Jane Wolery
Follow my blog at  www.31homeplace.blogspot.com

MSU Teton County Extension

PO Box 130 * 1 Main Ave S., Courthouse

Choteau, MT 59422

jwolery@montana.edu

406-466-2491 Office *  406-590-2492 Cell

www.msuextension.org/teton

Lake McDonald, Apgar, MT in Glacier National Park

We are just a short time away from the NEAFCS conference and you may have wondered about the absence of any blog posts for the last several weeks.  As I suspect is true of most Extension professionals, I have had a very busy summer.  I was trying to live up to my motto, “Better a full life than a dull life.” Professionally, my schedule included 4-H Leadership Retreat, 4-H Textile Show, 4-H Fair, 4-H Congress and 4-H Camp.  Personally, my schedule included a friend’s daughter’s wedding, Fourth of July festivities in Choteau, and swim meets.  My daughters both swim competitively in the summer.  Because of all these events, I feel like I got to see much of our great state of Montana.  I do, however, feel like we could play a game of “Where’s Wolery?”  If you want to get out your Montana map, you can see if you can spot some of the places I’ve been this summer … Great Falls, Lewistown, Jordan, Glendive, Wibaux, Chester, Joplin, Conrad, Apgar, Columbia Falls, Helena, Seeley Lake, Lincoln, Missoula, Stevensville, Hamilton, Como Lake, Lake McDonald, Monarch, Bozeman, Townsend, Augusta … I don’t know how many miles I’ve traveled this summer and I’m not going to take time to count, but it is a bunch and I never left the state!

It makes me think of a piece I wrote for a Montana literature class (way) back in college:

Miles.

          Friday.  I’ve traveled fifteen-hundred and thirteen miles since last Friday.  Never left the state.

Montana.

Hinsdale to Joplin.  Two-hundred and nine miles.  Six turns.  One into the yard.

Forty five miles an hour through Hingham.  I slow down to sixty-five.  Too many miles.  Too few cops.

Five in the family.  Three vehicles headed the thirty miles north.  Auction today.

Twenty-six.  Thirty-five.  Never been able to keep a count of the grain bins shining in a row.  Eight years old. Someone said there was money in them.  I imagined coins.  Grain.

Highway painted at the edge of town.  Identifies the year and the kids who are free to leave.

Outrider Drive Inn. The building has been gone for years.  Sign is still there.

Gravel.  Meet a tractor.  Wave.

Sweet Grass Hills, Montana

Sweet Grass Hills give the sun something to hide behind.  Blue cardboard cutout silhouette is ominous as it is backlit – violent orange.  Sky.

Clouds.  Land. Forever stretches of blue sky. Shapes in the clouds.

Five different towns. Five different Stockman’s Bars.  Never been in one.

Seventy-three miles an hour makes raindrops swim up the windshield.  A futile attempt to escape the blades.

Every so often, deer.  Usually one solitary one watches while I pass.

Scanning.  Always.

          Mountains, trees, curves along rivers,

                    Flat, straight, huge …

                              Open …

                                        Miles …

If you want to fill some of your remaining summer days or the miles you travel with some good Montana literature, my FCS colleagues and I have compiled a list for you.  Check your local library for the books in either print or audio form. (I enjoy audio while traveling or while I’m cleaning at home. It is amazing how much longer you can scrub if you have a good book in your ear!) The list features either Montana authors or Montana topics.  Perhaps some of the books will inspire you to travel a few extra miles while you are in Montana.  Plus, since Big Sky Resort was conceptualized by Chet Huntley, who was a man of words as an NBC broadcaster, but Montana native, it is only fitting that we share a few Montana words with you as you head to Big Sky Resort.  Incidentally, Huntley attended school in Saco, Montana, for a while and I’ve driven by the Huntley School hundreds of times in my life.  My husband is from Saco!

Bonus:  The first person to add a comment identifying which book is not about
Montana or by a Montana author will receive a small gift.  Add your name and
university.  Hint:  Western Region might have the best chance.  

