18 April, 2009
A new bluebird
If you are familar with the pictures I've taken, you've seen a "mountain bluebird" that I photographed last year by the side of the house, another one in Yellowstone was on the blog on April 5th and I promised I would find the male and get his photograph eventually. I am conditioning myself for a 4 day field seminar in Yellowstone in May - they say we will be hiking 3 to 4 miles a day, and on my conditioning walk yesterday, I took my camera. This guy was near a "bluebird box" along the road to the Johnson Place on my outward trip and I failed again to get his picture. Then on the return, he was perched in the trees along the Grove Creek. This is my favorite of him. If you've seen last years, which do you like best. If you haven't seen last years, go to circlebbart.etsy.com, he's there and has had more visits than any other picture.
15 April, 2009
Does this look like spring?
The weatherman was very accurate in his predictions for Stillwater County and the Fishtail area andyou will see that the ranchers and wildlife were not prepared. The snow is not supposed to let up until Friday and that doesn't mean that it's over for the spring, as we have had 10 inches of snow as late as June 14th.
After we fed the horses their hay in the snow covered pasture this morning, they traversed to other parts, dug under the snow to eat the new green growth. I took a picture of our place from the Grove Creek Road, 3 miles from our house, today as I returned from Fishtail having mailed our tax returns. Does this look like April 15th, no, it looks more like April Fools ( you may have to doulbe click to see the house). I also happened upon a Meadowlark, compare this picture to the one I posted on April 7th.
Finally you will notice that these sheep got their wool removed a few days early, but this will not be the first time nor the last that mother nature has tried to dictate when the shearers should do their job. The black animals in the middle of the sheep are a couple of calves who got misplaced from their mothers when the rancher put hay at the other end of the pasture - - that's where the sheep are headed also.
After we fed the horses their hay in the snow covered pasture this morning, they traversed to other parts, dug under the snow to eat the new green growth. I took a picture of our place from the Grove Creek Road, 3 miles from our house, today as I returned from Fishtail having mailed our tax returns. Does this look like April 15th, no, it looks more like April Fools ( you may have to doulbe click to see the house). I also happened upon a Meadowlark, compare this picture to the one I posted on April 7th.
Finally you will notice that these sheep got their wool removed a few days early, but this will not be the first time nor the last that mother nature has tried to dictate when the shearers should do their job. The black animals in the middle of the sheep are a couple of calves who got misplaced from their mothers when the rancher put hay at the other end of the pasture - - that's where the sheep are headed also.
14 April, 2009
We got water
This will be a spring to remember, at least from the standpoint of precipitation. The Montana Bureau of Mines has been monitoring our well for the last 7 years. When the well was dug in 1993 it was 105 feet deep, from the surface of the ground to the water was 43 feet and it pumped at a rate of 25 gallon per minute. The monitoring was a reaction to the concern for the drought caused by the lack of precipitation and the potential impact it could have on agriculture.
Currently, the water is at the highest level it has been in 7 years and very close to when the well was dug 16 years ago. In addition to the Grove Creek, which has always had some water flowing through it, we now have the Davidson Creek which starts north and west of our ranch, and crosses under the road that leads to the entrance to our home. The Davidson Creek has been flowing for over a month, the Grove Creek is flowing at a rate we haven't seen in years, and our spring tank, used to water the livestock in the northern pastures has been full since last fall.
We are currently in a winter storm watch, with 100% chance of snow and rain for the next 3 days, which means more water. The snow pack in the mountains was running 6% above normal about a week ago.
We should have great hay crops this summer but in the meantime we have mud like we haven't seen either. The drought which allowed the fires to be a major threat for the last few years should be under control, and the green picture that you have seen on our website may be a reality again. For those of you who have never seen the Davidson Creek, this is what it looks like as you drive up the hill to our driveway.
Currently, the water is at the highest level it has been in 7 years and very close to when the well was dug 16 years ago. In addition to the Grove Creek, which has always had some water flowing through it, we now have the Davidson Creek which starts north and west of our ranch, and crosses under the road that leads to the entrance to our home. The Davidson Creek has been flowing for over a month, the Grove Creek is flowing at a rate we haven't seen in years, and our spring tank, used to water the livestock in the northern pastures has been full since last fall.
We are currently in a winter storm watch, with 100% chance of snow and rain for the next 3 days, which means more water. The snow pack in the mountains was running 6% above normal about a week ago.
We should have great hay crops this summer but in the meantime we have mud like we haven't seen either. The drought which allowed the fires to be a major threat for the last few years should be under control, and the green picture that you have seen on our website may be a reality again. For those of you who have never seen the Davidson Creek, this is what it looks like as you drive up the hill to our driveway.
12 April, 2009
Happy Easter
Thursday morning Marty and I drove to the Billings airport to fly to Boulder to spend the weekend with Jeff and his family, pictured below. At noon after waiting at the gate for over almost 2 hours we were informed that our flight had been cancelled and there were no seats on aircraft leaving Billing for until Saturday. We immediately had our tickets refunded, picked up our luggage, jumped in our car and headed for Colorado, arriving at 8:45 PM.
. . . . . . and now a special Easter memory. . During the Easter season several years ago,one of our grandchildren appeared to be remorse as the parents were putting the grandchild to bed and saying their prayers. They asked what seemed to be problem.
The grandchild said, “I am sad because Al Dude died and I won’t see him anymore. The mother told the child that Al Dude was happy and in heaven. The grandchild was happy to hear that, but the parents could tell there was still something on the mind of the grandchild. “Is Al Dude in Heaven with Jesus?” ,the mother said, Of course he is. The grandchild said, “The soldiers are coming after Jesus, (referring to Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem.) Maybe, Jesus can find Al Dude and they can ride away real fast, so He isn’t caught by the soldiers.
Happy Easter
. . . . . . and now a special Easter memory. . During the Easter season several years ago,one of our grandchildren appeared to be remorse as the parents were putting the grandchild to bed and saying their prayers. They asked what seemed to be problem.
The grandchild said, “I am sad because Al Dude died and I won’t see him anymore. The mother told the child that Al Dude was happy and in heaven. The grandchild was happy to hear that, but the parents could tell there was still something on the mind of the grandchild. “Is Al Dude in Heaven with Jesus?” ,the mother said, Of course he is. The grandchild said, “The soldiers are coming after Jesus, (referring to Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem.) Maybe, Jesus can find Al Dude and they can ride away real fast, so He isn’t caught by the soldiers.
Happy Easter
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