The Myrtle Spurge Scourge
It was still winter today near the Shanahan trail just above Boulder. The snow was light and powdery, unlike the wet, spring snow farther down. We opted to try myrtle spurge on Shanahan again today, hoping there would be less snow under the trees and it would be more visible than the med sage down on the plains. It wasn't, really. There was 1-2 inches on the ground, and only the larger plants were visible unless they happened to be uncovered by our probing feet. So we followed the GPS around to our points, stopping and carefully searched likely spots, looking for the long shape of its stems buried under the snow, or a few pointed leaves sticking out. Myrtle spurge, with its distinctive leaves that spiral around the stem and strange yellow flower heads is, like so many invasive weeds, is an escaped ornamental from people's gardens that's now mucking up natural areas, crowding out native vegetation. Plus, it has a wicked anti-herbivory defense -- the milky latex that pours from any wound is poisonous to animals that might eat it and causes severe irritation if it gets on your skin. And it must be hand pulled, because it will regrow from any root left in the ground, hence our rubber gloves. Later in the year we'll also have to wear safety glasses to counter its explosive seeds. Yes, the weeds can shoot at us now. All hail the frightening power of evolution.
It's hard enough to find every weed when you can see them; this was kind of ridiculous. But how often do you get to walk though a forest covered in fresh fallen snow? It was worth it. For a little while, the sun came out and shone on the frosted Flatirons. Walking into a densely wooded location, I noticed a bunch of deer tracks, and thought about mentioning them, but didn't. Then one of my coworkers said, "There's a lot of deer." Sure enough, the herd was just ahead. They turned their giant ears toward us and mosied along quietly as we did our work. Later, I found a number of the large, ovoid body prints in the snow where they had slept.
Our feet were getting wet and cold and conditions were not improving, so we called it off after only a couple hours and went home, which was nice because the snow had kind of made me hope that I wouldn't have to do very much work today hehe.
It's hard enough to find every weed when you can see them; this was kind of ridiculous. But how often do you get to walk though a forest covered in fresh fallen snow? It was worth it. For a little while, the sun came out and shone on the frosted Flatirons. Walking into a densely wooded location, I noticed a bunch of deer tracks, and thought about mentioning them, but didn't. Then one of my coworkers said, "There's a lot of deer." Sure enough, the herd was just ahead. They turned their giant ears toward us and mosied along quietly as we did our work. Later, I found a number of the large, ovoid body prints in the snow where they had slept.
Our feet were getting wet and cold and conditions were not improving, so we called it off after only a couple hours and went home, which was nice because the snow had kind of made me hope that I wouldn't have to do very much work today hehe.
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