The theme of this newsletter is time. It just came out that way as you will see. Since the height of Covid in 2020, I have shared our town's events through the seasons.

What I love about living in a town like ours, where people come together to celebrate the season's events, is the sense of timelessness in these cycles.

Harvest season and harvest dinner, Thanksgiving, town-decorating day for Christmas, Christmasfest with Cowboy Claus, the Ovando School Christmas play. Hauling in the wood, chopping the kindling for winter fires. Snow and more snow and cold. We got down to - 40F last winter. Calving season. Town clean-up day in April, sprucing up for visitors. Planting, when weather finally permits. The Ovando School May Day Tea. And maybe in June, surely July, the sounds of lawn mowers, smell of fresh grass, and people out and about greeting each other. The campers, boats, rafts being towed through town to the Blackfoot River or nearby lakes are sure sign that summer is here. We've just had our 4th of July Parade and the town was brimming with happy people. The bicyclists are here! The great Tour Divide racers came through at the end of June. They overnite here in the teepee or the shepherd's wagon or the hoosegow or anywhere they please to pitch their tents.

There is something special coming up. I will let the Town Cryer announce it.

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100 Year Celebration
Come join us for a spectacular event at the Ovando Elementary School Gym!

We are thrilled to celebrate a century of memories, laughter, and learning. This in-person gathering with live entertainment featuring western entertainer Dave Stamey. Whether you're an alumni, a current student, or a friend of the school, this is an event you won't want to miss.

Let's come together to reminisce, catch up with old friends, and create new memories that will last another hundred years.
Mark your calendar and get ready to party like it's 1922! Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Ovando School Arts program.
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The school has had as few as 8-10 students, K thru 8, and its graduating class averages between 1 and 3. But the town has stepped in to support it, as well as funding outside resources in music, art, and science. Physical education in the winter is cross-country skiing! Students receive an exceptional experience at Ovando's school. I first learned the early history of the town from a 5th grade project in the 1950s to interview the town's old timers. The postmistress loaned me her mimeographed sheets of their reports, which are now more formally available at the museum.

Right now there is a history project on display throughout the town, created by 5th and 6th graders. They made life-sized figures of historical citizens from old photographs and wrote historical information to accompany each one.  They are strategically placed around the town. This is how the school often combines social studies, English, history and art in a single project for several grades! They even had cards made of a "self-guided tour" around town, available at the Blackfoot Store. The Museum and Historical Society pitched in to help them. In the picture below, Silas Hessler and Audrey Stevenson stand beside their portrait of Harry Morgan, an early game warden in Ovando. The figures were made out of recycled plywood, painted with outdoor paint, then framed and sealed.

Entertainment for the 100th Anniversary celebration will feature a Montana favorite, Dave Stamey. Here is a sneak preview of this talented Western folk singer.

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From time past to future times, there is already a new telescope in the making! The Euclid Space Telescope. We've been given this preview of the next project.

 
The long-awaited James Webb telescope has not disappointed! It has opened up vast new horizons and is reshaping the way we see the universe! NASA has just celebrated its 2-year anniversary.

 
With our knowledge expanding so swiftly, plans are already being made for a future trip to Mars and visionaries like Jeff Bezos are talking about trillions of people living in space.  Can you imagine? Well he can!

So we have this capacity to celebrate our past while creating our future through advancing technologies. But here is something amazing, where future (AI) meets past. New techniques are applied to bring to life those fuzzy jerky old films near the turn of the last century. It's a real treat to watch these.

First, here is France in 1896.

Now New York City in 1911.

Next, we go to Boston in 1903.
(And if you are hooked, you can go to Chicago in the 1920s.)

To complete our world tour, the next is not in color but has been similarly enhanced and I find it beautiful and fascinating. It is "Around the World in the 1890s."

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Enhanced or unenhanced, the fact that we can see famous people come alive out of the distant past is a privilege that was never available to humans before the late 19th century. To Ari and Judy, two friends who teach classical ballet, here is some very rare footage of the Asaf Messerer star class at the Bolshoi theater in 1983, including the great Maya Plisetskaya.

Now you are ready to appreciate one of my favorite Lucille Ball sketches: Lucy at the Bar

One last dance: A memorable scene from Zorba the Greek, with Anthony Quinn as Zorba.

While we are with great moments in cinema, which can remain with us through the wonder of film, video, and who knows what's next, here are some classic moments with Audrey Hephurn. In this one, she is presented the Cecil B. DeMille award by Gregory Peck at the 1990 Oscars. Regrettably the quality is poor but it's quite a gathering of stars of the time. There is better quality in the following interview with Audrey the same year. She had quite an amazing life.

