Little Pasture on the Prairie

“Calving Heifers” is a term synonymous with the watchful eye a cattle rancher must keep on first-time mothers as they approach their due date. When calving heifers, the herd must be checked every few hours, day and night, in case anyone goes into labor and needs assistance.

President declares National Agriculture Day

On National Agriculture Day, we recognize the unique and irreplaceable value that farmers, ranchers, foresters, farmworkers, and other agricultural stewards have contributed to our Nation's past and present.

Love Stories

I have been watching an amazing television program lately. It is a story in which people who have chosen to live in one of earth’s coldest and northernmost inhospitable places eke out a living among the moose and the caribou.

Exercise your right to know, during Sunshine Week and beyond

Sunshine is great. But it only matters if you take advantage of it. The following situation has played out at public meetings recently: Concerned resident: “I’m upset because I had no idea this was going on.” Public official: “Well, we’ve had announcements on the radio.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

Over the years, our Mama Cat’s many kittens have been a source of joy and consternation. They’ve been silly and sickly, tough, aloof, gentle, playful, and feral, depending on what personality quirks genetics awarded them. Most have gone to live at neighbors’ barns or friends’ houses.

Open government is good government

When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials in the public eye who may have to run for office again. No one wants to be held directly responsible for letting the public down.

LETTER

Timber Lake Paper: I enjoy the tidbits of the paper from afar. I was raised in Mobridge late 40’s and early 50’s. Attended the rodeos at Timber Lake, Isabel, Dupree and Faith during that time with family. Worked a couple of weeks one summer at the Glen French Ranch. Glen and Nora were super people.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

I love to garden. I started out with potted tomatoes on a fire escape in New York City, then tubs of herbs and flowers and coffee cans teeming with chamomile blossoms on a rooftop in Minneapolis, and now I have a sprawling yard on the western range where sunshine and space are never in short supply.

‘I’m one of the lucky ones’

Cancer. There’s a word that’ll get your attention. It got mine last fall when I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I suppose a cancer diagnosis shouldn’t shock anyone. It’s almost the norm in America.

Jim wasn’t one of the lucky ones — but you could be

My late husband Jim’s story was a little different from Tony Bender’s (above). Jim was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on July 19, 2013 and died 10 weeks later.