Flight to check potential wood cutting area

Things have been pleasantly hectic for the last month. So much so that I was unable to record most of it in this blog. Now that every one has departed for home, I have only my own fertile mind left to amuse me and fill the days. I have caught up on my chores, still haven't run out of rats however. The weed whacker and my brush hog, operated by Sam, next door, have gotten the weeds under control somewhat. Ezra, the resident horse, has not had to eat any hay for at least a month and a half.

This was taken at the beginning of the fly-in the last week of May. I assure you that the Cheat Grass has gotten much much taller in the meantime. He is nice and shiny, and full of  P&V. He was all excited to see John Hauck taxi his airplane in to the tie down area.

We had set the fly in back by at least two weeks, and it wasn't enough. Of course every year isn't that way, but it is just now getting to the point that the winds and weather are beginning to be a bit nicer. I haven't flown much this year, it just hasn't been worth the effort. I did take a short flight to check the water conditions yesterday. I am getting a bit impatient to go fishing, but the water is still really high. Its going to take a bit yet. Yesterday evening was beautiful. Silky smooth, but I couldn't resist a beer for dinner, so I decided to put my next flight off until today.

This winter was so long and the cold seemed to drag on forever, that I burned all my firewood except for three sticks. That also means that I had to use my alternate source of heating, the radiant floors. I don't like that at all. I bought Juniper firewood last year from a man in Burns, and although it was a good price, I am used to getting my own firewood. There is only one problem, there isn't any thing much closer than 100 miles to cut. Last year while on a flight to Burns I noticed that the BLM was cutting Juniper in the foothills of the Steen's. Juniper is an invasive species that has taken over much of the desert lands. The root system is spread out over the top of the ground so as to capture as much of the available water as it can. The growth of Juniper has been known to dry up historical springs. It has become a practice of the BLM to reduce the tracts of Juniper where they can. If you are interested here is a link to understanding the Juniper.

 http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/AGENCY_AFFAIRS/Juniper_Story.shtml

On my flight I noticed that they were in the process of clearing a water run off area, and perhaps a lightning strike burn. I am not sure which, since it is hard to tell from the air. I did know the way in there however and I decided to check it this year to see if it would be possible to have a "close" wood supply. Of course close is only relevant. less than 100 miles one way is close.

The weather for today was supposed to hit the high 80's and winds were in the 5 to 7 MPH range. When I woke this morning it was 51 degrees which is my lower limit for a long trip. I hurried through my chores after I got out of the hot tub, ( mornings are better after a soak, especially when you are a bit creaky) did my preflight and headed out with my first cup of coffee on the floor of the plane within easy reach.

The video shows up a bit on the red side. That is mostly due to the fact that the Cheat Grass is maturing and it turns a dark ?red? color. Some of it is also due to the video camera that I am using. This early in the morning the Sun brings out the red as well. Even though the camera does not record in HD it still takes about an hour to upload onto You Tube so that I can show it to you. Perhaps someday I will get an Internet connection fast enough to make it worth while to have an HD camera. There is no sound track with this video due to the hassle of copy write laws. Hum a little flute music if you miss the music as much as I do.

The neighbors are at Cow Camp now to finish branding the rest of the young stuff for the year. Everyone except a skeleton crew goes up for the branding. The link below will explain what "Rodear" really is.

http://owyheeflyer.blogspot.com/2010/06/rodear.html

The winds aloft were out of the North West at about 8 MPH, but the flight was mostly very smooth, due to the early hour. As you notice I did find some promising possibilities for wood cutting. Now I only have to wait for it to dry out and then check with the BLM and see if they will give me a permit to cut in that area.

The roads there are full of water. You couldn't even get a Quad into there now. It was nice to be able to fly this morning and what would have taken me all day and a tow truck to check out, only took 1.5 hours. The link below will take you to the You Tube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwbAEqTwak