Gopher Valley and butterflies and alfalfa

The problem with blogging is that any terms I use show up in Google search results so now my posts will be forever tied with Gopher Valley. I could change the name as most of my regular readers have no idea as to my geography and I doubt anyone follows my every move on GoogleEarth.
Gopher Valley is its only little microcosm. It is located several miles off of Highway 18 which runs to the coast. You have to drive up a twisty narrow road which used to be a chicken game with log trucks but now is a chicken game with zippy little cars. At least the log trucks understood they were not the only people on the highway.
I've seen the old folks move away and the speculators buy the old farmsteads. Those were sold to city folks who were entranced by the beauty of the valley. Most of them have now moved away and it is a mix of people leaning towards people who think they are conservationists and love living in nature, and people who like the view, and those who like to grow a little herb in their back yard. There are but a few old timers.
I called a friend up there Sunday to see if he would bring me the windrow guides to the tedder which I forgot. As a little side note he said someone was digging up the dirt piles left by the old pond and hauling them away. I tried to get more info but he was somewhat lacking on the details.
So... Sunday I drove up to take a look.
There was a backhoe and a rental dump truck in the field. I picked up my guides and went to investigate. I did notice that someone took the gate off the hinges to get into the field. This is kind of funny as it is not really locked. (It just has the lock latched through the chain which is looped around the gate to appear to be locked.)
The fellow said he tried to call me but I never answer my phone. (this is true) Although I did give him permission two years ago and now i forgot. The landladies son had told him it was ok and said he could just take the gate off the hinges.
Whatever...
The dirt hauler was an interesting fellow. He bought 60 somewhat unfarmable acres up the valley and is hauling the dirt as fill to build a shed. He wants to build the shed so that I can deliver hay with the stacker. Someone with more ambition than I needs to take over my farm. I think if you got the land cheap enough and some basic equipment you could sell an easy 100 ton of hay to the neighbors and with a little marketing probably move another 100 over the winter.
Anyway, I've got to cut this short as I have alfalfa to rake, but...
This fellow got into it with the infamous Kindcaid Lupine. He made the mistake of letting a nice lady get some seeds. She was not content just to get seeds, she brought friends and wants to manage the conservation efforts.
It turns out that his Lupines are white lupines which are not endangered and are toxic to animals. The seeds are high in alkaloids.
Now he can't get rid of the "conservationists."
I suspect that part of the issue driving this whole Lupine conservation effort in Gopher Valley is the Nature Conservancy which has been buying up property. They don't actually save the lupine or do any conservation work. Instead they are selling the timber and doing property swaps with the government and basically making a lot of money, in my opinion.
I've got to go. My employee is here a little early this morning. I have nothing pressing for him to do of course... But, instead of doing things like putting shop towels in the service truck, washing the windows, filling them with diesel and checking the back for jugs of hydraulic oil and motor oil, he will sit on his arse and drink coffee with the Uncle and then make remarks about me not getting to work early.
And I, being the enabler sort, will not point out I was attempting to bale alfalfa at 11:00 last night, and I will send him to blow out the baler and combine and insult him in some way.
But, I digress...
I was going to post links about the Nature Conservatory making money off of useful idiots but I have to run. I did find this link which I clicked on because the title of the blog had Balaam's Ass in it. I think that is quite funny so here is the link.
A little out there for me but they make some good points. Click here to go to balaams-ass.com. (sorry, no nudity)
Have a nice day...
I leave you with an oil spill on Gopher Valley road. It didn't come out of no log truck and I didn't do it. I would bet a blown hydraulic hose on some implement or someone tipped over a jug of oil in the back of a service truck. It did not go in the creek. The residents have good imaginations.
They live in a beautiful location but they never see anything out their windows. They would not know the color of the tractor which dropped the oil. They see someone with a backhoe in my field but they can't describe the backhoe or the person, they see someone cutting my old hay field but they can't tell the color of tractor or how they stacked it or if they are young or old or when they did it or anything else but it rained on their hay. Or the people who replaced me have four balers and get stuff done really fast. They know all about litter and road hunters but they never see them. Do these folks ever look out their windows? It is kind of a strange place.