Category: Montana

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Ginger ale: homemade

Lawnmowers could be heard running all through northwest Montana today….mine included. Midweek’s summer days gave way to a transition day of a couple of thunderstorms and more showers, but today dawned clear and cool at 43F.

Who would have thought I might someday make my own ginger ale??? NOT me! But I saw this post: Sweet Savory Planet’s Ginger Soda and Ginger Candy…and it called to me. If you are a new reader, you may be unaware that I have an addiction to Vernor’s Ginger Ale…search for Vernor’s to see past posts if interested…

To date, I have made 3 batches of ginger syrup and none have disappointed.

The process is simple. Peel and slice the ginger. Add ginger, sugar and water to a pan. Bring to boil, then simmer for an hour.

Pour all through a sieve. Put the syrup in a jar. Coat the ginger with sugar and dry in the oven for crystallized ginger.

Put some syrup in a glass. Add carbonated water – I have an ISI siphon/carbonator…works like the whipped cream thingy so I carbonate my own cold, clear and chlorine free well water :)!

Ginger ale…well, Ginger soda. And it beats Vernor’s big time.

AND…

…the ginger candy – YUM!

I love ginger, I love ginger soda, I love being able to make my own ginger soda.

And this morning ???

It looked like this:

A perfect day for a ginger ale: homemade

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First day of Summer 2011: a Bear’s eye view

It doesn’t always happen in Montana, but this year, the first day of Summer feels like Summer! It is 75F at my house, sunny, blue sky and a light breeze.

Bear and I took a walk along the edge of the loop…the short loop walk. The lupins are blooming, the mountains have snow…happy Bear dog!

First Day of Summer 2011: a Bear’s eye view

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The Road Home: Green edition.


The Road Home.

It is several days until the official start of Summer, but here in Montana it looks like Spring – the green hay, grasses, trees are still the bright green of Spring versus the mature green of early Summer.

Time.

I am very aware of time. I am aware of how I spend it and of the limited commodity that it is. For almost 26 years I have worked as an independent consultant, paid by the hour. No one sets how many hours I work but me. I have been fortunate to mostly have had the luxury of working as much as I’d care to.

Through the Winter and into Spring as Karl’s condition waxed and waned I had to let go my fierce hold on time and just be there with him at his pace. There was a day when I consciously said to myself, “just let go of the need to control the schedule and just be…the only time that matters is time with he and Bob”.

A funny thing happened when I gave up that tight hold. Everything that needed to be done still got done. I kept my work committments AND made enough money. I ate and obtained supplies.

But, I was sometimes spending what seemed like hours, in the woods with Karl, on slower walks…on more walks. Most days were “normal” until early April but there were times that were not. It is hard to remember exactly now and I don’t want to try. What I do remember is the joy of just being with him and watching him smell the scent on the breeze, roll in the snow, play with a stick, look at me and smile.

I saved those moments. Some are on this blog, some are in my mind and memory. It was an idyllic time of intense awareness.

And now. Everything is different. Bear is here. He is a joy with a happy and generous spirit despite everything being very different for him, too. Bob, Bear and I – we are all adjusting to a new routine, a new schedule, a new way of doing everything. It is both good and challenging, but ultimately, it is “us” – the fambly* Summers – bright with the new growth of a new season: maturing as we grow together.

The Road Home: Green edition.

*fambly…from the Pogo comic strip.

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High water: Flathead River

A snowpack that is 150% more than “normal” and a wet spring have filled Montana’s rivers, streams and lakes to the brim and in some places to overflowing.

And instead of their normal blue-green color and clarity that allows seeing down into the water four to six feet…the water in rivers and streams and even the lake shore is a muddy brown from the fast flow that is eroding shorelines as it careens down from the mountain tops.

Fortunately, this Spring has also been cool so the snowpack has been melting at a slow enough pace that flooding has been minimal most places. And I’ll take the cool! I LOVE the cool. It can continue until Fall for me :)!

And hopefully, with all of the moisture falling from the sky and the remaining snowpack to melt, there will be enough moisture in the wilderness areas to make our fire season another mild one.

As I was looking at the muddy water, I noticed something swimming…not an otter…

…a beaver…a LARGE beaver! I’ve seen evidence of their presence but this is the first time I’ve actually seen one. He looked to be about 5 feet from nose to tail. And not skinny. And not disturbed by Bear or me.