Oh, the joys of summer

As soon as I talked about the cows, in they came - the very next morning. Only a portion are in (about 50), and the rest remain in the Carbon Creek field. Don't know why or when they're coming in. And then there was the race to close our gates, as every year they love to surround our house. Don't know what is so enticing...

Mark has been in conversation with the rancher who provides the cattle every summer about our barely running spring, and if he could dig and try to widen it for the cows. Didn't know we had a spring? Why yes, way on the other end of our property, doing us no good at all at this point, so we were happy to to oblige. The mudhole, as we call it, is also on our property, and the rancher also worked on it, with limited success as you can see.

miles of this massive old fence up Ferris Creek-who and when?

all trip #2

trip #3 this and below

Mark closeup

Mark closeup - they're both great

Trekked out to Brush Creek again, and was rewarded with fields of gorgeous wildflowers. This was actually trip number 3,as we had zoomed out right before I left for Virginia to catch the flowers at peak, only to find we were early - again. had a fun time though and made a side jeep trip up Ferris Creek close by.We also had lots of company for #3, bikes and cars galore. Everybody's here

Went to Ginger Cafe after a long hiatus for a Sunday lunch after the farmer's market. Food wasn't as good as we remember - hmm. Montanya has outdoor seating now and Secret Stash serves breakfast - haven't made it there since they reopened but I'm sure a visit will be soon.

Good grief, books read list is WAY out of date. So here we go:
Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer Fleming
Prague Winter, a personal story of remembrance and war, 1937-1948 by Madeleine Albright
Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood
All good, Eldest was very good, but massively long, Madeleine Albright made me feel inadequate, the rest are parts of very enjoyable series.

Wildlife report:
Hummingbirds are very calm, only cluster at the feeders at dusk. There is a massive amount to eat ala nature, so we expect a resurgence in a couple weeks (and the Rufus haven't shown yet) The irony here is that we bought two more Big Boy feeders, totaling 4 and do not have to fill any of them up all the way right now...
Chippies slowly appearing, elk we think have taken off for the mystery wherever for the summer, and the deer are here, although a little quiet (could be fawn time).