Montana Woman Magazine, Issue No 13, July/August 2021

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montana woman magazine

ISSUE NO 13, JULY/AUGUST 2021: EMILY ANDERSON / OUR WILD SPACES

table of contents VIGNETTES |

22

MAGPIE HEARS MY TALE OF TRANSITION

Maura M.M.

27

REJUVENATION

Julie Kunen

47

LIKE THE LOON

Morgan Marks

83

TO KEEP

Morgan Holcomb

99

PRIMEVAL SLEEP

Sarah Harding

FOOD & SPIRITS |

10

EARL GREY SUGAR COOKIES

Tea treats with a lemon glaze

15

SUNSET LEMONADE

Three recipes for summer

20

JUS TWON EMORE: PART IV

Lagrimas Rojas

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48 58 68

emily rose anderson: how to be wild

jenny evans: a table for all

tiffany newton: wild sage

ART & DESIGN |

29

I5OL ATION

50 artists over 50

36

WILD GOOSE ISL AND

Step-by-step embroidery

LIFE |

76

WELCOME TO MONTANA

Tips for keeping Montana awesome

80

THE TENDING OF GREEN

One clover and a bee

84

WILD CHILD

Howl at the moon

88

I GREW A SITTING GARDEN

Sowing seeds

96

MINDFULNESS MATTERS

Have self, will travel

WELLNESS |

100

LEVITATION NATION

Four spaces & how to tame them

102

LOGAN HEALTH

Cerebral Palsy in children

EDITOR'S DESK |

3, 7, 108

SELECT WRITINGS

Letters & poems mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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montana woman

OWNER & EDITOR

megan crawford

Montana Woman is a platform. It’s a place to celebrate our achievements, a place to support each other, a place to acknowledge the resilience of the women of this state. It doesn’t necessarily matter where you’re from, you’re here now. In all of your loudness, your boldness, your fearlessness— you are here.

We’re here, together.

We publish a statewide magazine every other month that features women across Montana— the movers and shakers, the go-getters, the rule-breakers, the risk-takers. We all have a story to tell.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

megan crawford

BUSINESS MANAGER

carrie crawford

Montana Woman Magazine as you know it began in October 2019.

Right out of the gate with photographer Alexis Pike as the first cover feature— clad in fringe pants and a motorcycle helmet in a Bozeman alleyway— we’ve always been authentically ourselves.

We believe in showing up as you are. You don’t need to change who you are to have a seat at the table. No matter your age, your identity, your hometown, you are welcome here. We believe in creating a publication that’s worth reading because we have stories worth telling.

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LETTER

from the

EDITOR W

hen I close my eyes, I can hear the wind running through the trees. If you listen close enough, you can hear each individual leaf— laughter from the Aspen, whistling from the Spruce, sighs from the Willow. Carried on the wind are birdsongs: ok-ka-leee from the Red-winged Blackbird, chick-a-zee-zee from the Chickadee, hoo-hoo hooo from the Great Horned Owl at dusk.

The wind gathers the nectar of Peony blossoms, the last remaining Lilac blooms; the few songs left of spring. Now there are wild, gangly Strawberries, ruby-red and waiting for picking. It’s the season of late-afternoon thunderstorms; you can see the clouds roll in over the lake, down the mountains, nesting in the valley bed. The river has gone from emerald to mud to turquoise, still icy-cool from the glaciers upstream.

Spring has faded into the golden heat of summer— the Strawberry of Montana’s seasons; short-lived but free, sweet, sublime, like a drop of honey.

Sunlight until 11, daybreak at 5, the brightest tangle of stars between. Your clothes smell like river, campfire, trail, soil, hose water. The farmer’s markets are filled with a painter’s palette of vegetables, buckets of flowers— by the time you’re reading this, there’s probably a bowl of Flathead Cherries nearby. It’s all brought in by the wind, the rain, the relentless Montana sun, the dirt.

Listen— the Coyotes at night, Bumble Bees in the canola, Rainbow Trout cutting through the river— everywhere, something is happening. Let yourself be part of the magic.

contributors

8

KELSEY MERRITT

SYDNEY MUNTEANU

STEPHANIE MOSBRUCKER

MAURA M.M.

CHLOE NOSTRANT

NICOLE DUNN

LAUREN WILCOX

MORGAN MARKS

MEAGAN SCHMOLL

SARAH HARDING

BARBARA FRASER

AUTUMN TOENNIS

KATE BERRY PHOTO BY LINDSEY JANE

JULIE KUNEN

MINDY COCHRAN PHOTO BY KIRALEE JONES

m o nt a n a w o ma n ma g a zi ne | is s ue 13

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behind the cover

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read about Emily Anderson on page 48

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| FOOD & SPIRITS

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IMAGE BY LINDSEY GARDNER

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| FOOD & SPIRITS

Sunset Lemonade

BY MEGAN CRAWFORD

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classic lemonade

Wash lemons, and roll them on your work surface under the palm of your hand. This helps to soften the lemons and will make them easier to juice.

Zest two lemons (about 7 tablespoons of zest) Combine sugar, 2 cups of water, and zest in a pot over medium heat.

While the zest/sugar/water mixture is cooking, juice the lemons (about 1 ½ cups of lemon juice). Strain the juice into a pitcher.

Let simmer for 5 minutes, until sugar is dissolved (don’t let it boil). Remove from heat.

Once cooled slightly, strain into the same pitcher.

Add in 6 cups of cold water to the pitcher. Chill in fridge or serve over ice.

strawberry lemonade

&

Fill a glass with lemonade. Add one ounce of strawberry simple syrup, stir & enjoy. optional: garnish with mint leaves, a lemon slice or twist, a strawberry, or fresh violets.

strawberry simple syrup 1 carton of strawberries 1 cup sugar 1 cup water

Wash berries and cut into quarters. Place berries, water, and sugar in a pot over medium-high heat, bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Once the syrup is a dark red, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Strain the syrup into a jar. Be careful not to smush the strawberries through the strainer! Chill in the fridge before serving. Homemade simple syrups will keep in the fridge for about 1-2 weeks.

huckleberry rhubarb lemonade

Fill a glass with lemonade. Add one ounce of Angel’s Fire huckleberry rhubarb syrup, stir & enjoy. optional: garnish with mint leaves, a lemon slice or twist, or fresh violets. If they’re in season, you can plop some huckleberries into your glass, too!

N O T E : you can make this classic lemonade your own with any syrups on hand— strawberry rhubarb, peach, raspberry, huckleberry— make it your own!

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FOOD & SPIRITS |

JUS TWON EMORE: PART THREE a face to many faces

BY MEAGAN SCHMOLL

As the cave narrowed, her curses and snuffles vibrated and transformed into a younger language, one that concentrated the essences and aromatics into spirit. That was a way of thinking Twon had never considered before, but now that they had, they might as well find this “spirit.”

A far away pinprick of light brought renewed hope, and Twon moved with greater intent. A few grunts more, and she looked out of the narrow opening. What she saw, though, made drops of galaxy drip from her many mouths— behind a gate, a strange creature with too few limbs, eyes, and heads was draining the last bits from a bottle with Twon’s name on it.

Thinking quickly, Twon used a statement that she had read long ago. She spoke it in this young world’s language and hoped it came out right.

The lack-limb creature must have heard, because it stopped moving and looked at her while opening a fresh bottle that appeared from the creatures pockets.

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Eagerly waiting, Twon felt another galaxy drip.

But nothing happened; the creature just stared with a strange look on its face with its too few eyes.

Twon tried again with a little more tact and umph— the sounds flowed out in dripping ease, and she knew the creature heard her and understood because it came closer, closer… and with a slow, unsteady limb turned a lever (pronounced “leeever” in this story) under a sign.

The gate dropped. Now nothing was between them, so they stared— the creature’s face to Twon’s many faces.

Twon glanced eagerly at the oozing bottle of enticing aromas of spices and herbs and requested again, but with a polite offering added, “Mind if I have a sip? I brought my own glass…”

The creature cocked its one head to the side and then shrugged its shoulders. “Delighted, it beats the monotony I’ve had of sipping alone. My name is Jus.” MEAGAN SCHMOLL is the owner and creator

of Raskol Drink, a Cocktail Creation and Spirits Education resource designed to expand your knowledge and bar around the curios thirst of history, lore, and spirited adventures that make up the ingredients in your drink. raskoldrink.com

IMAGE BY IVANA CAJINA

A

grunt, a snuffle, and curses in many languages not heard this side of the Milky Way echoed off into the unexplored cavern.

Twon remembered how she had volunteered, or rather how she had been hastily dispatched by some over-eager, curious, non-rule-abiding, bartender turning a lever (pronounced “leeeever,” in this story).

Lagrimas Rojas One of the many great things about the world of bartending and booze is meeting and learning from different fellow industry folk and experiencing their creative, mind-blowing cocktails— Ivy Mix being one of them. She is the Co-founder, alongside Lynette Morrero, of Speed Rack— a national cocktail competition that creates a platform for female bartenders while simultaneously raising money for breast cancer related charities.1 Co-owner and head bartender at Leyenda in Brooklyn, New York, author of “Spirits of Latin America,” and creator of this tantalizing drink called Lagrimas Rojas.

Serving 4-5 people, it makes for a great group beverage and thrilling ice breaker.

10 oz Malbec red wine 3 3/4 oz Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum 2 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum 1 oz Creme de Cacao 3/4 oz Pimento/Allspice Liqueur 2 1/2 oz Maple Syrup 2 1/2 oz Lemon Juice 3 3/4 oz Orange Juice

Combine all ingredients into a pitcher for serving. Add ice and stir to combine and chill ingredients.

Pour into small glasses with ice.

Garnish: Lemon wheel & orange quarter Rum —

When I used to think of rum, I thought of sugar and sweet, cheap and coke. Looking at history through a rum-soaked lens, my perspective has changed. Rum is now filled with flavors of jungle, tropical fruit, blue-green water, jellyfish, damp brown, rich earth, bananas, ocean, and a whole lot of ugly hierarchal history. History that I have been very much a part of in one way or another. Beyond this article, I invite you to purchase a good bottle of rum and pour yourself a glass. While you partake in its rich structure, roots, and flavor, ask yourself to explore its stories: stories heavy in colonialism, enslaved people, slavers, forgetters, rememberers, and ancestral history enlivened by pirates, rebellion, prohibition, flavor, people, passion, and bright, vibrant color. See where it takes you.

1

“About.” Ivy Mix. ivymix.com/home

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VIGNETTE |

m agpie he a rs my tale of t r a nsit ion

BY MAURA M.M.

