Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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I’ve worked with “what if” scenarios most of my adult life. In the military it was mostly war gaming and disaster operations then in the private sector it was building design and finance. Sometimes I just let myself daydream and “what if “ different situations. Recently I began to think, “what if the Republicans take back the US House and the Senate?” What would that situation look like? What would happen? There are a lot of ways that could go. It would mostly depend on whether or not the Republicans have or could find a backbone. We...
One of the best kept secrets of the year has been the 6th penny ballot initiatives. In fact, I just heard today that early voting for these projects starts Friday, September 17th. I didn’t even know the ballot had been finalized yet. It has not been publicized this year as it has been in the past and the direction from the Chairman of the County Commissioners, Gunner Malm, is that the Commissioners are only to answer questions using the talking points that he provided. My commissioner still hasn’t seen the talking points at the time this art...
I was speaking to one of the candidates for the US House of Representatives a few days ago and asked if he supported the America First movement. I asked because I’d heard his radio ad (very good ad) but didn’t hear any mention of the America First movement. Knowing the gentleman I was surprised. His answer was that he supported Trump. I had to scratch my head because Former President Trump is not the America First movement. Since it appears that this could be a common misunderstanding I thought I would try to clear it up. Donald Trump did use...
This spring brought an abundance of wildflowers and other plants that I've never before seen, at least in the profusion that decorated my pasture. Quite a few of the plants were poisonous but one edible plant stood out to me. The wild onion. I've always had one here and there but this year they were everywhere. It's almost as if I'd planted them intentionally. At first I wasn't confident in what I thought I was seeing since there were so many. I only remembered my father-in-law's comments about...
This is not a good time for our country. Joe Biden abandoned our civilians in Afghanistan, many of whom are retired military who stayed as p\ contractors at the government’s request. He gave the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) billions of dollars of some of our best technology so they can teach the Taliban to use it against us. He has turned world leaders and our allies against us. He lied about a phone call with French President Macron. He has opened our southern border and is allowing drugs and criminals to flow freely into our country. R...
They grow all by themselves. All along the roads, in pastures, in fields, in barrow pits, and in gardens. The can even show up in your flower beds and vegetable gardens. Sunflowers are everywhere this year. If you're a fan of sunflowers this is an especially great year. We usually have a lot of sunflowers but this year there seems to be more than ever. Linda and I took a drive down County Road 214 Sunday and it was almost like a canyon of sunflowers. Beautiful. Maybe we see so many because they like our climate. Sunflowers do well in acidic to...
You’re a bigot! You’re racist! Homophobe! Xenophobe! You just want to throw Grandma over a cliff! Sound familiar? Those are only a small sample of terms Democrats, Socialists, throw around to make Conservatives back down from the battle. Unfortunately it works. Remember the old saying we used as kids, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me”? I think we all said it at one time or another but it isn’t true. Words do hurt. Nobody enjoys being called names. Words hurt. I’m sure we can all come up with an example of...
If this week didn't get your attention I don't know what will. We usually keep the windows open at night during the summer and Wednesday night I wasn't sure it was still summer. Wednesday was hot but the air was dead calm, not a breeze at all that night. I remember commenting to Linda that about 3 am that would change and the wind would start blowing hard. I was being sarcastic but, lo and behold, at 3:30 am the wind kicked up and the temperature plummeted. It got cold! Frankly, the lawn was...
I was speaking to one of the candidates for the US House of Representatives a few days ago and asked if he supported the America First movement. I asked because I’d heard his radio ad (very good ad) but didn’t hear any mention of the America First movement. Knowing the gentleman I was surprised. His answer was that he supported Trump. I had to scratch my head because Former President Trump is not the America First movement. Since it appears that this could be a common misunderstanding I thought I would try to clear it up. Donald Trump did use...
Chalk up another year for the Laramie County Fair. Once again the fair was a week of controlled chaos as exhibitors rushed to get in their entries, set up for the competitions, then held their breath as the judges made their decisions. The livestock competitions were a flurry of activity from the time the doors opened for the entries to the time animals were loaded for the trip home. The chaos slowed down for the static exhibits once the judging was over on Friday. Yet there was always...
I’ve heard, “the Left doesn’t understand,” and, “Democrats don’t grasp how the economy works,” and other such comments until my head is about to explode. I nearly called in to a local radio show after the host made a similar comment last week. He was saved by my granddaughter. She had deleted his number and saved him from my diatribe. The fact is the Left fully understands what they’re doing. They aren’t stupid. They understand the economy and the consequences of crippling law enforcement (LE). They fully understand how their reign of terror w...
So far Laramie County is doing pretty well according to the National Drought Monitor. There are parts of the county, though, that are in the abnormally dry range or drought. If you watch the map it is changing and not for the better. A couple of weeks ago Pine Bluffs was showing normal moisture but today is abnormally dry. Now we have a small part of the county that is experiencing a moderate drought. That area is growing. Yesterday my son commented that it was nice not to have the monsoonal...
