Sunday, May 23, 2010

SPRING AT THE RANCH

Fortunately, the cool weather last week did not freeze the newly planted beets! And, there has been some rain to help support the new plants all over the place. Half of the calves are branded and put to pasture. Spring is going well, except for slow work by the supplier in getting the new pivot working.

Shawn and Tracy are about to be off in their new motorhome with the kids on a spring vacation. Brett graduated from the 8th grade last week, and played drums at several events. Amber is taking piano lessons and had a recital this (Sunday) afternoon.

Although no new oil wells are scheduled in the immediate vicinity of the ranch, there is a new one about to be started in the Valley near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, not far from the Berry farm.

Dad says he is doing pretty well, most of the time, and enjoyed watching the branding of the calves. He said there were quite a few people at the church this morning, including Bill Dobias.

IN SCOTTSDALE

We are enjoying our continuing exploration of the area. There are lots of possibilities for recreation and celebration! The weather has been great, with only one day near 100 degrees.

Dara and Madelyn are coming for a visit over Memorial Day, which we very much look forward to.

On June 2, I have a pre-surgery exam at Mayo Clinic, and go in for surgery on my throat June 7, with one night in the hospital anticipated. No fun, but they are likely to do a very careful job, treating us well all the while. After two weeks or so of liquid diet, I should be back to almost normal.

Cheers,

Bill and Marie

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

NEWS FROM CHARLENE!

Wed, 5 May 2010

Hi Uncle Bill,

You asked for an update, so here goes.

Since mom's death, I've been dealing with some health issues. At first, I thought it was heart issues, but this was ruled out after a Stress Echo and Holter monitor, which only revealed occasional irregular heart beats and high blood pressure. However, my blood tests revealed an elevated M-Protein. My doctor referred me to a hemotologist because an elevated M-protein can be a precursor to Multiple Myloma. The hemotologist ran additional blood tests, and all the tests came back within normal limits except my Immunoglobulins which continue to show a spike. (Normal range is 48-271; mine tested at 335). The doctor didn't seem to be too concerned but stated that I need to be followed every three months and if there continues to be a spike in this M-protein, then we'll have to do a bone marrow test to see if it is the start of Multiple Myloma. Kind of scary, but I do have faith that if the lord gives this to me, he'll get me thru it. So I continue to put my faith in him!

I've been checking into retirement,and depending on my health issues, I do plan to retire at the end of the year. I hope to take some time off, spend some quality time with my family, then look for part-time work. Looking forward to my senior years!

Charlie Gunther

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

NEWS FROM LINDA

Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 09:10:39 -0600

Bill,

Good to hear from you! I have been working(still for the City)
two days a week and started May 1st at three days a week. I really enjoy
the reduced schedule and would hate to have to go back to work full-time.
We have been busy every weekend with grandchildren. There is usually a
soccer game for Gavin in Billings or soccer for Hope here or track meets for
Ben. We try to arrange to spread ourselves between that an seeing our
newest grandchild Emma! We are going to Livingston Thursday night to
babysit as they don't have a sitter for Friday. I don't know how
grandparents do it with more grandchildren! We do love it.

I am adjusting to the loss of Mom. It gets easier as time goes by.
I know she is is a better place and out of pain. We have plans to bury Mom
on June 12th and stay at the farm that night. I am hoping my lilacs will
still be in bloom.....Mom loved lilacs!

Hope you have a great summer!

Linda

Monday, May 03, 2010

CROPS ARE MOSTLY PLANTED!

Dad and Luke said on Saturday that the beets and barley are all planted, and the wheat is about done. And, importantly, there has been some good rain to help the seeds get started! Furthermore, paddle fish season opened May 1, and Luke, Shawn and Brett have been successful in catching some. (Wish we could be there to enjoy that savory taste!) Abbie got on the phone between Dad and Luke and told all the secrets of the household!

Mavis took Dad to Bismarck for a checkup and generally got a good report. His congestive heart failure is a bit worse, but otherwise he is holdin up well. Rhonda and Vicki continue to come visit him once each week, helping to keep his house clean, while entertaining and feeding him. He seems to enjoy them both a lot, and they like going to see him.

Yesterday (Sunday) Marilyn, Issy, Ron, and Mavis took Dad to lunch and drove to the old Clark farm west of Savage to see what it was like. The farmstead has about disappeared and the oil well that was operating there has shut down. However, there were plenty of oil wells near Lambert and west of Sidney and Fairview. No new drilling is going on right now in the Cartwright area, but there is lots of activity around the larger Williston area--as reported on the front page of the New York Times last week, espeically the part about the shortage of housing. Two new formations are now being explored, called the Three Forks and Sanish, both supposedly as good or better than the previous discoveries.

Marilyn and Issy have been to Minot to see Julie's "new" house, and are preparing to build a new white fence around their yard.

SCOTTSDALE

We are continuing to explore our new turf, yesterday venturing to the Arizona Biltmore Hotel--an historic place long noted for hosting movie stars and Presidents, as well as other celebrities. It was designed in the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural tradition, and is quite unique, with lots of gorgeous flowers and other landscaping. It has 750 rooms, and lots of ballroom space for events like conventions. Vice President Joe Biden was there on Saturday for a Democratic Party fundraiser. It was fun to wander around the beautiful grounds, but the wine was so expensive we decided to go thirsty!

The Hermosa Inn is much smaller (34 rooms) but equally as historic and interesting. It was the hacienda home of a famous cowboy artist, who converted it to an inn and restaurant. It was built in the Mexican ranchhouse style, and is beautifully unique, with marvelous flowers and plants everywhere. We'll definitely return for a celebration one of these days.

All is well here, and we continue to be pleased with our move from Tucson. Among the pleasures is an abundance of birds that make beautiful music for us whenever we go outside in the afternoon, as they gather around the bird feeder given to us several years ago by Mollie, Dione and Saul!

Cheers,

Bill and Marie