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You saw me travel. Cloud covered. From lakes to mountains, with smoking holes in my back. A hopeful saunter. Coaxed into a new life. I split the body I had down the middle, to leave one home behind for another. I called myself the envoy; one who oscillated between extremes, just to show they could. City & country. I braved Blacktail mountain, bolstered my sore chest with spiney paintbrushes & fireweed. Told the bears they could have me for a dance. Wrote my name in the dirt for the moon to dig up.

Teeth in the wind.

Caution spat out. + Magpie, eventually I unraveled. Turned myself inside out & inspected what was mine. I yelled ‘til my belly emptied. Stars fell out my mouth. My throat enlivened with each excrement. Legs curled. Fingertips traced smoke trails.

I chewed citrusy nettles, swallowed wisdom.

My body became glacial-melt. I cut the brushwolf loose, let the good girl die, then breathed into myself differently. + & Magpie, I felt the stirring when I saw your jaunty flight. It is a dance I wish to emulate!

I laughed with you the whole way down. Clouds parted.

I hold this in my hand. Droplets that have formed on waxy leaves.

Lonesomeness that burned off like the morning fog. Solace found in the sojourn. Mighty steps taken alone. The things I’ve lost, I’ve gained in another form. As the story says, nothing moves in only one direction. My spirit is stained with river water.

IMAGE BY ANA PAULA GRIMALDI

Magpie, I leave now a roving jewel.

MAURA M.M. (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. Her work explores themes of eco-feminism, mythology, public discourse, and identity. She is currently a writing MFA candidate at Naropa University and working on her first book, Cowboy Mysticism. She graduated in 2013 with a degree in Geography and Community Studies from the University of Colorado, and a completed term in Americorps. Even while working on her masters, Maura believes wisdom lies in experience, aka walking in the woods, not just academia. Maura also works as a metalsmith of fine silver jewelry featuring Montana Agate as a staple of her collections. You can find her work at @mauramariejewelry on Instagram.

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| VIGNETTE

Rejuvenation

BY JULIE KUNEN

What does lonely feel like, he asked.

Like kayaking the beauty of a Montana lake and having no one to paddle it with, I told him.

IMAGE BY TAYLOR MURPHY

What does beauty feel like, I asked.

Like wildflowers emerging along a path of fire-scorched earth, I told myself.

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| ART & DESIGN

I5OL AT ION

A PORTFOLIO OF 50 DRAWINGS X 50 WOMEN SCULPTORS DURING COVID

BY CHLOE NOSTRANT

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FORGIVENESS GWEN ARKIN CYANOTYPE AND PENCIL, 2020

AN

older man in cowboy cut Wranglers and a button-up shirt walked across the creaking wood floor of the art gallery. The man stopped and took in one of the abstract pieces hanging in the gallery. Cynthia Handel, one of the powerhouses behind this show along with Coral Lambert, initiated the polite conversation one does with another in a small town. The man, she would find out, was a rancher from east of Livingston, in town for his monthly errand run.

He ran cattle and cut hay on the secluded prairie but also loved art and studied the western greats like Charles Russell, Remington, and Thomas Moran. She asked the man if he would ever buy the particular piece they were discussing, and he said, “no, but I am glad I am learning about it.”

Cynthia explained the show, i5olation, which started off as a way for her and her friend and fellow sculptor, Coral Lambert, to cope and stay connected during covid. As the world shut down, so did the art of iron casting, which Cynthia and Coral both specialize in. It’s a very community-oriented medium, and seldom can an artist cast a piece on their own. The materials are heavy, foundries hard to come by, and the artist community is small and tight-knit while at the same time being supportive and inclusive. In many ways, iron artists depend on one another to create their pieces. When travel was restricted, businesses

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FREEDOM FROM ISOLATION ALISON HELM ACRYLIC ON PAPER, 2020

shut down, and the supply chain was knocked off axis, it became nearly impossible for artists like Cynthia and Coral to cope with the circumstances through iron as they normally would.

On a phone call one day, Cynthia told Coral she was going to draw something in a sketchbook and send it to her to do the same. Back and forth they’d send the sketchbook— the way they figured they could best recreate and maintain that sense of community they were used to and craved through quarantine. There was a problem though: Cynthia couldn’t find an empty sketchbook, so she and Coral decided on 11˝×14˝ sheets of paper instead.

Cynthia and Coral have both spent much of their professional life in academia, teaching at fine art universities, participating in fellowships, and showing their work in galleries across the world.

They decided to reach out to a handful of their peers to participate in this blossoming portfolio project. The only stipulation was the artist had to be female, over 50 years old, and primarily a sculptor. Word spread quickly through their artist community, and soon they had women from all over the world wanting to participate, wanting to have that feeling of community and support that they needed but that was seemingly slipping away. It became apparent early on that these pieces should be shown in person somewhere.

UNTITLED 2 BRIGITTE JURACK WATERCOLOR ON PAPER, 2020

SIX FEET JULIA OUSLEY INK ON PAPER, 2020

ART & DESIGN |

FREEDOM PHOENIX SAVAGE OIL PASTEL, GRAPHITE & COLLAGE, 2020

The Livingston Center for Arts and Culture (lcac) found itself having to adapt majorly during much of 2020 in order to maintain their mission of “sparking new ways of seeing and thinking through the experience of art and culture.” Kathy Bekedam, the executive director of the gallery, quickly set up an online shop and shifted the gallery’s artwork closer to the windows so people walking by could enjoy it. lcac brings in shows that may not traditionally be shown in towns like Livingston with the purpose of broadening the perspective of the community members, especially the school-aged children. When Cynthia was formulating a way to show i5olation, she knew she had the perfect place to start.

Cynthia pitched the show to the board at lcac and they eagerly accepted it. Cynthia wrote in her pitch, “Sculptors tend to work in collaboration or with a team of others to produce and install work so much of the artist’s practice had stopped altogether, been on hold, or changed drastically.

They found that many sculptors turned to 32

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drawing. Drawing is a practice that can be carried out alone and sometimes fits in-between other tasks such as teaching online.

The portfolio represents an international collection of women sculptors from the usa and Europe. All of the women in the portfolio are over 50 years of age and approach sculpture in diverse materials and practices from public and processbased art to installation and performance.”

The pieces started arriving at Cynthia’s house, each one a deeply personal and emotionally charged look into these women’s lives during quarantine.

Pen and ink, paint, photographs, textiles, and just about any other medium you can get on paper laid out the stress, anger, confusion, worry, and isolation these women, and many others, were feeling during the global pandemic. In May of 2021, as Cynthia and Kathy hung the show, their faces familiar to each other but covered in masks, they reflected on the experiences of the women and the expression in each piece.

see the art & make the art at the square a contemporary art museum

The Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art (The Square) in Great Falls, Montana has been exhibiting art, teaching art and supporting the development of contemporary art and artists since 1977. Housed in the historic Great Falls school built in 1896 by Paris Gibson, the founder of Great Falls.

The Square is known for its exceptional rotating exhibitions showing local, regional and national contemporary artists, in addition to its outdoor sculpture garden and educational gallery programing. The museum offers outstanding onsite studio classes to the community in ceramics, printmaking, painting, drawing and more!

PARIS GIBSON SQUARE MUSEUM OF ART

1400 First Avenue North Great Falls, MT 59401 (406)727-8255 www.the-square.org www.facebook.com/PGSMOA/

HOURS OF OPERATION

Open Monday-Friday 10am to 5pm, including Tuesday Evenings 5-9pm, and Saturday Noon to 5pm. Closed Sundays and Select Holidays.

free admission!

Exhibitions presented by Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, and generous support from Montana Federal Credit Union and D.A. Davidson.

As the state started opening up again and the gallery allowed more visitors, many people walked through the i5olation show in reflective solidarity. It seemed that every person who walked through the gallery found a piece they related with. When local school groups came through, Kathy led discussions with the children about the variety of art styles and expression. Gallery visitors were surprised to see a show like i5olation, and some asked, “how did this even get here?” What they meant was, how did the diverse works of 50 women from around the world end up in a landscape whose style is usually more traditional?

Word of the show spread, and soon other galleries were inquiring about showing the collection. i5olation will go on to show in larger cities around the world throughout this year. Beginning in Livingston, a town just shy of 8,000 people, adds another element of character to the show. Even though it started in a small Montana town, the show still drew in artists and viewers from around the world. Art has the power to connect people who have never met and maybe never will. Whether you created the piece hanging on the wall or are the one gazing into it, art has the ability to, if only for a moment, spark a relationship between viewer and creator. Art during the covid pandemic has shown us that maybe, despite the world around us, we aren’t as isolated after all.

CHLOE NOSTRANT is a writer, photographer, and artist (among other things) from Livingston, Montana. Finding stories in Montana’s vast landscapes, winding rivers, and saloons, she pulls inspiration from the characters born of these circumstances. Curious with how a place dictates the people, she travels around Montana and the American West documenting its people and places (and fishing its streams).

FROM THE AQUARIUM (CARPE DIEM) WENDY KLEMPERER WATERCOLOR, 2020 34

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ART & DESIGN |

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wild goose island AN EMBROIDERY PATTERN

BY MEGAN CRAWFORD

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THREAD LIST 3853 (dark autumn gold) 972 (deep canary) 471 (very light avocado green) 562 (medium jade) 501 (dark blue green) 597 (turquoise) 3810 (dark turquoise) 3809 (very dark turquoise) 3842 (wedgewood) 902 (very dark garnet) 3721 (dark shell pink) 3712 (medium salmon) ecru TIP: Embroidery floss is a combination of six individual threads. For this pattern, I recommend splitting the floss to two threads. This results in a cleaner stitch, and it helps your floss go a long way.

SUPPLIES 6˝ Embroidery hoop 10˝×10˝ Cotton fabric (I recommend Kona) DMC embroidery floss Scissors Embroidery needle Pencil or fabric pen Optional: felt for backing

PLACING FABRIC IN THE HOOP & TRANSFERRING THE PATTERN When I trace patterns onto fabric, I always put the fabric in the hoop first, that way it’s taut and easier to hold. You want the fabric to be centered in the hoop (an even amount of extra fabric on all sides) and tight like a drum. Loose fabric will give you loose stitches!

As a rule of thumb, I always double up my fabric when I embroider. It’s not as necessary when you’re doing a full-coverage piece like this one (when all of the fabric is covered with thread), but it’s a good practice to keep. An extra layer of fabric will help hide knots and running threads, especially if you’re stitching on a lighter material.