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It appears that anyone who was ever locked down with Covid has been eagerly, even obsessively, taking to the skies. When I've been in airports recently, I find myself wondering if there is anyone living in houses. All humanity seems to be here. In my TSA line.

Most people are hunting the best deals and going with the low-cost airlines, which charge you for sitting down and taking a breath. It's no frills all the way. Count on Carol Burnett and Tim Conway to make a sketch of this. Here it is.

Time now to check in on Our Best Friend - the most faithful and multitalented of all species. They constantly surprise! Here is another family pet caught on the home nanny (Fido) camera expressing himself. Who knew?

But dogs don't just sing and play the piano, they can also dance. Here is proof of this at the Dog Dancing World Campionship. See what a little extra coaching of your dog can do? This comes after you have taught him how to use the crate.

Dogs can learn amazing things, but they can also teach. This dog is teaching a baby how to swing!

But whatever special talents a dog might have, it is the unique gift of being such a rare and faithful friend to us crazy humans that we most value. Here is a rare and remarkable young man who set out to walk around the world and realized along the way that he needed just such a friend. Meet Tom and Savannah.

In the realm of Amazing Humans, have at look at Ilia Malinin at ISU World Figure Skating Championships Montreal.

 
My last reflection on time is a single human lifetime across its duration. I have two examples that have inspired me.

My favorite singer back in the 1970s was Nana Mouskouri. She was little known here, but in Europe, she sold more albums than any other singer and I believe that record still holds to this day. She sang in Greek (her native language), French, Spanish German and English and produced albums in each. She had a gift for catching the spirit of each nationality that was uncanny. She was introduced into the US by Harry Belafonte. Here they are together singing a favorite of mine. Sorry the visual is poor.

What brought her to mind to include here was coming upon her recently. I had forgotten her and didn't realize she was still alive! Has that ever happened to you? Time has been kind to Nana Mouskouri and she has been kind to time.

Here she is at age 88 singing Amazing Grace with a choir of 100 voices.

Second is a singer very well-known to American audiences indeed! She is country-western legend Dolly Parton, who has also remained vibrantly active into her 70s. Here she is at the beginning of her career, singing with her sisters, Stella and Cassie in 1970.

Now here is Dolly over 50 years later, (age 77!) in this electric performance of her song World on Fire at last year's ACM awards.

Dolly fans may enjoy this recent CBS interview headlined "from fashion to spirituality."

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The natural world has its own form of longevity. Here, from Time Past--that's over 5 million years--is a cave found in 1986 on the Black Sea coast in Romania in one of the most isolated places on the planet. Around 5.5 million years ago it was sealed off from the rest of the world by thick layers of clay and limestone. In an environment of 100% humidity, a toxic atmosphere and a total lack of sunlight, scientists have identified 53 invertebrate species; 37 of the species are not found anywhere in the world. Ah, the tenacity of life! I am full of admiration for it, in spiders, leeches, and indomitable humans. 

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Now, from time past and time future, to timeless things. 

If you want to step out of tumultuous waves for a bit, to get "far from the madding crowd" to borrow from Thomas Hardy, I highly recommend this lovely film from National Geographic about a man's relationship to an otter. Here is the trailer to "Billie and Mollie." The full documentary is available on YouTube to watch for free.

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I always like to end on a quiet note, so here is a poetry film of Wendell Berry reading his poem "The Peace of Wild Things." This one's for Wayne, who first introduced me to Wendell Berry.

I wish the peace of wild things for you and yours and cooling summer days.

Sheri Ritchlin

    

Our Town Crier, Kathy Schoendoerfer,
is still busy keeping everyone up
on the latest news and events.
​(Note: She is also an excellent Photoshop-per.)

​Here are a few. 

   
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THE ANNUAL OVANDO HARVEST DINNER
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SEW AND SO CLUB
SATURDAY - NOVEMBER 14TH
Ovando School Gym

Doors Open at 5:30
Silent Auction begins at 5:30
Pot Luck Dinner at 6 pm
Please bring a main course, side dish or dessert
The Crazy Live Auction at 7 pm
Donations for Auction are welcomed!

All proceeds go to help our community members in need.

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Join Us for a Back-to-School
Community Workday!
 
