More Signs of Spring

Water Filling The Irrigation Canal photo taken by Scott Petrich

 

We have been having hints of Spring off and on here in Northwest Wyoming for quite a while. Baby calves in the fields, our yards are beginning to show green grass around the edges, there are buds on the trees. We have even had a few teaser days where the warm weather and sunshine has prompted me to drive with the windows down and take in that fresh air.

But, a true sign that Spring has sprung is water in the canal ditch! A friend of mine posted this picture on facebook last night and I just had to ask him if I could use it today for the blog. It’s a picture of the water easing down the canal ditch on its way to the area. Thanks Scott Petrich, you take some of the best pictures, I enjoy seeing them.

Soon we will be working in the yard and planting our gardens and many of my friends and family members will begin irrigating their fields and seeing their crops growing in the fields. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those hard-working people who are farmers. Hope you have a bumper crop this year!

 Lisa Marchant

Video of Northwest Wyoming

Video

You have to watch this short video of our area of Wyoming. It captures the beauty around us here in Northwest Wyoming. It was provided by the Wyoming Office of Tourism. It shows everything from the Pryor Mountain wild horses and the Devil’s Canyon Overlook to Yellowstone and everywhere in between. I thought they did a great job sharing what we are so proud call home.

 Lisa Marchant

Gardening in Northwest Wyoming

 

 

 

Hello Everyone! It’s time to get the gardening started. I get a lot of gardening questions working as a real estate agent. And I have to give a big thank you to my mom for teaching me how to raise vegetables in our gardens while I was growing up on the farm.

 

The number one question I get is what Gardening Hardiness Zone are we in? That is Zone 4. It is always a good idea to play it safe with fruit trees to go for a type that is hardy in Zone 3 also, just to be safe because Wyoming winters and spring can be sometimes unpredictable.

 

I love gardening and will have a small garden at my home in town this year. I am going to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, beans, peas and zucchini. I have a few fruit trees. There are 3 apple trees, apricot, plum and a cherry tree that I let the birds enjoy because it is still too small to get enough cherries for a pie. I want to add to my fruit trees and am hoping to get a peach and pear.

 

Here are a few good resources for information on gardening in our area & ones I visit quite often. I recommend the magazines for good go to information. I get Barnyards & Backyards magazine published by the University of Wyoming.

 

Http://www.uwyo.edu/ces/pubs/newsletters_magazines.HTML
Http://zone4magazine.com/
http://www.uwyo.edu/ces/index.html
http://www.bighorncountywy.gov/dep-weed-pest.htm
 

 

 

 

 

  Happy Gardening!

  Lisa Marchant

10 Things To Do in Our Little Corner of the World

Gallery

Welcome to an ongoing series of things to do in our area of Northwest Wyoming. There are so many things to do, so I’m going to start with 10 things to do this Spring and go on from there. This is first in the series so check back and see where I go or do next.

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Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial

 

 
It was a cold Saturday this past weekend and we were having a serious case of cabin fever so we decided to go see the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Memorial located between Powell and Cody Wyoming.

The view of Heart Mountain behind the old chimney that was once a part of a hospital is beautiful. It was once a part of the relocation camp where over 14,000 people once were relocated mostly from California and Washington. At the time it made it one of the three largest cities in Wyoming with a peak population of 10,767. It opened on August 12, 1942 and closed November 10, 1945. One comment made by a man who was relocated from California when he stepped off the bus, he called it a sage brush desert. That did describe it well at the time, now it is surrounded by farm fields. 

The new center is very nice and has a lot of history documented inside. We walked around the displays and learned a lot about the people and their time spent here during World War Two. There is a short movie where they show interviews of some of the Japanese Americans that lived there.  It is a good place to stop and learn more about this period of our local history. 

Lisa Marchant

Lovell Wyoming Webcam

Did you know that Lovell Wyoming has a webcam? I didn’t until recently. I visit several webcams to check on the road conditions. You can do that for the state of Wyoming at the WYDOT travel page under webcams. I check it out when we have to travel in the winter to see how the roads are from here across the state.

I also visit other webcams for fun. When I want to go to Red Lodge Montana to either downtown or snow on the mountain, or when I want to watch Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

What webcams do you check in with?

