Drought Monitor

After the wet northeast summer last year, I'm ok with drier this year. Although we do need the water. Last year, our wood didn't dry too well, this year, I watched the wood dry and check in the first weeks of spring.
Last year, we had weird molds and fungus on uncovered wood, this year the little uncovered wood I have is drying out, even in the shade.
Quite the difference.
Sca

 

I suppose we should be thankful that there's no red, yet.

 

I can't ever remember seeing this before, but then again I can't ever remember everything. The town where I live had torrential downpours this week, with more possible this afternoon as thunderstorms skirt across the state.
2 Conn. counties designated as natural disaster areas due to drought

 

We're red now

 

State of Massachusetts declared the emergency for that red area on August 08. The declaration allows/mandates towns to fine people for watering lawns during the day, washing cars, hosing down sidewalks and landscape companies from sodding, seeding and/or any work related to the above. The list of banned activities is longer but those are what impacted me last week when a landscaping company was spreading soil around a new patio next door. Huge clouds of dirt dust every time they moved, dumped, spread dry soil. Did not have the decency to make an attempt at mitigating the clouds of dirt traveling all over the neighborhood with just a tiny spray of water. (which is banned, but so is the work they were doing) The filter screens in my window A/C were brown. I was SO tempted to call the water department and shut these guys down who are supposed to know better but I bit my tongue.


We got a little under a 1/4 inch of rain on the 22nd. Just enough to make weed seeds sprout in the garden where there is no mulch.

 

On a well here. But we don't water much outside.

 

I have a well, too. Nice in retirement not to be paying those exorbitant and ever increasing water and sewer fees.
Pretty sure a well does not exempt anyone from state mandated water use restriction as the restrictions are to protect the aquifer resource the well is sunk into which belongs to all the people of the state. In our town it is the water department that issues fines and reprimands and they may only be able to fine customers not just any town resident. So if I were to water my lawn all day they could probably harass me but not fine me. They could probably very easily call in a state agency to issue a cease and desist. ANd then fine for violating a cease and desist. I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a holiday Inn Express a few times.

 

I always like to see skirts across the state.

 

Finally got some rain yesterday afternoon. Received 3/4" in 20-25 minutes. Way too fast for the extremely dry ground to absorb any of it. That 3/4" is more than I've gotten in the last 2 weeks (and maybe longer).

I will probably have to mow this weekend - the first time in at least 2 weeks. The previous mowing was to get straggling weeds that just made things unsightly and it did not take long to get both yards done. I think it was 3 weeks before that that I had mowed just sections (shady and low lying / drainage areas) and it was at least 2 weeks before that that I did a full mowing.

 

We got 1.5 inches of rain yesterday, over about 2hrs. 2.5 inches of rain for the week. Where it's been so dry, most of it just drained away. Good for the steams and lakes. Hopefully, more to fall next week.

 

I was in valley falls, heading north to worcester when the rain hit. Couldnt see 100' in front of us, and slowed down in case trees might have fallen across the tracks.

The creeks were very full after that, most of it did run right off.

 

Careful.
Skirts can be possessed by multiple pronouns.

 

3/8 inch of rain here just after supper here yesterday. The bulk of the rain went by just to the south of me. The lightning was pretty intense off that way.
I haven't had to cut the lawn since early July. The 'lawn' has a nice crunch to it. There's just a tiny bit of crabgrass growing alongside the driveway that is green and could use a weedwhacking.

 

We got a quick .46 inch of rain this morning. We may get a bit more later this morning.

 

We have another half inch of rain forecast for Tuesday this week, hopefully more. I did work in the Brook today and the water was up some, since August is usually our dry month, things aren't that bad.

I hope you guys that are in some type of drought level get some nice rains.

 

Dug out the birdbath and set it up with water yesterday since the swamp next door is dry which means there is no overflow into the drainage ditch on the south side of the house.

 

So no skeeterz this year either?
Pics of birdbath?
Thats a cool idea, I bet the birds will appreciate that, I hope they show up by the dozen for you guys!
Sca

 

There were skeeters while the swamp still had water. I call it a swamp - it isn't any more since they cleared it, put in fill (sand), put in drainage all the way around the property (filled with rip rap), added a catch basin for the overflow - it overflows into the drainage ditch, and tried to sell it when things were booming last year (no takers after 1.5 years - people are not appreciative of the moat that goes around it.

The birdbath is an old concrete thing. I found the bath part lying in the overgrowth of what became the shade garden (managed overgrowth now) when I bought this house almost 9 years ago. The stand/base was in the terr line behind the house and was broken so won't hold the bath part. I just set the basin on a couple of rocks so the neighborhood cats, squirrels and other wildlife use it along with the birds. I really need to replace it but dang, those suckers are expensive. and I only put it out there when the swamp goes dry. here is a pic of it in June - turned over because it wasn't needed.



I should get a new pic since it doesn't look anything like that after I had tree work done and replaced that 20 year old chair.

 

Even a round from a score would work rather well as a base.
nice find.
Any chance you could buy that land, perhaps for a good price?
Sca