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Monday August 21, 2023
Ovando School
2-5 p.m.
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THE OVANDO SCHOOL NEEDS YOU!
Get Ready for a New School Year with Community Unity!

Let's come together to prepare our school for an amazing year ahead!
Our Back-to-School Community Workday is a wonderful opportunity
to make a positive impact on the learning environment
and connect with families new and old.
 
Ovando school has 23 students this year!

Help us spruce up classrooms, beautify outdoor spaces,
and create an inspiring back to school day.

Supplies and refreshments will be provided.
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I am missing the birds as they leave, although I admire my chickadees and woodpeckers for sticking it out.

Believe it or not, an album called "Songs of Disappearance" rose to the top of the charts in Australia. Soaring past big names like Taylor Swift and Michael Buble, an album featuring 53 of Australia's most endangered birds has flown to No. 3 in the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album chart since its release on Dec. 3 (2022).

Here is a charming video version of the album.

           
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With Thanksgiving, we are officially in the holiday season and that means visiting family and friends. Travel deals are much sought after and cheap flights come with their own "costs." Here is Tim Conway's comic riff on "The No-Frills Section."

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I leave you with my heart-felt gratitude for the gifts of my town, my friends and my family as expressed in a favorite piece that joins the wisdom of Br. David Steindl-Rast with the film artistry of Louie Scwartzberg.

At a time when there is so much news of death, from war or coronavirus, new life of any kind is cherished. When I began this letter to you, we still had some subzero temperatures in Ovando but I took heart that the red wing blackbirds arrived at my feeder March 3rd and on March 6th, I watched the scarlet caps of the redpolls flitting in and out of the feeder for the first time. There is something brave and heartening about those bright red flags on head and wings. The photo below is not a local one, but it does capture the moment, so I couldn't resist including it.
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But a much larger Spring event is afoot in Ovando. March is calving season and on the ranches all around, cows are giving birth in the wintry landscape. In conversation with Vicki Smith at the Blackfoot Store, I learned that she is one of the people who will pass the cold nights keeping a vigil across Two Creek Ranch, managed by Wayne Slaght and his sons Ben and Grant. “I love it,” she says. “There is something special about being alone in the darkness with these animals around you.” Vicki is a night caller, on duty from 3:30 in the afternoon to 4 am. I asked her to tell me more about what a night caller does. 
 
"As a night caller at Two Creek Ranch, I ride thru 4 pens of cows early on in the 6-8 weeks that I'm here watching cows do their things (mainly calve) and making sure the calf suckles. We use barns only if it is necessary - to pull calves or keep them out of the weather!  After the cow has calved and the calf has eaten, I write down the cow number and let the boys know that her baby has eaten. On occasion, I get to help the calves suckle!! (One of my favorite jobs)

There are many things the guys (Wayne, Ben, and Grant) have to do during the day for this herd of 1,040, so to lighten the load I put out mineral and salt when needed, clean the tractor windows and keep the barns clean!  And the other highlight is feeding the bums and watching them play if they can!! Bums are calves that don't have a mother for one reason or the other- twin, mom doesn't have enough milk or just didn't want to be a mom?!"

In 2017, Two Creek Ranch won an Environmental Stewardship Award, which I featured in a previous letter. There I shared an excellent video about the ranch. If you missed it, click here!

Other ranchers in the valley have pioneered new approaches to management. The Mannix Family has lived and ranched in the Blackfoot watershed’s Helmville Valley for five (going on six) generations. My downstairs neighbor, the Blackfoot Challenge, recently aired an interview with David, Bryan and Erica Mannix on the history and evolution of their stewardship practices, what it means to ranch sustainably and how they approach managing land and livestock in such a way that both their operation and the ecosystem can flourish. I am grateful to Jean Pocha for her excellent article in the Pathfinder that led me to the video, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I recommend this to anyone interested! Owner Dave Mannix has a remarkable attitude toward ranching and toward life!
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If you have ever read E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan, you will appreciate that March is the month that the Trumpeter Swans return to Freezeout Lake. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks reports 25,500 white geese and more than 2,700 trumpeter swans were observed at Freezeout Lake, near Choteau, Montana. 

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The French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922) is often quoted as saying “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes.” He wrote this at the beginning of the twentieth century and since then, there are indeed new landscapes if we include the burst of new architecture in cities, planes in the skies and automobiles, automobiles, automobiles! But he may have been prophetic when it comes to new eyes. From the electron microscope to the Hubble and now the James Webb Telescope, we have remarkable new eyes to see things very distant and very tiny.

