Having completed the areas mowed this year, we set out to draw GPS polygons around areas mowed in 2005. It was sometimes hard to find the borders of the old mowings, especially where the sagebrush is naturally short or absent, but sagebrush grows very slowly (3-4 foot tall sagebrush may be 60-80 years old) so in most areas we had no problems. Riding through 3-foot tall sagebrush between mowings is a wee bit tricky. One large shrub nearly tipped me backwards before I came down on top of it with no wheels firmly on the ground.
I saw more jackrabbits today – at least ten – than I have in my whole life. These beautiful creatures are quite conspicuous at the moment as they are turning white for the winter but do not yet have snow for camouflage.
Bouncing around on sagebrush stumps and badger holes all day left me with a sore butt and a flat tire. We plan on fixing the tire (but unfortunately not the butt) and returning tomorrow to finish the project.
