TR: Skunked on Steelhead/ Won at tree planting

Well long and short of it is I got skunked fishing my stretch of river
for that last pulse of steelhead. Some fellows fishing below Prescott
caught a few, but I fished there to no good result. Cold rain and
heavy winds.

Got a lot of my spring agenda done. Planted a dozen new apple trees on
the home place. Mostly to fix pollination problems with early and late
triployd bloomers.

On the dry-side place I worked on conservation plantings. Found a
great source for decent sized Ponderosa at a good price at "Wildlands
Nursery" out of Benton City. With the bigger trees i can reinforce
the earlier plantings, and be around to see some of the benefit for
the river. Also "planted" a hundred or so willow shoots, and over
sowed a form of wild wheat grass on about 5 acres within the riparian
conservation reserve areas. We got lots of rain to wash the seed into
the cracks. Hopefully it will germinate, grow, compete and cut down on
the Star Thistle. My place is too small and the river is too close to
the big patches of thistle to make aerial spraying safe or practical
and I don't like the chems that are used anyway. A test patch of
thistle I mowed last fall seems to be doing OK. We shall see.

Our fall sown wheat field is up like gangbusters. Emerald green, and
strips of brown/ochre dress the massive rolling hills of the Palouse,
It is all very beautiful, windy, cold, wet and beautiful.

Dave