The woman who lives down the street paid a man to masticate her yard. This is about an acre or two of sagebrush, rabbit brush, bitter brush, and wildflowers that was home to chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, at least one short-tailed weasel, and who knows who else. I didn't see the machine that did it, but it must have been powerful—all it left behind was chewed up branches, tire tracks, and shattered lava rocks. Months after that, a guy with a bobcat methodically moved the big rocks to a pile on the property edge and then installed a bright white pipe fence, separating the easement trail from the rest of the property. I guess the horses have more room to roam now, but they mostly hang back in the corner where the shelters are, and the only things growing are cheat grass and what we call "fiber glass" — plants with tiny spines that get in your skin and hurt/itch like hell.
Maybe the badger that showed up at our place was a refugee from her yard. Between watching a YouTube video on how to tell the sex of badgers and magical thinking, I was 55% certain we had a female. Alas, not only are there no badger kits appearing on the wildlife cam, the badger seems to have moved on, as well.
The roads into the forest have new hefty gates and frequent ranger patrol, which appears to be keeping most folks away. Maybe the badger went back to the forest now that it isn't so crowded. While I hear a slight increase in dirt bikes, the shooting has completely stopped. That, paired with an unusually spring-like spring, has made for a thoroughly enjoyable few weeks.
The first few days after the homeless campers got kicked out were pretty intense — the rangers were posted up every day opening the gate to let people out. Janky-ass trailers and beat down cars stacked up on the road just outside the gate. New campsites were reported in all directions, on BLM land to the north and east and the forest to the south and west. Fires broke out in new homeless camps. Odd folk have been sleeping on the sidewalks and wandering the streets downtown — some shouting and cursing at the air (or maybe ghosts).
There is so much trash in the forest to be removed before they can start working, it will likely delay re-opening. The first official clean-up took out a reported 65,000 pounds of trash and that is only the beginning, apparently.
Alas, this week feels like summer, the season of cheat grass, wild fires, dust, and heat. Running feels like a whole different sport that requires sunscreen, water, and mental toughness. A trip to the mailbox includes 15 minutes of weed pulling. Watch Duty sent alerts for two fires in Deschutes County yesterday.
But you can't be an optimist if you aren't optimistic. This could be the summer the moths don't invade in the sunroom. We might have mild days and clear skies. The new filters in the air purifiers might go unused and we will catch giant trout on vacation and the dogs will behave. It could happen.
On another topic: I designed a notebook for fly fishing (or any other kind of fishing). It is available for purchase here. Keep track of all your best (and worst) days on the water! It is also on that giant e-commerce site owned by the billionaire, but the quality is not quite as nice.
I am making one for rafting. Are you a notebook user? Any other notebook needs or ideas? Lemme know.
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