Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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I harvested my first pinto beans yesterday to try a new baked bean recipe. It was good but not as good as my wife's recipe. That's the best way to use those vegetables you been growing all summer...direct from the garden to the table. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way for long. If you did well you'll have more vegetables than you can possibly eat right away. So what are you going to do with all the vegetables that you have stacked in those boxes, filling your kitchen, your garage or...
In 1985 the Air Force decided to move me from Rapid City, South Dakota to Spokane, Washington. Just a routine assignment as far as the base goes but the experiences outside of work were out of this world. Before we got to the base we visited the World Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget. But the longer lasting experiences were the orchards and the fruit trees that were everywhere. The base itself was covered with fruit trees. Each...
Nobody would disagree that Wyoming is one of the more conservative states in the US. Yet our legislature, in many ways, does not reflect the values of the electorate. Ranked choice voting has been lauded by Democrats and the Left as how Wyoming should conduct its voting for several years. I heard Senator Rothfuss (D-Laramie) testify before the Senate Corporations Committee multiple times while Tara Nethercott was the Chair. The committee has, so far, rejected the concept. During the Joint Corporations Committee meeting on August 25th the topic...
Although it's hard to believe, it's September and winter is right around the corner. Today I'm expecting another 90 plus degree day with no rain in sight and low humidity. That we're already dry is no revelation to anyone but this puts our winter preparation into high gear to get ready for what some are predicting to be a colder, wetter winter season, starting in December. I'm actually hoping for another month of warm weather. It doesn't have to be as hot as it is now but planting garlic and...
This is the first year I've tried potatoes so I'm completely unfamiliar with growing and harvesting. So far, the growing piece of the equation seems to be going well. The plants are about two and a half feet tall and lush. I've been able to keep the potato beetles off so they even have most of their foliage. Last week I dug up one of the plants to see how the potatoes were developing, hoping I could start harvesting, and they weren't ready. I had about five good sized potatoes (supper) and a...
The Wyoming legislature, specifically Senator Cale Case of Fremont County, is once again trying to influence elections in Wyoming. The voters spoke and Case, among others, didn’t like their choice for Secretary of State. Chuck Gray won the Republican nomination and Case, along with his liberal cohort, think they know better than the voters. This isn’t the first time Case abused his senior position in the legislature to overturn the will of the voters. In 2013, Case used his position to strip the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Cindy Hil...
Where has the summer gone? It seems like I just planted a few weeks ago and now it's the end of August and harvest is just around the corner. I've been harvesting tomatoes and peppers for the last month. Cabbage is ready now and the squash and potatoes are only a few weeks out. In fact, I'll probably dig one potato plant in the next week or so to see how they're coming along. Right now I'm looking at starting to harvest them in late September but we'll see. The garlic is already harvested and...
Recently I had a discussion with a friend about President Trump. She commented that she didn’t like Trump because he was “too divisive”. According to her, he didn’t bring people together. Instead, he acted more like a “lightening rod” and attracted the anger and venom of society, mostly by his own actions. I already knew that she was a never-Trumper, someone whose mind is made up and cannot be confused with facts. However, she started me thinking. Primarily I thought about leadership and how a true leader functions. Ironically, another friend v...
Saturday night I had the unique opportunity to attend the Live Fire Farm to Table event presented by Visit Cheyenne and the Wyoming Department of Tourism and hosted by Rabou Farms north of Albin, Wyoming. I wasn't completely sure what to expect but it sounded intriguing. It turned out to be exactly what the name implied, a meal cooked over an open fire using locally produced meats and vegetables. It was a night I'll never forget. The night started about 5 pm with a social hour (or three) with...
Since the founding of the United States of America our government agencies and departments have remained largely apolitical. That means they haven’t been used by the political party currently in power as a weapon against another political party or against political adversaries. That doesn’t mean that individuals haven’t engaged in criminal activities in the name of politics, only that the agencies and departments have not. The Watergate scandal under President Nixon is a relatively recent and often referred to example. But that was not gover...
Lowing cows, squealing pigs, bleating sheep, clucking chickens and the delighted screams of kids being squirted with water and jumping in the bounce house fill the air with a cacophony of sound only found at a county fair. The Laramie County Fair is Wyoming's oldest and largest county fair, held for the first time in September 1886. That first fair offered $7,000 in premiums, an unheard of amount at the time. In 2021 the fair paid out over $32,000 in premiums. It's easy to understand why our...
Have you ever wondered why you can walk into some homes and they just smell fresh? Not heavy with scents, but just fresh? If you look around you will most likely find several plants around the house. Not necessarily flowering plants, although they are the most fragrant, but a wide variety of plants. Fragrances can overpower odors but respiration will remove odors. Some people will be skeptical. Can plants really purify the air in our homes? That's a good question. Some researchers, such as...
This has been one of the most intense campaign seasons I’ve ever experienced and I’ve been involved in politics in Laramie County since 1991. There have been allegations and facts coming out about several candidates, many that are true and some that probably aren’t. And some that I have no idea. Some of the truths I’ve known about for a long time but have never mentioned. However, when another candidate outside of my sphere posts comments that I’ve known to be true for years, I feel compelled to let you know. Such is the case with a confronta...
