Spring, Sprang, Sprung

Old man winter of 2009/2010 unhanded his icy grasp on our little piece of heaven. These past few weeks have revealed new shoots, flowers, and buds which I continue to be amazed by daily. While the deep cold snow still beckons from the higher elevations, I am pleased that spring has awakened the natural world of our Camp Creek Ranch. Everyone from Ruby Slippers to the tiny blue belly lizards are pleased with the warm spring days. Sunshine is here and here to stay. We recently leased eight acres of our apple orchard to an organic farmer who lives up the hill in Camino. He has been feverishly pruning those trees which have yet to blossom in a bold attempt to prepare them for the coming fruit. This is great news to all of us as the 2,800 apple trees have been an overwhelming project that we had not yet been able to schedule into our lives. I continue to work on cleanup from the December 7th 2009 storm which I am now realizing was more impressive than previously suspected. We have well over two dozen cords of firewood cut and stacked, waiting for the purchase of a new hydraulic log splitter. We have also given away firewood by the truckload to anyone willing to put in the time cutting and hauling it away. Fishing season on Camp Creek opens soon and I am ready for a day on the river. I plan on putting most of my time in on our own creek this year in an attempt to get to know every trout that swims those cold rocky waters. More spring photos to come. Cheers. Woodrow