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Tue, Sep 9, 2025

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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

A poem captured my attention the other day.

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget 
Falls drop by drop upon the heart, 
Until, in our own despair,
 Against our will,
 Comes wisdom 
Through the awful grace of God.

Aeschylus

What's on your mind today?

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Wordsmitty ✍️

Sep 6, 2025 at 7:50pm
In response to "YIKES!!! "

Speed Humps. They're like a raised crosswalk. Anything designated 30 MPH or less can use them. Of course, as a state highway, I'm not sure how interested the state would be to put one in. Maybe if you let them hit you and a few others, it might give them some impetus.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Sep 6, 2025 at 6:38pm
In response to "YIKES!!! "

4 lanes through a small town... you're a speedbump?

One solution that will have little support is narrowing the road to 2 or 3 lanes. It's been done in Missoula with lots of squawking.

Soldier_Mike

Sep 6, 2025 at 6:36pm
In response to "YIKES!!! "

One just has to wonder what in the world that driver was thinking about. Clearly, she wasn't watching where you were going.

Celebratin'Slipslidin'Senior

Sep 6, 2025 at 6:06pm
In response to "YIKES!!! "

I second that. Drive the speed limit people! It's not that difficult.

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Sep 1, 2025 at 4:09pm
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

As a transplanted Buckeye, I just love that school and team.

We have buckeye trees growing along Main Street in Roundup. I love collecting them in the fall.

1 Like

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Sep 1, 2025 at 4:07pm
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

Dotting the 'I' is a big honor. I always enjoy watching that band. Such precision. And rare to see that these days.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Sep 1, 2025 at 12:27am
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

Love dotting the i.

2 Like

Wordsmitty ✍️

Sep 1, 2025 at 12:11am
In response to "OSU Marching Band"

As a kid, our family went to a few OSU games. We drove over from Springfield where we lived when I grew up half a century ago. The band is so amazing. Football team was pretty good, too.

Go Buckeyes!

QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

Aug 27, 2025 at 3:14pm
In response to "Letter Battle"

Soldier_Mike

I hear you! The misspelling, grammar errors, punctuation errors. And to think you can use a computer application that will prompt you to correct them. Hmm. Just pure ignorance and laziness.

I think it is also the dumbing down of the world. Especially here in America. Most people don't read, don't write, don't do anything that makes them think.

1 Like

Soldier_Mike

Aug 25, 2025 at 11:53pm
In response to "Letter Battle"

One of my "favorite" things is spotting misspellings and grammar errors on HQ-issued posters at the Exchange (department store) on base, knowing that dozens - if not hundreds - of identical posters are misrepresenting the English language all around the world.

August 12, 2021 at 7:10pm

#1015569

Lovely Day

A great day on the porch. We ate lunch outdoors for the first time in I don't know when. Lovely. We watched some birds catching grasshoppers and flies and moths. Pretty sure they were flycatchers. You could now and then hear the snap of their beaks.

Not too much going on today, thank goodness. We had a rather yawn-worthy meeting at noon. Just a lot of discussion about Roundup and the work that needs to be done to make it better. We're headed in the right direction, according to some state of Montana people that attended. I wrote a little piece for The Writer's Cramp about my town.

STATIC

Roundup on the Musselshell W/C 390

(E)
Winner! The Writer's Cramp 8/12/21
#2256383 by QueenNormaJean AKA Marilyn M.

It was a co-winner last night.

And now as I write this, something else curious just caught my attention. There are Amish around, they own some land out of town. You see the men working as handymen sometimes. The women and children are sometimes in the stores. One of the horse and buggie outfits just ran by my house. Wonderful.

Comment

August 10, 2021 at 9:43pm

#1015472

Rain, Wind, Play, School - Things are Changing

So we finally got some rain. But it was only 1/4 of an inch. Not impressive. Not by any means. The more impressive part of the storm was the wind and the temperature change.

I watched the storm march across Montana. Great anticipation for a hum-dinger of a storm. The wind picked up, then from a high of 99° it dropped to 60° in about an hour. Such a wonderful change after the heat of the past few weeks.

This all happened on Sunday and now on Tuesday, it is still below 90°. But tomorrow the heat returns. We've had big wind most of the day. Usually if we get big wind, it means a weather change is on the way.

And since it was nice today, before the wind started raging, I sat on the porch. Suddenly a little friend tapped me on the shoulder. My neighbor friend wanted to come over, with her sister. They were bored, dad was at work, mom needed to work at home, big sister had to work tonight so she needed to sleep, can they come over and play dress-up?

Now, some background. It has been over a year since they've been over. Something about that stupid Covid stuff. Anyway, sure, come over. We went upstairs and drug out all the old props I'd packed away last year. Little sister is quite the actress, we dressed her, she strutted around. Big sister is going to 7th grade this year. She had fun dressing up little sister, being a little artistic by mixing and matching the clothes.

Then their aunt arrives downstairs. She's the friend that brings fresh eggs every week. So she had to come up to see the chaos. She was a bit put-off by their playing, but I find the fact that these two can put aside all the world and pretend quite wonderful. Some of the children of today don't know how to play, how to pretend. I always encouraged my children in free play. Dress up, cars, little figures, go outside and pretend, anything to get the creative juices flowing. It is too easy to sit your child in front of a device or the TV.

