Thankful Thursday ~ Skies for Days

So, I haven't done a Thankful Thursday post in several weeks. Maybe even a month. Not because I'm ungrateful, but just busy. I guess I should be thankful to have been so busy! I mean, it sure beats the alternative...

We are still in the midst of harvest around here. We're about half-way done. We have all our winter wheat cut, which you can read about here: Winter Wheat Harvest 2015, and we have the barley from Tom and Carol's farm cut. Our barley is still just not quite ripe, but we're hoping to cut it probably over the weekend. Then it will be on to spring wheat. Our crops are not great this year, and it's easy to be down about it, but there are always reasons to feel thankful for what we do have and for what is going well.

Like... THE SKY!

You guys, seriously. Montana has THE BEST skies of anywhere I have lived. There is DEFINITELY  a reason why we are the Big Sky State. The sky here is HUGE and so often filled with fantastic cloud features. Sunrises and sunsets frequently amaze. I try to take photos on my phone and I'm always disappointed that my camera just doesn't capture the brilliance of the sky.

 I took the above photo on a recent bike ride with Harvey through some of our farmland. My favorite type of clouds-- the puffy shape clouds. The thing is, you can only really call it the Big Sky State out here on the prairie where you can actually SEE the sky! Don't get me wrong, I love the mountains, too, but you're all closed in up there and you just get little triangles and windows of sky. Out here, you get the whole shebang. Another reason to be thankful for prairie living!

This next one was near sunset...

Sky almost filled with clouds, but backlit by an evening sun, so that the edges just looked glowing. Love it. Reminded me instantly of the clouds paintings by Georgia O'Keefe, like this one:

Image Source: www.artic.edu
Sky Above Clouds IV, by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1965

Living here can be very inspirational to creative people, and to anyone. Just look around and appreciate the beauty that surrounds you. You can start by looking to the sky!

As somewhat of a sidebar: In my mind, I have a list of what I call Crazy Ideas. The theme of the list is sort of businesses or "offerings" that bring people here, whether encouraging tourism, rural economy, small-town shopping and staying, or what have you. The Crazy Idea list could be a topic for a blog post all on its own, but one of the ideas on the Crazy Idea list is some sort of artist-in-residence home or workshop that would be out here on the prairie. People could come and stay for a period of time and do whatever art they do. I think there's plenty of inspiration. I wonder what Georgia O'Keeffe would have done with a month or two out here? ;)

Anyway, the skies around here really can't be beat. Something about a long day during harvest that's capped off by an outstanding cloudscape... perfection. :)

I took the above photo just a few nights ago. We've been having quite a bit of smoke from in the air from fires in the Mountain West. Smokey air is not idea, but it creates beautiful sunsets. Like this one. The entire sky was cotton-candy pink and just glowing. See? Find the positive. Silver linings and beautiful sunsets.

Do you have any great sky photos from Montana or wherever you live? What inspires you?  If so, let me know and I would be happy to post them in another Thankful Thursday post! You can email me or tag me in Facebook or on Instagram. :)

Have a great week, everyone!

Guest Farmstagrammer!

Hey guys!

Guess whaaat?

I'm going to be a guest Farmstagrammer for National Farmers Union! 

Starting tomorrow, I'll be taking over their Instagram feed as part of their #FacesOfFarmersUnion campaign. It's harvest time right now, so you know the feed will be filled with photos and info about a Montana grain harvest!  I'll be posting different images on the NFU feed than on my own, so check both places and definitely make sure you're following @NationalFarmersUnion and me, @katie.r.bangs so you don't miss a pic!

Head over to Instagram tomorrow, make sure you're following @NationalFarmersUnion and @katie.r.bangs, and let me know what you think of the photos! And, if you're a Farmers Union member and YOU want a turn to show off your farm or operation, let me know and I'll hook you up with the person in charge so you can have a turn. :)

Thankful Thursday ~ Pride of Place Photos

Two weeks ago in a Thankful Thursday post, I wrote about how I appreciate this place where I live. You can read that post HERE. I also put out a challenge to my readers, family, and friends to submit photos of places they love to use in an upcoming post. Today is the day of the big reveal of the photos I received! 