There are a few different methods for transferring a pattern onto fabric, so do what’s best for you!

I personally just use a pencil and do a light transfer— you can use a light pad or any flat, illuminated surface (a sunny window will work).

Flip the hoop over so it’s flat on your work surface and trace the design with a pencil or fabric pen.

Pencil will not wash out as easily as a fabric pen, but since this is a full-coverage design, you won’t see any pencil marks when you’re done.

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ART & DESIGN |

THE SATIN STITCH To keep this pattern more beginner-friendly, I’ve only used one type of stitch: the satin stitch. This stitch gives you flat, even patches of thread and is the quickest way to fill in an area.

Satin stitches are simple, straight stitches that run parallel to each other. I usually start toward the middle of the section I’m stitching and work to the edges from there. If you pull the thread too tight, the fabric may pucker— too loose, and your thread won’t lay flat. It’s also best to stitch

a bit outside the line since the fabric will pull and stretch.

For this pattern, there are vertical and horizontal satin stitches. This helps differentiate parts of the pattern: land, water, sky. All of the water and sky stitches are horizontal, and all of the land stitches are vertical.

Of course, the beautiful part of embroidery is that the hoop is yours— make the stitch your own!

FINISHING & BACKING Once you’ve finished stitching, make sure the fabric is still taut and the hoop screw is tight (however, if it’s too tight, the inner hoop may split under the pressure). If you want to stain, paint, or wrap your hoop, you can either do that now (be sure to take the piece out first) or stain the hoop before you work. Trim the excess fabric around the hoop, leaving about 1” from the edge of the fabric to the hoop (image 1).

From here, there are several different finishing methods: some stitchers use glue to tack the fabric to the inner hoop, some finish with cardboard or felt— we’ll make a flat back with felt.

To correctly size the felt, trace around the outside of the inner hoop. You can do this before your piece is centered and trimmed, or you can use an extra hoop (image 2).

Next, gather the fabric together with a running stitch. This will help keep the fabric taut and give us a more even surface to work with. I usually go around the fabric with a running stitch twice to make sure any waves in the fabric can be evened out. Securely knot the thread (images 3, 4, & 5).

Once the fabric is evenly secured, attach your felt circle using a blanket stitch. If you want, you can embroider your name, date, or whatever you’d like on the felt before you attach it. I sometimes add 40

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quotes to my pieces, especially if they’re gifts. The back can be just as fun as the front!

To start a blanket stitch, knot the end of your working thread and send it up from under the fabric trim (image 6). Then, slightly to the right of your anchor (1/2˝ - 1˝), send the needle through the felt, under the fabric trim, and through the fabric, as close to the hoop as you can. This creates a loop. As you pull the thread, make sure the loop is under the thread (image 7). Continue around the hoop.

Once you’ve gotten back to where you started, knot the excess thread right up against the fabric. Then, send the needle back through the fabric and under the felt, about an inch or two in (depending on the length of thread remaining).

Angle the needle back up so it goes through the felt, pull the thread taut, and cut it right at the felt. This creates a hidden tail for the knot.

And with that, you’re done! Alternatively, if you don’t want to keep your work in the hoop, you can secure it in a standard photo frame. Or you can ditch framing altogether and stitch this on a tote bag, stretched canvas, the back of a denim jacket— make it your own!

Don’t worry about making perfect stitches or a neat back (I made several mistakes while attaching the felt to this piece)! Have fun & make art.

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FIND THIS PATTERN AT MONTANAWOMAN.COM/SHOP/ EMBROIDERY-PATTERN-13

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597 3810

3842

ecru

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3842

972

3810

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501 562 471

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902 3842

WE HAVE MORE PATTERNS, TOO! 3853 (dark autumn gold)

3810 (dark turquoise)

972 (deep canary)

3809 (very dark turquoise)

471 (very light avocado green)

3842 (wedgewood)

562 (medium jade)

902 (very dark garnet)

501 (dark blue green)

3721 (dark shell pink)

597 (turquoise)

3712 (medium salmon) ecru

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woah! what's with all the empty space? since embroidery patterns have to be traced onto fabric, this side of the pattern is blank.

(it's weird, but ya gotta make it work, you know?)

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get stitchin' find these patterns & more at MONTANAWOMAN.COM/SHOP

| VIGNETTE

Like the Loon

BY MORGAN MARKS

I've come a long way, she thought as She looked out across the lake Eyes watching the great pines and tall larches sway Her heart sighed The deep kind So deep that the wind heard her and So the wind dove into the lake and she reappeared as a loon Black and white on the clear blue surface and

IMAGE BY MARK OLSEN

The girl watched the loon dive and dive and Dive and dive Over and over again Its rhythm like the gusts of wind dancing in her hair Things that continue on, she knew Long after we're all gone I've come a long way, she thought and still I have a long way yet to go mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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how to be wild emily rose anderson:

BY SYDNEY MUNTEANU

IMAGES BY PAUL A BARTOSIEWICZ AND NICOLE WILD

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FEATURE |

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“One of the things I love about working with women and exploring wildness is the instinctual nature of the wild. Nature knows how to take care of itself and holds no shame or judgement.

There is simply being when it comes to nature.”

Emily Anderson ended up in Montana because of the horses.

Okay, that’s an extremely simplified story. But the truth of it is, without the horses, there is no story. A story that has its twists and turns like all of ours, but with an underlying theme, you’ll come to see, of following your intuition and trusting your deep inner self.

This is a story of a woman, her horses, and the quest to discover her own wild side— her wild self— and to daringly bring others on that journey too.

Emily Anderson lives in Bozeman, Montana… sometimes. As often as she can, she and her husband live and spend time on a family ranch in Tom Miner Basin just north of Yellowstone National Park. It’s as magical and picturesque as you can imagine, so it’s no wonder Emily prefers her days spent in the pasture with the horses, studying their behavior as a means of research in her journey to understand what it takes to reclaim the wild self.

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As an Equine Guided Empowerment® coach, a spiritual psychologist, and the creator of the “Embodying Wild” course, Emily provides soulguided resources to help women reconnect to their wild feminine, which she describes as “the inner yin energy, the seat of the soul and the place where intuition and creativity reside in all of us.” For wildness, I’ve learned, is as innate to the feminine spirit as a young horse getting up to run for the first time.

Sounds a little metaphysical? I thought so too as I found myself signing up for Emily’s exploratory course last fall, trying to wrap my head around what I was actually going to uncover and learn through it. But here I am 8 months later, diving into Human Design charts, quoting lines from her favorite book, The Heroine’s Journey, and giddily packing my bags for this summer’s retreat at the Tom Miner ranch in order to experience for myself the deep therapeutic healing Emily claims horses can provide. And hopefully, I’ll enjoy a further discovery of the pieces that make up my own innate wildness.

“Wildness, to me, is less about the unruly and chaotic associations we have with the word and more about being in touch with the cycles of life,” Emily explains. “Being wild is being totally in tune with our own instincts. Which puts us in our natural rhythm— and in the rhythm of life.”

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Emily works with women on exploring wildness as an innate quality of our femininity. She does this primarily through her one-on-one coaching and leading groups of women through the Embodying Wild course, a 3-month program that she holds twice per year and times with the equinoxes of fall and spring. “I mostly try to show women how to trust in their deep inner self,” Emily explains.

But first, an origin story.

How did this New-England born, scholarly film student (who, by the way, just a few years ago ditched her budding career as an LA screenwriter) end up spending most of her time hanging out in a pasture with horses and leading women on their wild way?

“I’ve always been someone who’s thrived in a more rural setting,” Emily explains. “The first time I visited Montana, I remember it very vividly, even stepping off the plane. I met my husband Geoff in high school, and he invited a group of us to visit his family’s ranch over summer break. I was 14, and I remember feeling like there was so much space here. And that was a feeling I never had found anywhere else.”

Emily and Geoff got together after college and moved to Hollywood so Emily could pursue her

dream of becoming a screenwriter and filmmaker.

They got married in 2018 at the family ranch. And as for the horses? Emily grew up riding English and jumping, but it was always more about being around horses and their calmness that she enjoyed. “I continued riding just for fun and found my way to Equine Guided Empowerment® after listening to a podcast. I was looking for a way to connect with horses while we were living in LA beyond just our short visits to Montana.”

The podcast guest was Cassandra Ogier, an Equine Guided Educator and the creator of ‘The Reflective Horse,’ a program that has pioneered conscious equine therapeutic programs around the world. The first thing Emily got after finishing the podcast was an intuitive hit. She explains just feeling, “I have to meet this woman!” Emily immediately signed up for a 2-day excursion in Northern California to meet Cassandra at a horse rescue sanctuary. It was 2018, and at the time, Emily had been pursuing a career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles, developing a habit of reading psychology books to use for character development and even exploring the study of dreams through a Jungian psychoanalyst she found in LA. “He was this rather odd man tucked away in a dark wood-paneled office full of ancient artifacts, and I was totally fascinated by his ability to demystify my inner life,” Emily laughs. And it was also through character development

research that she discovered Women Who Run with the Wolves and The Heroine’s Journey— books that would later become cornerstones for the framework of the Embodying Wild course.

Emily’s experience with Cassandra was her first time feeling guided into just being with horses in a quiet, reflective space. (As opposed to riding them for sport or utility of some kind.) “I had some powerful moments of interaction with this herd of rescue horses, and I just knew this was going to be part of my work going forward,” she explains.

Emily ended up taking The Reflective Horse 10-month mastery program to eventually provide Equine Guided Empowerment® on her own.

Her Northern California experience with the rescue horses, it turns out, would become one of the reasons Emily now creates opportunities for her coaching groups to connect with horses in Montana every summer. This year, Emily has even added a second retreat at their ranch and will host an Equine Guided experience at the Dare to Detour event.

But at the time, Emily didn’t know what the “work” she felt called to do was actually going to look like. She did know, however, that she was feeling completely burnt out and creatively drained with Hollywood and screenwriting as a result of the largely formulaic writing program mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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she had attended at the American Film Institute.

So it is at this moment, we have a turning point in the story.

For Emily, it came in the form of writer’s block.

“I started to feel very much like the training I was receiving wanted me to conform to a certain formula of writing. My creativity was feeling so boxed in and bound up that I just couldn’t write anymore. I was working on one particular deadline for a script, and it felt like pulling teeth,” she explains. “So instead, I procrastinated by doing more research.

