I just returned from our little piece of the Blue Mountains. The weather was perfect. Hooray for Spring! While I was there, temps on the mountain ranged from the low 40’s to the low 70’s!!!! Absolutely wonderful!
At dawn, Ravens were the first to announce the coming day. Soon after, the barks and yips of Coyotes sounded from just beyond the forest edge as a pack ran past. The raspy calls of Mountain Bluebirds whispered from the meadows as they foraged in the early light. Chickadees, Nuthatches and Chickarees also squeaked and whistled to the rising sun.
Every morning I drank my coffee and toasted potatoes to bird song and a quiet breeze. Then I cut firewood and burned brush until I was tired, relaxing the afternoon away by reading and walking in the forest. I’ll admit that once I get going it’s hard to stop picking up sticks. I had to force myself to drink something and rest for 10 minutes of every half hour.
A Saw-whet Owl is here again this year. I also heard a Barred Owl off somewhere in the northern forest. Steve Mattheis encouraged me to listen for Great Gray Owls. This ridge is at the edge of their range, so they may be here.
The first spring wildflowers were just starting to blossom. These Blue Mountain Buttercups came out on Monday. They were not in evidence when I arrived.
And I saw the season’s first butterflies. They were all over the meadows Tuesday, sipping from small puddles. This one is surrounded by Popcorn Flowers.
I saw a herd of seven Elk grazing between the sagebrush in the northwest corner of the property. Later, I went to investigate and found a tree fallen across the northern boundary fence. It’s a Forest Service fence, but I don’t know if I’m obligated to fix it. I might be, as the tree fell from my side to theirs. I phoned and asked if I was allowed, much less obligated, to cut the tree and fix the fence; nobody knew: “We’ll call you back”. I’m still waiting.
Less than 10 percent of the ground was still covered with snow and that is melting fast.
I was using the shovel to top off the stock tank with snow. From tracks, I can see that Elk and Deer are coming to drink rather regularly. To encourage more wildlife use, I’ll try to keep it filled through the summer. As I left it was full to overflowing. The critters will have something to drink when the snow melt soaks into the ground. The stick is to give small critters that might fall into the tank a fighting chance to escape.
Across the John Day valley from our mountain perch, rise the Strawberry Mountains. They are visible between the trees in a few places. This vista is from the northeast corner.
I want to transplant Huckleberry plants from the Strawberry Mountains to our mountain. On our side of the valley, the forests have been grazed for over 100 years. I believe that over time the Huckleberry plants were eaten by cattle. I’m bringing them back.
Here is another view from the far western edge of the ridge where the land rises a bit above most trees.
There are three Wolf packs roaming the Strawberry Mountains; four more packs roam the Blue Mountains of Grant County. I hope to hear them some day.
Here is my first full length feature film of a bimble (leisurely walk) I took around the ridge while I was there. I’m still learning to use the video camera. I did learn that I should video while the sun is higher in the sky. I should also work harder on a hands-free filming method.
I have some clips from a game camera that I left operating over the winter. I’m editing them into a video. There are some very interesting residents who have yet to introduce themselves to me.