeared as islands on the ocean. The distant mountains formed a shoreline, and the deep blue sky was the water. The ground all around us still has three feet of snow, so the sky was the only point of color, and it was so incredible! We arrived at Jim’s house, high above most of the mountains, with views of valleys below and more mountains in the distance. The clouds and sun continued to enthrall me as the colors shifted to clouds to the south, brilliant red and black streaks across the sky. Montana clouds give a sky show by themselves, but with sunset added, it’s spectacular! (Jim’s outhouse has a big picture window in it! Oh, well, he has no neighbors.)As evening fell, I could see lights from the town of Three Forks, about 13 miles away as the crow flies. I walked around and watched the sky while Robert cleared Jim’s driveway, about a city block long.

As the last light of the day faded, I could see a brilliant planet, pure white, sparkling in the dark heavens. I don’t remember ever seeing a planet so clear and close before. It threw out light so bright, I thought of the star that led the shepherds to the stable, and the words of Linus in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" came to mind (Luke 2)-

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Later, Steve told me the bright planet is Venus, and the small, faintly orange planet is Mars.

When Jim’s driveway was cleared, I got on the back of the ATV and we plowed the road. The road to Jim’s gate is about 3/4 mile from the main road, and slopes from the top of the mountain to the foothills. As we made our way up and down and up and down, and up and down, clearing the road with snow flying back and barely stinging us on the face, I enjoyed the feel of the cold, dry air. The air is so clean and sweet. Alone in the wilderness, riding home in the dark, the sky speckled with stars, the snow glittering in our lights–it doesn’t get any better than this!

Just another day in Paradise!

kathleen:-)