The ANTecdote
We Heart Zone 4 Magazine
by Sarah Kmon Some of us at Red Ants Pants like to garden. Some of us like the idea of gardening. And some of us (me) like looking at other people’s gardens and daydreaming about the one we don’t have. Montana is a very difficult place to garden. The soil is, shall we say, unsoily. The weather must be weathered, whether you want to or not. And plants just don’t like to grow. What is a gardener to do? Zone 4 Magazine is full of inspired solutions, tips and ideas of how to live the gardener’s life in Zone 4. The magazine was started by Andra and Dan Spurr after they moved to Bozeman, MT and made some “costly and frustrating mistakes” with their garden, trees and shrubs. You can read their story here. Zone 4 is “written by experts for real people with real concerns who want to learn more about successful gardening, landscaping, and healthy local foods raised and grown in zone 4”. It has a wide-ranging readership, and Zone 4 celebrates that. One beautiful, spring day, like today, I will dip into my Zone 4 magazine, not just to daydream, but because I need some information about what kind of mulch is the best for planting strawberries in White Sulphur Springs. Check out Zone 4 Magazine. We love it.
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Images from the Store
Have you ever been to a store where clothes hang on deer antlers, and Quaking Aspen trees decorate the floor to ceiling inventory shelves? Oh? You have been to the Red Ants Pants store? Great. Well if you haven’t, here are some photos to give you an idea of what you might see, and if you have, here are some photos from angles I bet you didn’t look from (unless you were four years old at the time). I wasn’t kidding. Floor to ceiling inventory shelves. Getting the pants at the top is superfun. Call me wierd but…ok, call me really wierd, but I have a thing for these coathangers. I think because all the coathangers in my closet are flimsy metal. Not pretty wooden coathangers. Can anyone tell me where this dude is located? And did you look up at the original tin roof? Or lay your head flat on the belt table? Isn’t he cute? We are very proud that Red Ants Pants are made in the USA. What else should I take pictures of?
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Fun-Packed Early March Weekend Getaway in Montana
by Sarah Kmon Fly into Bozeman March 8th, get in the car and drive to White Sulphur Springs. I know you have been sitting in a plane all day, but do it anyway. Check into the Hotpsrings Spa and Motel, where you can soak in the evening and again in the morning. Eat breakfast on the 9th at Dori’s. Then come and see us at Red Ants Pants. We will be so very happy to see you. After you have told us all about yourself, drive south from White Sulphur towards Livingston. Walk around downtown Livingston and stretch your legs. Stop in to Chadz coffee shop. Then drive further south to Chico Hotsprings Resort and Dayspa. Soak in the heavenly waters at Chico, eat a delicious meal in their restaurant, and then dance your new Red Ants Pants off to Montana Rose, who are playing there that night. The next day, drive to Red Lodge. Every year, Red Lodge hosts the Ski-Joring National Finals. Spend the next two nights in Red Lodge and soak up the crazy atmosphere of Ski-Joring. Photo courtesy of Merv Coleman. One place to check out while you are in Red Lodge is Sam’s Tap Room. Drink hot cocoa in the snow, smell the horses’ sweat, experience the brief panic when you realize a skier is sliding full speed towards you unable to stop, before they turn at the last minute and jump an obstacle. Some homework for you – find out why the skiers slide effortlessly over the snowpacked surface, but the horses have traction even though they are wearing metal shoes. Go. Tweet us (@redantspants) or facebook us the answer. But ONLY if you went to Red Lodge to find out. On the 12th, fly home.
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Outside WSS and Red Ants Pants in February
by Sarah Kmon Where the #$%$ have you been? Oh no wait, that’s me. Where have I been? Well, I haven’t been on the computer, nor have I been to town much. At home, every day we have baby cows coming in to the world, and I have spent most all of my time facilitating that. It is calving season, and while the rest of the United States is in a tizzy about climate change and the warmest, dryest winter on record, we are loudly giving thanks that little baby cows aren’t getting their ears and tails frozen off, like they did last year. Another highlight of this years calving season is this little guy. We are bottle feeding him, which makes him think I am his mother. It is a bittersweet task. Because as cute as he is, and as much fun I have watching him make up his own games and chase his shadow around the corral, I wish that he was out in the pasture with a bovine mother, where he would have other friends to play with, like these guys. And although I will do my best, if I don’t get back on here any time soon you will know that it is because I am immersed in soft black cuteness mixed with a little blood, gross gook and calf poop. What are you doing with your February?
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Save the Date for the Red Ants Pants Music Festival!
Calhoun here…holy shitballs how is the festival only FOUR MONTHS AWAY!!!! Stay tuned for line-up and more info soon on www.redantspantsmusicfestival.com Cheers!
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An early-Valentines Montana Mini-Break
Treat your Love, because they deserve it and so do you. Here’s how to get them in the mood… Fly into Bozeman on Thursday, February 9th. If you live in Bozeman it is really important to complete this step. On Friday, spend the day cross-country skiing at Bohart Ranch. It is inexpensive and breathtakingly beautiful. The excercise and the fresh air will raise your Love’s endorphine levels to perfect Valentines Day counts. Drive on, over the mountains to White Sulphur Springs, and check into the All Seasons. It is the first hotel you come to as you arrive in White Sulphur. You’ll see this… on the way here. Spend the evening and the following morning soaking it the hotsprings. The hot water and chilly air, together with only wearing a bathing suit will relax your Love to Valentines Day levels of warm, mushy tenderness. Then come and visit our store. Buying your high-endorphined, warm, mushy, tender Love a pair of Red Ants Pants, will Seal. The. Deal. Nudge nudge. Wink wink. After that head back to Bozeman and party with Ten Foot Tall and 80 Proof who are playing at the Eagles Lodge in Bozeman. Allowing your Love to dance in your arms is just icing on the cake. Sunday, fly home. Smiling.
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One Job, One Reason: Hauling Wood into the House
In the winter, in Montana, everyone (hopefully) has a massive stack of wood outside their house and a small stack inside. We have a big wood box inside. The wood box needs to be replenished every three or four days. Red Ants Pants are great for doing this is because you can brace yourself against the pile with your knees, as you load your arms. You don’t get splinters, nor do the pants rip. Hauling wood is that much more enjoyable. All because you are wearing Red Ants Pants.
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Staff Meeting
Today, at Red Ants Pants, we had our 2012 strategic staff meeting. It was very official. Present at the meeting: (from left to right) Sarah Kmon, Leroy (who has come home!), Sarah Calhoun and Donna Babcock. Also present, but not pictured, were Nellie – who was eating a bone, Magpie – who was hiding on one of the shelves, and Mattie – who was staring at Magpie. We talked about you.
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What is a Gusseted Crotch?
by Sarah Kmon It is the reason that I am wearing my Red Ants Pants (not my sweats) as I type. The gusseted crotch is that little detail that makes Red Ants Pants flexible, keeps your lower appendages full of blood and your lunch in your stomach. So what is a gusseted crotch? Red Ants Pants have a diamond-shaped patch of fabric in the, well, crotch. It makes Red Ants Pants comfortable to wear whilst squatting, walking, climbing etc, as recently proven by some of our hard-core customers on our facebook page. It also makes them easy to lay out on the table so that I can take photos of them. It pretty much means that you can do anything in them. Except scuba diving. I wouldn’t recommend scuba diving in them.
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