Here is a list of some suggested Montana Reads in no particular order:

Montana Reads

Books and Authors

All But the Waltz, by Mary Clearman Blew

Blind Your Ponies, by Standley Gordon West

Bound Like Grass, by Ruth McLaughlin

Breaking Clean, by Judy Blunt

A Bride Goes West, by Nannie T. Alderson and Helena Huntington Smith

Charlie Russell’s Yarns, by Charlie Russell

Dancing at the Rascal Fair, by Ivan Doig

English Creek, by Ivan Doig

Fire and Brimstone, by Michael Punke

Fool’s Crow, by James Welch

It’s Just Grass and Water, by Wally McRae

Last Bus to Wisdom, by Ivan Doig

Legends of the Fall, by Jim Harrison

Montana:  High, Wide and Handsome, by Joseph Kinsey Howard

Montana: High, Wide and Handsome (Volume Two), by Rick Graetz

Paper Talk:  Charlie Russell’s American West, by Charlie Russell and Brian W. Dippie

Plenty-Coups:  Chief of the Crows, by Frank B. Linderman

Pretty Shield:  Medicine Woman of the Crows, by Frank B. Linderman

Ride with Me, Mariah Montana, by Ivan Doig

Rima in the Weeds, by Deidre McNamer

A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean

Stick Horses and Other Stories of Ranch Life, by Wally McRae

Ten Tough Trips: Montana Writers and the West, by William Bevis

The Big Sky, by A.B. Guthrie

The Horse Whisperer, by Nicholas Evans

The Last Best Place:  A Montana Anthology, by William Kittredge and Annick Smith

The Smoke Jumper, by Nicholas Evans

The Virginian, by Owen Wister

This House of Sky, by Ivan Doig

Tough Trip through Paradise, by Andrew Garcia

Trash Fish: A Life, by Greg Keeler

We Pointed Them North, by E.C. Abbott and Helena Huntington Smith

When You and I Were Young, Whitefish, by Dorothy Johnson

Wind from an Enemy Sky, by D’Arcy McNickle

Winter Wheat, by Mildred Walker

Wolf and the Winds, by Frank B. Linderman

Young Men and Fire, by Norman Maclean

One of my colleagues, Phyllis Hansen, sent the following list.  She and her daughter buy books about Montana locations as they travel the state.  These are some that are their bookshelves. 

A Guide to Historic Bozeman, by Jim Jenks

Glacier Day Hikes, by Alan Leftridge

Glacier Ghost Stories, by Karen Stevens

Haunted Montana, by Karen Stevens

It Happened in Montana, by James A. Crutchfield

Jerry's Riot: The True Story of Montana's 1959 Prison Disturbance, by Kevin S. Giles

Miracle on the East Ridge, by Pat Kearney

Montana Off the Beaten Path, by Michael McCoy

More Haunted Montana, by Karen Stevens

Nothing To Tell: Extraordinary Stores of Montana Ranch Women

Out of the Night: A story of the tragedy and hope from a survivor of the 1959 Montana-Yellowstone Earthquake, by Irene Bennett Dunn

Taken By Bear in Yellowstone, by Kathleen Snow

Women in Wonderland: Lives, Legends and Legacies of Yellowstone National Park, by Elizabeth A. Watry

Young Men and Fire, by Norman Maclean

You might check out these two links for more reading material. 

http://www.humanitiesmontana.org/map/#

http://www.missoulapubliclibrary.org/readers-corner/montana-reads

Como Lake

Feel free to add your favorite book/author from Montana or share one from your state in the comment section below!

                                                                                                             

Marsha A. Goetting, Ph.D., CFP, CFCS

Extension Family Economics Specialist

P.O. Box 172800

Bozeman, MT 59717-2800

phone: (406) 994-5695 fax: (406) 994-4838

E-mail: goetting@montana.eduLocation: 208C Linfield Hall

Web site

Summer 4-H season for me (Jane Wolery) and therefore I was a little delayed bringing you this article from Marsha Goetting that she sent to me in June!

___________

June equates to wildflower season in Montana.  That means it’s time for me to grab my camera, tripod, and backpack and head for the mountains.  I spent the first Saturday in early June hiking around state lands in the mountains near Bozeman.  A variety of wildflower were blooming….prairie smokes, larkspurs, shooting stars, ball head waterleafs and many, many more.  I really didn’t care that it rained most of the time and that it was too windy to take photographs…. I was just happy to be among the millions of blooming flowers.

Albino Fairy Slipper

My husband (Gary) and I spent the next two weekends in June in the northern section of Yellowstone National Park.  I was ecstatic to find an Albino Fairy slipper.  Contrast the Albino with the normal purple-ish one below.  Aren’t they both beautiful?  A fairy slipper is sometimes called a Calypso orchid.  This flower has a very specialized reproduction system, requiring exacting habitat conditions so finding one calls for a celebration.

When you visit Yellowstone this time of year you experience what we locals call “Bear Jams.”  You can almost tell when a person sees a bear for the first time.  The driver stops the car, four doors blast open and people run out with their cameras in hand to take a photo of the bear.  Never mind that the bear will only appear as a black dot on the final picture.

