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Why GREAT FALLS ROCKS – ROCKS!

I found my first rock in July/August of 2020. It was simple, gold and had a sweet saying on it. On the back it said keep or rehide, post pic on Facebook – Great Falls Rocks. SO a week went by and I finally went on the site it talked about and then I got hooked.

Such a simple thing made me smile, I thought – I could do the same thing and that one rock could possibly create thousands of smiles. Because that one rock has lead to me (and my kiddos) creating over 100 rocks, and those hopefully have lead to more people creating these rocks to make even more smiles.

Painting rocks has created more adventures! We have seriously gone to more places just because of painting rocks – so we can hide them. Or we see that rocks have been hidden in certain places, so we go to that park to see if we can find them, and if we do, we will hide ours.

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Some of the posts that have been done when people find the rocks, “My baby found this rock today, he loved it so he took it home” “So excited to find our first rock at Gibson Park” “Just found this Gem – THANK  YOU!” This rock community is so full of fun, inspiration, and kind words!

We aren’t artists, we found some paint pens and some acrylic spray and now the kids and I have fun snowy day art projects when we are bored! They are also a fun cheap gift for kids to be able to give artwork to their teachers/grandparents/friends that they are proud of! And they are so excited when they find them!

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So I wanted to thank everyone who painted rocks that we have gotten to find! I hope one day we can all get together and paint!

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Unicorn Farts Might Be Funny, But Not As Funny As These Top 7 Fart Memes:

Okay, what have I learned as a mother and step-mother of all boys? Farts … it turns out…. are always funny. Not in the mood for farts? Too bad, because they are funny – ALWAYS.

  1. Can you imagine if they found out the actual truth!?

2. I thought that was one of the main reasons to get a dog….that and cleaning up the kitchen floor and all of the pets!

3. Sometimes it is just easier not to say anything:

4. Probably didn’t think hard enough before speaking!!

5. Good ole corona virus – has even changed the way we cough and fart in public

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6. Which could also be known as the ring of fire….

7. Ummmm, I will be right back!

And to close, there has to be an actual unicorn fart meme, because you can’t have the title talk about unicorn farts and not have a meme about them. That would just be rude.

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ZERO to FARM, Dear Dungarees

“If it doesn’t excite you and scare you at the same time it’s not adventure.” Zero to Farm.

At the South Bay of the beautiful Flathead Lake on a Reservation in North West Montana rests a gorgeous town. Polson. My life has been located here for 25 years. Close enough to main street to walk to parades and far enough from the lake we can still afford the property taxes. Most often you can find us backpacking in the summer, paddling around the lake or floating the river. It’s been a great place to raise kids. But something was missing.

Obviously what’s missing is a farm. I decided a few months back I am going to write a book about sustainable farm living on a Rez whilst living in town with little to no property and a deep dislike of animals. I know nothing about sustainable farm life but I will learn as I write. My husband can grow loofah seeds so all my family can have sponges and dish scrubbers from our vines. I feel like a homesteader already. We can grow lentils and garbanzos. I will walk out onto my porch and wrap a blanket like a shawl around my shoulders as I look to the heavens for a sign of rain. Incredible. I think my hilarious lack of knowledge of anything pertaining to farm or sustainable living will hopefully fill my book with much humor and relatable failure. I recently bought a pair of overalls from a local thrift store so Im totally a farmer now.

Noteworthy sidebar, I am prone to be more absurd than absolute. More daring than dull. I often find myself on the outside of level-headed, practical conversations with little input to contribute. Watching all the sensible people talk, wondering when they last dreamed, who stole their excitement for life, and what causes them to process information like plain toast. Listen. I married a first born male who is incredible in his level-headed ways. It is truly a gift to us dreamers as we may find instead of eating or paying bills we forget altogether and float away in a hot air ballon. I need, WE need all the sensible, practical people in this world. And we need all the free-spirits. And this is where the next chapter in our farm life begins.

This farm thing has been a thought for years. Not sure how it would materialize we researched city ordinance for chickens. My level headed husband learned how to make sourdough bread and got obsessive about owning quail. My mom and I joked about buying goat girl dresses and learning how to can. I bought overalls and a seed catalogue and listened to James Taylor and Kenny Loggins for inspiration on peaceful living. Then bam!

This week we bought a farm on accident. More accurately, by chance. It presented itself in a place we weren’t expecting. 2 hours South of home. Victor, Montana, on the Bitterroot River. Fly fishing anyone? We fell in love with a piece of property that most describe as “It has potential.” We couldn’t live without it. We are selling our houses on the Rez and moving into a commune style life with my family on this farm. Away from the familiar to foreign.

We are cramming 2 families (possibly 3 if we can talk my brother into joining us in our absurd farm dreams)  into one house much smaller than our current houses. Shedding off some of our spacial comfort in exchange for acreage, river front, and doing this farm life together. In community with our people. Our family. Ridiculous and incredible. Stay tuned for the continued adventures of zero to farm.

PS. I bought our first goat. She is majestic. She will have friends. Not sure how many yet. Thanks to my dear goaty friend for hand picking our herd. Our pack? What are a group of goats called? Gawd… I have so much to learn.