Now we can look at a supernova 500 million light-years away. (Technically, that's old news, since it took 500 million years for it to reach us.) You have to look hard to see the bright spot in the lower left corner of the galaxy on the right. 

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The smallest thing that we can see with a ‘light’ microscope is about 500 nanometers. A nanometer is one-billionth (that’s 1,000,000,000th) of a meter. So the smallest thing that you can see with a light microscope is about 200 times smaller than the width of a hair. 
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Nature can also give us new eyes, if we have strong legs that is! Here is a world heritage site in China, which can give you a unique and amazing view. And of course there’s Mt. Everest, if you’re in the mood…

(TIP: If the video doesn't appear or there is a message that it can't be viewed, just click on it or do a youtube search by name, in case the address has changed. Some may take some time to load.)

​If you want to save your legs, you could try a wingsuit. But this requires something else: madness!

​If I had a choice, (and somebody else was driving), I would pick the flying car, which might actually have a future.

Yet with all of our collective genius, nothing can fly with the grace and agility of a bird. I never tire of the sight of the murmurations of starlings. Scientists say that these are for the protection of the birds from predators, but I see them as exquisite aerial ballets. 
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​Birds are wonders in the air and lovely in their infinite variety. And did you know that many of them can dance? I guarantee you will enjoy this fun video of avian performances.
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In the recent Winter Olympics, we were treated to the beauty that humans bring to dance as figure skaters. I, for one, never tire of this. In 7-year-old Evelina and 9-year-old Ilya, we see stars of future Olympics being born in this amazing performance of “You Are So Beautiful.” Unless you understand Russian, you might want to skip to 1:30 minutes, where the performance begins.
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But bear in mind that you have to begin somewhere as you watch 3-year-old Natasha Frank take to the ice, with a little help from Mom. (I should note that Natasha is older now and entering competitions as a serious figure skater.)
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Age is never a barrier to the joy of dancing! Here, two seniors “cut a rug” with such gusto that I was out of breath just watching. This is Nellia & Dietmar dancing Boogie Woogie Rockabilly-Jive. (It's tiring just to say that.)
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In previous letters, I have shared stories of the many ways that music lifted people’s spirits during the dark days of the pandemic and offered a universal language shared across the globe. Here are three short videos in Ukraine of people there offering the solace of their music. First, a cellist in Kharkiv plays Bach among the ruins.
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Violinist and teacher Vera Lytovchenko has traded a theatre for a basement and played her violin for fellow Kharkiv residents taking cover from Russian bombing. 

​Kharkiv has one of Europe’s finest music festivals, which started on March 26 but was interrupted by Russian bombing, but continued in the metro station where people had once again taken refuge.

​Here is a photo I loved that came from the same metro station where people find creative ways to comfort the children.
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It isn’t just humans who appreciate music. A wild fox gets equal delight out of listening to the banjo music of Andy Thorn. Thanks to Wayne Tyson for this one! 

Now to Our Best Friend. Fearless little Dash is facing down a huge mountain lion who turned up on the patio. He completely ignores his owner’s frightened warnings. Stout-hearted little chap!
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This one is for new Dad, Patrick Ripp! Robin Williams gives a spontaneous description of the game of golf.
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​As always, I end on a quiet note, with poet David Whyte, filmmaker Andrew Hinton and Irish composer Owen Ó Súilleabháin in their offering of "Blessings." I believe this was filmed in Ireland, so this is for my good friend Anne Mery, with whom I once got to listen in person to David Whyte. My thanks always to the incomparable Maria Popova for her spirit-lifting blog Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) and to Alejandra Cisneros for pointing me in that direction.
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To everyone, blessings in this new year and gratitude for the valiant spirit of the people of Ukraine, who have given us new eyes and new hearts to appreciate the blessings that we have.

Stay well,
​Sheri Ritchlin

As I write this, we are receiving our first heavy snow—thick flakes falling softly. The muffled quiet of winter. The magic elves of the Sew and So Club left a gorgeous and fragrant wreath on my porch, (thank you elves!), so Christmas is in the air too. The town has been fully decorated by community volunteers and Santa arrived on horseback the day after Thanksgiving for the annual Christmasfest. The children line up outside the museum to sit on a saddle and recite their Christmas list.  (Photos by Kathy Schoendoerfer.)

Local artists and craftspeople display and sell their creations. While adults are busy Christmas shopping or feasting on pulled pork, Jean Pocha is helping children in the fire hall making gingerbread houses.

