When I drove across the state of South Dakota to pick up a small flock of Clun Forest sheep in March – a breed I’d decided was perfect for me despite the fact I had never actually worked with or even seen any in real life – I was pretty sure I was going crazy. Well, friends, I am absolutely stunned to inform you that these amazing sheep have somehow managed to be even better than I hoped, and I had obviously set my expectations very high.

Congratulations, Colette and Callie of Schaffer Music Studio, on your fantastic recital Sunday night. It was the best one yet! I loved everything about it. I’ve attended every one of your recitals and have watched these young people progress from timid children to self confident youth. I am so very impressed by the variety of instruments and vocals that these young people are capable of. Thank you so much for being a positive influence on these kids. Pat Kjellsen Timber Lake

By Jill Kruse, DO As we approach the end of our 22nd season, I would like to thank our audience for trusting us to bring them health information that is current and accurate. There are many doctors out there who cannot make the same claims as the Prairie Docs and I would like to take this opportunity to help sort out those charlatans and quacks from trusted sources of health information.

An exceedingly common question I get in clinic, especially in the heart of a South Dakota winter, is how to remedy dry skin. And the questions aren’t just in clinic; my own kids, family, friends, everyone seems to have an occasional problem with dry and irritated skin.

It happens every spring. The best laid plans dashed by unpredictable weather, equipment malfunctions, illness, or most likely all three. But really, the truth behind why spring always gets crazy when you are working on a ranch or farm, is that there’s more to do than can be done. Every year, we must go through the charade that our chore list is doable, and every year we discover it is impossible, but that we must do it anyway.

When I was a kid, I spent an inordinate amount of time hunting frogs. We had a variety of local ponds and frogs were plentiful. We didn’t need frogs for anything, but we caught them because catching them was fun. It was not uncommon to return home with a bucket full of frogs. I don’t think I have seen a single frog in local ponds in more than 40 years.

Last week, I brought home three orphan lambs to bottle feed, and this week I was expecting the sheep I brought home last month to begin having babies of their own. My old flock is still at the old place, and won’t start welcoming babies until May, but we’ve been keeping the new little flock at our barn in town as a kind of quarantine (safety first!) but also because they were supposed to start lambing April 11. Since weather can shift from balmy to blizzardy in a matter of hours this time of year, keeping them close seemed like a good idea during their lambing period.

I had a dream that I ran my own Japanese restaurant. Now, I am less Japanese than most people…but that doesn’t mean it would be impossible for me to do so.

It’s human nature to tell stories about the past, and doctors aren’t immune to that impulse. The second year medical students rotating through my clinic have me reflecting on my own years as a fledgling physician, and the changes I’ve seen in my decades of practice.

There is an old joke where a man walks into his doctor’s office and says, “Doc, it hurts every time I do this. What should I do?” To which the doctor replies, “Simple, don’t do that!” While the advice seems trite and maybe even insulting, like most jokes, there is some truth in it. Pain is one of the ways your body tries to protect you from even worse injury. Pain tries to keep you from walking on a sprained ankle or lifting things with a broken arm. In those cases, the advice from the doctor is accurate.