Another thing going on in town is the free school supply drive. Every year the thrift store where I volunteer and RSVP partner to provide free school supplies for any family that requests them. No strings, no restrictions. We met two mornings so far to catalog and start stuffing backpacks.
We get the school supply lists each year. Then we supply backpacks and most of the needed supplies. Currently we're supplying up to 75 children. School starts next week.

I had to post a picture of my mannequin. Big sister dressed her in a feather boa and vintage hat. I think she looks fabulous.

Comment • View 2 comments

August 6, 2021 at 9:14pm

#1015246

Another Dry Day

Well now this is just wrong! I'm sitting on my porch after an afternoon at the museum. The wind picked up, the sky clouded up, the thunder started, and POOF! We had maybe 10 drops of rain. Seriously. Any rain that fell is now gone. Evaporated just that quickly. Amazing.

We had no rain the entire month of July here in Roundup. There was rain all around us, but never here. It was like we are in a bubble or something. Very strange. So the forecast is dire. No hay, no food for animals. The rivers are low. People are tired of the heat. I know I can't think straight, so annoyed by all the hot weather. And now there is smoke in the air from wildfires all around. Today was the first day we really noticed a smell from them.

I drove back from Musselshell on Wednesday after play practice and saw four deer. Glad to say I hit none of them. The last one I saw could have been an elk, it was that big. It was a buck, with antlers still in velvet. It came right beside the car, got ready to cross in front from the right to the left. I slammed on the brakes, honked the horn, and he veered off at the last minute. Gracious. My heart still pounded for an hour after that. I say a prayer before I drive out there and before I drive home that the deer stay away. And that I am safe.

Has anyone watched 'The Queen's Gambit'? I have to say I am enjoying this tale of chess. Interesting storyline. I'm also reading an autobiography, 'Born with Teeth', by Kate Mulgrew. She was on 'Ryan's Hope' way back when and then on a 'Star Trek' series as Captain Janeway. A great actress with a very interesting life story.

So as we head into the historically dry month of August, remember Montana. Pray for us. Pray for rain.

Comment • View 7 comments

August 3, 2021 at 6:41pm

#1015095

It's Cooler!

Finally we got a break. In the heat, that is. The high today was only 80°. What a difference! After weeks of temps over 90° to over 100°, But we have not had any rain. Usually with this change, we get a storm. Not this time. I've been checking the radar all day. Storms all around. In fact, in Cooke City, at the NE entrance to Yellowstone they had so much rain they had a landslide.

https://www.kulr8.com/news/cooke-city-firefighters-respond-to-landslide/article_...

So much rain. We are praying for rain. I know it will happen eventually. Maybe when it starts snowing.

Comment • View 2 comments

July 30, 2021 at 9:54pm

#1014773

When to take a bath

Not too much excitement today. All but a small bit of change in the temperatures. It is almost tolerable as I sit now on the porch to compose this message. Still no rain. I watched radar last night. Rain west and south, rain west and north, rain north and east. No rain here. Almost like we are in some sort of impenetrable bubble. Strange.

DId anyone take notice of this blurb on the CNN Facebook feed?
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/entertainment/ashton-kutcher-mila-kunis-bathing

Seems these two celebs have quite a dim view of bathing, themselves and their children. Well, that is all well and good. To each his own. The modern norms are to beat down any normal smells. Heaven forbid anyone has any dirt or grime. Any normal smell at all.

Not all that long ago it was not normal to bathe as often as we do now. Showers daily, or as some do two or three times a day, were not normal. Once a week a bath. And perhaps if you were on a farm, such as in this area, you shared the bathwater. Water is precious here.

In medieval times bathing was considered evil. Of course, people never washed their clothes either, so, there was some strange thinking among the peasants. From what I understand, they wore their garments til they rotted off, kind of an ugly thought. Some people now change clothes several times a day.

As the population on Earth grows, water will become scarce. I think we are already seeing that happening in parts of the US. In our part of the world, there are now water restrictions in Billings, MT. Roundup gets its water from a well, and so far hasn't restricted water usage. But I can see that happening if this drought continues much longer.

We personally have stopped watering our grass, we only water our trees, our shrubs, our garden is drip irrigated. We also are watering 3x a week some sod we laid a few weeks ago. That's it

I saw some rain on radar tonight. Maybe it'll make it here before it evaporates.

Comment • View 2 comments

July 27, 2021 at 12:26pm

#1014534

Hot Again

So another hot one in the forecast for today. Maybe as high as 110° What the h***l!! Jiminee yikes gee whiz. Enough already. We were woken by the fire siren at 6:45 AM. I pray it wasn't for a fire. Pretty bad when you pray for an ambulance run, not a fire run.

Did anyone see this news blurb? A sandstorm in Utah caused a multivehicle crash. They say there were 51 MPH winds associated with this storm.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/us/utah-sandstorm-multi-vehicle-crash/index.html

A dry year so far this year in Musselshell County where I live - only 4.5 inches of any kind of moisture since January 1, 2021 per the National Weather Service. Many areas get that in a good rain storm.