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It's a great event and draws people from as far away as Missoula. It is also the town's Last Hurrah before winter comes and families draw together for their own celebrations. From now on, we are never sure when roads will be safely passable. The Stray Bullet closes for December (opening again in January). The Blackfoot Angler continues to sell local crafts until December 11th, 9 to 2, and December 17th by appointment. 406-793-0018. Then it closes for the winter.

Winter quiet. Snow white.

Speaking of snow, Pingu the Antarctic penguin seems to have gotten lost. He came ashore near Christchurch, New Zealand. You can see him here looking around and thinking “This place doesn’t look familiar.” He was dehydrated and undernourished so the locals fed him fish smoothies (ick!) and he bounced right back.​
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(2 youtube tips: If a video here says not available, just clicking on it usually solves the problem. Also, if you are ever watching a long video and don't want to be interrupted by advice about belly fat or other annoying ads, you can load it in view pure and those will be eliminated.) Some videos take a few seconds to load.

​Pingu has an Arctic counterpart, Wally the Walrus, who seems to be equally confused about his location. Or else he’s just off on what the Brits call a Ramble. More aptly a Swim. Wally is an Arctic walrus who did a little southern sightseeing on European shores, as far south as Spain. Headlines began to appear asking “Where is Wally Now?” He even stopped off in Wales, perhaps to learn a little Welsh.

Thomas Berry named the Earth era we are entering the Ecozoic, which he described as a period of mutually enhancing relationships with the natural world. We are increasingly seeing examples of this, but one of the most remarkable ones is, literally, a life-saving encounter between a scientist and a humpback whale off Cook Island. It would be easy to dismiss this as impossible, without the actual footage and the fact that Nan Hauser is the Principal Investigator for the Cook Islands Whale Research Project and Director of the Cook Islands Whale & Wildlife Centre. You have to see this to believe it. I found it very moving.

Here is another bit of underwater news, especially for Musa and Ilyas, those ardent lego engineers. Scientists are experimenting with using legos to save SIngapore's coral reefs! Can you imagine? Here is the link to read more and see a short video of the project. Can Lego help save Singapore's Coral Reefs?
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Now from deep sea to deep sky and an update on the James Webb telescope. Despite some small glitches, our most awesome instrument for exploring the universe will launch on time, December 22nd. It will be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Telescope, which should bring some interesting sights into view and even solve a few mysteries. It will be stationed 1.5 million kilometres away in space and will take a month to cruise to its final orbit. It has been designed to last for at least 10 years. You can go here for the latest update

​There will be plenty to see this month without a telescope, if the weather gives us some clear skies. Jupiter shines in the south to southwest during evening at the far upper left of bright Venus. Saturn is midway between them. The Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak December 13-14. It is the best meteor shower of the year but cloudy skies could hide it. The sky map below shows you where to look. Start with the familiar 3 stars of Orion's belt, then up left to the two bright stars of Gemini.

The biggest December event may or may not be visible without binoculars. Comet Leonard was just discovered this year and may be visible before sunrise until December 12th and after the 14th, in the evening. Look northeast and find the Big Dipper, then follow the handle.

It won’t take binoculars to see this futuristic hybrid airship that will start taking passengers in 2025. It is basically a flying mansion that will offer a 3-day air cruise for up to 19 people. You may have to sell some stock.

​Not every futuristic design, however, makes it into the future. Case in point? Look back at GM’s Future Firebird. Here’s the glitzy promo from 1958. It’s fun!

From the future to the past... It is now official: The Vikings were in America. They occupied a site in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1021 AD. Above, it has been made into a UNESCO World Heritage site, reproducing an original home.















​There is an interesting mathematical find in Africa from 25,000 to 30,000 years ago. The Proto-Mathematics of the Ishango Bone. (This one's for Bonnie Spence.)​

The Ishango Bone was discovered in 1960 by Jean Heinzelin Braucourt, a Belgian national who was exploring the eastern fringes of the Democratic republic of Congo, then Belgian Congo. The bone was found among the ruins of a human settlement that was located near Lake Edward, an ancient settlement that had been buried by a volcanic eruption.

The bone, which through carbon dating has been estimated to be anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000 years old, is believed to be the second oldest mathematical artefact based on a series of notches etched on it. The notches were made by a quartz crystal attached on one end of the bone. Experts have various theories about these. Some say it could have been used to track the lunar cycles. Others suggest that it was a table of prime numbers. Have a look for yourself and read more. 


