Pocket gophers

I've started this year's campaign to rid my property of those #$&% pocket gophers!

I left my traps out in the field over winter - partly because then I would know where I had left off and partly because it snowed before I could gather them up. Over the weekend I finally got around to checking the traps. I had 4 very dead pocket gophers in my 6 traps. I added these gophers to my count from last year to make a total of 209 pocket gophers in 2006.

There are fresh mounds of dirt so I reset my traps; and I have caught 6 pocket gophers so far this year. I'm off to a good start.

I have noticed that there are no fresh dirt mounds in the part of the hayfield I cleared of gophers last year. Good!! But as this is the breeding season I imagine the gophers aren't in a traveling mood. If I can clear the final third of the hayfield I should be in good shape to keep the gophers under control - especially if I can get them before they give birth to more pocket gophers. I have noticed fresh dirt mounds here and there in the south pasture - so there will be plenty of trapping to do this year once I clear the hayfield.

In case you are interested in tracking my progress this year I have added a running count of trapped pocket gophers to my blog's sidebar. I also listed the totals I had trapped in previous years.

• 2006 - 6
• 2005 - 209
• 2004 - 114
• 2003 - 29

Other wildife... the robins are out and around gathering material to make their nests. I haven't seen where they are making their nests, but they have learned not to make a nest in the tool shed anymore.

The pheasants are back! This year I have 4 of them running around my yard. This past weekend they were racing one another around the house and front yard.

I know where at least one deer likes to jump the barb wire fence along the road. I found a large pile of white course hair under the fence in one spot where the wire is bent down a little ways.

And I've seen a few birds (hawks and eagles?) floating on high above the ranch. Even without the summer thermals the birds seem to find air currents where they don't have to flap their wings.

And over the weekend the most gorgeous mountain views! The snowcapped mountains look great this time of year but Saturday evening the sun came out from behind the clouds near sunset and brightly lit the snowy tops of the mountains. Beautiful!!! I stood outside and watched until the sun set and the tallest of the mountains went from bright white to grey-white. Saturday - between rain showers - the lower half of the mountains had a long grey cloud running up against and along them. The top half of the mountains were viewable and the very tops brushed into the bottoms of more clouds. Grey, blue, white - a simple color(less) scheme but most impressive viewing.