Snakes

[webfoot]

It appears that it is going to be a snakey year. Yesterday I killed the 12th rattler in the last 13 days. Or maybe I am just lucky or unlucky. The snakes were certainly unlucky.

 

[Faster horses]

12???????

 

[webfoot]

Yesterday evening I took a quick zip up the road about a mile to check the gauge on the river. Killed 3 more rattlers. Not much size on them but they aren't going to get any bigger.

 

[mwj]

How is the water holding up? You mentioned that your snow-pack was lower than normal this time.

 

[webfoot]

Well it has been a rolling wreck. Low water in the reservoir and the guys upstream wanting all of it. In a normal year which this sure isn't the reservoir gets full and the dam man is dumping what he can't hold. So we start irrigating in late April which is several weeks ahead of the guys upstream. The reservoir didn't get full. He was just dumping a trickle. So May comes along with no water to start. Then they kept him from dumping water because some guy was working on his withdrawal (after this wide open winter and he wait until Mat to get this done). Well he finally starts letting water go on May12. Of course by then all the guys upstream open their ditches and take all the water. We started taking water but well less than half full ditches. The river was basically dry below us. If Fish and Wildlife had pulled in and looked at the river they would have flipped out. We finally got enough water to mostly fill the ditches on Friday. Only a month late. There is some grass that isn't going to recover this year.

 

[mwj]

Does upstream have the rights to the water or do you have a more senior claim? Might not be a good year to see where the water claims legally fall. Not good for neighborly relations and it is sad to see it happen.

 

[webfoot]

I am not sure on the water rights dates. They all go back to the 1870's. By the time you could get that figured out and settled it would be passed irrigation season. There is a 3 person board that deals with things related to the dam and water release. Our guy moans and bitches a lot but doesn't get things done. And he gets out voted by the 2 guys from upstream. There is many times more irrigated ground up stream. On a normal year things work pretty good. But this is sure not a normal year.

 

[mwj]

Sometimes those things can turn into a deadly situation when people feel desperate. I hope that it does not bubble over.

 

[webfoot]

No it isn't that bad. Although that guy here who is on the board has got on my last nerve. Can't shoot him. Beating the snot out of him wouldn't do any good. I have decided the next time he stops here bitching and moaning i am going to tell him, don't go away mad, just go away. And at that point I will turn my back on him and walk away.

 

[jodywy]

tanks, reservoirs are empty or about empty, moved a 12 foot tire tank to the windmill, which is now a solar well, cows in that pasture, when we move looks like ELAP sign up to haul water and hay.

 

[Faster horses]

We won't and didn't get any early water either.
We did get 1.6" of rain Saturday evening and Sunday. We were so GLAD for it!! We may sneak by and get a little dryland hay. Our grass hay does best with early irrigation but we haven't had that for some time.
I hope you all got some moisture!!

 

[Nicky]

We won't and didn't get any early water either.
We did get 1.6" of rain Saturday evening and Sunday. We were so GLAD for it!! We may sneak by and get a little dryland hay. Our grass hay does best with early irrigation but we haven't had that for some time.
I hope you all got some moisture!!

Glad you got rain!! We had to quit irrigating my field to have enough for the pivot which puts up alot more hay. Are trying to find some grass hay to buy in the windrow so we can have round bales. Stock water is pretty iffy also.

 

[webfoot]

Glad you got rain!! We had to quit irrigating my field to have enough for the pivot which puts up alot more hay. Are trying to find some grass hay to buy in the windrow so we can have round bales. Stock water is pretty iffy also.

There should be grass hay up around Hereford. They seem to be getting plenty of water.

 

[webfoot]

We loaded up a load to take to the dump. About 11:30 we left. About 100 yards from the end of the driveway there was a rattler in the road. Had to dig the shovel out from under the garbage. Again a small one just 3 rattles about 20 inches long. That was number 16 and it is only June 3. The most I have killed in a year is 21. Four more months of snake season left. I have a feeling I will kill more than 21 this year.

 

[Puzzled]

If they are mostly small snakes, does that mean you may have over harvested ?
Or is that indicative of a healthy adult population ?

 

[webfoot]

If they are mostly small snakes, does that mean you may have over harvested ?
Or is that indicative of a healthy adult population ?

There is no such thing as "over harvesting" on rattle snakes. For generations they have been attempting to wipe them out. So far unsuccessfully. You might not realize how far north in the Willamette Valley they had rattle snakes. The old timers searched out and found their dens and then dynamited them.

 

[Nicky]

I killed one in the garden the other day.
We heard Hereford has weevils big time, you guys have any?

 

[webfoot]

I killed one in the garden the other day.
We heard Hereford has weevils big time, you guys have any?

I haven't heard a word from up river about anything. Could be they are avoiding us because of water.

 

[Faster horses]

There is no such thing as "over harvesting" on rattle snakes. For generations they have been attempting to wipe them out. So far unsuccessfully. You might not realize how far north in the Willamette Valley they had rattle snakes. The old timers searched out and found their dens and then dynamited them.

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.