ELK AROUND THEIR CALVING GROUNDS

We are seeing quite a few elk around the last week.  Connie and I have run into elk while riding and walking.  Not every day, but almost.  In a few weeks they will start calving and the area to the east of us seems to be where a lot of them calve - at least in the years past.  It is fun watching them as they are not as spooky this time of year and will just move off a comfortable distance and watch us ride or walk by.  Connie has started taking her phone with her while walking and took a few pictures yesterday morning.  She was still sitting down in the sagebrush watching them when I caught up to her.  The bulls antlers have started their new growth for the year, and it is getting easy to see the new velvet knobs on top of their heads. 

You will have to click on the photo to enlarge to really see them.  We stay back quite a ways so as not to spook them.

Connie and her buddy.

We thought it appropriate to have elk stir fry for supper last night!!!

SPRING CLEANUP

We are in the middle of cleaning our main irrigation ditch in preparation of the coming summer.  Although the temperatures have been 30 degrees below normal this past week, summer will come and irrigating will have to be done.  We decided to clean out what we call the horseshoe where the ditch makes it's first entry into our land.  This place has been overgrown with trees, willows, and rose bushes for years.  It took us three days to get it cleaned out and burned, but it sure looks better.  We did not take any "before" pictures though.  And we regret it of course.  But there are a few pictures of during and after below.

This is a busy time of year for us.  With all the spring things that need to be done on our place, I also am working on getting ready for the Memorial Day Parade here in Corvallis.  Connie has managed to ride one of her horses and her knees did fine.  We still have a lot to do with them.  All need their hooves trimmed and some need shoes.  Shots and wormed - it never ends.

There were five piles of brush we drug out of the horseshoe with the tractor.

Lighting small brush piles left in the horseshoe and pine needles.

I am standing by the tree pictured below.

Here is kind of a before picture of the largest tree we have on our place with years of pine needles piled up on the bushes below.

Here is what the area looks like after burning with the big tree in the background.

 The big tree did catch on fire, but we were able to get it out with a sprayer.