04-22-19 Field Note

Willows, Aspens, Milkweed, Tree Hardships

To our surprise and delight, snow melted slowly this year. Runoff flowed down the draws but caused little damage.

Bright green alfalfa came as a welcome sight to many.

The field crew cut and planted 2,500 willows into last year’s matted reed canary grass.

We dug up 750 aspen suckers from the North Floodplain and planted them into the Stock Pen Draw.

We collected water from stock tanks with 5-gallon pails and hiked it to our plantings.

A porcupine ate the branches off these junipers and several ponderosas.

A beaver chewed down this cottonwood, it sent up more stems, and a deer browsed the new growth.

Random treasures lay scattered like Easter eggs on the hillside.