Sign of spring??

Weren't we surprised, upon driving down the hill to the "Green boxes" ( where we leave our trash), to see four mountain bluebirds on the fenceposts!!  Surely spring is on the way.

We did four calf watches yesterday so that Matt could head up to Livingston. We had three new calves born. We worried about one up fairly high in the pasture, in snow, but it was up and healthy and nursing so we left it undisturbed. Seems there are calves everywhere now, though I am not sure by count we are up to 50% of the expected calves yet.

With the arrival of spring, some issues will change.  They breed these cows early, so that the youngest and most vulnerable calves are born (despite the cold and harsh weather conditions) before the worst predator action begins (grizzlies and wolves). The hope is to have the calves bigger and stronger before predators arrive in earnest.    Last spring, they lost two calves to documented wolf attacks, two calves to documented grizzly attacks, and two lost with no sign- not sure who took them.  In the past week, Matt has spotted two wolves up at the top of the high pasture, and one coyote.  The grizzlies are not apt to emerge from hibernation for a few weeks.

Matt told of a day last year when he saw a grizzly heading down the mountainside on a beeline for the pasture.  He had been working with a wildlife expert, who had mounted a motion activated "screamer" on one of the fence posts.  Movement of a predator would trigger a enormous cacophony of sound.  Matt had little faith in the screamer, so he took rubber bullets and his gun, and moved up to a hedgerow to hide in bushes and await the bear.  It got later, and darker, and Matt began to get quite nervous. After all, he had rubber bullets to make the bear mad, but nothing to stop the bear if the bear's anger turned toward Matt!! The bear did show up, and passed what Matt thought was the "screamer" fence post.  Nothing, and Matt felt his distrust of the device was confirmed.  Next fence post though, and the most unholy screaming and blaring and sirens went off.  The grizzly did almost literally a back flip, rolled down the slope three rolls, and beelined faster than you can imagine back up the mountain.  Hmmmmm, maybe these screamers aren't such a bad idea!

We head up to Chico Hot Springs Saloon tonight to hear Andrew Doolittle  ( and perhaps June) perform.