Articles written by Dick Geary
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
By 
Grouchy ducks, grumpy geese and other undesirable animals
Our mother was out at the clothesline while the rest of us were in the house. Suddenly, she burst through the back door, so frightened and angry she couldn't speak clearly. She kept asking for a shotg...
Surviving with help from Rosana, a person of rare caliber
I had been incubating a case of pneumonia for some time before I got sick enough that a woman whose name I didn't even know took action and saved my life. For some weeks, I had been getting weaker...
Family milk cows, and the chores they meant, now a thing of the past
Along with the beaverslide stackers and teams of horses, the family milk cows have disappeared into the past. I don't think anyone misses them. The state of Montana initiated brucellosis testing of...
Farm flocks, Judas sheep and surprise of ovine intelligence
For many years it was traditional for almost every ranch to run 100 – 200 head of sheep. "Farm flocks" they were called. That lasted until to the mid 1970's when the coyotes and prices both got so...
Of baptisms, calving and making the most of an embarrassing situation
Matt stood in front of the mirror knotting the $80 silk tie his wife had given him for his birthday. He called to her, asking, "What time to we have to be at the church?" Liz, his wife, answered, "We'...
Find the real Montana in Helmville on Labor Day weekend
Labor Day marks the end of summer in Helmville and most of Montana. The hay is baled and the cattle haven't come home from the native pastures. Children are either in school or about to start. For...
Old Habits Die Hard
Old habits die hard. The nights are getting chillier, now, and even though I haven't hunted in over twenty years, I still find myself thinking about the coming hunting season. This came from my father...
Fun and guilt at the Tri-County Fair
During the loose hay years, we kids would get a respite of four days, and that was the tri-county fair in Deer Lodge. It was the high point of our summer. We were in 4-H, so we always had a project,...
The old pensioner and the lessons that stick in the memory
Chris was a "pensioner," as they called retired people back in the 1950's. He lived in a little cabin at our place, and died when I was eight or ten years old. I spent a lot of time with Chris,...
Lessons and life as kid at the old Helmville School
The old Helmville school house was an imposing structure. It was two stories high, with a bell tower, and sat on the highest point in town. It was probably built in the late 1800's, and still serves...
In Brazil a reminder of the toils of old fashioned motherhood
When I was in Brazil this last time I was reminded of what our mothers, grandmothers, and those before them must have gone through before running water and electricity. I don't know how they did it....
Return, recovery and independent smoking
The trip from Sao Paulo to Orlando, Fla. was the ultimate misery. My feet were swollen and wept and burned the entire ten hours of the trip. Every seat on the plane had a TV screen where the...
Dick Geary: Recovering from pneumonia and a few other things, and thankful for help
For most of my life I've considered myself to be a misanthrope, harboring a soft contempt for my fellow humans. I think that philosophy was a contrivance to protect my own fragile and shallow ego....
No more blind faith
It's like this. I'm now bankrupt in one country and stone broke in another. That takes some work. I've written about Beré. She works in the restaurant on the weekends and occasionally other...
Surviving the seasonal hazards of the hayfields
Looking back, it’s surprising to realize how hazardous our ranch childhoods were. We had scores of attractive dangers to lure us into difficult situations. We had horses, defensive cows with new...