Are we on the road to another mask mandate in Wyoming? We are if the CDC has its way. They’ve identified Wyoming as having so many COVID cases that everybody has to mask up again. Even if you’ve been vaccinated. Even children. Praise God for Governor Noem of South Dakota. The CDC told her the same thing and she told them, “No”. No beating around the bush, no equivocation, no quibbling, just an emphatic, “No!”. I’ve been watching South Dakota as the example of how to react to COVID the right way for a long time. They did nothing extraordinary...
As I was considering topics for this week it occurred to me that it's been three years since I discussed lavender. If you haven't experienced the wonders, and joy, of lavender you'll be in for a treat when you do. Lavender essential oil has been called the "desert island oil" and for good reason. Lavender has many health benefits as well as being a refreshing aroma to simply breathe. Although the essential oil is the most commonly known product, there are others. Hydrosol, buds and flowers are...
I am proud to be an American. Proud of our beginnings and our history. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and what we do for the rest of the world. America is a nation to be proud of. In fact, the more I think about it, the more pride I feel. Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian, delivered a radio broadcast that said it better than I ever could. If you’ve never heard it, Google it and listen. If your children haven’t heard, they need to. In fact, I sincerely hope the administrators and teachers in LCSD #2 read this and play it in their classro...
"No, that's not what I said. Not garlic, garlic scapes. Two different things." That's the gist of a brief conversation I had with a friend when I offered her some garlic scapes. It didn't dawn on me that she didn't know what garlic scapes are. She only heard the word "garlic". Although both are from the same plant, they are two different things. Scapes are the flower stalk and flowering part of members of the allium family of plants. Alliums include onions, garlic, chives and several ornamental...
I've talked with several people in the last few weeks concerning lawns. FYI. Part of the Master Gardener program is helping people with plant issues, including lawns. To a person they are concerned with how much water their lawns are taking this year. I actually empathize with folks from Cheyenne because they're under some pretty stringent water restrictions. The rest of us have it a bit easier, but we all have the same issue, drought. I've been warning of a severe drought this year for the...
My granddaughter has started exploring music in recent weeks. That she enjoys it is obvious, she asks for “music” every time she sees me and is not above taking over my phone to look for songs to play. Not even two years old yet and she has already found music that she loves, some that she’s okay with, and some that she’ll turn off. She can’t stand the Beach Boys and will change the music to something else if I let her have the phone. On the other hand she dances to “Wendy” by Bread (early 1970’s for you youngsters). She thinks classical music...
This year it’s easy to see how blessed we are to live in Laramie County. I have been talking about a severe drought that expected to occur in the west (including Wyoming) this year for the past two years. Well, folks, it’s here. I spoke to an older rancher a few weeks ago about the anticipated drought and the fact that even Laramie County was slightly under normal precipitation. He scoffed and didn’t believe a word of it. I freely admit that when looking at the county it doesn’t look like we have a problem. After the past week of moistur...
“The National Archives’ task force on racism claimed in a newly unearthed report that the agency’s own rotunda housing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights is an example of “structural racism.” The report to the country’s top librarian, which was released in April but resurfaced by Fox News, also claimed that the Founding Fathers and other white historical figures are depicted too positively.” Brittany Bernstein, National Review, June 27, 2021 That is a sad commentary but a perfect example of the battle for...
I was fortunate to be invited to attend the Fire District 10 Annual Awards Picnic recently. Actually, Linda was invited and I attended as the Plus 1. If you don't know where District 10 is at they cover a huge area from I80 to Colorado and from Otto Road to Albany County, mostly mountainous terrain. Firefighters have a special place in my heart since I've worked so closely with them in emergency management over the years. District 10 is a bit unusual in their awards picnic/banquet in that they...
Is there more to the COVID vaccine than we are being told? I’m curious. I’ve never thought highly of the conspiracy theorists. Yet, with COVID, I’m left scratching my head. I haven’t heard any conspiracy theorists come forward yet but there are a lot of unanswered questions, particularly with the COVID vaccines. This is the most deadly set of vaccines in the United States in more than 20 years. As of May 21, 2021 there have been 4,406 deaths recorded in the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). That’s only four months of r...
For the last couple of weeks my wife has been trying to get me to mow the yard. I'm not saying she was wrong because, frankly, I've been a bit on the lazy/busy side and haven't wanted to take the time to mow it. I will readily admit that it did need it. And still does. My honest excuse is that I don't want to mow the grass until it has a chance to go to seed. To better understand my reasoning you need to know that our yard is all native prairie grass and pretty much resembles the prairie as it...
I was weeding this week while dark, threatening storm clouds were building overhead. As I looked up to check the clouds I saw one of the most beautiful sights an American patriot could imagine. A single ray of sunlight burst through and spotlighted our American flag. The flag, illuminated by sunlight, stood out in stark contrast against the dark clouds. I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts of our nation’s history. My first thought was of Old Glory flying over Fort McHenry where Francis Scott Key penned the poem “The Def...
There are a few places that cause me to cringe inside every time I drive past them. Every one is a home on a small acreage with a lot of horses. I think of one in particular that I see nearly every day with several horses on maybe two acres of pasture. The grass is routinely eaten right down to the dirt with nothing left. I titled this article "Overgrazing Your Yard' because my primary intent is to reach homeowners in developed areas but the information also applies to commercial livestock...