The amount of photos submitted was incredible. Several people submitted upwards of 10 photos! Wow! In the interest of time and space, I couldn't include every single photo that everyone sent me. So, at most I included two of the ones people submitted. Apologies to people who sent more, but I do thank you so much for your enthusiasm!!! 

Without further ado, let's get to the real reason you're looking at my blog today-- the PHOTOS! With each person who submitted, I'll first list their name and how I know them, then you'll see the image(s) they sent. If people submitted a caption or explanation, I put it as the photo caption in most instances. As you look through the photos, I encourage you to think about why that person might love the place or be thankful for the place in the picture. 

From Melissa, a friend and fellow Hi-Liner--

"Our farm, north of Gildford. Farm life is the best!!"

My blogging friend Jessie sent two photos. She blogs mainly about running but sometimes also posts fantastic vizsla and animal photos, as you can see below. Check out her blog at www.therightfits.com!  Jessie's vizsla is named Matilda. Isn't she perfect? The cats are pretty cute, too. :)

Jessie says: I'm thankful for having a warm bed to share with all our animals. 

Not going to lie... Harvey sleeps on our bed, too! :)

Jessie says: I'm also thankful for my home near Lake Calhoun where I can run with Matilda and watch beautiful sunrises!

Looks like a pretty awesome place to run!

Next up, two photos from another friend, Christy. She lives near Billings, MT where her family ranches. Christy is a fellow Team Beef member with me and also has an awesome running blog, which you can check out at www.christyruns.com.
 From Christy- They weren't the ones I had in mind, but they are of the family ranch and a place I am eternally thankful and grateful to have grown up on and now get to raise my children on.

Pretty awesome views on Christy's ranch, right?! Southeast Montana. Lovely!  Skies for days!!

 The next two photos are from my mom, Penny. She is quite an accomplished photographer these days! She sent me probably about 12 photos and I just chose two because they are images of places I am also thankful for! She didn't include any captions, so I added a little background for both photos.

First, this barn is in a park very near the house I grew up in. As kids, we spent a lot of time playing in this park! Mom has some really great photos of this barn and this is one of them--

The next photo from my mom was one that she took on a visit out here last summer. We were all driving home from catching a movie in town, it was early June and, well, check out this awesome image of the Sweetgrass Hills at sunset--

The Hills are a place I have a view of every day and I am so thankful for that!

Next, from my friend Tara. She and I are friends from college and this is an image of the Campanile on the Iowa State Campus. Iconic image for people from Ames or who went to school at ISU!  I am also pretty thankful for this place, just like Tara!

"I really work in a beautiful place."

Now, two images from Jane. Jane grew up a little bit west of where Jeff and I live, with a great view of the Sweetgrass Hills. Now, she lives in Choteau, MT.

From Jane:

Sweet Grass Hills – I love where you live now

I love where I live now

The next image is from Jon, who is the cousin of my Father in Law, Tom--

"Aja (aka Hound of the Baskervilles)  on a foggy Oregon day."

My friend Kathy also sent me several images and I chose this one out of the ones she sent.  She lives near Geraldine, MT. It would be pretty difficult not to be thankful of this view every day! WOW!

this view is facing South and is west of our home by my garden...the mountains are Square Butte and Round Butte, which we see out of our dining room, living room, and bedroom windows! So Beautiful...

Jeff's Aunt Linda (Tom's sister) sent this image from the Oregon Coast, near where she lives. Again, pretty amazing view!

Thankful that we live near the awesome Pacific Ocean , hope that I never take it for granted!!

