I'm always enamored of the first catkins that bloom along the river. They seem to flower about the same time as the apricot trees. Now the first leaves are appearing and the lilacs are about to pop.
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| Catkins |
Mike has been planning and building fence for some of his conservation projects. He also replaced the fence along the old driveway. Before the thousand year flood event of '97, the driveway crossed the river on a two-part wooden bridge near the old campground.
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| Looking down the old driveway |
It was a beastly scary bridge that launched off an abutment part-way out in the river and swooped steeply up onto a rim where the track immediately make a sharp right to avoid crashing into another rock face. In winter the icy sagging timbers made it especially treacherous.
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Nice sale heifers
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We kept a few heifers this year, and sold the rest. Sometimes it's hard to choose. One we kept is out of Weston's cow, so it will be interesting to see how she turns out.
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| Another fish for Dawson |
Dawson is getting good at catching and bringing home fish for supper. He is definitely following in his dad's footsteps. When Gabe was five, he and Prairie would pack some snacks and Prairie's 'my little ponies' and go down to the Snake River to catch bass. Gabe loved to fish. If he caught them, I would cook them, but he had to clean them. That was when we lived at Dug Bar in Hells Canyon.
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| Weston the fish stunner |
I had a blast at the Old Time dance and I got to dance a couple waltzes with Mike in spite of my arm still being in a sling. Caleb and Reeb brought the Culley Cut-Ups out from Portland to play the dance and we had a good turn out at the Oddfellows.
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| Old timey dance at Oddfellows |
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| Culley Cut-ups visit from P-Town |
After the apricots, the plums started blooming. The canyons are well on their way to greening and the river is swelling with run-off from the mountains.
Mike took advantage of the warmer temperatures to finish painting a new screen door. It has two sassy mapgies carved by Steve Arment,
The door commemorates Jon and Prairie's wedding, which took place in 2013. We had planned to host the wedding at the ranch, but were forced to relocate to the valley when a wildland range fire threatened. We still held a private family ceremony at the ranch, and now the new door reminds me of that special day.
From Sara at Magpie Ranch, home of Bunchgrass Beef
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| Greening and blooming |
Mike took advantage of the warmer temperatures to finish painting a new screen door. It has two sassy mapgies carved by Steve Arment,
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| New screen door with Magpies |
The door commemorates Jon and Prairie's wedding, which took place in 2013. We had planned to host the wedding at the ranch, but were forced to relocate to the valley when a wildland range fire threatened. We still held a private family ceremony at the ranch, and now the new door reminds me of that special day.
From Sara at Magpie Ranch, home of Bunchgrass Beef