Diving into my psychology books, particularly those of Freud and Jung, to try and work on the characters. My manager kept asking for the script, and I lied, saying it was coming, but eventually, he called me out. I remember him asking if something was wrong? What came out of my mouth was ‘no’ when really I knew the answer was ‘yes’— something wasn’t right anymore. And it was at that moment I committed to the journey of coming home to myself. Of rediscovering my creative voice.”

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was easier for everyone to have access to. And I wanted to provide a community for the people who are doing this type of work,” Emily said.

“I realized that my clients, all of them women, were facing some form of burnout.” Emily explains, “In our society, we’ve had to learn to go against our nature as women in order to fit in— and going against our nature is going against our wildness. So many of us are trying to prove ourselves. And there are so many rules about who you need to be in order to be successful.

On top of that, we [women] hold ourselves to such high standards of achieving those roles. I know I was certainly doing this and, as a result, it had cut me off from my instinctual nature, which for me is one and the same as my creativity.”

I ask Emily what her definition is, now, of wildness.

“For me, the wild self is the uninhibited essence of who we are. Before any conditioning, before we are told who to be. It’s the part of ourselves that feels free to express who we are at the core.”

Emily quit screenwriting and began further exploring the topics of spirituality and psychology. She discovered Ayurveda as a new form of self-care, dove into learning about Astrology and Human Design, and eventually, enrolled in a masters program at the University of Santa Monica for a two-year study in Spiritual Psychology. It was during that time Emily first started offering one-on-one coaching sessions. “I wasn’t yet doing Astrology readings, but I would always have people’s charts up during a session,” Emily recalls. “I remember feeling so at home practicing Astrology. Even though I was still learning, it felt natural to me. And I was joyous to have finally found a structure for something that I felt like I had been doing my whole life.”

At this point in our conversation, I remembered to ask Emily how she came up with the name ‘Embodying Wild’ for her business? “The name came to me before I had the inspiration to center my work around helping women to reclaim their inner feminine energy, but I always knew the theme was going to be about guiding people back to their wild self.”

Emily launched her coaching business a year into her masters program, and her client list grew. She and her husband made the decision to return to Montana in 2019 (something Emily had always been an advocate for), and she began to feel the call to do something more comprehensive for her one-on-one coaching clients. “Eventually, you keep getting asked some of the same questions, and I wanted to put it all in one format that

In addition to leading an intimate group of women through the Embodying Wild course twice per year and working regularly as a spiritual coach, Emily continues to be inspired by the horses. “In my experience, you feel held in the presence of horses. So in terms of bringing that into a therapeutic context, there’s a lot we’re able to allow ourselves to feel and bring up when in the presence of an animal that is holding such

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Emily continues, “Embodying Wild came out of a quest to embody my own wild self. That and my own experience of healing and exploring all kinds of therapy. And now that I am in the role of the practitioner, I realize the beautiful thing about this work is that I am still being healed through it. It’s beautifully reciprocal in this way.”

Wildness, to me, is less about the unruly and chaotic associations we have with the word and more about being in touch with the cycles of life

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IMAGE BY NICOLE WILD

clear, neutral space for us. Horses are instinctual beings; they have no shame or judgement.”

What Emily is curious about and exploring right now is an approach called Freedom Based Training™, developed by a visionary horse trainer named Elsa Sinclair. “Elsa’s work has inspired me to deeply explore the questions: if horses had the space to say no, would they still want to partner with us? What happens when we take away all of the force and dominance? And naturally, these questions are profoundly impacting my understanding of the wild self and how we can preserve this spark of instinct-driven uniqueness that lives within each of us while also finding harmony in relationships.”

Before we hang up, I look down at my notes to the quickly jotted-down question: Tips for women to embrace their wildness this summer? Emily laughs (she has one of those delightfully infectious laughs, by the way). She says, “For me, summer is such a beautiful opportunity to be outside, so I would prioritize that as much as you can.

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Especially in Montana! I just want to have lots of time to walk my dog in the creek. I’m trying to leave a lot of space to be spontaneous.”

Scheduling in time to do nothing. Got it. That is where all the good, wild ideas come in anyways.

IMAGES BY PAUL A BARTOSIEWICZ | @PAUL ABPHOTO NICOLE WILD | @NICOLEWILDCOLLECTIVE

SYDNEY MUNTEANU is a communications and branding strategist with a passion for storytelling.

She grew up in Colorado and received her B.S. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and left in 2012 to pursue a marketing career in Los Angeles. After 5 years of city life, the call back to the mountains was too great and she found (and fell in love with) her new home in Whitefish, Montana. Sydney has a marketing consulting business working with food & beverage, wellness, and women’s brands. Connect and find her work at backlabelbranding.com

FEATURE |

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| FEATURE

JENNY EVANS

a table for all

BY MEGAN CRAWFORD

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P

ast the bridge where the Swan River meets the north end of Flathead Lake, tucked into a stand of pines off the highway, is Max’s Market. There’s an old International tractor out front, dried flowers hanging in the window, and a happy bed of marigolds. Inside, you’re greeted

by Charley, the shop dog (a staple for a lot of small businesses in Montana). There are crates of organic produce, a table of goods from local artists and makers, and, more likely than not, Jenny Evans— coowner of Max’s Market.

She’s there at 5am, prepping soups and cooking meals for the day, but she wasn’t always a cook. “I would love to have this beautiful, profound story for how we came up with Max’s, but honestly— I did not cook, ever. I did not bake. I never thought I’d be so happy to wake up at 4am to cook every day, but I love it.” Before Max’s opening in 2019, Jenny lived in New Jersey and commuted to Los Angeles, selling private jets and flying test flights around the globe. Her travels have taken her from the mountains of New Zealand to the icy terrain of Greenland to the metropolitan deserts of Saudi Arabia.

But, despite the roughly 55 countries she’s visited in her travels, Montana was the first place that felt like home. It’s that sort of indescribable magic that’s drawn a lot of us here— the nearness of nature, the sense of community, a slower pace of life. You don’t feel so lost in the crowd.

“In all the places I’ve lived, in all the places I’ve traveled, I’ve never felt home.

I’ve never felt home— I’ve never felt safe and secure and at peace the way I do here,” she reflects.

So how do you go from a town in Alaska with a population of seven to selling corporate jets in New Jersey to opening an organic grocery in Bigfork?

A love of family, food, and community.

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Growing up around planes in Alaska, Jenny always thought the routes for aviation were bush piloting or flying for airlines. But, after leaving Alaska, taking time away from college, and backpacking around New Zealand and Australia, she decided to get a pilot’s license.

was always a cornerstone of her travels, so setting down roots in northwest Montana made sense. A stone’s throw from Jewel Basin, Badrock Canyon, the wilds of the Northfork, the forests of the Swan, and, of course, in the neighborhood of Glacier National Park.

“I called my dad and said, ‘I still don’t know where I’m going to go back to college, but I really want to get my pilot’s license, will you pay for it?’ and he said no… so I got online and did a bunch of research and realized you can get a degree in aviation, so I called him back and said ‘hey dad, I’m gonna get my degree in aviation, will you pay for my license now?’ And he said, ‘yeah, absolutely,’” she laughs.

It’s what pulls a lot of people to Montana: easy access to some of the world’s greatest outdoors.

But oftentimes, the other side of the small town coin is fewer community spaces— places where people can gather and connect.

At 22 with a degree in aviation from North Dakota, Jenny got an internship with Hawker Beechcraft as a demonstration pilot, which allowed her to travel around the world, showcasing jets to potential clients. After five years as a demo pilot, Hawker Beechcraft approached Jenny about moving into sales. From there, she was based in New Jersey for seven years, commuting to Los Angeles, and still traveling from country to country. “And then I moved to the suburbs, and it was not okay,” Jenny says as we share a round of laughs. “I need to connect with nature— I’m not myself if I’m not outdoors.”

In her travels, Jenny always sought out local farmer’s markets. “For me, communicating through food and connecting with the community meant what is getting dug up from the ground, today, right now, in this location,” she recalls. “When I came to visit my aunt here and realized that there isn’t a farmer’s market, I couldn’t believe it. How could this awesome community not have a farmer’s market?”

So, Jenny and her husband, Chris, along with a sevenperson committee, started the Bigfork Village Market in 2018. Now, every Monday night from May to September, farmers, makers, musicians, locals, and visitors come together on Mill Street in downtown Bigfork.

communicating through food and connecting with the community meant what is getting dug up from the ground, today, right now, in this location

After those seven years of selling corporate jets and working between Los Angeles and New Jersey, Jenny was offered a remote sales position— she could live anywhere in the world.

So in 2015, Jenny visited her aunt in Woods Bay, Montana— a small, unincorporated town five miles south of Bigfork. Summers in Woods Bay were regular trips for Jenny since her aunt lived there for the last 40 years. Two weeks after her 2015 visit, Jenny called her aunt to ask if she could live with her for a month or two while she made the move to Montana. Recreating in the outdoors

“The community had a need, Chris and I had a need— I was still commuting to LA from here… but I wanted to be here, I wanted to be home. I also was definitely no longer passionate about selling jets to billionaires.”

From the Bigfork Village Market came casual discussions about creating a year-round farmer’s market— a small organic shop. “Absolutely not, we don’t know anything about grocery!”

Jenny remarks.

At a crossroads between jobs— Chris leaving forestry after 20 years and Jenny leaving aviation— still mulling over ideas at their cabin, they had a sign. “This sounds so cheesy, but it’s absolutely mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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true— we look up, and an owl had come and landed right above us. He was just staring at us, blinking his eyes. Chris and I looked at each other and thought, ‘okay, the owl’s a sign.’” That was in March 2018, and work on Max’s Market started five months later. “It was out of compassion for the community,” she notes.

On May 24, 2019, Max’s Market welcomed the valley through their doors. Named after Chris’s son, Max, the Market is exactly what a community needs. Roughly 80% of the Market is locally sourced, from paper goods to produce to olive oil to skincare. Through the grocery side of the Market is a lounge where people can gather, chat (or, in this case, interview) over coffee, put on an album from the newly-built record wall, or stop by for live music. In a town whose main gathering spots were bars, Max’s is a breath of fresh air.

Everything— every summer trip to Woods Bay, every journey to another country— led here. Traveling, learning from different cultures, growing up in a small town: these things directly 64

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funneled into the Bigfork Village Market and Max’s Market. The experience of meeting farmers, supporting local economies, and eating in relation to time and place is at the heart of community, and community is at the heart of Max’s.

Through 2020, which was the Market’s first full year in business, Jenny and Chris continued to support local farmers (an industry hit incredibly hard in the pandemic). At a time when people slowed down and took a greater interest in baking and cooking, Max’s supplied fresh, local ingredients as the in-between for farm to table.

