Home on the range cows, wandering around the sagebrush, munching on cheat grass. Pretty happy cows, who like to stare down your truck in an endearingly benign fashion. Ranching is a large industry here, with herds of cows dotting the landscape.
(Sometimes, the cattle trucks park for a rest outside my open window. That particular scent is less than endearing.)
This is where milk comes from. Or some variety of dairy product, at least. Dairy is another large industry here, responsible for other herds of cows.
Native bunch grass, which grows abundantly in Laidlaw Park. Laidlaw Park is a very large area completely surrounded by lava flows, so it’s had some natural protection from invasive species.
Virga, a kind of rain that falls, but evaporates before hitting the ground.
In the middle ground, those dark areas are lava flows from the Great Rift, and some small cinder cones dotting the horizon.
The Snake River canyon, at sunset (obviously.)
This is the Snake River, farther upstream, cutting through basalt flows.
Cheat grass is a non-native species found all over. Before it dries out for the summer, it turns this nice purple color. Then it dries out, the seeds get caught in the undercarriage of your car, lights on fire, and torches the desert. (I hear that’s not appreciated.)
I know some people don’t like it, but I rather enjoy the desert, mainly because you can see the sky. Though I do wish it would cool off a little – it’s getting well over 90 degrees, and there's really only so much water one can drink!
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing your new neighborhood. I could really do without the cow's ambiance. Love the snake river pics. And that grass may be non-native, but sure is pretty.
Its probably also "invasive" and "predatory". I can see it stealthily stalking the native grasses across the plains in a fierce struggle to stay alive!
Its 115 here.
=)
Virga eh? We've had a lot of rain and Virga over the last two days - thanks for the vocab addition.
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