Road side vegetation management team

[Dave]

This is some of the road side vegetation management team. Like anyone working on county road project it is getting hot out so they are going looking for shade. If they had shovels I am sure they would lean on them. That is the county road to the left of the picture and the closest neighbor's driveway to the right (these cows don't belong to that neighbor). When I went out to change the irrigation first thing this morning they were coming down my driveway. My dogs were very happy to escort them off the driveway and send them down the road. This is open range so cows go where they want to an extent. As I have said before if I don't see cows on the road I get nervous because I know they are lurking somewhere waiting to leap out in front of me.

 

[sstterry]

Darn Governmental Workers!

 

[greybeard]

They use deer and feral hogs most counties here. I've hit several of each in my lifetime. The only good thing about hitting a feral hog is they don't usually come thru your windshield.

 

[Mrcopier]

They use deer and feral hogs most counties here. I've hit several of each in my lifetime. The only good thing about hitting a feral hog is they don't usually come thru your windshield.

Or come back

 

[Dave]

You don't want to hit a cow on the road here. You hit it you get to buy it.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

You don't want to hit a cow on the road here. You hit it you get to buy it.

Many insurance companies/agents in the eastern US don't understand this. Often times, when someone from the east traveling out west hits a cow, their insurance company comes looking for the cow owner to try to collect damages and at times threatens legal action. Imagine the reaction of the insurance agents/companies when the rancher/cow owner sends the insurance agent a bill with a 'thank you note' for admitting the driver hit the cow, along with an explanation of open range laws. The end result often makes me laugh.

 

[Dave]

Many insurance companies/agents in the eastern US don't understand this. Often times, when someone from the east traveling out west hits a cow, their insurance company comes looking for the cow owner to try to collect damages and at times threatens legal action. Imagine the reaction of the insurance agents/companies when the rancher/cow owner sends the insurance agent a bill with a 'thank you note' for admitting the driver hit the cow, along with an explanation of open range laws. The end result often makes me laugh.

It is not just the insurance companies or eastern drivers. Urban dwelling drivers from the west coast cities don't understand that either.

 

[Dave]

Walked out to go change irrigation this morning. Horse tracks in front of the garage. Called the neighbor to ask if he was missing some horses. I said they have shoes on so I know they aren't wild horses (no wild horses here). Neighbor replied, they have shoes you know it is not the Indians either (I don't have to worry about being scalped). He was here a few minutes later. 3 horses and a mule went trotting home ahead of his ATV

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Walked out to go change irrigation this morning. Horse tracks in front of the garage. Called the neighbor to ask if he was missing some horses. I said they have shoes on so I know they aren't wild horses (no wild horses here). Neighbor replied, they have shoes you know it is not the Indians either (I don't have to worry about being scalped). He was here a few minutes later. 3 horses and a mule went trotting home ahead of his ATV

Lived in an area in Washington state where, if the horse tracks I theoretically found would not have had shoes, the horses could (probably would have been) both wild and Indian owned.

 

[Silver]

Not a lot of shod horses in these parts. Usually the recreational folks, team ropers, barrel racers and such. And the mountain horses.

 

[Dave]

Lived in an area in Washington state where, if the horse tracks I theoretically found would not have had shoes, the horses could (probably would have been) both wild and Indian owned.

Yep, I spent some time on 2 of the reservations in WA. Drive down Hwy 97 through the eastern part of the Yakima nation you will see wild horse most every time. And I had a couple friends who lived in Nespelem. Use to get up there fairly often.
South of here 100 miles or so there is a lot of wild horses. It is about 100 miles west to the Umatilla Reservation which is the closest Indians.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Yep, I spent some time on 2 of the reservations in WA. Drive down Hwy 97 through the eastern part of the Yakima nation you will see wild horse most every time. And I had a couple friends who lived in Nespelem. Use to get up there fairly often.
South of here 100 miles or so there is a lot of wild horses. It is about 100 miles west to the Umatilla Reservation which is the closest Indians.

@Dave, if you keep talking, I'm gonna get 'homesick'. I have colleges that work on both the Umatilla and Yakima reservations. The Colville goes without saying as I was the rangeland specialist there. And then add to it I just spent 9 days in the tri-cities area (ok, I ran back and forth between Moses Lake, Mt. Raineer, and yes, I did make it to the Zumwalt Prairie, during my stay) I hadn't been there in over 20 years. It was a lot of fun and brought back memories. Makes me want to move back.