My kingdom for a dull moment!!

Shortly after taking photos, sort of a "crop report" theme this month, we had a quite rare significant hailstorm here in the Valley of the Flowers.

So you can imagine this caused some consternation amongst many if not most, not to mention those who were pondering the possibility the following photos might be old news...

But then, a few minutes later, we had golf ball sized hail (and some reports maintain baseball sized).

Most fortunately, we squeaked by. Just kinda on the edge, it seems. It was absolutely roaring over toward Belgrade, though, and early reports from SE of there say gardens are history, with leaves and limbs all over!

Good heavens... That's kinda rare around here. As far as the odds of getting hailed out, I've picked neighborhood old-timer's brains about this, and they say we're talking once or twice, back into the 1800's!

So my crop insurance remains diversified revenue streams, although we are bargaining for someone insuring our diversified ventures, rolling them all into one, which seems utterly reasonable. And very low risk! So shoot us a deal, eh...?

Our camelina is kinda behind this year. Odd, surely they must get vivaciously verdant springs like this in northern Europe (where it's native) occasionally! But whatever, I was beginning to wonder if I'd seeded it too heavily, but true to form in what seems like a matter of hours it exploded. And it's in no way done, although I was beginning to wonder when the hailstones hit...!

We've had a few firsts lately, but one is growing quinoa in Montana. Far as the Farm Service Agency is concerned anyway, as they had to invent a new "code" for it!

Gotta like that... ;-)

There'd been some research done it back in the eighties, but at that point they didn't think it held much potential for filling unit trains.

Probably still doesn't, although there used to be a railroad out here into Springhill, way back when...

Quinoa is related to pigweed, which we already know does well here on the Rockpile Ranch. Except it's not that simple...

Our former mail carrier Susan Duncan had an article published a few years back in a gardening magazine, about how pigweed and lambsquarter are some of the first plants (in this area) that will grow in soils that are in the early stages of replenishment.

Now I think we can add camelina to that list.

Viewing pigweed and lambsquarter as weeds depends on your perspective, though. Susan's article (alas not available online, but if you want a copy e-mail me), titled "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em" takes an alternate view. Some of these plants are extremely high in vitamin and mineral content, we're talking top ten...

Obviously Mother Nature is much better at this sort of thing!

So you play the hand you're dealt, although might be able to "load" the deck once in a while!

No question who's better at it, though, and She doesn't mess with tractors and such!

But alas, I have to...

Which isn't always bad...

So... if this were a poker game, I'm definitely not folding, but I'm not going to try & bluff her either.

That would be utterly stupid.

The Arrowleaf Balsamroot is absolutely thriving here on the Rockpile Ranch this year, not exactly unusual.

It's a native plant, which I'm coming to see is exceedingly well adapted. In fact its tap root goes preposterously deep, up to eight or ten feet. You understand the ones in the photo above are doing that in nearly unfathomably rocky ground!!

And, it takes them up to seven or eight years to flower! So I think we can say they're in it for the long haul.

Plus wildlife thrives on it, and I'm told even horses eat the flowers, although I've never seen mine do that. Although that could explain why Sonny gets so fat...!!

It's been suggested that I "do something" about this thriving stand of balsamroot, out in the pasture.

Supposedly I could grow more grass, and then presumably feed it to cows and lose money?!

Except believe it or not, we actually have an airstrip here, where former Rockpile Rancher (and airplane mechanic/pilot) Cliff Lincoln sprayed out the balsamroot (and picked heinous amounts of rock!) many years ago.

We're talking probably at least 30 years.

The balsamroot has only just barely regrown in that strip. And, I'd say there's really not much more (if any) grass where it was "eradicated".

But I should eliminate this native under the guise of "management"?

I don't think so...

You never count your money, when you're sitting at the table...