From Ashley, another photo from the Geraldine area...check out that sky!  Ashley's view looks pretty similar to Kathy's... neighbors, I wonder? :)

Love the view from my deck 

And from Lorrie. Here is another person who was very enthusiastic about this "assignment" and sent many photos! Lorrie lives on a farm near Big Sandy, MT. 

I love the colors in the above image. Plus, if you know Big Sandy, the colors are extra appropriate! Purple and yellow are their school colors. :)  Pretty awesome view in the photo below. Again, I think I'd be pretty thankful for that place if I got to look out at it each day!

Next I have two photos from Lisa, who is a former student-athlete at North Star, where I work. She was a high school senior in track the first season I was a coach here. Now, we stay in touch via social media and she sent me these images to use in this post of places she is thankful for and/or loves-

 Lisa goes to school at University of Montana in Missoula. This is a view of campus and surrounding environs. :) The next photo is from Havre, and the third photo is from some hot springs in Idaho.

Peggy, a local Rudyard resident, sent me this photo of Glacier National Park as a place she loves-

The next two photos are from Darla. She and her family are long-time family friends from my hometown. You'll notice that her photos are a little different from most of the others submitted...

Katie, I know this isn't exactly what you asked for but my favorite place to be is anywhere with my family-anywhere with my friends is good too! 

Here's another one - again my favorite places is anywhere with my family

Whew!  That is A TON of photos of places that are loved! I hope you found at least one photo on here that made you smile or feel happy, and I hope that you can look around you and find reasons to be thankful, wherever you are. Whether it's a beautiful mountain vista or somewhere close to home, such as your own bed, there's always reasons to be thankful for the places in which we find ourselves. And, sometimes, as Darla points out, it's not the place that's important but the people we're with.

As I was going through all the many images that were submitted to me I was struck by how many people submitted pictures of places that I also feel thankful for. Places I grew up or places where I live now or travel to. I suppose it's because the people who read and comment on here most all have a connection to me somehow, our lives intersect in some way. It's a great reminder of the interconnectedness (is that a word?!) of all of us, everywhere. Food for thought. :)

It has been so much fun uploading everyone's photos and looking at them over and over in compiling this post. Thanks again to everyone who submitted! I worked on this yesterday evening and felt myself feeling more calm, even amid a somewhat stressful, busy week. I carried the good vibes outside with me as I headed out for a sunset run. It was hard not to notice the beautiful light and, yes, to feel thankful for the place I call home and all the people (and animals!) in my life I'm connected to in one way or another.

Happy Thankful Thursday, everyone! What are you thankful for this week?

Just heading out my driveway to start my run. 8:20pm. That's Iggy, and Harvey has already raced way ahead somewhere.

Thankful for these dusty gravel roads I get to run on, and the setting sun!

Goldstone used to be a town and now it's the site of our farmland! 

Thankful Thursday ~ Pride of Place CALL FOR PHOTOS!

Today's Thankful Thursday post will include a Call for Photography! I'll be asking my readers to submit some photos that will be included in a future Thankful Thursday post. Details will be at the bottom of today's post! Keep reading to learn more!


'Tis the season at work for audits. 

This time of year, an auditor from the State named Beal travels around all over Montana and checks out all the programs that do what we do to make sure we're doing what we do correctly. Some people seem to be intimidated by Beal, but I don't get why. As soon as he got here, I greeted him with a handshake and a friendly hello. My coworker had described him as "an aged Hippie," and the description was apt. That's exactly how he looked and acted. It worked out great for me because I love Hippies and I get along just fine with people like that. In fact, Beal reminded me quite a bit of Jeff's Uncle Dennis, which is a person I greatly enjoy speaking with. He was pretty low-key.  Thorough in our audit (which we passed with flying colors) but low-key and friendly.

As Beal was wrapping up our audit, I continued making genial small talk and stated, "You must do a lot of driving for your job. I bet you see a lot of country."

Beal looked me in the eye and without flinching or blinking said, "Yes, I do, but I love the Hi-Line the best." 