​You might also be interested in an article on the Oldest Lunar Calendars. The Oldest Lunar Calendars | Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (nasa.gov)

Also in Africa, there is the discovery of standing stones in Nabta Playa, located about 800km (500 miles) south of Cairo. The site predates Stonehenge by millennia and was inhabited between 9000 BC and 2800 BC. The site is an early observatory and calendar. Scientists have so far deduced that some of the upright slabs were aligned with stars. The stars include Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Arcturus, Sirius, Dubhe (on Ursa Major), and stars on Orion’s Belt. Curiously, the site was located on the Tropic of Cancer.

The megaliths, 24 in total, were also aligned with the true north-south (which differs by a few degrees from the magnetic north-south many people are familiar with).

You can read more here.

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The next piece is for my dancer friends, young and old, and lovers of dance as well as friends from Argentina who can be proud of their native daughter. I have included in several past letters the plight of the arts, which, like so many other businesses, have struggled to survive during the pandemic. 

"It has been an oddly fractured year for dance. Repeated lockdowns stifled talent, thwarted new ideas. Online and outdoor offerings provided some release but when theatres reopened in May, dancers emerged as if from hibernation, full of life, anxious to get on with their notoriously short careers." (The Guardian)

This is The Guardian's introduction to an excellent article on Argentine dancer Marianela Núñez, a principle with the Royal Ballet Company. 
"She danced the title role in Giselle but also, at other performances, the secondary part of the threatening, ghostly Myrtha. 'I danced Myrtha a lot in the beginning of my career and then as soon as I started to dance the title role, I stopped. Yet Myrtha is so important for the story of the ballet; she establishes that mystical world in the second act and she has to hold the stage for so long.' "

I have always reveled in the dramatic details of my friend Ari Dickinson's productions of classical ballets, from The Nutcracker to Swan Lake. I think she will appreciate this short video on the importance of mime in ballet (3 min) and I hope you will too!

​Acting and dance really came together in the lively entertainment of American musicals, our own unique genre. While Broadway first made these famous, Hollywood took them to the big screen. I Love Melvin ​is a little remembered film from 1953, but Donald O'Conner dancing on roller skates is pretty memorable.

The next is a real treat: A  screen test with a young and lovely Audrey Hepburn. No, the person you see below is NOT Audrey Hepburn, but click to watch it. (If it doesn't load, search for Audrey Hepburn screen test on YouTube.)

If you enjoyed the vintage quiz show in my last Letter, here is another one: "What's My Line" from 1965 featuring a young Henry Fonda (mother of Jane), Sean Connery and Ralph Meeker--all budding stars of that era. (Although Ralph Meeker had come to prominence in the 50s with Mr. Roberts and Picnic.) 

Both Henry Fonda and Sean Connery were Academy Award Winners, Hollywood's highest honor and most elaborate production. I always feel sorry for the losers at that event who have prepared acceptance speeches they will never get to give. So much work goes into remembering who to thank! Here is John Cleese's version of the Oscar Thankyou Speech.
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Before I leave the subject of losers, I would like to offer comfort and a suggestion for those local and visiting hunters who did not succeed in bagging their elk.  A lot of energy, preparation and hope goes into those hunting trips. But here is an alternative that requires a lot less energy and allows you to get in a few rounds of golf at the same time.

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​I have been neglecting Our Best Friend lately and I would like to make up for that. You might recall a Letter or two that featured dogs doing yoga with their owners. This one's for Riggin, Lucy and Dally so listen up, Peggy, Howie and Eloise. You might want to take notes.
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​The next two are for Trooper, and all of those amazing and caring service dogs who make the lives of humans so much better. 

Meet Lily, introduced in the first video, then with Kinley, her blind friend, in the second. You will love her.

​This photo, which appears on our town website (ovandomontana.net), beautifully captures the coming season. Trees I can smell right here in my living room, woven into my lovely Christmas wreath.

I still have in my mind images of other beautiful trees I recently met on tree-lined walks with my sister Robin by the Barge Canal in upstate New York, and walks with my friend Sally Mahe among the redwoods of Marin. So my quiet ending this time is dedicated to them, with deep appreciation of the trees we shared. Here is Mary Oliver's "When I am among trees." If it is difficult to catch the words, turn on the CC in the lower right and the words will appear.

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I wish you all good health and the blessings of the season.

​Sheri Ritchlin

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A frozen river is a quiet thing, 
But underneath, change is taking place.
~ Lillian Smith