Awe, Nice!

Welcome to  Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com.  This week I interviewed Clay Baker. Clay is a working cowboy from Nevada and took part in the  Buck the Trend mental health forum earlier this year.  In this segment, Clay describes a rare moment with wildlife as he an...

Welcome to Awe, Nice !, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. My name is Maddy Butcher, I'm the creator and producer of Awe, Nice!. Occasionally, I produce Mini-Awe-Polis segments. They are departures from our usual interviews, snippets of notes and observations, like hay in my jacket pockets. Animals are on the move this time of year. The Canada Geese have my attention alth...

This week I interviewed Hannah Pace Baker. Hannah recently moved to Oregon with her horses and dogs and where she is working at a vineyard in the Willamette Valley. They're in the middle of a very busy season now, so I was lucky to catch her. Vineyard work is a pivot from her several years in the high deserts of eastern Nevada where she worked for many years cowboying. That's where we hear her Awe...

This week, I'm sharing another moment recounted by Lisa Schmidt. Lisa runs A Land of Grass Ranch and writes and records Prairie Ponderings , a regular feature in several newspapers in Montana. Busy woman! I'm guessing many of you can relate to this account of how the mountains help us get out of our own way. It's a nice little message in a bottle for us, when it comes to finding calm amidst our ch...

This week, I'm sharing another moment - two moments on the same day, actually - recounted by Lisa Schmidt. Lisa runs A Land of Grass Ranch and writes and records Prairie Ponderings , a regular feature in several newspapers in Montana.  Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us. Music is by my friend, Forrest...

This week, I'm sharing a moment recounted by Lisa Schmidt. Lisa runs A Land of Grass Ranch and writes and records Prairie Ponderings , a regular feature in several newspapers in Montana. Busy woman!   Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to share it, contact us. Music is by my friend, Forrest Van Tuyl. You can find a donate but...

This week, I interviewed Joe Lanier. Joe is a nearby farmer and rancher who I interviewed for a Washington Post piece I wrote about the drought .  For Awe, Nice! Joe shared two great stories recounted from time spent hunting in the fall. Hard to believe hunting season starts up in just over a month. For bow hunters, the first week of September. That's during the elk rut. Joe's found that the best...

This week, I return to my conversation with Joe Lanier. He told me another hunting story. This one unfolded on the very last day of the season on the last week of November. He was with his daughter, who had the hunting licence, and his wife. It was cold, in the evening and fading light.  Awe, Nice!  welcomes interviewees. If you have a moment you experienced while working outside and would like to...

    My name is Maddy Butcher and this is another segment of mini-awe-polis. Reflections from thoughts gathered, like hay in my jacket pockets.    This week, the Washington Post published a piece I wrote on the drought . So you might deduce that I've been thinking a lot about drought lately. If you're listening to this on KSJD or other Rocky Mountain radio stations, as many of you do, I bet you hav...

Welcome to Awe, Nice! , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com.  This week, I talked with Alex Marienthal from Montana. After high school, Alex left Boulder, Colorado, for Montana State University where he studied snow science as an undergraduate and then as a graduate student. Bef...

Welcome to Awe, Nice! , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out here .  This week, I interviewed Kyler Brown. Apart from the stink, or, maybe because of the stink, that was a fantastic encounter! I asked Kyler how he first learned to ride. He said his rabbi, back in Missouri, first taught him. Who...

  Welcome to Awe, Nice! , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at here . In this segment, we return to visit with Alex Marienthal, who works in Montana as an avalanche forecaster. Here, Alex shares a near-miss moment. It happened during an intense and extended winter storm which brought more th...

Welcome to Awe, Nice!, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out here .  My name is Maddy Butcher, I'm the creator and producer of Awe, Nice! and we are entering our second season of this novel radio segment. Lined up, I have interviews with ranchers, an avalanche researcher, a farmer, a working cow...

Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out here.   This week I visited with Allana Salmon from Ohio. Allana teaches horsemanship and rock climbing, but it was on a trek with friends toward a climb called Listerine Girl, in the Red River Gorge, when she experienced what she wante...

Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms.  This week we wrap up our short visit with rancher Joe Morris from California. Joe thinks deeply about his work, literally and figuratively. While many of us are looking at what's in front of us, Joe has learned to see beyond.  Awe, Nice! welcomes interviewees....

Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. This week, I visited with Cooper Hibbard from Montana. Cooper runs the Sieben Livestock Company, which is part of the Old Salt Co-op in Helena, Montana. The Co-op, with has beef, lamb, and other offerings from five central Montana ranches, is committed to transforming the status quo of beef production to a more rege...

 Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com.  This week we have another visit with Joe Morris from California. Joe runs Morris Grassfed Beef and is an award-winning leader of environmental stewardship and regenerative ag. This second moment involves the cattle.  T...

  Welcome to A we Nice !, where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms.  This week, I visited again with Carol Von Michaelis from Arvada, Colorado. Carol runs The Community Farm which seeks to bridge the gap between agriculture, the outdoors, and urban residents. Lots of people visit and when they do, they are likely greeted by...

Welcome to  Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms.  This week I interviewed Joe Morris from California. Joe is a horseman raised in the vaquero tradition and part of an accomplished, multi-generational line of ranching in his family. He learned holistic management practices from Allan Savory , who many say pio...

  Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com.  This week I interviewed Erin Nissen from Mosca, Colorado. Erin farms in the San Luis Valley which is known many things, but in our case, potatoes. Idaho may lead the nation in production, but the Valley still contribu...

  Welcome to Awe Nice , where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. We're on the radio and we're also on podcast platforms. And you can check us out at awenice.com. That's a-w-e-n-i-c-e This week, I visited with Carol Von Michaelis mc haylis from Arvada. Carol grew up around Golden and it was there as a high school student that she volunteered for the local ambulance. That work ev...

  Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. My name is Maddy Butcher and this week we are giving another nod to the 2026 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Horse. I interviewed Robert Eversole, also known as the TrailMeister for his expansive horse camping and trail riding website and for his many clinics he holds on traveling safely with equines. Robert and h...

  Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. My name is Maddy Butcher and this week we are giving a nod to the 2026 Lunar New Year. It's the Year of the Horse. Jeremie Forman returns with a story that's fitting to the celebration. Aside from his work in law enforcement and his running a horse facility, Jeremie is mayor of the small town of Francis, Utah. Pop...

  Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. My name is Maddy Butcher and we are fast approaching our first year anniversary of being on the air. I want to thank KSJD for taking a chance with me as well as Kershaw knives and Redmond Salt for extending some help with sponsorship.   This week, we return to a recollection with Jeremie Forman of Utah. Aside from...

  Welcome to Awe, Nice! where we highlight moments of wonder while working outdoors. This is our 40 th segment since this little project started last year. This week, I talked with Jeremie Forman of Francis, Utah. Francis, population around 1,800, is 50 miles east of Salt Lake City and sits near the foot of the Uinta Mountains. The Uintas are unusual because they run east-west while most mountain...