Not As Planned ~

I'd been so looking forward to this weekend!  Our BCHIA SW Chapter was going to finish clearing the trail through the timber at Pierce Creek!  I'd met with the Ranger for a first walk September of last year, to help lay out the proposed trail.  Then, the first work-party day, the group of us labored so hard, but fell short of our goal of getting it all the way through.  (A skid-steer had been scheduled to widen & finish it off in January, but somehow those plans failed.)

Friday evening, Butch & I were sitting out, when suddenly the vision in my right eye turned gray?  I put in drops, but I still couldn't see much of anything.  My entire field of vision was gray, separated by a few small spaces where it seemed I could see clearly.  I called my optometrist & left a message. 

We were on the road early on Sat., anxious to get to Pierce Creek - bringing fuel for the saws.  About 1/2 way there, Jacque called.  After I described my symptoms, she told me to turn around & come back to her office for a full evaluation.  We dropped off the fuel & turned back to Glenwood...

It seems that my cornea was somewhat sandblasted.  I think from the huge wind gust Farah & I went through on Friday.  I was sent home & told to use drops every hour & take it easy :-)  By day's end, the eye was less cloudy & that was a huge relief.  Our stalwart BCHIA friends did finish the trail without us!

Sunday we'd planned to start getting the pasture fence in at the farm!  The wind was again blowing something fierce, so I kept my eye drops handy & only did hand pruning.

Farah loving the green grass~

Butch laid out the pasture area & we started moving posts.  Soon Linus & Kay arrived (with donuts)!  Everyone got busy & it was amazing how quickly those posts went in!

Layout~

There were several areas where Butch used the chainsaw to clear the perimeter.  Kay & I started hacking & cutting back the underbrush.  

"Before"

With the creek in the middle, we've had suggestions to use a culvert & cover it with dirt, but enough dirt would be hard to come by.  Janice & I like the idea of a little bridge :-)

Our cleared path!

Kay & I did a super job, if I do say so, of cutting everything back for the path.  Butch came through with the chainsaw.  There was only one tree we had to remove & a widow maker stuck in some higher branches.

Dean arrives with the tractor~

Dean on the tractor was a huge help, moving an old round of hay off the path & pulling the fence fabric tight.  While cutting back greenbrier at the base of a huge tree, we found this beautiful nest with three speckled eggs!  Dean identified them as White Breasted Nuthatch!

A beautiful nest~

Needless to say, we left the nest alone & Dean added a few branches to replace the greenbrier we'd cut & pulled out.

Plenty of lush grass!

We ran out of white tipped posts, so had to go to red - so much for my color scheme :-)  It was a beautiful day, except for the wind...  

Lunch in the tack room~

I'd made a pot of my three-bean dish.  Just full of hamburger, bacon, onion & usually, a meal in itself!  We all decided we'd be much more comfortable in out of the wind! 

Walkway posts in!

By about 4 p.m. it felt like quitting time!  Linus again mentioned ice cream would be a great way to end the day.  Tastee Treat - was as busy as we've ever seen it - but we managed to get a booth!  We're far from done, but in another weekend or two, Farah will have her pasture!  Many thanks to some really Super Friends!