The Old Folks Home

[pennyJo1960]

@superchemicalgirl be safe and happy new year to all

 

[chickadoodles]

Happy New Year everyone! Hi Penny!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hey there @chickadoodles staying warm and safe I hope
looks like your having a good time

 

[chickadoodles]

It's cold today and for a few days then back up into the upper 60-70's. Did you have a nice Christmas?

 

[chickadoodles]

Penny how are you doing? I hope you are all staying warm.

 

[microchick]

No power. Apocalyptic roads this am. No power anywhere near me and in Augusta. All lights are out. Power lines down.
My entire staff showed though!!

You take care,y'hear? And applause to your staff. You need to buy those good people lunch!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ah yes the guys see to it the fires are kept going but right now we have temps in the
high 40's for thermostat does fine set about 68 in here my BF is finding he likes the higher temps
as he is getting towards 71

 

[getaclue]

 

[pennyJo1960]

not fair @getaclue bragger

but the trade off is the Mountains and evergreens
that's why it is the evergreen state and the rain is because they clouds have to drop to make the other side
desert like

 

[Alaskan]

@Alaskan ] I know your degree is in Range land management... Does it differ from climate to climate? Here are grass lands are fire dependant... For what its worth I have been told in areas that can support cattle it takes about a hundred acres. none of the ranches I know of irrigate their pastures so Feed is grown in the deserts of Imperial county... Historically many areas of San Diego county were settled by Basque people Sheep did well in the Chaparal. You can still see the changes they made to the ecology even though they are long gone. deb

Some parts of Range Management are always the same (nutritional needs of the animals, the water cycle, erosion, basic plant growth and grazing pressure etc.), but some things are wildly different. I was raised learning about the drier side of things, since "Range" is really usually those areas that are just too dry or the soils are too shallow to raise crops. So...how to manage marginal lands productively. So yeah, jokes about "my range is so poor I need me some 2/40 cattle" "whats that?" "Cattle with a mouth two feet wide that can run fourty miles an hour. Only way they will get enough to eat." I now live where you seriously can have two acres for one horse...for the entire summer grazing. Of course there is then 6 months of snow and feeding hay. Crazy. Fire dependant lands are great... but hard on fences. And yes, interesting on how our impacts in dry climates are so long lasting. Even up here...it has been maybe 25 years since a dirt track was driven on..,and you can still see exactly where it was because of what plants are growing where.

Our lawn consists of 3 different types of lawn grass; Kentucky blue, creeping red fescue...and I can't remember the 3rd. But I can see how different breeds could impact the different areas of the country in different ways. Quite amazing stuff. Just as different as different breeds of chickens I guess. Or dogs...etc. Perchie girl...I like a good fire. In my mind I figure it cleans up everything...parasites, diseases...good stuff. I can't imagine being able to graze all year long. I think it would be harder to manage though than what we do. Two provinces west of us in Alberta...and probably in BC...I think in some areas they can graze throughout the winter. People here gow corn to graze their cattle through most of the winter. We now have more 'coons than we've ever had.

The grass types you mention are excellent at standing up to heavy grazing pressure. They are also perfect for a more intense management set-up since they respond well to fertilizer and irrigation (and in your case, standing up to being water logged). From the photos you shared it looks like you are part of the northern prairie system. So I am sure you have native bunch grasses up there. Maybe there is a botanical garden up there somewhere, with native plants? There is nothing more fun to see than an old bunch grass...the grass grows three to six feet tall, and the middle of the plant gets too crowded and dies (making a donut hole) and the grass on the edges arches over and forms these covered tunnel systems between all of the plants. In the super dry areas like by @perchie.girl there are way smaller shorter bunch grasses that are perfect for quail. As you can tell I am very much for having some areas in native grasses.

No power. Apocalyptic roads this am. No power anywhere near me and in Augusta. All lights are out. Power lines down. My entire staff showed though!!

Horrid! Hope things get better electric wise. We actually rained ALL NIGHT last night! Such an ice sheet out here now.

Our timber is hilly, lots of ridges with ravines. What the conservation officer showed us was the lack of seedling Oaks and the surplus of hickory seedlings and saplings in our timber.

Yes, that always is interesting.... the lack of seedlings when the grazing pressure is too high....