“It’s so tiny!” I say.

“It’s huge!” Larry says.

“It has lots of corners,” observes Eric, the carpenter we’ve just met.

You decide:

For the first time, I’m feeling overwhelmed. It seems that the cows have selectively chewed down the lovely green meadow land, leaving ugly clumps of some less-tasty weed. We notice that most of the animals have been taken away, probably because, without access to Muddy Creek, they had no water. Fair enough.

And where the cattle haven’t been, the grass is overgrown and rough. Thistles are everywhere. And, of course, the construction site is, well, a construction site. Complete with port-a-potty which, while certainly welcome, does nothing for the ambience.

We’ve been studying the conservation plan, and want to get started NOW. It doesn’t work that way. We’ll meet with Steve next week to finalize the draft we have, then meet with Fish and Wildlife to form a partnership, then . . . ? Patience, Jane.

At least we have our orchard, which we can influence. We have only two hours to work, time we’ve stolen out of the compressed week of auto misbehavior in Wyoming. And look at my little favorite cherry tree:

Bravo! Well done! I wonder that some passing bird hasn’t noticed this jewel. This is the entirety of our fruit crop in 2015.

We shoulder our rakes and begin to introduce order to the tilled area inside the fence. I think the soil looks anemic; Larry thinks it’s perfectly healthy. Neither of us has the least idea, but in support of his claim, we do have some very prosperous thistle growing up between the trees. Have to wait til next week to spray.

Larry is an artist at this job. My territory satisfies the goal of flat, but his! It would be right at home in a Japanese raked stone meditation garden. I’m a little ashamed of my work, but don’t worry. The grass, if it ever grows here, will hide both artistry and imperfection.

Too soon we have to give up and head back to Portland and prepare for guests for dinner. On the way out I notice this poor unidentified fruit tree down by Llewellyn: why we need the deer/elk fence!

We decide that it’s too long a drive for so short a visit. Of course, we’re pretty tired of driving, anyway. Next Wednesday, we plan to arrive early and stay late. If time permits, we’ll acquire a back-pack sprayer to get after the most offensive thistles in the orchard and around the building site. Makes us feel useful, though any more comprehensive attack will have to wait for the knowledge, equipment, and manpower of the O.F.& W. team. Okay, overwhelmed, but not discouraged!