When Tumbleweeds Attack!

[phantom power]

Drought in the Western United States has led to a problem that many did not see coming - until they were buried under piles of the Russian Thistle, a hardy, large spiny weed otherwise known in this country as the tumbleweed. And the drought conditions in Texas and other parts of the west, along with short periods of intense rain, led to a proliferation of these supposedly harmless, if annoying plants. Except that they aren't - harmless that is:

Rolling clusters of the tumbleweed have created havoc in the drought-stricken areas of the West.
In late January, an invasion of tumbleweeds rolled into Clovis, New Mexico, trapping Wilford Ransom, 80, and his wife, Mary, in their home.

"I looked out the window to see why it got so dark all of a sudden, and they were over 12-feet high, blocking my front and back doors," the retiree said. "We couldn't get out." [...]

In Crowley County, Colorado, tumbleweeds have blocked roads, making it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach certain areas, said Cathy Garcia, president of Action 22, an advocacy group made up of government and business leaders in the eastern part of the state.

Oh, and by the way, they create a fire hazard, since they make excellent kindling for brush fires, whether caused by lightning strikes, hikers and campers or merely idiot pyromaniacs. They can ignite also when they come into contact with "heated farm equipment." And they are currently clogging irrigation ditches, a critical means of transferring water for agricultural uses.

In non-drought periods, cattle usually keep the growth of this invasive species at bay. Unfortunately, ranchers have been removing their cattle from ranges where they would normally graze, because the drought has killed off much of the natural fodder that cattle feed upon. In their absence, just a little rain can create an explosion of tumbleweeds. They don't need much water to grow, as compared to many native species.

Not surprisingly, many local officials in communities out west are looking for federal and state government funding to combat the problem.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/3/27/11387/6743

[Politicalboi]

1. Where are the graphic pictures

[DURHAM D]

2. A reminder -

Russian Thistle is not an indigenous plant and was brought to this country by Volga Germans as it was mixed in with flax or wheat seed.

I count many ancestors among those farmers.

[pscot]

3. If I were trappped in my house by tumbleweeds

my 1st impulse would be to reach for the matches.

[TwilightGardener]

4. I have been fighting tumbleweeds since November. It has been AWFUL, there

is no end to them--just when you clear them out and pull them out of the shrubs and window wells, another windy day comes along. And now the seeds are sprouting everywhere.