Everything is dry; the grass, the trees, the air. I feel that if God lit a match in the sky and dropped it over us, the entire county would explode in a giant fireball.

But perhaps maybe possibly we will get some rain come Wednesday night. But I'm not betting the house on it.

Comment

July 26, 2021 at 11:08am

#1014348

God is Good

For the 30 Day Blogging Challenge, the prompt today is What is a challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

As I have posted before, I have had brain surgery, for a benign brain tumor. That was by far the biggest challenge in my life. Everything else pales in comparison to having your head opened up and your brain pushed aside to remove a lump the size of a lemon.

Praise the Lord it was benign and I have had no complications from it, besides a spinal fluid leak a few years back from a blow to the head. I needed no chemo, no drugs, nothing further. Just repeat checkups for about five years, MRIs, and a pill to prevent seizures.

The incident did change my personality, so says my hubby. I did notice some changes and now try to remember the person I used to be.

I had a lot of time to think as I recovered for a month after surgery. I took a month to rest with no reading, no computer, no writing. It gave my scrambled brain time to reboot, so to say.

Things could have been so much worse. I could have awoken paralyzed, blind, or not at all. But the Lord was gracious and gave me many more years of life. For that I am thankful. I thank God every day for life and health.

Comment • View 2 comments

July 24, 2021 at 8:40pm

#1014255

The Heat is Back

So it's ramping up the heat again here. No rain to speak of after that last thunder boomer. That's right, hot and dry for the forseeable future. Terrific.

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=46.44734500000004&lon=-108.5434899...

The garden is doing okay. We irrigate, so all the plants get a drip of water for 45 minutes twice a day. I also water two trees, a wildflower patch and a twig that was to be a rose bush. I think I will give up on the rose bush. We also water the sod we laid two weeks ago. We've been faithfully watering that twice a day. I think it is rooting in most areas. Nice green grass, the only part of our yard that is green.

The grasshoppers are not too bad. We're putting out biological bait, seems to be helping. Other parts of the county have them bad.

No one has any hay for their animals, so everyone is crying about what to do with their cattle and sheep. The big debate, sell them all, keep a few, keep them all. How to feed them this winter? How to feed them now? No grass is growing. Heck of a deal.

I finally got word about the play with the Illustrious Musselshell Players, so I'm in the cast. I have a part, and for once more than just a few lines. The play is goofy, of course. They seem to like this type. 'Every Little Crook and Nanny'. Okay, you can probably guess. Crooks, mistaken identities, little old nannies, robbery. Comedy. I now have to memorize lines. And not hit suicidal deer on my 20 mile weekly jaunt to play practice.

Wish me luck!

Comment • View 2 comments

July 22, 2021 at 12:43am

#1014109

It's gonna be fun!

Last night we had a wingding of a thunder storm. Gracious sakes. The thunder and lightning were so close. At one point, I swore it was right overhead, in my back yard. That moment when the lightning and thunder are simultaneous. Astounding. We had to walk outside to check for fire.

Then it rained. A lot it seemed at the time. But the rain gauge only showed 1/2 inch. That was depressing. But at least we got some moisture. And rain is a lot better than any kind of watering we can do. Our city water is sad. Such bad quality. It's full of iron and manganese. We filter it for household use, then drink reverse osmosis water. Filter it with six filters and still cannot drink it, it's that bad.

I went to play practice tonight. Musselshell Community Players is back on again this year. I have a bigger part. I lobbied for one and got it. Should be fun. But the show is mid-September, so the push is now on to learn the lines I have. Yikes. I always have fun with this group, lots of laughs. It started again tonight with one lady telling of her escapades as she fell in her bathroom. Now, she is a large woman, not fat, large. As in tall and big. And a small bathroom. After taking a shower, falling and hitting the toilet, and bruising and trying to get up and scaring a grandchild and being naked and calling a husband who was fixing breakfast somewhere else for friends and on and on. Oh my. Then it got better. After a week, she went to the doctor, got some pain pills for the pain. So she takes 1/2 of one, it helps then waits several hours, takes another 1/2 of one. Now this 1/2 of one affects her differently, with heart fluttering, she's had a stent, and high blood pressure, and rapid heartbeat, and then husband says, 'Well, let's go to the cafe and put you in the walk-in freezer, the cold will help bring down that blood pressure.' (they run the cafe in the small town) Now that's gotta be a redneck solution if I ever heard of one. She's popping nitroglyercin and he's suggesting a walk-in freezer.

You just cannot make this stuff up. No one would believe you. It's gonna be fun!

Comment • View 1 comment

July 19, 2021 at 8:24pm

#1013957

The Chicken Fire

We had a fire callout this afternoon. Seems a bird hit an electrical wire, got electrocuted, dropped to the ground and started a small grass fire. They're calling it the 'fried chicken fire'.

Well, let me tell you. That bird could have just flown through the air today and become fried chicken. The high was 107°. The newscaster for Billings said, "What? I looked at my phone and said 'I don't live in Vegas'."

Crazy hot weather. No rain.

Comment • View 7 comments

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