We had our first foray into the woods on Saturday, and I think we made out pretty well - four truck loads of blocked wood. Up early on Saturday, we arrived in the area we visited last during last year's season. It was a storm damaged area, and it is remarkable how much was gone since last season. We didn't have to drive too far, though it seemed we did do a lot more wheelbarrowing this time. I even got to do a little wheelbarrow riding - courtesy of David. And to top it off, David and Andres brought a cooler of warm burritos Marie made for our break - super tasty!
No pictures of the trees, but these might be even better. On the way down, I was the gate keeper. We drove out last and pulled the gates closed. As Tom drove, he continued to tell stories from his days of working at Philmont - you'd think he worked many, many more summers there than he did for all the stories. The last gate was easy - no barbed wire or poles to lash to the fence posts. I pulled the metal bar across and slid the padlock through and shut. When I hopped in the truck, Tom was looking over his shoulder and remarked that someone came to see what I was doing. It was not really a "someone" - not a person, nor singular.
Moving towards a water tank that had spilled over was a small herd of buffalo. By size, I could see there were adult/mature buffalo, a few "teenage" buffalo that had started to take on the rugged shape and coat pattern of the adults, but was half as tall, and a few baby buffalo - light in color, slight in size, and not yet wearing the thick coat or hump of the teenage or adults. They were moving quickly to the water, and seemed almost to speed up. I knew the horse fence (square wire mesh about 3" x 4") wouldn't keep them from us, but put stock in their excitement for the water, not me. And though I often chide the lookey-loos who drive slow and block traffic between Cimarron and Philmont when the buffalo are out, I pulled out the camera and got these photos. Finally I have buffalo pictures to post!
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