Fairy Slipper

 I can’t blame them for their excitement in one way, but when you are stuck on the road for a half hour because the person in front of you and the driver in the opposite lane have abandoned their cars, we locals tend to get a bit testy.  However I must confess that because of a “Bear Jam” we were fortunate to see a mother black bear and her two cubs churning up grass and eating grubs.  We also saw grizzly bear grazing in a picnic area.  Luckily no one was picnicking at the time!

Chocolate Lily

Gary’s find of the day the second weekend in June was the tallest Chocolate Lily we had ever seen.  Chocolate lilies are a challenge to photograph because the flowers hang downward like a bell.  The tallness of this one allowed Gary to get “up close and personal” with one of the flowers on the stalk as you can tell from the photo below.

You won’t find any fairy slippers or chocolate lilies at Big Sky in September during the NEAFCS 2016 Conference because our blooming season is usually mid-May to late June. But if you attend my preconference on September 12 entitled….Wildflower Reflections:  Families, Legacies, and Estate Planning you will meet the Fairy Slipper Family and learn how one father accidently disinherited his children by having the property in joint tenancy with his new wife.

Speaking of flowers ... if you are looking for a way to send a lasting bouquet to friends on their birthdays, consider purchasing Montana wildflower note cards as a gift.  Plus, you'll also be providing support for the NEAFCS 2016 conference. 

More information here.

Something from Montana You Need in Your Wallet

Jane Wolery
Follow my blog at  www.31homeplace.blogspot.com

MSU Teton County Extension

PO Box 130 * 1 Main Ave S., Courthouse

Choteau, MT 59422

jwolery@montana.edu

406-466-2491 Office *  406-590-2492 Cell

www.msuextension.org/teton

I just reached into my wallet and ran across one of my favorite resources from MSU Extension.  You might think it was the cash from my paycheck, which I certainly do appreciate.  But, what I was referring to were the credit trackers that I use on my credit and debit cards.  The trackers are a register-style wrapper that help me keep track of my spending.  For any of you who use Rutgers Small Steps to Health and Wealth, you know that one of the most effective tools for behavior change is to track your current behavior.  In the Small Steps to Health and Wealth workbook, authors point to the five A’s of successful behavior change – awareness (tracking current behaviors), ability (being able to make a change), ambition (a strong desire to change), attitude (a positive state of mind about changing) and action (taking steps to actually change).

For me, the credit card registers have helped me reconsider a few purchases.  One evening, I was doing some on-line shopping and as I got ready to check out, I took out my credit card register.  Written in the register was a $200 expense that I had already incurred that month, but had ‘forgotten’ about until seeing it on the register.  If I had not been tracking my credit card expenses, I would have absent-mindedly overspent that month.  As it was, I emptied my shopping cart and decided to wait until another time when I knew I could pay for my purchases

without caring a credit card balance.

Awareness is the first step.  Many people are oblivious to their current behaviors.  Keeping written records can be an effective way to track patterns and work toward change. 

If you want to use the credit trackers for a class, or for your own wallet, you can find them at the MSU Extension store, or stop by our MSU Extension Distribution Center to pick them up while you are in Montana in September!

Have You Met the Bitter Family?

Marsha A. Goetting, Ph.D., CFP, CFCS
Extension Family Economics Specialist
P.O. Box 172800
Bozeman, MT 59717-2800
phone: (406) 994-5695 fax: (406) 994-4838
E-mail: goetting@montana.eduLocation: 208C Linfield Hall
Web site

In the summer of 2009 when my husband and I were driving to a friend’s cabin for a weekend adventure in the Deerlodge National Forest we kept seeing "pink" in the pasture fields.  We were really mystified as we had made that trip many times during past years (always in June) and never saw pink flowers.  What could they be?  Once we reached public lands we stopped to take a closer look so we could discover what type of wildflowers were making a striking appearance all over the fields and growing very close to the ground.  We were ecstatic to find they were bitterroots.  Prior to this time we had only seen bitterroots in Yellowstone National Park.  This area of Southwest Montana had more than normal amounts of rainfall in the spring and early summer of that year.  That extra moisture allowed the bitterroots to make a majestic appearance  in their full bloom. 

The bitterroot is the Montana state flower. Each large flower has 12 to 16 rose or pink pointed petals.   The flowers unfold from a tubular structure held close to the ground on a short stem.  The genus name Lewisia honors Meriwether Lewis, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who collected a specimen of bitterroot on July 1, 1806 near Lolo in Western Montana.  Native Americans harvested the roots and boiled them for food. 

