California Beats Idaho When it Comes to Tumbleweeds

Even the tumbleweeds are looking to leave California.  A video captured by a driver in that state shows a massive tumbleweed rolling across a road and then through a field.  I haven’t seen anything to rival the size in Idaho, however.  You may find one in Texas, where everything is bigger!

I don’t believe size matters from a driver’s perspective.  The volume is the issue.  If you’ve been on the Interstate on a windy day, it’s the sheer number of tumblers blowing across the road that’s an issue.  One winter day a few years ago, I was driving to Bliss for a lunch meeting at the Oxbow.  I had time to spare and got in behind an 18-wheeler going just above 50 miles per hour.  I figured the truck would be a shield.

When I reached Bliss, I still had pieces of weed stuck in my grill.

A friend in Rupert is married to a man who operates a repair shop.  She says he replaces a lot of radiators after windy days!

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the plant is an invasive species with origins in Russia.  It was accidentally introduced to North America in the Dakotas.  Someone received a box of imports and some of the seeds had stowed away.  Tumbleweed then marched to the Pacific Ocean, or better put, it rolled westward.

The work isn’t complete.  It continues to sprout and replace many indigenous plants.  Combating the growth is a Herculean task.  If we could stop the rolling, we could stop the spread.  Good luck!

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