It is always a good thing when the folks running a four-hour meeting decide to cut it down to one. Add on the hour of discussion that followed, and we were still getting out a good two hours earlier than predicted yesterday morning.

It was especially good because the two guys running the meeting, while good folks, are probably the worst in our outfit for using the words "utilize" and "utilizing" when they should be saying "use" and "using."

The best news of the morning?

Our outfit has been trying to sell one of our habitat units in my country for several years. The local warden and I have opposed the idea from the beginning, but those who look at things on a statewide basis, and were being pressured to sell something, put our chunk of ground on top of the disposal list.

Of course, when we pointed out that we had better retain the development and fencing rights to the land, the market value of the property dropped considerably. (The ranches to the south and southeast have already been chopped up into itty-bitty ranchettes and are being sold off.)

So, the good news?

The gas boom is going to expand onto this unit. Biologically, that is a bad thing, but if the gas is there, it's going to happen whether we own the surface or not. But now the outfit is looking at gaining literally millions of dollars from their miniscule share of the gas royalties. Off land they were willing to sell for a couple hundred grand last year.

Needless to say, it is off the market.

Now, if we can just salvage some of it after the gas companies are done with it.

Even though the meeting only took two hours, some people got bored enough to get into mischief. Our uniform coats have to be specially ordered, because they need to have splits with zippers and snaps along the sides, so that wardens can easily get to their sidearms.

So when one bored warden ends up sitting behind another who has draped his coat over his chair, it may not be uncommon for the bored warden to undo the snaps on that coat, and then resnap them, hooking the left side to the right.

Yes, it's juvenile, like tying shoelaces together. But it does relieve the boredom a little bit.

Since I had extra time on the drive home, decided to take the longcut across the desert. Time to introduce the new rig to dirt.

The temperature (the new trucks all came with digital thermometers... fun toy) dropped eight degrees from the north side of Crooks Gap to the south side, in just a few miles. The only snow on the north side was the little drifts behind each sagebrush plant, while the southern, desert side was solid with snow.

No wonder all the antelope were on the north side of the Gap.

Wind was blowing snow across the road for most of the first 20 miles, but it wasn't a vicious wind. The snow was actually lazily swirling and eddying around on the brown dirt. Pleasant to watch.

But no antelope on my side of the divide, just about 40 feral horses. But it was still good to get out.

Wished I had had heelers with me.