And now, as the world opens up again, the Market is a safe haven, an intentional space. “You can just be,” Jenny says. “People are craving it right now— you can see it in people’s faces. They’re just so happy to be out and seeing other people, listening to live music.” A space where everyone is welcome— another lesson Jenny gained from her years of travel.

“Accept everybody and everything because you have no idea why something is the way it is or why someone is the way they are.

IN ALL THE PLACES I’VE LIVED, IN ALL THE PLACES I’VE TRAVELED, I’VE NEVER FELT

HOME.

I’VE

NEVER

FELT HOME— I’VE NEVER FELT SAFE AND SECURE AND AT PEACE THE WAY I DO

IMAGE BY IVANA CAJINA

HERE

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It’s acceptance of other people, the environment, acceptance of yourself. This is a hard one for me, but realizing that you’re going to fail sometimes! You don’t have to do it all— it’s okay to ask for help.”

And, lastly, “Pay attention. Listen to people and observe what’s around you and take time to ask questions and actually listen to the answer— both with people and nature.”

Max’s Market is a place that feels like home because that’s what it’s rooted in. It’s because Jenny & Chris have cultivated a community within the community; you feel welcome as soon as you walk in. Employees are friends, Charley is an excellent greeter, and there are bits & pieces of life scattered throughout the shop— Max’s

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name scribbled on a chalkboard, mementos from Chris’s time as a sawyer, the Evans’s extensive record collection. It feels lived-in because it’s loved-in. A culmination of life, experience, and love, drawn together with twine like a bundle of dried lavender.

Max’s Market

125 Village Ln, Bigfork, MT 59911 @maxsmarketmt MEGAN CRAWFORD is the owner, editor, and designer of Montana Woman Magazine and would like you to know that this issue was designed to ABBA’s complete discography.

SINCE OCTOBER 2019, MONTANA WOMAN HAS BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, AN OPEN PLATFORM. THIS IS A PUBLICATION FOR THE REAL, COME-AS-YOU-ARE MONTANA. THE UNDERCURRENTS, THE CHANGE-MAKERS, THE RISK-TAKERS, THE MOVERS & SHAKERS.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE WHO YOU ARE TO HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE. NO MATTER YOUR AGE, YOUR RACE, YOUR HOMETOWN, YOUR IDENTITY— YOU ARE WELCOME HERE.

MONTANA IS FOR ALL OF US, FOR EVERYONE. WHETHER YOU WERE BORN & RAISED HERE, YOU MOVED HERE, YOU VISITED, OR YOU DREAM OF VISITING.

WE CREATE A PUBLICATION THAT’S WORTH READING BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE STORIES WORTH TELLING.

WELCOME TO THE TABLE.

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FEATURE |

wilD 68

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sagE Tiffany Newton and Life on the Prairie

BY KELSEY MERRITT

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W

hen I first met Tiffany, we were both working as seasonals at the Bureau of Land Management’s (blm) Eastern Montana/Dakotas Field Office in Miles City. I was a riparian seasonal, spending my days hiking in search of water in the prairie, while Tiffany was a range seasonal known for her ability to identify plants, her attention to detail, and overall willingness to work hard as hell. It wasn’t long before I was frequenting her cubicle, asking questions about plants, commenting on her incredible organizational skills and immaculate handwriting, and working to get the quiet woman to talk.

Over the next four years as seasonals together, Tiffany and I became close— maintaining a relationship even after we moved on from college and our jobs at blm. I watched as she continued to work in range and advocate for agriculture in her job at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (nrcs). I cheered from afar when she met her now husband, Seth, who as a farmer and rancher shared her passion for nurturing the

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land and its resources. And just last summer, we attended each other’s weddings one week apart.

And now, I hold my newborn daughter and text Tiffany to check on her pregnancy. Amidst it all, I have watched her tackle life in the agricultural sector with a determination unlike most.

Growing up about 15 miles south of Malta, Tiffany’s childhood was spent surrounded by the agricultural community. Involved in both 4-H and ffa, she was constantly immersed in the language of ag. After high school, she pursued a degree in Rangeland Ecology inspired by the drive “to be able to do my part in supporting the next generation of farmers and ranchers,” as well as “protecting the […] livelihoods of the men and women who sustainably manage these important lands, support the rural economies, and feed the world.”

During her college career, she held numerous summer positions in the range science field (four of them spent with me at blm, teaching me plant identification and gis tricks). Those positions,

coupled with her background growing up in north central Montana, allowed her love for the prairie to continue to grow. Her fondness for working outdoors bloomed as she continued to grow in how she “understood rangelands, their importance, their diversity, and the beauty in all the little things. I knew my heart would always be with the prairie.”

After graduating from msu, Tiffany moved to Glendive to begin working for the nrcs. For 3.5 years, she worked with local farmers and ranchers, “helping them with either technical assistance and recommendations or assisting them in getting signed up for different financial assistance programs to help them make conservationfocused improvements to their farming and ranching operations.” It was during that time that Tiffany picked up two new hobbies— photography and beekeeping— and met her now husband, Seth Newton.

Crossing paths at a soil health workshop and ag meetings, Seth and Tiffany formally met at the

Dawson County Fair in the summer of 2017.

“We were both waiting in line at the beer booth and struck up conversation thanks to a mutual friend of ours. We began learning all the things we had in common […] and continued to visit the remainder of the night.” At the end of the night, Seth even offered to walk her home— a mere 2.5 miles away— where he claimed to be staying close to. It wasn’t until later that Tiffany found out that wasn’t necessarily true at all. But, his plan worked all the same.

Seth, a fourth-generation farmer and rancher whose passion for the land and his family’s legacy continues to leave Tiffany in awe, wears the many hats expected (though often not understood by many) as a modern farmer and/or rancher: “One day he will be a tractor and baler mechanic, the next day he’s a water pipeline engineer, and later he’s crop planning, calibrating the seed drill, and researching perennial forages for hay. Some days he’s a livestock nutritionist and caretaker doctoring a sick or injured cow. Other days he’s mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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scouting for specific weeds (in-crop and noxious) and doing research on the most effective and responsible chemical treatments just to wake up at 3:30 a.m. on a specific day of the week because it’s the one day that week without wind. Not to mention staying on top of all the business and financial dealings of the operation. It makes my head spin, really.”

Tiffany and Seth now make their home north of Glendive on Deer Creek on a farm and ranch that’s surrounded by “a mix of creek bottom, badlands, rough prairie, ash coulees, and flat plains.” After leaving the nrcs, Tiffany pursued her photography and beekeeping full time, while also being a farm and ranch wife. Tiffany points out how “there are so many challenges that come with our lifestyle and livelihood. It takes not only hard work and long hours, but with so many factors we can’t control, we’ve got to have a lot of faith. Farming and ranching takes a toll on your physical and mental health, and you’re not always able to take the time for yourself when there’s a baby calf to be pulled or the crop needs to be planted before the rain.” When nature calls in agricultural work, you run.

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where “there can be days or weeks I will not see my husband besides him coming home to sleep for a few hours and me taking him meals in the field, or he might stop by the house for a quick bite to eat.” Those days of independence, however, are filled with Tiffany’s own work taking care of chickens, tending the garden, running errands for parts, pursuing her agricultural lifestyle photography, and keeping her bees.

Tiffany became interested in beekeeping while working at the nrcs. “I had been doing research about pollinator plantings when I began to learn more about the importance of pollinators such as honeybees.” After much research and a beekeeping class, she decided to get a hive of her own and fell in love with raising bees and the many challenges and constant learning it provides.

When I asked Tiffany what she wishes people knew about honeybees, she didn’t skip a beat before responding that their greatest importance is pollination. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that the “…agricultural benefit of honeybees is estimated to be between 10 and 20 times the total value of honey and beeswax. In fact, bee pollination accounts for about $15 billion in added crop value.” With her thorough research under her belt, Tiffany hopes

Seeing the first crocus in the spring, the first thunderstorm of the year, watching a newborn calf take her first breath, seeing the wheat start to sprout, having a full yard of hay, and watching the combine make its last pass are where you see all of your hard work pay off and the things that breathe life into you.

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to grow her honey business to be “a sustainable and profitable operation” that provides “our family, friends, and community with raw, local honey.”

With conservation in mind, she also hopes to complement their rangelands and wooded draws on the ranch and surrounding areas.

The Newton family implements this conservation mindset on their farm and ranch by being completely no-till with experimental grazing cover crops. They’ve invested in installing shallow water pipelines to better distribute water and grazing throughout pastures and began experimenting with bale grazing in winter. They are mindful of the products they use on livestock, conscious of what would have the least impact on microbiota (dung beetles) that help improve soil health.

But, the work is hard, as anything on a farm or ranch seems to be. That never seems to intimidate Tiffany, though, who wants to continue to learn “how to be a better steward of the land and soil that supports us and future generations.”

Those same values are the ones she hopes to pass on to their children. Due with her first child in September, Tiffany wonders and worries over the lessons she’ll teach, from the big items to the small.

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she says, “My hope is we can show them what it means to be a good steward.” These hopes start at the foundation of their agricultural work, where Tiffany and Seth are all too aware that having a profitable and sustainable farming and ranching business begins with caring for the soil and water.

“This provides us with healthy land, grass, and forage to maintain a healthy herd of cattle that will ultimately provide for our family and many others.” The couple’s dedication to their ecological research and practices are a hobby of both of theirs. Tiffany says with a laugh, “I hope our kids can get as excited about dung beetles as we do!” * * * I grew up a farmer’s daughter. I’m all too familiar with the long hours necessitated by members of an agricultural family, but also intimately aware of the incredible bonding moments allowed by the lifestyle. When I think about the hardships facing agriculture in our contemporary society, I worry about the many farms and ranches I grew up amongst. My parents and many others are faced with the awareness of

the financial and environmental hardships facing them, but worry especially about the generations to come.

Despite those worries and fears, there are young couples across Montana pursuing agriculture in ways that provide evidence of hopeful futures yet to come. For me, Tiffany and her husband provide an example of what’s possible when two people pursue a hard job with the motivation to do so for the right reasons— for the integrity of the land they steward and the desire to raise their growing family amidst its possibilities.

In their marriage, Tiffany laughs at the nontraditional “date nights” needed for an agricultural couple— 4wheeler rides to check livestock, rounds in a tractor cab, mornings in the feed truck, or a quick lunch in town while on a parts run.

