Attack of the Tumble Weeds

Last week I went out to take data from my plots with my two advisers. Much to our surprise we discovered that a recent small wind storm had blown tumble weeds over the plots, ripping up the toothpicks and scattering them. We came up with a plan of attack to gather as much of the remaining data that we could the next week. This Tuesday morning I checked the weather and saw that a high wind warning had been issued for the entire western half of the state. If I was going to get any more information from my plots I knew I had to get out there soon. Luckily my adviser was free that afternoon so we headed out. It was like nature's Armageddon, tumble weed style. The wind was gusting over 60 mph and the tumble weeds were bombarding my plots as fast as we could read them. 18in wooden stakes were ripped out of the ground by kamikaze tumble weeds. It was a long miserable day but we salvaged what we could. I am still picking dirt out of my ears.