September 2020 Observations and Field Notes

Buck and rails, exclosure removal, praying mantis, end of field season

The 2020 field season has concluded.

We built some new buck and rails and laid black mat in preparation for the tree planters’ return next Spring.

The crew finished a three-mile buck and rail fence project

Early fall windstorms detached mustard skeletons from their roots and sent them tumbling across the landscape.

We collected and composted the mustard piles that had buried shrubs and trees.

Unlike many herbicides, PLATEAU won’t harm the roots of shrubs growing under spots we’ve sprayed.

This fall we cleaned up the area around our milkweed plantation.

We removed a heap of metal exclosures from large trees and shrubs this year.

Rutting elk scraped out a natural muddy wallow in the South Center Pivot.

I watched this bull elk bound across the field like a puppy looking for its ball in tall grass.

I observed more spotted tussock moth caterpillars this year than ever before.

Praying mantis populations were also robust this year.