After months of being in drought conditions, things really don't seem
to be getting any better. Can't even walk out in the yard 3 feet at
the time without stirring up a dust cloud. Not good for folks with
respiratory problems. Funny thing is my flowers, tomatoes, & pepper
plants are acting like it's spring again! All have new growth &
blossoms. The tomato & pepper plants all have new 'fruit' on them as
well. I have cut back as fas as I can on water use here at the house.
Quit watering the flower beds, re-using water, only washing clothes
when I have a completely full wash load, etc. Cattle & horses have to
continuously have water however. A little north of us, there is a
concern of the 'triangle' area running out of water. We have been
under a state-wide water conservation 'program' for a couple of months
now, but with little to no rain, options are starting to run thin in
some areas...

Here's an excerpt from a local area news story:
Grim prospects for rain are starting to frighten state officials as
the drought gripping North Carolina shows little change.

"We are scared because we have the potential at least for a dry
winter," State Climatologist Ryan Boyles said following a meeting of
the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council drought panel.
"We are on our way to be worse than 2002 and probably on our way from
having the worst drought on record."
...........................
Falls Lake, the primary water source for Raleigh and several Wake
County towns, is down about six feet from normal levels and is only
two feet above its all-time low level, which was reached in a drought
five years ago.

The lake's quality water capacity - the amount of water it contains
that doesn't need heavy pretreatment - is down to 45 percent, while
Jordan Lake, the primary water source for Cary and other area towns,
has about 42 percent of its quality water capacity, officials said.

"Does this mean we're going to run out of water in Falls Lake sometime
in January? No," said Terry Brown, of the Army Corps of Engineers,
which manages the lake. "At zero percent (quality water capacity) ...
we basically have 36½ feet of lake left at that point. (to tap) on an
emergency basis, on a very high conservation-type use."

story link: http://www.wral.com/weather/story/1868029/

Still in the dry, dusty heat,
Rae

raeannsimpson expounded:

Still in the dry, dusty heat,

We're hot and humid again, but it's supposed to break tonight. We had
1.5" of rain a couple weeks ago, and .12" sometime in mid-August, but
that's been it since the beginning of July. My climbing hydrangea is
starting to wilt again, that's a well-estalished vine that never wilts
- I hope it rains this fall!
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

In article ,
Ann wrote:

raeannsimpson expounded:

Still in the dry, dusty heat,

We're hot and humid again, but it's supposed to break tonight. We had
1.5" of rain a couple weeks ago, and .12" sometime in mid-August, but
that's been it since the beginning of July. My climbing hydrangea is
starting to wilt again, that's a well-estalished vine that never wilts
- I hope it rains this fall!

Same here and I've been watering young plants by bucket.

Bill

--

S Jersey USA Zone 5 Shade

This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

http://www.ocutech.com/ High tech Vison aid

"raeannsimpson" wrote in message
ups.com...
After months of being in drought conditions, things really don't seem
to be getting any better.

You should try going into the 8th year of drought in a row!

FarmI wrote:

raeannsimpson wrote:
After months of being in drought conditions, things really don't seem
to be getting any better.

You should try going into the 8th year of drought in a row!

there just might be children in OZ who would be terrified
and traumatized if they were to see rain falling out of
the sky.

there is a silver lining to our cloudless sky. when the water
is gone maybe some of these billions of 'newcomers' will move
as in leave.

"raeannsimpson" wrote in message
ups.com...
After months of being in drought conditions, things really don't seem
to be getting any better. Can't even walk out in the yard 3 feet at
the time without stirring up a dust cloud. Not good for folks with
respiratory problems. Funny thing is my flowers, tomatoes, & pepper
plants are acting like it's spring again! All have new growth &
blossoms. The tomato & pepper plants all have new 'fruit' on them as
well. I have cut back as fas as I can on water use here at the house.
Quit watering the flower beds, re-using water, only washing clothes
when I have a completely full wash load, etc. Cattle & horses have to
continuously have water however. A little north of us, there is a
concern of the 'triangle' area running out of water. We have been
under a state-wide water conservation 'program' for a couple of months
now, but with little to no rain, options are starting to run thin in
some areas...

