Fall Colors and Water
Life at the Lazy AM is both seasonal and weather dependent, so when we have such a lovely mild fall and approach winter with a full hay bale yard, firewood cut and ready, we consider ourselves very fortunate.
This year our magnificent Horse Chestnut tree in the front yard stayed flaming orange longer than usual, as did the yellow ash tree next to it. This is a tree combo that sometimes brings tourists off the interstate who ask if they can take pictures! After a freezing night or two, the leaves drop off all the trees, signaling a fast slide towards full winter. Time to put ranch equipment indoors, prepare for calving to begin in January, and plan essential activities for the year ahead.
Many of you have asked what life is like here, so here is an update of our late summer and fall accomplishments to date!
We brought all the cattle down from our high range and sorted the calves we wanted to sell this fall to be shipped out in mid October. We then turned the rest of herd back out on grass. They will gather on our lower ground when snow finally comes, and then we will begin feeding from our bales hay.
Rangeland health is key to everything here. The summer and fall we discovered a new invasive grass, Ventenata. We’ve started surveying its spread and studying how to stop it. Spotted knapweed is our biggest invasive, as it is in much of the West. St Johns Wort has been spreading in rapidly the last few years and is also considered an unwelcome invasive in Montana, and now we add Ventenata to our list of plants to actively combat limited spraying and biocontrol methodologies.
Most thrilling of this year, however, was putting in a well here at the house. Ever since completion of Interstate 90 bisected the ranch in the 1970s, the ranch house and shops on the south side have worried about the longevity of our very old spring-fed water lines which come down to the house under the freeway. Some of us pondered this the middle of the night in drought, years when late summer water supply dwindled.
Prudent planning suggested a well might come in handy on the south side of the property. We happily announce we started using well water the last week of October. We have the option to switch back and forth, which is wonderful!! We now have a more secure water supply.
