A Land of Grass Ranch

Prairie Ponderings are published bi-weekly in the Great Falls, MT Tribune and are about the musings, struggles and real life adventures on the ranch.  Written by Lisa Schmidt.

Pondering Wolves - I pasted my latest ponderings here. We’ve been hunting wolves for the last few weeks, have seen a fresh kill, lots of skittish deer and elk, lots of fresh tracks, but nothing standing in those tracks.

Pondering Hospitals - These are the latest thoughts from the Graham Ranch. Steve is doing fine, by the way, and we are glad!

Helga and Her Calf - Winter finally showed up at the Graham Ranch. It was -29 yesterday and today it is predicted to top out at -10. We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday so we look like a winter wonderland. The kids and I are going sledding after school today.

Pondering Breezy Days - The wind has calmed down to about 56 mph here at the Graham Ranch and it is a balmy 52 degrees at 5 a.m. Steve says we are borrowing a few days from April and May. No doubt, January will come back when lambing season hits.

Christmas Ponderings - Sometimes, we get the Christmas Spirit from the back door, and I for one am glad it came to me no matter where it came from.

Pondering Unlimiteds - Our family is getting ready for Christmas, hoping for more snow and making candy. Actually, we will take any excuse to make candy and this time of year seems like a great one.

Pondering Wagon Rides - Our wagon ride for 4th and 5th graders went better than expected. The weather was chilly, but I’m glad we’re not giving rides today — wind is blowing about 30 mph and the temperature is dropping fast. It looks like it will start snowing at any moment. Gotta love Montana!

Abby’s Walk - The day was one of those incredible September days that keep a person outside until the last possible minute….

Montana’s BMW - This is a short account of our far too short time in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. And a photo to go with it, in case you want to see how green the country still is. Of course, at the moment all that green is covered with snow, but it was pretty while it lasted.

Pondering Where Beef Comes From - It’s not often that I’m speechless, but this situation stunned me.

Pondering Energy & Respect - For a while, I thought long and hard about how I could reduce our family’s reliance on fossil fuel energy so I wouldn’t be a complete hypocrit when I complained about energy exploration. Then I realized that I wouldn’t mind some exploration if the companies treated both humanity and the land with some respect.

Pondering Good Impressions - Maybe the real take home message in this Prairie Ponderings is that we need to stay home and ride horses.

Pondering Cell Phones - Lately, I’ve been debating the true value of technology. We all use it and get in trouble for depending on it, too.

Our June Project – One of these days, maybe our barn won’t leak! We’re taking steps toward that goal, they’re tiny, but they are steps!

Pondering Arks – we’ve had steady showers here for a week. The singular lesson I’ve learned from this is that I would never, ever attempt to raise sheep in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Cold and wet do not make for healthy lambs.

Pondering livestock and wildlife –  As it turns out, livestock and wildlife really do all get along.

Pondering Riches - Feeling rich in lifestyle, with help from scientists.

Pondering Patty - Spring brings an unexpected St. Patrick’s Day addition to the Graham Ranch.

Pondering Walnut - A life lesson taught by a pair of sheep.

Everyone Needs a Friend - We have a couple of real characters at the ranch — just what we needed!

Of Coyotes, Chickens and Skunks - Best laid plans go afoul due to a skunk.

Pondering Business Tools  -  A recent business meeting helped me sort out what is important in life and what are the tools I need to enjoy the important things. Sometimes people get mixed up about the difference between important goals and tools.

Post-Christmas Prairie Ponderings – Dayglo the trusty horse helps Lisa understand getting along with life.

Humble or Humiliated? –  How can a radio commercial effect our inner values.

Cold Weather - It’s -10 here today, with wind chills of about -40 and snowing. But the weather is supposed to break by Thanksgiving.

Does this happen to you? - I’m pretty sure our cows can count, because when only Steve or I are home chaos ensues.

Pondera Shooting and Lambing – It’s a good thing I started shooting competitively so I will be ready for lambing season!

Snow Shovels – The wintry weather has created lots of adventure at the Graham Ranch.

Hunting – I went hunting last week, thought about learning some patience but decided that could wait, and found a dead elk. Here’s the story.

Camping in the Mountains - When my husband, Steve, and I bought the Graham Ranch, we promised each other that we would still make time to camp in the mountains.

Garden Planning and Squash - Lisa Schmidt writes about the crazy antics on The Land of Grass Ranch and this time it’s her garden planning time and how many recipes can she continue to hide squash.

Lisa Schmidt and her husband, Steve Hutton, raise natural, grassfed beef and lamb at the Graham Ranch near Conrad., Montana.
She has two children; Will, 15, and Abby,5.
She can be reached at alandofgrass @3riversdbs.net