Wednesday afternoon I walked up to the Fenceline Drinker and found the whole herd scattered in small groups over about a ten minute walk uphill from the drinker. Everyone was ruminating happily in the warm midday sun. Though all was quiet when I arrived, like mischievous children looking like perfect angels they had clearly been “exploring” the possibilities of their new home. They started by horsing around (should that be cowing around?) the storage tank, knocking over the step stool and managing to loosen the overflow pipe. Then they tried to take selfies in the game camera that I had forgotten to move, and had pushed it 180 degrees away from the drinker. After that they pulled the cord out of the game cam from the battery pack and chewed on the end of the cord until it was nicely flattened. I am afraid to see what the place will look like after they have been there for a week!

It was the perfect weather for a walk. It was that one day on the shoulder of the seasons when it is no longer too cold, but not yet too hot. So many things are in bloom. All the little spring flowers are making very credible showings, and I found a little cactus starting to open and a yucca swelling its huge bud. Some flowers are scattered everywhere, but some only grow in specific spots. Makes me curious what micro climate creates just the right conditions for them to thrive there.

The solar pump is working splendidly. I suppose I should take it for granted, but I am thrilled every time it does its job the way it is supposed to. I think it feels like a kind of modern magic. And I suppose really that is what technology is….

One other interesting thing was the remains of Someone’s dinner on top of the solar pump storage tank: about a 1″-wide jaw bone and lots of bird poop. Not sure whose jaw it would have been. Whoever ate it also perched on the solar panels, and left so much whitewash behind it is a wonder the panels still work!