Lisa Marchant

Taco Soup

Image via Wikipedia

One of my favorite things about Fall is the comfort food. This is a family favorite and is so simple to make its excellent for anytime you need a quick dinner on the table or get together with family & friends. All you really need is a big stock pot or crock pot & mad can opener skills.

Taco Soup

• 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
• 1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans
• 1 small can of sliced black olives
• 1 can (11 to 15 ounces) whole kernel corn ,drained
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (10 to 15 ounces) Rotel tomatoes (or tomatoes with green chile peppers)
• 1 1/2 pkg. taco seasoning mix -(to taste)
• 1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing(dry)
• 3 cups water or more, to make soup broth

Preparation:

Brown ground burger and onion in a large pan with olive oil if needed; drain off fat. Drain the beans & rinse. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. You can also put this in the crock pot on warm or low in the morning before going to work and it will be ready when you come home.  I like to top it with a tiny bit of cilantro, shredded cheese and a small dollop of sour cream to take it over the top yummy. When ready, serve in big soup bowls, and have a skillet of hot cornbread to eat, too. Oh an don’t forget the corn chips (fritos are my favorite) for scooping it up or crushing on top. Enjoy!

~Lisa Marchant

Happy 4th of July!

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Wishing all of you a very happy and enjoyable holiday weekend with friends and family.

 Lisa Marchant

 

Watermelon & Winter Coats a Wyoming Fishing Trip

This weekend we were slathering on sunscreen and enjoying the sunshine. Since it was so nice decided to have a picnic by the pond & see if the fish were biting.  We made a campfire and roasted some hotdogs and marshmallows for s’mores. The weather was perfect and the water was calm. We all sat lined up on the shore in our lawn chairs to oversee the fishing bobbers floating.  We were looking out at the bobbers floating on the pond, eating a big slice of watermelon when all three bobbers went under the water! Hey!! We got a bite! No wait,  it’s just waves.

The clouds came overhead faster than we realized,  the wind got worse, and the rain started falling. It had us all grabbing our lawn chairs, the cooler, the poles and running for the pickup.  By the time we got back to the pickup looking out over the once calm pond we watched the lightening and heard the thunder as we all sighed a big awwww….hand me my coat would ya? I’m cold. 

As everyone knows though, if you don’t like the weather in Wyoming just wait 5 minutes and it will change. Sunday was another sunny day with a little rain to keep the grass green in the hills. It’s beautiful out there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so green, the grass in the hills is tall and the wildflowers are blooming. What did you do this weekend?

Lisa Marchant

Why do I need a home inspection?

Home inspections are part of the negotiation process of any contract to buy any type of property, but the most common is residential houses.

Buyers: If you are buying a house I always recommend a home inspection because you can’t always see what is potentially damaged in a house just by walking through. You know you love the flow, location, room sizes and updates.  It’s an inspectors job an inspector to go through it and make sure that everything is working properly and make overall home maintenance recommendations too from the roof to the crawl space and everything in between.  The home inspection report will tell you what needs improvement, as well as to give you home maintenance tips and suggestions.

Sellers: Having a pre-sale home inspection will help you determine what items to repair or negotiate as a credit to buyers who are looking at your house. These inspections can quicken a sale and avoid further negotiations when a buyer has an inspection or the appraiser goes through the house after it is under contract. A seller can share the inspection report and show the buyer a list of repairs or improvements that were made from the inspections.

The buyers and the sellers agents will work out the details and negotiate on the list of repairs that make sure both parties are comfortable with the sale of the property.  

For a list of local inspectors in our area please stop by the office for some brochures and more information.

 Lisa Marchant

Happiest States Ranking

Wyoming is home to us and we have always known it was wonderful, but here is a report that supports that fact! Check out this article at LiveScience it shows how Wyoming is ranked in comparison to the other states in America.  

Happiest States: 2010 List by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor

That’s right Wyoming is number 2 as the happiest states in America. I’ve always known the big blue sky, beautiful mountain views, the slower pace of life, clean air, lower cost of living and friendly people made us special now this report proves it.

  Lisa Marchant