A Bit of a Mishmash

This first one is just for you Mick. Do you really want to" help" these fellows spread? They really seem to be doing a great job all by themselves. They really get noticed because everything around them still looks like winter.

Part of this blog is a little show and tell about what the forest service does here to "help prevent forest fires" as Smokey the bear would say. You have to be a certain age to get that one....

Crews come in and mitigate the forest.

They cut out dead and sick trees, clean up a lot of the windfall and build little controlled fires to burn the slash.

That keeps the forest floor cleaner and removes some of the more flammable material and also gives room and light for the new little trees to grow big and strong.

Lastly,

Orion turns into a little kid on Christmas morning when the elk are in the neighborhood. He dances around the house panting and wagging. He will go from me, to the window, to the door and back again, wanting to go our and play with the big guys but we know the big guys don't want to play with him.

This may be their last visit with us before they go to higher ground for the summer. The young ones are so thin and they all look a bit unkempt since they are shedding. The mamas will be going off to find a quiet spot soon to deliver the next generation.

Spring is so about renewal!