After an unusually long snowmelt season this year we are finally seeing the high water in the Big Thompson River go down to fishing level. It was fishable yesterday, but dropped some more overnight to just about perfection.



A couple of fishermen from the fishing club came up yesterday to fish and stayed overnight at our Brown Palace cabin so they can fish some more today. After a month of resting, our fish are hungry and easy to catch. Here's a paraphrase: "Fish are jumpin' and the water is high."



Mr. Troutbend's cousins are coming this afternoon to stay at the Brown Palace for three nights. They come every year and there will be a hike on our property and some helping with heavy lifting projects. This is Mr. Tbend's cousin Mike with whom he gets along better than his own brother.



Our hummingbirds are here in force and when you open the back door it's a cacophony of shrillness. Male broadtail hummers make a distinctive noise when they fly, the result of air rushing through special feathers on their wings. Since they fly 95% of the time and we have at least 30 males, it's pure noise out there. They are very busy and do a lot of guarding the feeders and chasing the other birds.



Here's a dog named Jake going for a walk in the mountains. He brought his toy bunny with him and insisted on carrying it around. I love his determined look, as if he is on a mission to get that bunny somewhere in an efficient manner. His owner said she was glad it wasn't a real bunny.