You won’t find any bitterroots at Big Sky in September during the NEAFCS 2016 Conference because the short blooming season is typically from mid-May to late June. But if you attend my preconference on September 12 entitled….Wildflower Reflections:  Families, Legacies, and Estate Planning you will meet the Bitterroot family and see how grandchildren can become "bitter" and feel unloved because of the lack of planning by their grandparents. You will also learn a variety of ways you can take care of those you love by taking appropriate measures to avoid the “bitterness” that can result from poor planning. 

Speaking of love ... if you are looking for a way to send a lasting bouquet to someone you love, consider purchasing Montana wildflower note cards as a gift.  Plus, you'll also be providing support for the NEAFCS 2016 conference. More information here.

Leadership and Liaisons

As a chair of just one subcommittee planning for the NEAFCS 2016 conference, I have admired our two co-liaisons Tara Andrews and Sheila Friedrich.  I think it takes some true dedication (and bravery) to volunteer for the co-liaison positions.  Tara and Sheila are coordinating with the national team to prepare an NEAFCS conference.  I took a little time recently to catch up with Tara and Sheila, and to interview them about the conference-planning experience.

Tara M. Andrews

MSU Extension Cluster County

1010 Main St.

Miles City, MT 59301

406-874-3370 Office

406-852-0020 Cell

It’s quite an undertaking to be co-liaisons for NEAFCS annual conference.  What made you interested and decide to take on the project?

Tara:  The reason having the National meeting in Montana appealed to me, first, and foremost, because I really wanted to show off Montana, MSU and our Extension Service and the professionals in our state. We have great programming that is very diverse in our state. I was also ready to take on a new challenge in my career and this definitely fit the bill. Early in my Extension career, we hosted the NAE4-HA Conference in Billings, Montana, and it really brought the Montana agents together as a cohesive group. Because we are a small system, in terms of employees, it takes all of us to pitch in and work together to do something so big.

Sheila Friedrich

MSU Extension Sheridan County 

100 West Laurel Avenue

Plentywood, Montana  59254

(406) 765-3406

sfriedrich@montana.edu

Sheila:  I was excited about the prospect of having an NEAFCS Conference in Montana and showing off our state and Montana State University.  It was with Tara’s urging that I decided to jump on board.  We knew we would work well together and thought it would be a fun and rewarding experience.

How long have you been with Montana State University Extension?

Tara: This is my 25^th year with MSU Extension.

Sheila: I started my job with MSU Extension on December 2, 1981, so almost 35 years.

How many NEAFCS conferences have you attended?

Tara: have attended four NEAFCS conferences, and some of my most impactful programming came from ideas that got sparked during a NEAFCS conference.

Sheila: I have attended conferences in Wichita, Kansas, Providence, Rhode Island, Lexington, Kentucky and the last I attended was the conference at the Greenbrier in West Virginia.

Any standout learning experiences or memories from other conferences to share?

Tara:  When the NEAFCS meeting was in Denver I went to session on kids cooking and brought it back to our community with some variations. We offer our Chef School to second and third graders.  It is taught by our 4-H teens and we use the FCS room at the high school. The kids make an entire meal and then sit down and eat it. We work on nutrition, cooking skills, manners and food safety. I think we are in our eighth year and we offer 2 to 3, two-week sessions a year.  They always fill within the first few days after the announcement.

Sheila:  In Kentucky, I went on a tour to the University Butcher Shop.  They have a great facility for teaching and meat processing.  The morning we went they had harvested hogs and we got to see various parts of the inside of a hog.  It was very interesting.  And, of course, the beautiful Greenbrier Resort will always be a great memory -- such an amazing property in a beautiful state.

What value do you find from attending?

Tara:  The value of attending the National Conference is the range of ideas you come home with and, of course, meeting colleagues from other states and learning about their programming.

Sheila:  Getting new program ideas and networking with colleagues from all over the U.S.  At the past couple of conferences, it has been a great pleasure to get to know the National Officers, National Board and Cindy and Jody from the National Office.

What do you think will be unique about the Montana conference experience?

Tara:  I think the Montana experience will be unique because of the beautiful environment, and the chance to enjoy the outdoors in a lovely and breath taking location. We hope to give a relaxing Western flair to the entire meeting.

