Counting Blessings and Votes

It’s raining - and raining some more. We can’t imagine our good fortune. Drought still ranges across the West, but our situation here is improving. Our friend Alan travels to the ranch every year to help us brand. We were talking about the moist dirt and cool temps that made branding pleasant and dust free. “Which one of us is living right?” I asked.

The bees have found the early flowering of the box elder trees. The trees can be a nuisance because of the box elder bugs that go with them, but we can thank them for early and important bee food. 

I was reading back in my diary two years ago on the 27th of April. I wrote, “so green it hurts.” It was wet then too. We were getting ready for Seth and Leah’s wedding on the ranch in June and the rain made things beautiful. I love my diary so much and can’t imagine how anyone who doesn’t record their lives can stand the passage of time. I know the day we branded calves and who was on the crew. I know the yearly date of the first asparagus harvest. I know when the garden went in and how bad the wind blew that spring. I’m kind of a mess, though. I also do free writing in various tablets scattered around the house. And this blog. And the occasional newspaper article. I’m not sure why, it just compels me. 

The primary election is about two weeks away. This one is an important one. Since the Republican party is so divided, it’s imperative that common-sense Idahoans turn out in big numbers to counteract those on the fringe right who are attempting a takeover. Too much emphasis on social issues and slamming public education for me. Too much out-of-state interests sparking fear in our residents. Fear might be the great motivator, but it only makes people hunker down and become close minded. 

If you’re concerned about extreme measures on the left, the best way to counteract them is to unite as conservatives. Working together with common-sense Democrats has never been more important, because in most cases they’re not in favor of extremism from their party any more than we are. 

Have we talked to our teachers and evaluated their curriculum? Or did we jump on the critical race theory bandwagon because someone tried to scare us? I told one such candidate who asked if I was concerned about school curriculum, that yes, I was concerned! I want kids to learn how food is grown and that the photosynthetic process drives life on earth. I want them to understand we have “one water” and it needs to be revered, shared, conserved, and cared for. But I certainly wasn’t concerned about students being indoctrinated with CRT. 

See you at the polls.

putting them away after a day of branding
Mt. Putnam in the distance