The beavers of Coulee Creek were busy well into the fall. They built this new lodge upstream from the existing pond-wetland lodge. It could be a new family, or possibly an offspring from the pond family that has struck out on its own. The beavers serve a vital role in this drought-prone environment. The beaver dams help to slow the stream, which allows water to soak into the land and raises the water table so the adjacent fields are sub-irrigated. In just the past five years, bulrushes have sprouted along the banks where the creek used to flow as if down a luge track. This wetland vegetation helps to further slow the flow and allow sediment to deposit in the streambed, rather then getting whisked away by strong flows.
Garden fresh tomatoes lasted all the way until Thanksgiving this year! Wrapped in newspaper and tucked in boxes in the shop, they slowly ripened following harvest in early October. As sweet and juicy as ever, they made a tasty addition to many meals as winter settled around us.
Blue skies stretched overhead as the bulls enjoyed a relatively warm November day. Winter has been on-again, off-again this year. We have gotten more fencing done than in any previous winter, and didn’t start feeding our cows until mid-February!
Heavy, wet snow stuck around for a few days in December and I got my XC skis out for a couple of tours. Strangely, we also had some rainy nights in December, which at least loaded the mountain snow pack with moisture. Going into the new year, our snow pack was in decent shape. Mostly very warm weather (hitting 70 degrees a couple times!) persisted through January. These dry, warm days changed the moisture situation and we are now hoping for a few more February-March snow storms to get us back on track.
Coulee Creek Ranch 