“We are constantly learning from each other— and, not to brag, but we have yet to yell at each other while working cows together.”

Tiffany and Seth seem to tackle the daunting task of starting a family in agriculture with a kind of grace that leaves me shaking my head in wonder.

Every time I see them, they have a smile on their faces that leaves me feeling a little better about whatever challenges I have on my own plate.

That kind of faithful positivity, Tiffany says, is fed by the land and the little things that make an agricultural life worth the hardships. “Seeing the first crocus in the spring, the first thunderstorm of the year, watching a newborn calf take her first breath, seeing the wheat start to sprout, having a full yard of hay, and watching the combine make its last pass are where you see all of your hard work pay off and the things that breathe life into you.” And, it certainly is a damn good life.

You can follow Tiffany Newton: Prairie Photographer on her website: tdnprairiephotos.com and on Facebook.

Wild Sage Honey can be found on both Facebook and Instagram.

KELSEY MERRITT lives in Belgrade with her

husband and two children. She is a photography instructor at MSU and spends her days accomplishing tasks while holding a newborn. mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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| LIFE

I am one of the countless transplants to call Montana “home.” My family relocated to Big Sky Country from the Seattle area in 1989, and I’m willing to bet that some might have judged us as city slickers back in the day. However, it didn’t take long for us to learn and love the culture, and I’m proud to have put my roots down here. While Montana has changed a great deal over the past three decades that I’ve lived here, one thing remains the same: it’s an incredible place to live.

Lots of people are starting to figure that out, too. Since the start of the pandemic, Montana has experienced a population growth that’s reminiscent of the boomtowns of the 1800s.

I imagine that folks moving here from out of state are craving the lifestyle that we all cherish so much: friendly neighbors, wild and wide-open spaces, permission to play, and a slower pace of living. These are just a handful of the things that make Montana truly worthy of its “Treasure State” moniker.

While it can be challenging for us “local-yokels” to witness the skyrocketing real estate prices, the crowded and littered public lands, and learning to endure traffic jams, I hope that these things are just part of our growing pains. It can be hard for so many folks to get used to living in a new place, especially one that’s about as close to the Wild West as you’ll find anymore.

So to all of our new neighbors who have discovered the magic of Montana, I want to take the opportunity to welcome you here. Whether you’re just passing through or putting down roots, I want to let you know that you now have a responsibility to help keep this place an incredible place to be. With that in mind, here are a few tips for keeping Montana awesome:

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BY AUTUMN TOENNIS

I

used to live a stones-throw to the middle of nowhere. In my hometown, fifteen minutes takes you to farmland, thirty minutes to ranch or public land that stretches farther than you can see. My life there is a book of waist-high clover blooms balanced with droughts, muddy river bottoms that turn the water chocolate, and cottonwood perchings for being high up— a hawk with a better view of the undulating horizon. For a while I thought I wanted the mountains, before realizing that I am prairie through and through. (Though sometimes, you might notice the sea puddling around my feet.)

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| LIFE

Of course, these are all the things we sometimes fail to notice while we are in them. Years ago, I laid out on the roof below the window of my childhood bedroom and wrote: “I sit out on the roof when the shingles cool in the evenings, wondering about fire escapes and cities and food that you can get at 4 in the morning, heels clucking together in your hands, bare feet on the dirty pavement, sidewalks crowded with the ethereal taste of the early hours. The time between 2 and 5 am has its own name, not morning, not night. Sometimes I think I live in that space permanently; there are always bruises on my legs— I’m forever dancing into things.”

One of the bruises grew, instead of fading. I decided to create a season for myself. To miss the plum and apple picking in the backyard for a few years, and to come here, test out sidewalks that loop through gorges of glass and metal and brick. After four months went by without being able to place my bare feet in grass, I understood I had to create a pocket of wilderness for myself in this place.

Right now, my front yard is the window in our

bedroom. It’s so old and stuck that I have to crouch on the sill and slowly stand, using my shoulder to open it— an odd ritual I’m sure my neighbors on the sixth floor across the street have observed with tilted heads. I prod the blankets and layer pillows on the molding so I can sit for a few hours wrapped up against the wind.

At my feet, the heavy gutter is lined with green: strawberries, sedum from my mother’s garden, chives, wild onion, the stretching leaves of a stock plant, purple and pink-blossomed. In the mornings, I dig my toes into the soil.

My backyard is above my head, up a black ladder that rocks a bit when you climb it. It has a silver coating that is blinding when the sun is out, leaves your feet a sort of gray if you walk around. One of the times I was out last year, I saw a dad and his little girl on a push bike, going around and around the fenced enclosure of their own rooftop. mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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Above and behind me, higher, another child on another rooftop started shouting “Hello!” as loud as she could, until the two of them were echoes of each other and the neighborhood was full of their greetings.

I am making my wild, for now— listening for my prairie. A mated pair of hawks live somewhere in my neighborhood— in the mornings, if I’m lucky, I see them dive towards the street through the canyon of brownstones. A lemon tree, grown from seed by my love, hangs its branches over me while I sit at my desk and write this. There are strawberries dangling their heads over the edges of a window box, growing growing growing, purple chive blossoms rocking in the air currents off the bay, red-throated marigolds opening near bee balm and the lamb-soft leaves of lavender.

There are little clovers pushing themselves up in the dirt I used to plant much of this, purloined from my mother-in-law’s garden in Pennsylvania.

With all of it, I am luring the honeybees to me, up five stories, hoping they’ll crawl over the blooms and my palms the way they did for the single

summer I was an apprentice to keeping them.

If just one bee comes, I’ve done it. Much like Emily Dickinson said: “To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee.

And revery.

The revery alone will do, If bees are few.”

AUTUMN TOENNIS is a writer and artist from Miles City, Montana. She graduated in 2014 with a degree in English Writing from Montana State University Bozeman, and has spent her time since then following words around the country and the world.

Last year, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing, and continues to work remotely for Open Country Press, a small, independently-run Montana press. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and a small windowsill orchard. You can follow her on Instagram @autumn_toennis, or find her at her Etsy shop, AutumnMarieArt.

connection through community

125 VILLAGE LANE BIGFORK, MONTANA MAXSMARKETMT.COM @MAXSMARKETMT

| VIGNETTE

To Keep

BY MORGAN HOLCOMB

Rain Which meant Hot chocolate Blankets Stuffed animals Waiting For me Towels Fresh from the dryer On cold winter nights Wrapped tight Chocolate Tucked into breast pockets Smuggled For Intermission Eating in the sun Until the chimes The Hobbit Without a cover Held together with painter’s tape One more chapter before bed A rumbling voice that fades to dreams Thumbs For swearing oaths And keeping secrets

IMAGE BY BRIANNA MARTINE

Them The three And Me

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LIFE |

wild child

BY STEPHANIE MOSBRUCKER

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On

the exterior, I have a very quirky but calming appearance. I am small in stature, soft in voice, and have a calming effect on many.

a juice box— those comforts of childhood, the simple solutions to problems, such as sleep, nourishment, and the wonderful wild spaces that surround us here in Montana.

Inside lately, I am oftentimes gnashing my teeth and growling. I am wrestling with my inner Wild, my 3-year-old self, my 9-year-old self. I’m tired, I just want my blanket, my snacks, and my favorite rocks and feathers. I want to wear my tutu, red boots and my “Transcend the Bullshit” t-shirt. I need to wear that shirt Every. Damn.

Day. I need to “Transcend the Bullshit”..My bullshit, your bullshit the bullshit of the Greater Collective. I need a release to my inner Wild Space.

The important part of this is that I laugh and give myself permission to be in my inner Wild Space, which reminds me to go into the magnificent Montana forest to free my soul.

IMAGE BY MEGAN CRAWFORD

I visualize throat punching anyone who gives me a funny look(which they do, I’m a 46-year-old woman in a damn tutu), and I visualize screaming like a 3-year-old at anyone who tries to take my tutu, my favorite inappropriate t-shirt, and red boots away. (Not that anyone has actually tried.) I’m internally throwing a fit because I have been putting my inner Wild on the back burner and she is pissed.

sometimes

Lately, in my Yoga and meditation practice at Yoga Hive in Whitefish, I have been inviting my students to incorporate their imagination— their 3-year-old selves and their 9-year-old selves to just plop right down with them on their mat to we howl whisper sweet wildness in their ears…

like wolves, sometimes

we dance like we are 3-year-olds, our arms flailing,

our

eyes

closed like no one is watching,

sometimes

we cuss like sailors, stamp our feet and

I’m inviting them to give themselves permission to be in their Wild Space.

Sometimes we howl like wolves, sometimes we dance like we are 3-yearolds, our arms flailing, our eyes closed like no one is watching, sometimes we cuss like sailors, stamp our feet and scream, and sometimes we cry.

You see, I am pretty certain scream, and sometimes my 9-year-old self needs Just to be clear, I love people. I love community. some attention. I’m pretty we cry.

I love conversing with certain my 3-year-old self strangers. I love teaching needs some attention. I’m yoga. I love selling quirky pretty certain your 3-yearhome decor at The Shops at Station 8. I would old self and your 9-year-old self need attention. never actually throat punch or scream at anyone.

She needs to scream, yell, run in the meadow I am just feeling my Wild. I am feeling my Zen. barefooted and raw. She needs to flail around I am wrestling with the dark and the light. I am like a dragon, like a fairy queen, like a dandelion feeling that duality. So I wear the tutu, I stamp princess from a faraway land. She needs to put on my feet, and I spill coffee on my damn tutu, and her damn tutu, stamp her feet and laugh like life then…I laugh. has gifted you the biggest fart ever…a release.

I laugh at the spectacle I am making in the company of myself. I laugh at the humor in being vulnerable. I laugh at the joy in allowing myself to feel the Wild. To express the Wild.

To feel the Wild in all its glory. I laugh at my craving for fruit snacks, chicken nuggets, and

Take a moment to pay attention to that inner Wild Space. That place in your heart that deserves a release— that inner child that demands attention, love, nourishment, and the beautiful forest. Take a moment to invite your imagination, your inner child, your inner Wild mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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to shine like a beautiful broken bottle of glitter blowing and shimmering in the wind.

Illuminated and strong-willed, like a 3-yearold throwing a tantrum…

The time is now, it is always now.

STEPHANIE MOSBRUCKER is a lover of nature, ceremony, movement and adventure.

