The worst of it is that it’s not a constant that they get to go out. If it’s dark or raining, they’re not going out. I don’t want to have to go collect cats that aren’t ready to go back in when it’s time to go to bed. And I certainly don’t want to deal with the massive quantities of mud that would come in with them on rainy days. As you can see, some cats come in less white than they go out. But they love it, and they’re very good about cleaning up no matter how thoroughly they’ve rolled in the dirt.

The funniest part is that the Mister has decided that the whole yard is a catbox. He gets outside and instantly must use this new, clean toilet space. Before the fence, we had to watch for piles of elk poo. Now we have to watch for cat poo (he doesn’t cover anything, never has the lazy sot).

My main concern at the moment is that the yard is full of clover and the bees are loving it. Supervising for bee stings is going to be an interesting way to spend the summer.

In the last couple of meetings it has become clear to me that we’re some of the few who feel that way. Most folks are irritated because the elk are eating their shrubs and apples. The commercial folk want “someone” to pay for a fence to keep the elk out. This makes me crazy. None of these people moved into the area before there were large herbivores. They knew the risks and accepted them, but have since become dissatisfied.

I feel no pity for their plight.

We’re planning to put in a veggie garden, but I’m planning the fence that will go around it so that I get the fruits of my labor, instead of the elk. Yes, this is inconvenient and expensive. But it’s the price I pay for sharing my yard with nature, and I pay it gladly. If you want perfectly manicured yards, or don’t want to deal with wild things, move back to the city. The hermetically sealed and controlled yard just doesn’t exist out here.

I started going to these meetings because I wanted to make sure that at least one person there actually wanted elk to stick around. I’ve learned a lot during these meetings, especially around the size of the herd and their territory. I’m still strongly of the opinion that the people here need to be aware of their wild neighbors and accommodate them. Fortunately, I get to continue to express this as I was elected to our voting committee last night. I’m really excited about this, in large part because I was asked to join, specifically because of my contrary views. I’m really hoping to bring some alternate view points to the group and keep them grounded in doing what’s best for the animals and not just the people.

It wasn’t practical to put in a fence taking that pit onto account and then try to fix it later. That would have meant retooling the whole fence again. We came up with a drawing of what we wanted, called in the contractors and ended up with a large flat yard with a couple of tiers and paths bridging the height difference between it and the house.

After completing the foundation, the real work started.

I started looking around for grass seed. I was looking for something that would handle the soggy spring runoff and the hot July weather equally well and not go to moss, as the rest of the sodded yard has done. I figured that native plants would be best for this, since there was no way we were going to water 2+ times a week in that lower meadow. That’s just crazy talk.

So I ended up at Pacific Northwest Natives. All the other grass seed vendors were using grasses designed for Montana as their “Northwest” stock. Elevation aside, the climate difference between the west Cascades and the Rockies is enormous and their version of “west” just wouldn’t cut it.

I agonized over what grasses I wanted in our custom mix for ages, looking at the PLANT database and trying to figure out which grasses would do best in our mix of conditions. Finally, Craig made the following suggestion:

20% California oatgrass
20% roemers fescue
20% western fescue
20% pine bluegrass
10% spike bentgrass
10% slender hairgrass

This mix can only be mown 2-3 times a year, so I was sold!

When the 50 lbs of seed arrived, I was able to borrow a seed/fertilizer distributor and find the right setting to get the right coverage. I got enough seed down to cover most of the yard.

Then we had a mini-flood. Rain came down in buckets and tried to wash away all the seed I’d just put down. I had counted on birds eating some of the seed, but not on enough rain to wash it all down the hills. Fortunately, it had stuck in some places and just washed the rest down to the flats.

Two weeks ago I went out to check on something else entirely, and noticed a green sheen on the ground. Getting closer, I could see the new sprouts. I’m so excited to see what happens this spring (provided the snow doesn’t kill the seedlings).