Earth Day

Hello all,

As you all know (from all the news on the TV, radio, and news paper), yesterday, April 22, was Earth Day. I heard of multiple accounts of people doing things for the environment, the president flying to a wind turbine plant for a tour and to tout wind energy, the Governors wife helping to plant trees with school children, and on the Price is Right all the prizes were eco-friendly. As I was sitting in the tractor going back and forth across a field spreading fertilizer, I couldn't help but think about what I was doing and how big a farce Earth Day really is. One day out of 365 days in a year to think about your carbon footprint, (one of the funniest and most obsurd libreral ideas, what a joke). It is just another liberal feel good day formed to try to convince themselves tat they are not bad people. I decided to list the anti-Earth Day activities that I enjoyed. I started my day with two eggs (poor chickens), shortly after breakfast I started burning straw piles in the field I was about to plow up. The straw was nice and damp underneath, so the plume of smoke was seen for miles in all directions and could be smelled from the highway, 2 miles away. When the piles finished burning, I tilled the field stirring the dirt and disturbing the earthworms home, kicking up dust, and burning the all poluting diesel fuel. After the field was satisfatorily black, it was time to feed the cows, you know, the methane belching black beasts that are depleting our ozone. It was then time to spread some fertilizer on the fields, some would think of this as an unthinkable act of environmental terror.

The fertilizer that I applied and the field work I did yesterday will be used throughout the summer by the wheat to be planted tomorrow, the wheat when harvested will then be used for bread, flour, and pasta. The methane belching cows are currently raising this years crop of calves. These calves will be fattened up in the next 12-18 months to be butchered for steaks, hamburgers, roast, and fine leather seats. The amount of fuel I burned pales in comparison to the amount of fuel burned by an office worker stuck in traffic going ten miles per hour. The fuel I burned will yeild a real tangable product at the end of the day, not paperwork to be filed away in some government warehouse.

Well for those so called experts who look down there nose at farmers and ranchers. I ask you this, where does the food on your table come from, the leather on your luxury automobile seats, and the basic fibers of the cloths on your back. It comes from the country side, grown and raised by farm families. The only true environmentalist, the one who celebrates Earth Day, everyday. There is not a moment that passes when a farmer or a rancher is not thinking about what they can do to improve there environment, the soil, the water, the wildlife, and there livestock. Yes we use the land to our betterment, but city folk just don't realize that we are also making sure the next generation of farmers have the same chance we do to make a living off the land.

Maybe everyday you (everyone individually) should think about how your life can be changed to make it a little greener. It cannot be legislated into law, it cannot be forced, bought or sold. It must be done willingly.

Bryan Mauws

P.S. As most of you know I never write e-mails, or send much more than forwards, but sometimes you just gotta get it off your chest in your own words.

Birthday, Branding, and Baptism

Bryan's Birthday

Quilted wall hanging that I made for Bryan's birthday

Neil and Bryan caught this calf that jumped off the branding table.

Danielle and Levi

Issac's baptism with parents and Godparents.

Easter egg hunt

Mary and Kurt

Bath time

What a weekend! Last Thursday was Kenneth Olson's funeral and Bryan's birthday. Thursday night Bryan and I got to go out to the movie in Lewistown-The Fast and the Furious 4. We put Issac to bed, so Neil had an easy night of babysitting. Friday morning was the beginning of branding. I cooked lunch for the dozen that were here to help. Levi, Danielle, Mary, Kurt, and Grandma Rubel got here Friday night. Saturday we branded the rest of the calves, and vaccinated cows. Saturday night we had a birthday dinner for Bryan with everyone here, and they guys shot clay pigeons out in the field in front of the house until dark. Sunday, Easter morning we dyed eggs before church. Issac's baptism went well and he really enjoyed being the center of attention up in the fronth of the church. He didn't even yell when the priest poured the water on his head, good thing we brought warm water from home! After mass, Cindy, Marvin, Mary, and Kurt had an Easter egg scavenger hunt around the ranch. We split up into teams and each team had to follow clues in eggs that they found to different locations around the ranch. The clues included lots of ranch history, and we all had lots of fun! Easter dinner at Cindy and Marvin's concluded the busy weekend. Everyone fixed delicious dishes, and we enjoyed great food with family and friends.

Issac loves his tractor!

Issac and Grandpa

Issac and Grandma


Issac with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Kurt

Out with Bryan checking calves

Issac in his favorite outfit. He's discovering his toes, and loves to have them in his mouth.

Thought I'd better add some pictures before Issac changes too much. We have had a good spring, and he continues to grow and make new discoveries every day. He likes to roll all around the living room, I'm sure he'll be crawling in no time. He babbles more too, and laughs a lot. He's eating cereals, fruits, and veggies (only if they are finely pureed, he's still pretty picky!) We are so blessed to have such a happy baby!

Bryan is glad to have only 15 cows left in the calving lot! We'll be able to sleep through the night again soon without him getting up to check for new calves at 2 am. He's looking forward to spring, and getting ready to get out in the fields and start farming. We still have a little snow, and lots of mud, though. He's also getting antsy to get the Trans Am out of storage and running for the summer. This coming weekend will be busy for us all with Bryan's birthday, branding, Easter, and Issac's baptism.

Sarah is in the process of transitioning to a new job. I applied for a position in Lewistown in OB-delivering babies! I will start working there part-time nights in May. OB is an area that I really enjoyed in nursing school, and this is the first opportunity I have had to work in that area. I am very excited, and don't mind working nights since I'll get to see Issac more during the day. I plan to work a few shifts a month in Harlowton too, to keep that good relationship open. I will really miss the other nurses, doctors, and patients there.

The ribs are finally healed from my run-in with the cow, so hopefully we won't have any more rodeos in the near future!

We continue to pray for our neighbors, the Olson family, who lost Ken in a ranching accident a few weeks ago. And the Heils, where Eli is on the road to recovery from an infection that caused his kidneys to shut down. You all are in our thoughts and prayers!

Happy Easter, and happy spring to all!