Our Big News?! Jeff is calling it quits and signing up for Social Security next month. Twelve years with Consumer Direct Care Network! He has officially designated the heirs of his office chair, napping couch, and parking spot. It seems like only yesterday we stumbled upon a company right here in Western Montana seeking his exact skillset. Jeff’s background and expertise helped propel CDCN through stratospheric growth. So proud of all Jeff has achieved at CDCN and his entire career!

Jeff’s upcoming December birthday is a milestone at 70, so his daughter Johnna organized a fantabulous weekend of all his favorite Seattle activities with all his favorite family members. It’s a secret so I can’t give you any details. Suffice to say, I’m positive Jeff will have a stellar time. He loves the West Coast cities and takes every opportunity to enjoy them. Last December we traveled to San Francisco to watch the Seahawks play the Niners. We don’t get the opportunity to do much people watching here at the Ranch so we happily strolled the city streets seeing what we could see. Spied a 6’4” Black man wearing leather work boots and a Santa hat. That was all. Buff as polished boots. He had lovely skin.

The Harriott family had another milestone birthday this year. Jeff’s dad, Don, turned 90. We gathered in Helena for a weekend of fellowship and food. A grand reunion of Harriotts as varied as Don’s older brother Bill to the youngest Harriott great-grandchild Bailey Beverly. Lots of laughter, sharing of memories, and the making of new ones.

My sister Sheila and husband Mike visited Montana in September. We had a great time reminiscing and soaking up the autumn weather in our outdoor pavilion before we made an ill-fated trip to Glacier National Park. The park was lovely and the weather was great. However, I overestimated my driving skills on Going to the Sun Road. Tore the sidewall out of a tire and coasted along on the rim. There is no cell service on the top of the mountain, which wouldn’t have been a problem if I had a spare tire. Sheila, Mike, and their two Goldendoodles spent hours hanging out with the dead car on a mountain precipice while I hitched down the mountain for help. By 10 PM that night I had four new tires and a tow bill (not covered by insurance) that cost as much as the four tires. The bright spot was that a kind group of Montanans drove back up the mountain to rescue Sheila, Mike, Sophie, and Milo and drove them all the way to our hotel in Kalispell. There are some truly wonderful people in this world. I cried.

Just so you know, we are now a John Deere family. We no longer “Think Orange” with the Kubota tractor guys. Jeff is the only operator authorized to drive the Green tractor and zero-turn mower. I am allowed to operate the Orange tractor and riding mower. Even though it’s orange, we look forward to welcoming Don’s antique Allis Chalmers into the Equipment Shed next spring. Allis needs to be among her own kind. I’m sure she will be welcomed by all.

Photography has become more than a passion for me this year. Some might call it an obsession. I took a May trip to the Camargue in the south of France to photograph the majestic white horses indigenous to the Rhone delta. I had photographed them in 2023 in my Provence workshop and couldn’t resist an opportunity to shoot them again. It was an amazing trip in many ways and raised my game tremendously. I also traveled to the Palouse in eastern Washington to photograph the rolling hills formed by the loess from glacial Lake Missoula floods in ancient times. I had spent two weeks in the Palouse in 2023 at the vet school with Anniston but didn’t bring my camera. I’m continuing to take online classes and engage in a variety of challenges with like-minded photographers.

I’m trying to keep my website (montanabarb.com) a bit more up to date with my best work. I won a cash prize for one of my Camargue horse photos and won awards for every photo I submitted to the Ravalli County Fair. In fact, I won Grand Champion! Next summer I go to Tuscany for a workshop. Jeff, Sheila and Mike, and Dave and Tana will join me to enjoy Florence and the Tuscan countryside. I think wine will be involved.

Kayla is getting married next Memorial Day to the adorable Jack! She visited this Memorial Day for a friend’s wedding and talked me into getting matching tattoos. My first. A sprig of lavender with a bee to remind me how sweet life is and how much I love Provence. Kayla is a licensed massage therapist now and building her practice. Katerah is doing a fabulous job raising Elijah James and Zayden Wayne as they grow and become strong, healthy, adorable young boys.

It was bittersweet to visit Maui in March and view the devastation from the 2023 fire. Buildings were destroyed much closer to our timeshare resort than we expected. Many, many of the displaced were housed in the various resorts along Ka’anapali Beach. Listening to their stories of fleeing the fire and the loss of loved ones was heartbreaking. It was hard to know how to support them without being intrusive. Everyone seemed to have a big ALOHA spirit.

This summer was my last chance to appear as an extra on Yellowstone as the series finalized. I spent two days at the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch in Darby as a VIP Buyer at a horse auction and another day at a nearby ranch as a cattle buyer. We were all sworn to secrecy and they frequently closed the set so no one could hear the dialogue. As a VIP I sat at a table to the left and behind the Dutton family and to the right of legendary horseman Tom Bailey. It was clear from one of the scenes we filmed that John Dutton and Colby were dead. Sshh. A secret. As a cattle buyer I sat to the left of Kayce and Tate on the bleachers. My guess is this is the final scene of the series with the next generation of Duttons establishing their herd. I was also in a scene with the Senator and Beth late at night in the VIP bar. I’m pretty sure you will see me on screen in these three scenes in one or more of the episodes yet to air. Love or hate the show, it has generated a lot of interest in the state. Some of the plot lines hit the nail on the head; like missing and murdered indigenous women, livestock protection laws, wolf and grizzly depredation fears. However, some things they get wrong or skew too much, like brucellosis and red clover. Horse folks have been all over social media since the last episode where they gave a horse an intramuscular shot of Banamine. Gasp! The show has definitely attracted newcomers. There have been a ton of new recruits to become livestock agents, for example. But they’ve already quit because it’s so boring. So, no, they don’t go around shooting bandits. But plenty of folks around here have guns and use them. (Our neighbor did shoot our dog, after all.) Yellowstone is set in Paradise Valley but it’s shot right here in the Bitterroot Valley. The scenery is real and we are blessed to live in our own version of Paradise.

Phoebe and I are continuing to enjoy our Agility classes. Great mental and physical exercise for a pup with a LOT of energy. The biggest challenge is trying to keep up with her! Astro is slowing down more and more at almost 12 years old. Such a gentle soul. We take more potty breaks in the middle of the night due to her heart medications. She also wakes me up to ask permission to jump on the bed. Yes, she wakes ME up, not Jeff. She insists on permission before she will jump on the bed. This 63-year-old lady does not function well on disrupted sleep, but Astro is worth it.

The horses are still pulling it in one end and putting it out the other. Anniston recovered well from his 2023 sinus surgery but his symptoms have returned. So far he is breathing well and feeling good (except in the heat of a very hot summer). Chips is still the trouble maker of the herd. When Jeff told me I needed to put on my vet tech hat when I returned from a long day in Kalispell photographing the Event at Rebecca Farm, I was surprised to learn that Levi needed wound care instead of our pinto pony. Levi is fat and sassy and insisting he should be retired. Buster still looks pretty good at 30 but I swear he is getting a little senile. Sometimes he forgets his manners and/or loses his mind.

Jeff and I hope to travel much more in 2025. The new Airstream will be a comfortable way to road trip through the Midwest next summer. We have planned stops in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. With Jeff’s work schedule we haven’t been able to take such a long trip in the camper. We’ve started an annual tradition of camping with the Seattle Jim Harriotts every summer on the west coast and hope to continue that trend. In addition to road tripping, Maui, Kayla’s wedding, and Tuscany, we might just have another Big Trip in 2025. Stay tuned.