After 12 years of only part time living in Montana, there was a lot of trimming to do. Doug attacked the choke cherry bushes and trees with tools old and new. Serious conversations were held with our neighbor about the best brush cutter.

The brush pile might have been temporary, but then, small birds took refuge from hawks and winds. Pheasants joined them. Soon, rabbits were hopping in and out as the pile grew apace with Doug’s efforts to control nature. All of this could be watched from the kitchen window.

The hops below the window grew mightily each year, until Ruth cut and pulled them away from the small trees, the stone wall and the gutters. She dragged the hops to the brushpile, since it was close by. She wasn’t very neat.

The winter of 2018-2019 began on September 30, and continued until the end of April. The white tail deer were gaunt. Any vestiges of dry grass had disappeared. Slowly, the brushpile began to diminish. Then, the basic stick and branch structure disappeared. The deer did survive, stealing sunflower seeds and cracked corn from the birds.

We will feed the brushpile, so that our friends can live.

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