12:48 p.m. A dog on Ridgewood Drive barked for approximately three hours.

1:43 p.m. A good looking horse was spotted wandering down Jellison Road.

1:50 p.m. A Martin City resident reported that drunken man was sitting in the snowbank in front of her house. Someone showed up and gave him a ride.

2:28 p.m. A woman on Reserve Place reported that someone attempted to break into her house with a “busted up CD.”

3:18 p.m. A woman on Highway 2 East reported that someone stole her adult toys. She estimated the value to be approximately $30 and has one suspect in mind.

3:34 p.m. Three men were spotted comfortably riding in the back of a flatbed truck in their “easy chairs.”

4:30 p.m. A cookie and some candy were report stolen from a Kalispell location. Video footage of the event was made available to law enforcement.

4:52 p.m. A Kalispell man reported that a former tenant stole the refrigerator from the rental property.

5:17 p.m. One power tool was stolen by a medium sized man in Lakeside

10:07 p.m. An episode of road rage resulted in a small scuffle, but ended with a deputy supervised handshake.

Angela Jamison is a native Montanan and she grew up in beautiful Bozeman. I'm the mother of two girls and write a blog about our life here and taking in the simple pleasures of family and food.

Not to sound completely cliché, but can you seriously believe the weather we are having? It’s February and I keep seeing people in flip flops and I don’ think they are crazy for their shoe choice. Every single conversation I’ve had with anyone these past couple weeks has began the same way…”Can you believe this weather?” “It’s spring in February!” No one knowing what to think of it. Some cautious to comment on how nice it is, afraid to scare it away. Others wishing for our usual snowy cold this time of year. A few wondering what it all means and how our real spring will actually go. I am pretty sure I have felt all these things and am simply trying to ride this out as long as it goes. Taking the good with the bad.

The good…lack of snow means more time spent outdoors in the mountains. These are usually left to the skiers this time of year. I told myself I wasn’t going to let the snow keep us out of them this winter and the unseasonably dry weather has certainly made this easy. The last few weekends have been spent on a hike up Hyalite where we can get there easily on dry roads, yet still hike in the snow. Enjoying the peace that only comes in the quiet of winter.

The bad…dry trails means my once secluded winter runs up to the M are now almost summer-touristy busy again.

The good…the warm sun and bright blue skies makes everyone around you happy. Everyone comes out of their homes, walking around, sitting on their porches. The hello’s as you pass by are cheerier than usual, everyone bitten by the spring fever bug.

The bad…well, not everyone is happy. I actually feel bad for the skiers. The ones who wait as patiently for winter to arrive as I do for summer. It’s only fair for them to get their turn to play. I would be devastated if we had an unseasonably cold summer so I truly do feel bad for those winter lovers. Especially because, don’t ask me how, my daughters have both turned into such winter lovers. They are so very sad the ice skating rinks were only open briefly before turning into puddles. Their shiny, new skates barely broken in before being hung on the wall. The snowmen built in our front yard long gone. The sleds sadly tucked in a corner behind the bikes because those are getting used more.

The good…I am still in love with Montana. Usually around February I really begin to dislike living here and wonder why we don’t move someplace warm. Not everyone has to live in a climate where going to bed in two layers of clothes is sometimes necessary. Or a place where starting your car ten minutes before you leave will slightly take the chill off. This kind of winter I can totally handle. We got our snow for the holidays and now it feels like spring…this is my ideal.

The bad…seriously-what does this all mean? Why are the temperatures pushing 60-degrees when it should be hovering around single digits? Is it global warming? That’s not good. Does it mean we will have a return of winter that will last into June? Well, that would be a bummer. Will the lack of moisture cause a terrible fire season therefore put a strain on camping season? Camping just isn’t the same without a fire to cook over.

No one knows how long this warm weather will last. By the time you are reading this we may be right back in the middle of a normal Bozeman winter. All I know is despite my mixed feelings about it I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. I will look at those walking around in shorts, the kids playing basketball at the park and the windows letting fresh air in and I will smile. Even if winter returns I don’t know how I could possibly complain after this reprieve. Mother nature never ceases to amaze me so I’ll just hope she’s gracing us with these beautiful days and doesn't have anything crazy up her sleeve.

Most native Montanans and those who choose to move here share a notable trait: They value an outdoor lifestyle, a clean environment and public land more than the residents of any intermountain state, according to a recent poll.

That was just one of the findings of the fifth Conservation in the West poll, a survey of 2,400 voters in six Western states sponsored by Colorado College. The states are Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

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Kyle Ploehn is an artist, illustrator and writer living in Billings Montana. He likes to spend the few hours he isn't painting hiking the mountains of Montana. 

The Coming Storm by Kyle Ploehn. Original 16x32 Digital Painting.

The Coming Storm is a painting in which I explore the tragic tale of the great american buffalo and their decline into near extinction. The last of his kind cries tears of blood for the violence that befell a once great nation of beasts, roaming unconquered across the great plains.

Having grown up with Yellowstone National Park in my backyard (It was a regular trip in my younger years), I saw buffalo quite regularly. They seemed as common as deer and elk, so I was surprised and deeply affected when we were taught of their near annihilation in school. The image of thundering grasslands full of these ancient, giant creatures slowly disappearing until only a one remained haunted me. I painted this image as ode to the lost buffalo and a revering for those few that remain.

Canvas Prints of 16x32 are available for $250, 6x12 poster prints matted to 11x14 are available for $45. Contact me at [email protected], if you're interested in purchasing a print or visit my website http://kyleploehnart.blogspot.com

Blame the relatively mild winter weather for the early emergence of bears in the Greater Yellowstone Area.

The first confirmed report of grizzly bear activity in Yellowstone occurred on Monday. A grizzly bear was observed late in the afternoon, scavenging on a bison carcass in the central portion of the park.

With bears emerging from hibernation, hikers, skiers and snowshoers are advised to stay in groups of three or more, make noise on the trail and carry bear spray. The same advice goes for those taking guided snowmobile trips in Yellowstone.

Bears begin looking for food soon after they emerge from their dens. They are attracted to elk and bison that have died during the winter. Carcasses are an important enough food source that bears will sometimes react aggressively when surprised while feeding on them.

Updated bear safety information is available at www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bearsafety.htm and in the park newspaper distributed at all park entrances.

Yellowstone also implements seasonal bear management area closures to reduce encounters between bears and humans in areas where elk and bison carcasses are in high density. A listing of these closures can be found at www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/bearclosures.htm.

MORE>>>Billings Gazette