The heat of summer has returned. It's mid August and the mountains are dry. Last week there was a forest fire that consumed over twelve hundred acres within seven miles of our home. The threat of fire is an ever present danger here. Each spring we repeat the ritual of clearing brush and trimming trees around our home. Even with the precautions we take, fire is always in the back of our minds. Life up here is challenging but the rewards are more than enough payment.
There are several does with twin fawns nursing on them hanging around the property right now. They come right up to us and the babies run and jump bouncing around like ping pong balls. They would like nothing better than to get at our gardens and fruit trees, but like the old saying goes: Good fences make for good neighbors.
Deer season for bow hunters opened a couple of days ago. I've got no problem with hunting deer, but I've sure seen a lot of wounded deer around town over the years with arrows sticking out of them. That just plain pisses me off! Once a hunter puts an arrow in a deer, they owe it to the deer to track it and finish it.
Several miles up the mountain from here, is the source of the water that flows across our place. Back in the 1850s the miners used to route water for miles with ditches that were cut into the mountains and hill sides. One such ditch is still carrying water. A small group of us have water rights and use it to water our yards and gardens. We also are responsible for the maintenance of the ditch. It probably costs us more to maintain the ditch than if we bought the water from the town water system, but it has many other benefits.
No comments:
Post a Comment