Here's an excerpt from a local area news story:
Grim prospects for rain are starting to frighten state officials as
the drought gripping North Carolina shows little change.

"We are scared because we have the potential at least for a dry
winter," State Climatologist Ryan Boyles said following a meeting of
the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council drought panel.
"We are on our way to be worse than 2002 and probably on our way from
having the worst drought on record."
...........................
Falls Lake, the primary water source for Raleigh and several Wake
County towns, is down about six feet from normal levels and is only
two feet above its all-time low level, which was reached in a drought
five years ago.

The lake's quality water capacity - the amount of water it contains
that doesn't need heavy pretreatment - is down to 45 percent, while
Jordan Lake, the primary water source for Cary and other area towns,
has about 42 percent of its quality water capacity, officials said.

"Does this mean we're going to run out of water in Falls Lake sometime
in January? No," said Terry Brown, of the Army Corps of Engineers,
which manages the lake. "At zero percent (quality water capacity) ...
we basically have 36½ feet of lake left at that point. (to tap) on an
emergency basis, on a very high conservation-type use."

story link: http://www.wral.com/weather/story/1868029/

Still in the dry, dusty heat,
Rae

------------------------------------------------------

Climatologists, like meterologists, are at best, guessers. Good year for
hurricanes they said, I'm still waiting. What few have shown up were wimpy
at best.

Yes, we lost some wells out here. Dried up. Lakes down 32 feet. Blah,
blah, blah.

Yet, rained and rained and rained this spring into early summer.

Point being, your area may be a dust bowl for a decade. Or, it may bounce
back next season. Just don't count on the guessers to forecast it correctly
short-term or long-term.
Dave

Charlie wrote in message
...
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:13:03 -0500, "Dave"
wrote:

Climatologists, like meterologists, are at best, guessers. Good year for
hurricanes they said, I'm still waiting. What few have shown up were
wimpy
at best.

Yes, we lost some wells out here. Dried up. Lakes down 32 feet. Blah,
blah, blah.

Yet, rained and rained and rained this spring into early summer.

Point being, your area may be a dust bowl for a decade. Or, it may bounce
back next season. Just don't count on the guessers to forecast it
correctly
short-term or long-term.
Dave


Thus, one must plan and prepare for either possibility, or all
possibilities......something to which we have become unaccustomed.

Charlie

Some possibilities are feasible, and one can prepare for them. Yet, many do
not out of choice.
Some possibilities are feasible, but, some cannot due to the financial
burdens.
Some possibilities are feasible, and obviously real when they apparently
happen. Yet, some ignore them. Like driving through a rain-swollen creek
to be swept away.
Some possibilities are feasible, but, cannot be prepared for. The 30's dust
bowl is an example.
Dave

raeannsimpson wrote:
After months of being in drought conditions, things really don't seem
to be getting any better. Can't even walk out in the yard 3 feet at
the time without stirring up a dust cloud. Not good for folks with
respiratory problems. Funny thing is my flowers, tomatoes, & pepper
plants are acting like it's spring again! All have new growth &
snip...
story link: http://www.wral.com/weather/story/1868029/

Still in the dry, dusty heat,
Rae


Yeah. We have it as bad or worse on this side of the mountains. Farmers
chalked this year up as a loss back in the early Spring. I watch the
animated Doppler radar weather maps online and it seems as if every
front carrying precipitation either peters our before getting to my area
or splits in two and goes around (and that is just not paranoia -- it
has happened quite a few times). I keep telling myself that at least it
means that mowing my little bit of lawn is becoming a once-a-year chore.

Just remember that some parts of the Atacama desert have not seen rain
for 400 years and the average rainfall is something less that 0.01
inches IIRC.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

John McGaw expounded:

I watch the
animated Doppler radar weather maps online and it seems as if every
front carrying precipitation either peters our before getting to my area
or splits in two and goes around (and that is just not paranoia -- it
has happened quite a few times).

This exact same thing is happening to those of us on the South Shore
here in Massachusetts. It's absolutely maddening.

A cold front came through yesterday and got rid of the humidity -
thank goodness - but we got a whopping .10" of rain ( I suppose I
should be happy we got a drop.....
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************