She is the mother of four magical spirits, Writer, Ceremony Officiant, Yoga Instructor at Yoga Hive, and Retreat Leader. She was born in Montana with the spirit of a fairy, the mouth of a sailor and the heart of a hippie. She learned early in childhood that Mother Nature and expression with movement and words were three vital ingredients to a beautiful life. The ability to release tensions, aggressions, anxiety and fear while in nature is a tonic. She would like to share with all who walk into her path how to open their senses to all the magic that surrounds us in this beautiful state and to extend it into their life. Body, mind and spirit.

from the readers: Wow— absolutely love Montana Woman! Thank you for encouraging me to check it out. I read the entire magazine and found heartfelt value in every article.

JAYNE-MARI GARLAND, CALIFORNIA

third hand silversmith thoughtfully handmade jewelry thirdhandsilversmith.com @thirdhandsilversmith 86

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IMAGE BY MEGAN CRAWFORD

the time is now

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LIFE |

I Grew a Sitting Garden

BY BARBARA FRASER

As

a young teen, I would stare out the window as we drove through the Santa Cruz Mountains, and I could smell the fragrance of the forest floor and watched as the dust danced in the air where the sunbeams wove between the trees. The majestic redwoods soared two hundred feet above us, and the scent of the ocean was just a memory as we arrived at the estate. This oasis in my life is now known as Montalvo Arts Center in the foothills of Saratoga, California. But back in my childhood, this was just the sanctuary from everyday life that I needed very badly; it was a magical place known to me only as Villa Montalvo.

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romance— I wondered who the people had been who had first lived there and what their lives had been like. I wanted to travel back through time, hiding from my life by stepping into their stories.

Decades later, we would buy a home with history as well here in Montana. It was not as regal and certainly not as large by any means, but it was ours. It had once been a dairy farm, and the home was built in the bungalow style; it was the most affordable elegance for a founding family at the time. It sat out of the city, and others thought they were crazy to build so far from town. As pieces of the property were sold off, we bought what was the original home and outbuildings, minus the barn.

Right outside the back door was the kitchen garden with its decades of cow manure that had been turned into the soil— a rich, black, beautiful

IMAGE BY ANNIE SPRATT

The cypress trees were regal and stood guard on the outskirts of the manicured grounds. Stunning rose bushes were blooming everywhere, and when the Amethyst Wisteria was in bloom all around the manor, my favorite spot was where I envisioned what was once a servant’s entrance in the back. As you walked away from the building, there were stone steps and paths into the woods.

The trails were full of wildlife that would scamper just out of reach, but not out of sight. I was enamored with the Mediterranean and Italian style architecture that sent my imagination to work; I dreamed of the elegant parties on the lawns where men stood in dapper suits or tuxedos with women on their arms in dresses of silk, chiffon, and velvet. They would gather and drink champagne out of crystal glasses and laughter would dance from group to group as their lives connected. I easily got carried away with the potential drama and lovely relationships that occurred only in my imagination. There was old statuary on the grounds that filled me with

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soil. The first thing I did was put up a fence to keep the dog from running through my carrots and lettuce, rows of radishes, and what would become my precious corn on the cob. With a reclaimed fifty-year-old gate and fencing, I was back in business.

While out shopping, I saw some Quaking Aspen trees and thought they would be a quaint addition planted along the fence-line— little did I know they would be a game-changer in our garden romance. As they grew taller, the sun on the garden rescinded and created greater failures in the vegetable department. My husband had doubts as to the idea of turning it into a sitting garden; he had liked the satisfaction of a vegetable garden with fresh tomatoes, zucchini to fry in the iron skillet with butter, and everything needed for a fresh salad.

With each planted flower, I was more determined. I pushed through and was delighted when my husband brought me a couple big rocks from a job site. The next thing I knew, I had added a circular gravel path and borders from scavenged bricks from who knows where. I knew my husband was completely on board when he brought home beautiful caste-off red willow furniture from a job-owner who envisioned something new for their space. We added a couple of railroad ties at either end for division points as well as Roses, Lavender, Lambs Ear, and Lilies of the Valley under the Aspen snuggled against Hostas, Climbing Roses, Iris, and Lupine. Each year brought exciting new additions like a large Japanese float, old glass insulators on the fence, many sets of wind chimes that sing different songs, rusty metal machinery parts, which all serve as jewelry to the garden.

Next thing I knew, a friend had an old concrete birdbath that was being replaced; that was probably 15 years ago, and it still has plenty of life left. The Robins that have a nest nearby visit and take their daily bath and splash about with purpose and playfulness; my Chickadees zoom in and sit in the branches and twitter to one another, and then dive down and perch on the edge for a drink. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention the noisy English Sparrows flying through the trees and to their nest box all throughout the day.

I work to cultivate the flowers that attract butterflies as well as dragonflies. I had mice at one point, but a neighbor’s cat has resolved that problem for me and I am grateful. I have added ground cover of miniature strawberries, thyme, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have roses that were planted in memory of faithful dogs and on romantic whims. My new favorite roses are my lavender-colored roses that smell like little old ladies.

The willow furniture was eventually replaced with the sturdy 2x4 furniture that came from Santa Cruz on the back of a trailer— 92

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it too has a story. At a gas station somewhere in Idaho, a woman offered us sixty dollars for the furniture. We said no— we just loved it. It has had a new coat of paint but has faded again, and I have decided to leave it the lovely grey of natural aging. I just bought the fourth umbrella.

reinvention. I learned so much from Danny— planting heights, how things grew best, and all the intricacies of backaches and kneeling. He may not be able to answer my questions in the way he once could, but I feel him with me often while I putter.

My favorite time in my garden is first thing in the morning, with the sunlight peeking around the corner of my home. The birds are at their busiest, the soil is cool between my gloved hands, and I feel that the lovely passage of time again becomes my friend. The precious memory of planting vegetables in the garden with my sons holds tight. My most precious is all the hours that my husband and I kneeled beside each other planting the next addition or transplanting something as we learned it thrived better in a different spot.

Learning to become a gardener requires continual

I will never forget the day when he told me that the sitting garden may have been one of his favorite ideas I ever had, and he was grateful I didn’t listen to his initial advice. We spent time over many summer weekends in the garden, him reading the paper and drinking coffee and me drinking tea and gazing through a magazine. At the end of a day, we would find our way back to the chairs while the temperature dropped by the minute and our conversation rabbit trailed through the day’s events.

There have been many times in the garden when I was uncertain how to proceed. I have learned to just ask the question out loud, kneel back, and listen patiently for an answer. mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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THIS COULD BE YOU!

backcountry weddings for the WILDLY in love

For soon-to-be-married couples who feel constrained by the trappings of a traditional wedding, an adventure elopement is the next best thing you never knew existed. From sunrise mountain top summits and helicopter rides on glaciers to casual strolls through the woods and chill days on the lake, we’ll work together to craft a wedding day that truly speaks to your soul and incorporates what you love most — the outdoors and each other.

YOU LIKE TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX …

WHY SHOULD YOUR WEDDING DAY BE ANY DIFFERENT?

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info@jesslynmarie.com

LIFE |

HAVE SELF WILL TRAVEL

BY NICOLE DUNN

My husband and I have a lot of differences. For example, I enjoy such things as taking day trips to wild nature-scapes unknown just for the fun of it; setting up shop next to a water body armed only with writing & tea making supplies and a packed lunch; camping out and around our vast and lovely state. My husband, on the other hand, fancies none of these activities. What, then, is a girl to do? Whelp. This girl simply rolls out and about on her own.

I started small and slowly worked my way up into longer and farther solo ventures. But I’d like to be clear about something before I proceed.

One of my very least favorite adages is: If I can do it, you can do it. And I think sometimes we can automatically hear this common saying even when it’s not being said. So please know I am not leaning at all on this messaging here. I’m not saying that solo venturing should be your cup of tea or that you should push yourself into this area of activity. No one thing is for everyone. Okay.

End of psa.

Solo travel tends to be much less of a thing for us women than it is for men. And for good reason, as we have more to take into consideration in terms of feeling and staying safe.

I took a week-long solo camping trip in the Swan Lake area. On a visit to the local general store, the man behind the counter asked me how long we were visiting for. Despite the fact that I was the 96

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store’s only customer at the time, he just assumed I had a person or people somewhere nearby. Side note: I did not correct him. One of the things I do to help protect my feeling of safety is that I don’t tip my hand about my solo status if I don’t have to.

My solo venturing progression started with going to documentary film showings and speaker series events here in town, which are additional activities that I enjoy that my husband typically does not. While I could’ve likely found a friend to attend these things with me, I chose to attend these things solo as intentional practice in growing more comfortable in my own skin. For me, it was a great starting small approach that helped to launch me into the next phase: taking short solo day trips.

At first, and for a while, I would only venture out on 2 or 3-hour trips during daylight hours to places I was already pretty familiar and felt a level of comfort with. Once I gained more confidence and practice— and enjoyment— with solo venturing, I started dancing wider and eventually moved into the realm of doing overnights. Mind you, this was a slow-growing progression for me.

Going from film showings to camping overnight took me a few years. But I’m proud to report that I’ve now gone off on two solo road/camping trips: Banff National Park in Canada and down to see my mom, who lives in Arkansas. And I truly loved every minute of it.

Here are a few cliff notes I’d like to share in regards to what I’ve learned thus far.

BENEFITS OF TRAVELING SOLO

• I don’t have anyone I need to coordinate with.

(Another difference between me and my husband is that he’s a night owl and I am an early bird, so when I travel solo I revel in being able to get an early start to wherever I’m heading.)

• I can just wing it on the road and go and stop wherever I am called to go and stop, whenever I feel like it!

• It allows me to practice and grow in being more comfortable, confident, and self-possessed in my own person, as a woman in the world.

• I can turn up & sing loud & jam out to my favorite music in the car!

THINGS I DO TO OCCUPY MY TIME

• Read • Travel write • Make & enjoy tea • Take pictures • Play guitar • Paddle-board • Make rock stacks • Rest in my travel hammock

THINGS I DO TO FEEL & STAY SAFE

• I stay keenly aware of my surroundings.

• I often set myself up to camp inside my car, so I can lock the doors and feel a greater sense of ease & agency.

• I listen to my intuition. Even if I don’t cognitively understand why a stopping place doesn’t quite feel right, I listen to my gut and move on.

• I keep pepper spray on hand.

• I also keep all of my essentials (keys, wallet, knife, pepper spray, phone) in one small portable bag for easy use & access.

• I keep someone alerted (sometimes it’s been my husband and sometimes it’s been a good friend) to where I am going, the route I am taking to get there, and my general timeline. And if I deviate from my plan, I let them know.