Sheila:  Location, location, location.  Big Sky is in a beautiful area of Montana.  Our Welcome Event promises to be unique and very fun.  The list of in-depth sessions is diverse and will provide opportunities to check out the Montana lifestyle.

To mix business with pleasure, if attendees have time to DISCOVER any Montana treasures, which ones would you recommend?

Tara:  If you can only visit one place when you come to Big Sky be sure to visit Yellowstone National Park. It is one of my favorite places on earth, and my husband and I visit it at least a couple of times a year. The park is so varied – with thermal features, wildlife, peaks and large meadows and lots of opportunities to get out and walk or just enjoy the scenery as you drive through.

Sheila:  Yellowstone Park and/or Chico HotSprings.  There is so much to see and do at these places and both are located close to Big Sky.

Thanks so much to Tara and Sheila for their efforts on this conference and to ALL who contribute, so that we can ENGAGE and CONNECT to improve the ways we serve others as Extension professionals.  

Big Sky in the News!

Jane Wolery

Follow my blog at  www.31homeplace.blogspot.com

MSU Teton County Extension

PO Box 130 * 1 Main Ave S., Courthouse

Choteau, MT 59422

jwolery@montana.edu

406-466-2491 Office *  406-590-2492 Cell

www.msuextension.org/teton




I thought I'd quickly share some links to a few ways Big Sky has been in the news this week!

Big Sky Montana! There's an app for that!

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle highlighted a new app that is available to help you navigate all the great opportunities in Big Sky, Montana.  The app was developed for the tourism group, Visit Big Sky.

I was at Big Sky resort last Thursday, and while there was snow, it was nothing compared to this week!  Check out the quick video post from KRTV in Great Falls.  Be sure to scroll to the short video clip on sunroofs in Montana in the spring!

And last, for a little work-related weather footage ... Our Montana University System Exercise and Fitness Specialist, Neal Andrews posted this video on metabolic equivalents.  You'll get a bit of a weather report from Bozeman, along with wellness education you can use.

We look forward to hosting you in Montana at the NEAFCS conference in September.  Remember to encourage our great Extension colleagues across the nation to follow our blog by email and confirm your blog subscription through the email from FeedBurner.  

Go Bananas Teaching Financial Education! It's Not Monkey Business!

Jane Wolery

Follow my blog at  www.31homeplace.blogspot.com

MSU Teton County Extension

PO Box 130 * 1 Main Ave S., Courthouse

Choteau, MT 59422

jwolery@montana.edu

406-466-2491 Office *  406-590-2492 Cell

www.msuextension.org/teton




Last April (2015), I was able to attend a conference in Spokane hosted by University of Idaho and Northwest Farm Credit Services where they unveiled some of the financial education materials they have been developing.  Regardless of the job description, the reality is that I am a part-time FCS agent and a full-time 4-H agent, so you can imagine how April was poor timing for me to put any new educational materials into action.  With 4-H textile show, 4-H leadership retreat, Teton County 4-H Fair, Montana 4-H Congress, 4-H camp, 4-H interstate exchange and 4-H BioScience taking up much of my summer, I had to put the financial resources on the shelf, so to speak.  The materials are mostly digital, so there really isn’t a shelf.  Nonetheless, it took me until the January to get on the computer and start to use some of the materials.

Reading interactive Marlon the Monkey Borrows Bananas.

I started with Marlon the Monkey Borrows Bananas, an interactive digital story about credit.  I worked with Merrill McKamey from Northwest Farm Credit Services and Jamie Smith, librarian at the Choteau Library.  I read Marlon the Monkey for story hour for youth ages 2-5 and their parents/grandparents.  Jamie then had the students play a bean bag toss into a monkey mouth.  Merrill and I helped students make “monkey tails” as a treat and then they did some coloring.  The whole class was about an hour long, and at the end, I reminded the preschoolers about the Marlon the Monkey story and asked what they learned.  I was charmed when an adorable boy named Charlie
captured the message and said, “You shouldn’t buy things, if you don’t have the money.” 

Making Monkey Tails -- frozen bananas
on wooden treat stick, frosted in peanut butter
and dipped in chocolate.  Roll in granola
while chocolate is soft and enjoy.  

Merrill and Charlie make monkey faces
while making Monkey Tail treats at story hour.

Merrill and I thanked the parents and grandparents for attending and reminded them that money can be one of the biggest stresses in a relationship.  Money matters can really “monkey up” a relationship.  We mentioned that if they wanted a fun, interactive way to speak with their spouses/partners about money, they might use the materials that can be found here that are being developed by University of Idaho Extension and Northwest Farm Credit Services.