I don’t know where the summer could have possibly gone but my daughter, Tawny, turned a teenager last week and is back in school and there’s hint of fall in the air when I head out in the mornings to feed and do chores. The local real estate market continues to be much more active than its been in years, keeping me busy and making it harder to find time to check our cows on the mountain and try to find time to sneak off into the woods to go hunting. Tawny has a tags to fill but between practices and traveling around the state with her competitive soccer team it looks like wilderness pack trips are off the menu this year and we’ll have to settle for squeezing hunting time in to a few evening outings and, hopefully, a couple of full days
This fall should be a great hunting season for those that have the tags and have time to get back in the woods. With this past winter being mild, and having had record breaking rainfall throughout the spring and summer months, the animals came into summer in good condition and the feed in the high country is taller than I have ever seen it. The cattle are fat and happy right now and I guess the elk and deer sure seem to be as well.
I hope everyone else put up as much hay as I did this year because if the forecasts I am seeing are correct, we may need it as they say the coming El Nino winter may be a long, hard one. Regardless, once morning chores are done, you’ll be able to find me in the Hotchkiss office working to help people with their real estate needs just like I’ve been doing since 1996.