Trip. They are called a Trip of goats. Thanks Google.

#tripofgoats #sustainable-living #farmlife #reservation #montana #flathead-lake #polson #victor #river #bitterroot # flyfishing #riverfloat #paddle-board #goats #familycompound

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Why Dogs are Good People

Very recently my family and I lost a close friend, our dog Sophie.  She was almost 14 years old and was full of life and energy up until about her last week with us.  After returning home from the vet the day we had to put her down, my father and I sat outside and reminisced about our favorite memories with her and talked about what a great dog she was.  She was always as friendly, loyal, loving, and caring as any dog could have been.  This discussion with my dad led to another conversation that I decided I wanted to share because I think it has some truth to it.  The conversation that came up was; what if people thought a little more like dogs do?

It is no secret that our nation is somewhat of a disaster right now.  With Covid-19, social injustice, and politics, being the top contributors, there is always something for people to disagree upon.  America seems to be divided about everything, even in a time where we arguably need to be unified the most.  That being said, my dog didn’t care what your skin color was, your religion, your political views, your income, or any other opinions you might have.  If you treated her well, she was going to treat you well.  She judged you exclusively on your character, and I think we could solve a lot of these issues if people thought the same way.

I don’t want to get into politics too much, but it always seems that every ad or debate has to be negative.  Maybe if people could focus on why they will do a good job, rather than why the opposing candidate would do a bad job, things would be less divided.  Or at least less extreme.  I wish people could still have respect for each other, even if they have differing opinions.

My dog always focused on reasons to like people, until you gave her a reason not to.  It seems that people tend to have it backward.  People want to overgeneralize and dislike someone until they find a reason that they shouldn’t.

A great example of how dogs show love and loyalty where it is due, no matter the circumstances, would be that more often than not, (at least where I am from) homeless people seem to always have a dog with them.  And in my experience, the dog doesn’t look any less happy than a dog living in a big house.  Assuming they are both treated properly.  Dogs don’t care how much money you have or who you are, treat them well and they’ll do the same.  Sophie was always loving and compassionate up until her dying days, even when she finally got sick, she did her best to make sure her owners still knew that.

I think people can learn a lot from my dog, and probably from most dogs.  The point that I am making is that if people could see past their inherited prejudices, and quit overgeneralizing, the world would probably be a much better place.  It is possible to love people with different opinions, religions, political views, or anything else that seems to only divides us.  Sophie showed me that.  There would be much less hate in the world if people thought like Soph did. I encourage everyone who reads this to try and treat people like she did, it’s not that hard after all. It’s so easy even a dog can do it.

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Ways to Seek Discomfort in your daily life

We are all scared of change, whether it is a change in our daily schedule or change in the weather. This creates a bit of uneasiness in with us. I personally believe when you change an aspect of your life and it makes you uneasy that is when the best thoughts, ideas, and personality comes from. I have found that schedules can have their advantages and disadvantages. They are very good in the sense of keeping you in line and focused but there is an aspect that is missing and that is “what are we missing?” Within this post, I am going to share a couple of ways that I have achieved seeking discomfort in my daily life. These are very simple ways that you can get out of a rut and experience something new.

Go a different route to class/work

We get stuck in the same process every day. We take the same way to get to our destination and you may never know what you are missing if you take a different way. We see the same parking spot, the same sidewalk, and sometimes the same people. I have found that when I walk a different way to class I realize a lot of different things that I have never before. I run into old friends that I have not seen in a while.

Sit in a new spot in the classroom (non-COVID times)

When we were not in all COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. I always challenged myself to sit in a different spot every week or so if the professor allowed moving spots. If they did not allow spot moving, then I would enter into the classroom and choose a spot next to people that I did not know. This was a challenge to me because we are all okay with what is normal to us. We find security in our own normal.

Try a new place to eat

I have to be honest with you, every time I am hungry and too lazy to make food I immediately go to McDonald’s without even thinking about it. This is a massive thing I have struggled with. It is just comforting food that I know will fulfill my need for food. We always lean to what is comfortable to us, instead we should be seeing what else is out there and trying new food or places.

Ask a friend that you have lost touch with to catch up

This is honestly one of the hardest to do. We all live in a life now of people’s opinions of ourselves are taking a lot more personally then they have ever. We strive to get the most likes on our pictures or the most views. This can take a toll on someone’s mental health and self-image. That is why I try to connect with people that I have not talked to in a while. This might be a high school friend that you got distanced because of college or a college friend that just split ways with you. This can be very overwhelming at first thought about reaching out to this specific person, but you could make this person’s day if you simply sent them a text.

Do anything that makes you scared.

In daily life, I say ‘I don’t want to do that’ or ‘I don’t like that’ this is something I have been catching myself say, and it all roots down to fear. Fearing something that you do not know anything about is one aspect of life that can stop you from doing anything. Living in fear is not a way of life it is a blanket.

These are some aspects that I have learned by following and living the sole purpose of seeking discomfort. This originated from a YouTube group called Yes Theory. If you have any time to spare go give them a watch and a listen.

Benjamin Brodhead

Instagram: bbrodhead3