Sounds like something that you have to keep plugging at and never ends. Kind of like cutting trail!

I agree, it's like we've picked a fight with Mother Nature.

Reminds me of a day I was out with one of my landowners, he was showing me his property lines. We were coasting down this lane, and he wheels out into the pasture and stops beside a thistle. He pulled a hoe off of the back, took a good swing and chopped it off at the root.

As well as I remember he said something like this: I've been fighting these things all of my life and I'm sure they'll be here when I'm gone.

It was a "red top thistle", in a way they have a pretty bloom, cows will walk around them, they are worthless. But the bloom will get the size of a jar lid, and when it matures it's very similar to a dandelion. The seed head will pop open with hundreds of little fuzz-ball seeds that will float and drift in a breeze so slight that you can't even feel it.

I was back on the farm yesterday, cutting and spraying again. I'll tell you if this Roundup kills the autumn olive root system like I've been told, I'd say that I have the upper hand now. I mean on the farm and the Ratliff place too. I'm glad that they didn't have another 5 or 10 year headstart on me. But I'll keep pecking away. And I'm sure they will be here when I'm gone.

Well, I spoke too soon about the olives on the Ratliff place. The other week I had a break from work, people have been finding lots of mushrooms. Figured I'd sneak back on the place and find a truckload and come on home. Wanted to check on the olives too.

Some of the olives appear to be dead, most of them had fresh sprouts. Tell you what the screw-up was: My daughter brought this jug of Roundup to me. It's in the factory jug, still has the label and directions glued to the jug.

Like most people would, I assumed it was Roundup, Pro Concentrate. Then I found out that it was premixed. So I had it watered down to the point where you could probably spritz the garden plants and not do much harm. So that was 2 or 3 days that were pretty much wasted.

The other week I went back and cut and sprayed them again. Last week I cut and sprayed on Mom's homeplace. What I'm doing is expanding my half-moon circle, each pass.

Wednesday of this week I cut and sprayed on the mountain, still a few more to go.

Talking to a farmer about this the other day. He said to add a splash of diesel fuel and a big squirt of Dawn dish soap in the sprayer. And try to keep it shook up good. He said it makes it stick better. That's what I'm using now. Next time I get out, I'm going to start on the rose bushes.