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Could you spot spray the mesquite with something so it's dead but would still shade the ground a bit so the grass could grow up around it?
Big Muddy rancher, I'm sure I will be spot spraying here in the future,probably for many years,just to keep the new trees that will appear from the roots of the trees I grubbed.The small portion of pasture I grubbed is saturated with old Mesquites.65 percent of the trees are 6 inches in diameter and the balance are around 14 inches.The smaller trees are 15 feet tall and the bigger are 25.The only way to kill them is to aerial spray them 2 years back to back and you'll still have some that will make it even through that.Their density and size makes it so you can't spot spray.
 
@DosArroyos Having spent some time in my teens on my great uncle and aunt's huge west-central Texas ranch, I understand your battle with mesquite. It sucks all the moisture out of the soil and roots can go as deep as 200 feet. They said as long as you get 2' of the taproot they won't come back. The ground has to be moist way deep as you said, so a limited window of opportunity. The main spots of removal were several hundred acres surrounding their deep well windmill-fed stock tanks. This was the 1960s and family had been at it since the late 1800s so no larger ones in the target area. My auntie and I hauled and piled up the mesquite and burned it taking several breaks to cool off in the stock tank since no one was in viewing range.

Much cooler here with high winds yesterday and lighter winds today. Overcast today, but no rain in the 10-day forecast. Amazing how much this wind dries the soil down a few inches. It got down to the mid-40s last night. Today high predicted at 70.
Mountain Cowgirl, I pulled the grubber yesterday and started raking into huge piles.It appears that I will have wood for BBQing and my fireplace for the next millinium.LOL. I'm working a big bend in the creek about 15 acres in size after the 2 creeks come together on my place.I'm trying to make it a "Park" type atmosphere there.
 
Big Muddy rancher, I'm sure I will be spot spraying here in the future,probably for many years,just to keep the new trees that will appear from the roots of the trees I grubbed.The small portion of pasture I grubbed is saturated with old Mesquites.65 percent of the trees are 6 inches in diameter and the balance are around 14 inches.The smaller trees are 15 feet tall and the bigger are 25.The only way to kill them is to aerial spray them 2 years back to back and you'll still have some that will make it even through that.Their density and size makes it so you can't spot spray.
Have you basal applied Tordon or triclopyr?
 
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Still no rain here, but we had WIND yesterday and more wind is forecast for 3 pm today through 3 AM tomorrow morning. High wind warnings, up to 65 mph!!

Big ranch above us have an irrigated hay field that produces a lot of hay, it's mainly grass but does really well. They fertilize it every year, including this year. Yesterday they turned the cows in! Not sure, but we think they must be short of pasture to do that. It's a registered Angus outfit with some really good cattle.
 

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Low 90s and wind for the last ten days. Blew so hard it took a drought weakened tree down in our cemetery. I take care of the cemetery so I spent last evening after work cleaning it up and hauling it away. I'm just down. We have had dry spells before. But never like this. The wind is relentless and there isn't any moisture at all. Irrigation goes off tomorrow. I'm having hard discussions with myself over my future with my cattle. I'm too hard headed (or dumb) to stop. But I simply can't see how to go much farther. I feel like it's hopeless. I feel like it'll never rain again. I feel like everything I've built and worked for is on the brink of a tall spooky cliff. I don't know how I'll live without some cattle.
 
We aren't quite as bad as you but it is sure enough depressing. I irrigate the grass hay and Mike does the grain and alfalfa. I have the water for four days and that will be it for me. We get more tonnage off his fields. It is so frustrating.
 
I didn't realize just how lucky I was when I bought this place. All the irrigation water I can use and it is cheap cheap.
When we gathered those cows on Monday I didn't see any grass. Maybe one little stem every 40 -50 feet. Bert said it has gone from everything below 3,000 feet being gone to anything below 4,000 feet gone in just the last week.
 
It is crazy scary! So sorry for everyone living in a drought situation and it is so widespread.

'H, I understand your feelings. I know it doesn't help much but the government will allow you to buy back
within 4 years for those in a designated drought situation, but I bet you already knew that. We've been there before
too, so I really sympathize with the hard choices that are having to be made.

In SE Montana a friend that does trenching....was digging a trench and he normally can do 400' in an hour. This
year it took him an hour to do 60'. The gumbo is totally dried out and what he dug up was huge chunks of concrete.

Yet over by Firesteel, ND they got 10" of rain in 5 hours. That has made a real mess there.

This drought is a tragic weather event, 😥
 
Right now the temp at 6:48am is 72.Humidity is 93%.In the late afternoon it gets to 101 and humidity is around 73%.Very unusual for our area and it feels like your in Corpus Christy or Houston,but if that's what I have to deal with to get the rain we've had over the last month's time I'll take it gladly.
 
We were the same as leanin 'H. Got to 97 then the cold front blew in and the temperature dropped rapidly. Not sure how cold it got for a low but it's 52 degrees now, predicted to get 77 today, no rain in sight. 10 day forecast shows 40% chance but it's out there about 7 days, so they really don't know. But other than that, our chance of rain is in the low single digits. But forecasters are calling for 102 next Tuesday. There are places in SE Mt that haven't greened up.😥
 
Our week of cool is leaving. 58 this morning and 78 predicted for today. Overcast and very still. Possible rain on Saturday, but I doubt it unless someone cut hay. Humidity at 48%. If we miss our June rains then poor fall grazing and if we get them now, hay quality just dropped whether from getting wet or letting grow longer or both. Western desert ranching is becoming about as futile as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
 
It is 50, kind of over cast. It is breezy and has been for the last several days. Not real windy but just enough to keep me from spraying. The wife is down in Winnemucca helping her daughter pack up to move. I think I should change the irrigation and then go fishing.
 
Mr. FH is getting the swather ready. He will shut the water off and start haying next week. It's earlier than usual but the weather is unusual. The water commissioner thinks there is a leak in the ditch because the water the ranchers are getting isn't nearly as much as they are letting down out of the big reservoir in the mountains. Some people are getting their water shut off already. He enjoys haying and he does the neighbors and his cousins. Neither of them aren't going to have much hay, if any. They both grazed their hay meadows this spring.
 
Even with hay down we haven't got any rain. Blowing like crazy yesterday, not bad this morning until about 10:00 Now blowing again. We got up at 4:00 to rake and bale, got 2/3's of it done. 40% chance of rain tonight so we will see.

BMR, love the skies in your pics. Glad you got rain.
 
13:25 hours PDT I went out to get the mail and felt 5 drops hit me. It has been overcast and light wind all day and threatening rain. 13:35 hours PDT and I now notice it is picking up and we now have about 15 drops per square foot and the smell of rain is intense. I sense that lightning and thunder may occur. I knew praying while wearing chaps would pay off.
 
I didn't spray weeds because there was a little breeze. Drove over to Malheur Reservoir to fish. By the time I got there the wind was howling. All the people I saw fishing (at my spot grrrrrr) had heavy coats on. All I had with me was a sweat shirt. I didn't wet a line. Took a scenic drive over to the Unity Reservior to check the water level. Talked to a guy who was lashing his boat to the trailer. He decided against launching it. Something about the white caps on the pond. Oh well, nice morning for a drive.
 

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