May 13, 2011 We spent the day hiking the steep hills, repairing fence that was knocked down by a herd of thirty elk yesterday. Usually, they jump the fence, but not yesterday. They climbed through the wires. The wildflowers are coming up like crazy. We got to eat shooting star, phlox, desert parsley, and wild onion while we worked. A wild salad with a delightful tang. Then we rested around 2:00 p.m. and watched the ducks nesting beside the beaver pond in the creek. While the beavers chew down a lot of young treees, they also create excellent water fowl habitat. Jake, our sheltie, managed to collect every cocklebur along the creek beneath his armpits. All in all, it was a relaxing, warm, sunny day. The physical labor felt good after a long winter inside… Mike and Kathleen