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| Pretty doe |
As Farah & I left from home this afternoon, a little later than I'd planned - we saw this beautiful doe at the top of the hill.
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| Her twins were nearby :-) |
With weather as fine as we've been having - it's hard to Not be out & riding! Things aren't getting done at home - again! Without Ben to do the mowing, I managed to hit a rock with the mower, bent the blade & now it's out of commission until Butch can get it replaced :-) Such a shame... :-)
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| Farah looks at the "Dead" Kubota |
Once up on the power lines, there was a truck coming at us. The driver stopped to say that they'd been contracted to mow under the power lines & had gotten the mower stuck. Tomorrow they're coming back with the tow truck.
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| Deep ruts |
I've seen this area mowed many times in the past & have to say that I have Never seen a mess like these guys are leaving! They're going way overboard - into the deep wet soils & it a miracle that they didn't get stuck long before they did!
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| Our way home~ |
It was one of those days when I was just along for the ride. Farah is going better & better every ride! She will start one of her antics, then stop herself & move on out! The two of us are working on our partnership - with the changes in my balance on the seat. The differences are slight - but being in that sweet spot & in perfect rhythm is our goal :-)
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| Ms. Farah |
She started chomping on her bit as we rounded the corner to where the tree had blocked our way last week. It was too funny when we came to the spot, the tree was cut & her surprise was so obvious :-)
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| A dry view of Mt. Pilchuck |
The logging to the east of Granite Falls has almost denuded the hills now - there's something about clear-cutting that just rubs me raw. Another ruined view is driving east on Hwy 530 coming into Arlington - seeing that large mountain clear-cut from top to bottom.
The weatherman keeps telling us to enjoy this weather - as it will change, but at this point most of the rain that's been forecast has been a non-event. I love this weather as much as anyone, but for the sake of Washington's
Green - I hope we get the moisture that we so badly need.
We just watched a German-made documentary called "Washington State from Above" and it showcased the mountains and the rain forest, the dry side's apples, Seattle and even Bill Gates' house. It talked about companies like Boeing and Weyerhaeuser, saying these were founded by Germans (Boeing was American). Then they said how half of the state is covered in forests, many of which are old growth, and how Weyerhaeuser is allowed to chop half of them down, including the old growth. I don't know if this is true, but they mentioned nothing about how the forests are managed and replanted. Oh, they also spoke of the popular outdoor company founded in Seattle called "Rye". J stopped the film and said, "They called it RYE!" (Like the bread) Despite inaccuracies, they really showed off the state well.
ReplyDeleteI've ridden on Weyerhaeuser property. My friend's property backs up to miles and miles of their logging roads that she uses for endurance conditioning. It's actually some nice places to ride and from my understanding they are trying to harvest sustainably and replant and wait the requisite number of years before returning to a location.
DeleteAmy, Weyerhaeuser owns a lot of land here too, just not near me. I know lots of riders go there & that they do replant. We are lucky to have the privately owned tree farm property for riding. I don't know who's doing the extensive clear-cutting, but it's ugly & environmentally destructive...
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