He went on to describe that he really loved the drama of the landscapes-- flat land interrupted by island mountain chains such as the Bearpaws and the Sweetgrass Hills. He loved the Milk River and how it cut dramatically through the Northern Plains. I told him about how our farm is about dead-level to the east of the Sweetgrass Hills and just south of where the Milk crosses from Canada into the U.S. He said, "It must be a pretty beautiful spot, ideally situated." and I agreed that it was.

Then he went on to say that what he loved just as much as the land here is the way of life. He said, "You go to places like Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula and they've become so modern and busy. But here it's not so modern and it feels more like the way Montana is supposed to be." He had a great sense of nostalgia for the Montana of his boyhood, the Montana that he still finds when he's on the Hi-Line.

Beal's words really struck me. I reflected on my first visits to the Hi-Line and how completely different it was from all the places in which I had previously lived or spent significant time. You see, I had only ever lived in places that I think Beal would describe as "modern." I grew up in a college town, spent time in some of the largest cities in the world, then moved to a tourist trap and then back to another college town before moving up north. I was used to a "modern" way of life. In fact, the first time Jeff took me to Havre, I cried. 

Now, that should tell you a lot about me. I can now own up to myself and say that I think I used to be a lot more superficial.  I was so used to living in cities and towns that had all the amenities that that's what I thought I needed to be happy. I struggled to find value in the people and the connections made and community which I now find so indispensable. When I first moved here, I felt mostly a sense of isolation. Now, I feel a solitude and a peace that comes from having pride of place and community. It has taken time for me and humbling growth, but I'm here now. Now, I'm thankful to be here. I'm thankful for my home on the Hi-Line.

If you've made it through reading all of that, I commend you. Now comes the fun part, and the challenge. Typically, at the end of each Thankful Thursday post, I ask a general question: What are you thankful for this week? Well, this week we're going to do things a little bit differently. You have homework. And, instead of asking you WHAT you're thankful for, I'd like to know WHERE you're thankful for. The places you love. READ ON!

I am asking for everyone who reads this to submit at least one photo of a place that you love and are thankful for. It doesn't have to be your home, but it could be. It could be anywhere. I prefer that it is a photo that you, yourself has taken. This is not a contest, so don't worry about image quality. In fact, sometimes the "worst" photos are the best images. Please, if you can, submit the photo to me in one of the ways I'll outline below, and include a caption stating where the photo was taken and why you are thankful for that place. In two weeks, I'll post all the photos I've received for that week's Thankful Thursday post. (I already have something planned for next week, so that's why you have a lengthy two-week deadline!)

Here's how you can submit:
1) You can email your photos to me at: kra1984montana@yahoo.com (or any other email address you may already have for me).
2) You may post your photo on Facebook and tag me.
3) You can send it to me as a picture text if you have my phone number.
4) You can use Instagram and tag me at @katie.r.bangs
Remember to include a caption of where the place is and why you love it! 
Deadline will be Wednesday, April 19. 

Can't wait to see all the places you love and are thankful for! 

Miss February

I can't believe I've gone this long since the Montana Farmers Union Annual Convention to talk about the MFU Women in Agriculture Calendars!

Remember that calendar project I participated in? I've written about it a few times:

Here: Pre-Order Your Calendar Today!

And, Here: Agricultural Calendar Girls.  <==== One of my most popular posts!

The calendars are DONE and they were unveiled at the MFU convention. All of us calendar girls who could attend the convention were called up in front of the audience and given a copy of the calendar. We were also surprised with a beautiful canvas print of our calendar image, courtesy of MFU.

The calendars turned out FANTASTIC! Kim Owen, the photographer for the project, was fantastic to work with at my photo shoot last spring, and the images turned out simply beautiful. Kudos to Kim!

