Showing posts with label ponds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ponds. Show all posts

07 June 2008

How to catch a ground squirrel & other ranch chores.


How can I best describe this week. Oh yeah, I know, BOR-RING! We've had fits and starts at good weather but haven't been able to put two days of sunshine together. This morning it's 40 degrees and there was snow on the mountain behind us last night!

So we pretty much stuck around the rancho. Mom serviced the ranch vehicles, oil and lube jobs. That was akin to watching paint dry. We also went out into our forest and started working on the wind fall. Mom is quite handy with the old chain saw. She puts up five to seven cords of wood each year. That was a little more fun but not much.


The biggest excitement was mom and her ground squirrel trapping project. Those little suckers are as destructive as prairie dogs. Mom can't bear to kill the little buggers so she traps and relocates them. She has this trap she got off the internet and it seems to work pretty good. When she bought it they sold her some stinky gunk for a lot of money and she never caught a thing with it. Then she tried Hoody's, in the shell, peanuts and she can catch 'em like crazy! Funny how people are always trying to sell you a bunch of expensive junk when the best stuff is already handy in the house. Nothing like living in the woods to get you using your noggin.


We did take some hikes in the forest around us and visited some local ponds. This one was kinda pretty.


And we saw this very nice mule deer buck who was in velvet. He really was a beauty. Looked like he was going to have a very nice rack. Oh, did I tell you? I found mom a shed antler and that really got me extra pats and treats! Yea for me!!!!


We had a pretty nice sunset last night. One of the neat things about living at altitude is you sometimes feel your right in the clouds. Well, I guess we are now that I think about it.

That was our week. Hope yours was a great one!

©Kinsey Barnard

20 April 2008

Walden Pond

You may recognize the name Walden Pond. My mom pilfered it from a guy called Thoreau. I think this fellow has been the most influential force in mom's life.

When we came to Montana nearly, six years ago, it was just after the death of Lady Jane, mom's mom. Lady Jane had Alzheimer's. Mom and I cared for her for nearly seven years. Mom was pretty worn out.

Mom fell in love with this place the moment she set foot on it. She purchased it on the spot. And, from that moment on set about turning it into a wildlife sanctuary. It has turned out to be as much a sanctuary for her as the wildlife.

As part of the plan she built a pond out in the middle of the property and she called it Walden Pond in honor of Thoreau. And, much like Thoreau we lived apart from the rest of the world for quite a time. Me, I'm happy no mater what's going on. For mom it was the elixir of life. All this to say that is how the pond came by it's name.


The weather has been really whacky since we returned. One day the sun is shining and the next it is snowing. This morning the sun is shining but it's 19 degrees!

The photos that you see were taken on a sunny afternoon over at Waldon Pond. The ducks are a mallard pair and a goldeneye pair. They were so beautiful to watch paddling along on the pond. The reflections in the water gave them a really special quality.

Naturally, I would have preferred to be off exploring in the woods but this was pretty nice too. Yeah, I can see why mom loves this place so much.

I think that guy Thoreau would have loved it! I'm not big on quiet contemplation but if I were this place would be Nirvana.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography