April 14 With pewter-gray skies and a warm southerly breeze, the large herd of Pronghorn moved cautiously across the "40-Rod Flat" onto Wright hill in the late afternoon. Wright hill, named after an early homesteader, is right above 40 Rod road, to the north. On the far side of the sagebrush hill snow was still in 2 foot drifts, yet melting fast. It occurred to me that their migration trail was timed to literally "follow the snowmelt".
Two miles east of HW 352, at 8,000', my Collie/Aussie dog and I listen to resounding, syncopated owls hooting to one another in the centuries-old Douglas Firs. The evening echoes of two pair of Sandhill Cranes cracks the still air. Ducks and geese have returned, as if overnight. A bluebird was nesting at my neighgbors cabin, but the Rosy Finches are thinking of following the snow uphill, too.
As I walked on the crust this morning, I spied a young coyote a'trotting along. Tonight's the first rain of the year, and was probably the last snowmachine ride into our home. That's OK. It's time for spring in Cora.