Whenever I mention the word "squash" most people I talk to immediately think zucchini and roll their eyes. It's almost like I'd said a dirty word. I think it's because zucchini is so prolific that most of us plant way too much and start looking for ways to get rid of it. I remember planting zucchini in my small garden at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs and, like so many others, I planted far too many plants. I had no idea how many fruits each plant would produce. I started giving it away...
It’s an election year and signs are everywhere. Candidates are out campaigning for your vote. They always seem to show up in election years, don’t they? Every time there’s an event, a photo op or any way to ask for your vote they appear out of the woodwork. Okay, who cares? Do we care? This year it seems like a lot more people care than I’ve seen in previous years. At least they’re talking about issues that matter. Sometimes they’re national issues but, as we all know, national issues filter down to us eventually. Even when COVID hit the res...
As I drive past some of the homes in our county housing developments, and even visiting with people, I'm often disheartened by the poor prairie management practices I observe. Last year about this time Laramie County entered into a drought that continues to this day. You'd think that with the rain we've had over the past few weeks we'd be out of the drought but, in reality, it's gotten worse. All of Laramie County is in a severe drought except for the southeast corner which is in extreme drought...
This week is the continuation of my interview with Megan Degenfelder, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction. I gained valuable insight into this candidate that I hadn’t previously known. I hope it is valuable to you, too. Mike: Would you support non-certified educators teaching specific subjects to grades 9-12? Megan: Our state and nation are experiencing a significant teacher shortage, and we must look at all different options in order to solve it. This includes working with the Professional Teaching Standards Board to improve t...
At least it feels like it sometimes. No, there aren't any body snatchers around. At least that I know of. But at this time of year the noxious weeds seem to be taking over. As I walked through a pasture of cheatgrass recently I felt like it was "snatching" me. I rail often about dalmatian toadflax as one of our greatest weed problems but it isn't the only one. Among the list of many plant species that are considered to be invasive there are two others that are at the top of the list with...
Megan Degenfelder is one of the candidates running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. I had the opportunity to interview her for this critical position earlier this month. What I found most interesting about Ms. Degenfelder is that she isn’t a career educator. Instead, she has a background in economics and the private sector. I’m sure you’ll find her interview interesting as well. Due to the length of the interview it has been broken into two parts. Part 2 will run next week. Mike: Megan, would you tell our readers a little bit about...
Last week I discussed the health benefits of garlic. This is one of the more fascinating plants I've grown, not just for health, but for flavor as well. It's a plant that anyone can grow with little effort. I will throw out a word of caution here. Although you can go to the store and buy a garlic bulb it won't be a variety that will thrive in Wyoming. Nearly all of the garlic in the store is a variety called California White. It requires a warmer climate and a longer growing season. You may be a...
Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of people have lost their little, pea-pickin’ minds in the last few months? We all know that Wyoming has two seasons, winter and road construction but every two years we have another season: campaign season. This year it seems doubly crazy and it’s lasting a lot longer. Ever since January 2021 the crazies have been coming out in droves, almost like flies to a rotting carcass. This spring has been even worse. On a national level the Roe v. Wade leak started an avalanche of crazy behavior from the Lef...
It's just about the season to start harvesting garlic so it's time to talk about this fascinating plant. Garlic is an herb that's not only good but it can make a dull dish exciting. People have added garlic to foods to enhance flavor for thousands of years. Take a bland dish, add a few sprinkles of garlic and, VOILA, it suddenly takes on an entirely new flavor and goes from a boring and totally unremarkable food to something full of flavor that we'll anxiously devour. Garlic is historically...
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools”- Plato I’ve often opined how the Left is actively working to destroy America. In the past, we could identify the Left with the Democrat Party but that’s no longer true. Leftists are everywhere, including in the Republican Party. Some are true ideologues intending to destroy us, some have been unwittingly radicalized and some deceived. In part, I sympathize with those who’ve been deceived. They want to do the right thing but...
This past few weeks I've been traveling the county, mostly the eastern side, and I've noticed signs that soil health is deteriorating. Mind you, I'm not seeing these signs from the road necessarily. I'm visiting people and looking at their yards and pastures while visiting. Everything seems to be in pretty bad shape. I checked my lavender and elderberry this afternoon and they're struggling pretty hard. I will probably lose some of them. It doesn't take a lot of thought to realize that the...
“911 Dispatch. What’s your emergency?” Caller taking excitedly, “It’s my neighbor. He’s yelling and waving a gun around. I think he’s going to hurt someone.” 911: “An officer is on the way.” Officer arrives and knocks on the door. The neighbor answers and the officer can hear Little House on the Prairie playing on the TV. Officer: “We’ve had a complaint about a commotion at this residence. Do you mind if we come in and take a look?” Neighbor: “Come on in. We’re just watching TV.” Wife is on the sofa watching Little House on the Prairie. Officer...
