Good Fences in the Neighborhood

I took these photos on Tuesday on our way home from Eau Claire. Mr. C. asked if I wanted to go home on Hwy. 53 or 'Should we take the scenic route?'  Since this was a wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful rolling hills in the area west of Bloomer and east of Colfax I said 'yes' before he could change his mind.

  Corn in the foreground. This is the land of corn and soybeans.

The maples have lost some of their leaves, but the oaks are just getting their full, deep rich autumn colors!

This shot would be better if I had not taken it through the windshield, but I didn't know if there was enough time to get out, take the shot, and get in the vehicle again before one of the many sand trucks came barreling down the road.

 Sand Mine (in background)

 The tip of the iceberg

There are several frac sand mines in our sand-rich neck of the woods. While people were hollering about the price of oil and gas, and the government was fumbling around trying to get their act together, private enterprise was hard at work, extracting oil from oil-rich areas of North Dakota. They use this tiny, special sand for that purpose, so there is a great frac-sand mining business in our area. They take the topsoil off a hill, get the sand out, put the topsoil back on, and move to a different mine. But some of these huge sand mines will be operating for 40 years. At first, farmers who owned the land were selling it to the mining companies for mega dollars. Now many of them are getting smart and leasing it to the mining companies instead, getting royalties per ton of sand removed from their property.

Funny side note about human nature:
There is a very vocal woman in our area who attends any protest meetings re. frac sand. However, at some point, the mining company approached her and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She sold her land to them for $10,000 per acre, but still attended the protest meetings until word got out. :-)

For all the complaints about frac sand mining being in the area, it should be noted that no one is ever forced to sell or lease their land to the mining company, and the mining companies, unlike the government, can't come in and relieve you of your property by imposing 'eminent domain.' 

 I'm always amused by that 'Safety First' sign.

So are they trying to remind US to be safe?

Or are they trying to reassure us that THEY are safe.

So silly.

Have a happy Thursday!

Linking to 
Theresa's

Good Fences

and

Amy's
The Barn Collective

***

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