When I think of lone traveling off into the wilds of Montana, Theodore Roosevelt’s popular quote comes to mind (which he referenced as being a West African proverb): Speak softly and carry a big stick. Meaning, avoid aggression by using caution, but still be prepared. What I aim for when solo traveling is to actively keep my wits about me while enjoying and taking pleasure in my surroundings — to not let fear and worries run the show while also staying engaged in mon tan awoman .com | july/augus t 2 02 1

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monitoring, protecting, and planning for my own levels of comfort and safety.

I even hone these skills when I go on solo walks around my neighborhood. For many of us as women, to simply walk on one’s own with both a sense of ease and alertness takes practice and intentional effort, especially for those of us who go out without a canine companion in tow (which can be a great added safety measure if you’ve got one). Whether we are out walking in a neighborhood or off in the woods, women typically (not always but often) have more to think about and consider than male-folk in terms of feeling and staying safe. It’s just the nature of things. So I do my best to keep on keeping on doing what I love to do while also keeping my guard up when I’m out on my own. It adds an extra level of energy output to my ventures, but I’ve discovered that, for me, it’s been worth it.

Solo venturing has afforded me a lot of growth opportunities. But I want to be clear— it’s not been easy or comfortable. Personal growth work never is. I’ve had many moments of contending with large swells of fear when out and about on

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my own. The struggle has been and is real.

So for those of you out there who may be interested in solo travel, I’d like to end by offering some encouragement: • Honor all the feelings you have that come up.

• Don’t let folks (esp. male folk) tell you that your concerns regarding your safety are unfounded or silly.

• Stay close in touch with yourself, so you’ll know when something involves taking a small step outside of your comfort zone vs. a huge flying leap.

• Start small.

• Go prepared.

• Be steadily aware of your surroundings.

• Speak softly and carry a big stick.

NICOLE DUNN is a Missoula-based writer, community organizer, poet, ordained member of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, and program director of Be Here Now, a weekly mindfulness & meditation group she founded in 2002. For more info: InMindfulMotion.com

| VIGNETTE

primeval sleep

BY SARAH HARDING

We are only wild in sleep.

We become feral.

We sweat and gnash our teeth thrash, grunt.

Fling our arms and flinch.

Unfettered by earthly rules.

We are released from relentless gravity.

We fly away.

Time has no hold on us.

Places shift and change— aspen leaves in the wind.

Our primitive minds play out themes that follow us since the ancient fires: the beast in the night the clan breaking camp without us our lover lying broken and still the fragile blossom adorned with magic dew

IMAGE BY NOAH SILIMAN

The fear and betrayal grief and joy that were wild with us.

We carry them from the start of time.

The only wild places left to us are starry dark with fluttering eyelids.

We are so feral in sleep we do not dare to remember.

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WELLNESS |

four spaces & how to tame them

BY MINDY COCHRAN | LEVITATION NATION

As Montana Women, we often think of wild spaces as the outdoors, as we should here under the big sky. But the truth is there may be some wild spaces lurking within your own home. Further, they might be obstructing the path to your best and most empowered self. As a health and fitness coach who helps women daily on their quests for wellness, I am all about taming these wild spaces. Let’s take a closer look:

SPACE #1: YOUR JUNK-FOOD KITCHEN CABINETS

FILLED

Performing a kitchen detox is a definite must for those on a quest for wellness. Scour your cupboards to get stocked up with foods that will allow you to flourish and nourish and dump foods that might leave you feeling froggish or doggish.

• Stock up on lean meats (organic, grass-fed if possible), fruits, and vegetables (organic if possible). For seasonings, make sure you have pepper, salt, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive on hand. I am a huge fan of dates as a sugar-free alternative to curbing my sweet tooth.

• Trash heavily processed foods and foods with added sugar. When reading labels, remember sugar goes by many names: organic cane juice, honey, agave, maple syrup, cane syrup, molasses, maltodextrin, and xanthan gum.

• Consider whether you might benefit from 100 m o nt a n a w o ma n ma g a zi ne | is s ue 13

going grain-free, or at least gluten-free. New research indicates gluten can affect the blood / brain barrier and contribute to depression, even in people who aren’t considered gluten intolerant, so I personally try to stay away from it.

• Spices and seasonings— watch for sugars or silicon dioxide (aka “sand.” Yep, you read that right. Silicon dioxide is often used as an anticaking agent for spices and is not anything I want in my body).

• Beware of foods like protein bars and juice that guise themselves as health foods.

SPACE #2: YOUR WILLY-NILLY SELF-CARE ROUTINE

As a personal trainer, I am witness to a lot of willynilly self-care routines. We say we are going to eat healthier, exercise, and practice stress reduction; and we mean it. Unfortunately, our nature as women is to nurture the needs of others ahead of

our own. I am here to remind you that you can be of better service to your friends and family if you take care of yourself first and foremost.

determined to remember it, which in turn didn’t let me fall back asleep...almost, until I jot down my dream on my notepad.

• For exercise, I swear by group fitness classes because the right fitness community will make exercise seem fun and will hold you accountable for sticking to your “me-time.” For readers in Kalispell, Montana, please know that the doors of Levitation Nation Aerial Studio are always open to newcomers.

• If all else fails, don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor for other suggestions.

• For nutrition, pick a food prep day to turn your healthy meats, fruits, and vegetables into ready-to-eat salads, soups, and casseroles…whatever. Because if you don’t have healthy food prepared when hunger strikes, I guarantee you will be grabbing for the pre-packaged convenience foods that you will later regret eating.

• Get yourself to bed on time.

Your future self will thank you.

Speaking of things that can keep a woman awake at night, when was the last time you updated your will? If it’s been a minute, don’t fret, but this is something you will want to get on top of. Frankly, your out-of-date is part of a bigger conversation. Are there other unfinished tasks hanging over your head that you been avoiding for weeks, months, or even years? Health podcasters Jesse Chappus and Marni Wasserman from “The Ultimate Health Podcast” call these “open loops,” which take up mental bandwidth because they swirl around in your brain until you close the loop. My solution: • Check out their podcast: ultimatehealthpodcast. com/closing-the-loops • Do the work and close your loops.

You can be of better service to your friends and family if you take care of yourself first and foremost.

SPACE #3: YOUR RAMBLING MIND AT BEDTIME

Speaking of bedtime, you have probably heard that your brain sorts and files memories while you sleep, and that’s just one of the many magical things that happens for your wellness while you are sleeping. While this is no secret, some women (myself included) struggle with getting their minds to shut down, even when it is time to turn in and tune out. My struggles with quality sleep stood between me and my best self for years, but I have learned some tricks to help tame the rambling mind.

IMAGE BY SARAH DORWEILER

SPACE #4: YOUR OUT-OF-DATE WILL

• If you struggle with falling asleep because your brain won’t shut off, try listening to a podcast (at low volume, with eyes closed)— the more boring, the better.

• Keep a pen and paper on the bedstand so that you can jot down anything that comes to mind that you “must remember.” True story: I literally dreamt up this article one night. I awoke

MINDY COCHRAN is the founder of Kalispell’s Levitation Nation Aerial Studio, where the catchphrase “fitness is fun” is embodied alongside a culture of movement & women empowerment. Mindy believes that “The Real Levitation Experience” lies within elevating your health & wellness.

Mindy loves to share the expertise she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer and life coach. For more about Mindy or Levitation Nation, please visit levitationnation.org.

WELLNESS |

Cerebral Palsy in Children

BY NICHOL AS FLEMING, DO | PROVIDED BY LOGAN HEALTH HOW AND WHEN IS CEREBRAL PALSY (CP) DIAGNOSED?

Cerebral palsy is the most common movement disorder in childhood. Despite this, it can often go undiagnosed — especially when symptoms are mild. Diagnostic workup is typically done within the first months or first year of life and may be prompted by an infant with delays in motor development, muscle weakness or muscle tightness, or a history of a complicated pregnancy or complicated birth. Diagnosis is made after a thorough neurological examination and imaging of the brain, such as a cranial ultrasound or brain mri.

DOES CP GET WORSE OVER TIME?

Cerebral palsy is the result of injury or stroke to a young or “immature” brain. This means that the injury to the brain is “static” or does not get worse over time. However, the movement-related issues secondary to this damage to the brain can worsen over time and may be related to periods of bony growth & bone development, learned non-use or avoidance behaviors, muscle atrophy, or lack of stretching. This can present as hip dysplasia, scoliosis, contracted joints, bone deformity, musculoskeletal pain, or functional issues.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TREATMENTS FOR CP?

So far, there is no cure for cp; however, there 102 m o nt a n a w o ma n ma g a zi ne | is s ue 13

are many treatments to help children with cp thrive. Children with cp share common signs and symptoms related to muscle weakness, muscle over-activity (ex: spasticity & dystonia), and muscle tightness. Yes, you can have overactive but weak muscles! Treatment options may include occupational, physical & speech therapies, bracing, specialized mobility equipment prescription, oral medications, intramuscular injections (“Botox* injections”), nerve procedures, intrathecal baclofen pumps, and orthopedic surgeries when needed.

WHAT IS THE PM&R PHYSICIAN’S ROLE IN TREATMENT?

cp can be associated with other neurologic (ex: hydrocephalus, seizures, central sleep apnea), endocrine issues, gi issues, and feeding & nutritional issues. There can be a large care team of therapists, bracing & equipment specialists, nutritionists, counselors, and physicians. The pm&r physician’s, also known as physiatrists, role is to screen for any of these associated issues as well as to screen and prescribe treatments for the musculoskeletal issues mentioned above.

Specifically, physiatrists prescribe therapies, bracing, specialized equipment, oral medications, and perform Botox injections, manage baclofen pumps, and collaborate closely with orthopedists, neurosurgeons, and other subspecialists to navigate specific treatment plans for each individual child with cp.

A new day.

100 years in the making.

Kalispell Regional Healthcare is now Logan Health.

Our story began here – in Montana. We are proud to grow as one unified health system, forging a new path in this region that is fitting of this place and the people who call it home. Because it’s our home too. Dedicated as ever to carry on a tradition of caring for this community not just with medicine but with compassion and fellowship.

Advancing Medicine. Enhancing Care.

logan.org

IMAGE BY DAVE HERRING 104 m o nt a n a w o ma n ma g a zi ne | is s ue 13

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ask about our advertising rates info@montanawoman.com

106 m o nt a n a w o ma n ma g a zi ne | is s ue 13

for woodie.

I hope I’ll find your wild, golden fur on all of my pants forever.

IMAGE BY ELIAS TIGISER

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