A Chance To Meander

I had some time to myself and spent it walking. It was a sunny day and I had not been along the stretch of fence line between the 6 acre field and the far, far field. The time was used to check the fence that surrounds the field since we had the large herd of elk run through the middle of the farm the other day. They did not slow down at any of the fences.

Where the walking started out, I had plenty of path space where the Gator could have driven easily, but before long the path became snarled with buck brush, blackberry vines and snowberry bushes. The only way through was to follow the cattle trail where they had trod along through the middle. There were areas I had to tiptoe through with my arms held high, and areas where I had to duck below the over growth above me.

I had time to listen to birdsong and the breeze as it whispered through the alder leaves. I had the dogs with me now and again but mostly they were off on their own adventures. I could hear a splash every once and a while when Jackson jumped into the river, only to join me on my journey after a few minutes.

Standing under the old growth Douglas Fir (the Old Man of the farm), I was able to snap a couple of pictures but the view from the base distorts the magnificent grandeur of the behemoth. The limbs on the fir are as big as some of the trees that are being logged, and they are way above the trunk of the tree, there aren’t any limbs below the level of the large leaf maple and alder that stand near it.

On this day, the time to meander and enjoy the day without a care about the upcoming hay season, or the rush to get the logging completed before fire season slows production. I did remember to check the fence and it is still in good condition to keep our herd of cows where they belong.