If you click on this link, you can see some of the images from the photo shoot. When prompted, type in the password " mfu " to gain access.
http://www.kraecreations.com/montana-farmers-union-women-of-agriculture/
There is a really fabulous photo that Kim took of my dog, Harvey, during my photo shoot that I would love to get my hands on somehow as a print or canvas or something. He's a pretty handsome guy, that Harvey!

I picked up some calendars at the convention for family and close friends, but if you'd like one for yourself, you can order one. The calendars are available for $20 to order through the Montana Farmers Union website, here: www.montanafarmersunion.com. When you see the banner show info on the Women in Ag calendar, click on it to be directed to PayPal to check out. Proceeds from calendar sales will help fund our MFU women's leadership education and programs, including the next Women's Conference, to be held likely sometime in January or February.

Plus, did I mention that I am Miss February?! Me and a mama cow, that is! Oh, and her calf.What a little cutie he is! :) Those two really steal the show.  Let's face it-- it's the animals, not the person that makes this photo shine!

The best part of this project was being associated with eleven months' worth of intelligent, dynamic, and beautiful-inside-and-out women who are passionate about their piece of the agricultural puzzle in Montana. The finished product really showcases the widely diverse agricultural pursuits our state hosts, and the wonderful women who do their part to keep a hungry world fed, clothed, and fueled. Kudos to everyone who participated!

Agricultural Calendar Girls

One of a few topics I did NOT mention in the recent March 2014 Roundup post I did recently is the Women in Ag calendar I am going to be in. That's right, I will be a Calendar Girl! This is a project that was the brainchild of the Montana Farmers Union Education Director. The idea is for women agricultural producers from across the state of Montana to be featured on each of the twelve months of the calendar. The photos will be of women doing what they do to contribute to the success of their agricultural operation, whether helping with cattle, picking rock, harvesting wheat, picking cherries, gardening, or anything else ag-related. The aim is to photograph a wide variety of agricultural pursuits to showcase what variety of production we have in Montana, and show that women are involved in all of them. The calendars will be printed and sold to raise funds for educational pursuits for Women in Ag, such as the Women's Conference I attended this past January. 

I had the lucky honor of being the first "model" for the photo shoot recently on March 26. The photographer and the MFU Education Director trekked out to our place in Almost-Canada, MT and we spent a morning walking through the corrals, taking photos. As it was calving time and I love calving time, the theme of my photo shoot was working with cows and calves. We had a great time and a very enjoyable session. Both women who came out to the farm are fantastic people and wonderful advocates for agriculture. We had a blast, and some great conversation! 

Photo taken by and used with permission by Delisa Clampitt, MFU Education Director.

On the day of my photo shoot as I waited for the arrival of the day's guests, I was busy in the kitchen helping to prepare the roast and vegetables we would later have for lunch. I was thinking about the many aspects of being a woman in agriculture and what a typical day might entail.  It is very normal, at least in our house, to go from housework and cooking to helping in the field or corral. Sometimes there is little or no notice before duty strikes outdoors. We have to be ready for plans to change, and even expect that they will. I can't imagine how women with children get anything done on the farm or in the house while juggling both with raising a child.

Something I think about frequently is how I am spending my time. I am sure that many women often think about this very same thing. How should I be spending my time?  Should I be home more? Should I be doing more on the farm? Am I working hard enough?  I do work full time in town in addition to helping on the farm whenever I can or whenever I am needed. Sometimes I feel like I should be home more. I feel like I am missing out on what is happening at home-- activities I could be learning about or helping with. Other times, it's clear that no more than one or two people are needed at home, working on farm activities, and I would not be of help anyway. For now, working in town at a full time job generates extra income for me and Jeff, keeps me busy, and is necessary, but there may come a time when I will need to be at home full-time. Time will tell. 

Ultimately, I am proud of the contributions I make to our household, whether as a helper on the farm or from income from my job. The Women in Ag Calendar celebrates exactly this sense of pride and contribution that women-producers all over the state of Montana share. Calendars are due to release in October, so stay tuned for pricing and availability information as the time approaches!