We're wrapping up August with a bow and saying so long. What a long, hot, dry 31 days?! We're glad to be putting this one in our rear view mirror. My son, Russ, was over visiting today and when we passed by the rain gauge mounted on a post in the garden, he remarked, "That's a lonely rain gauge, right there!" He's right! It has seed not precipitation in a very long time.
How long, you ask? Well, let's look at the matrix that we chart daily rainfall. It has been 47 days since we've had over an inch of rain. We've had NO rain in the last 41 days.
We have 10 years of detailed rainfall records. Normally, in a year we average 65.9 inches of rain. Through August, we have usually had 49.14 inches of rain. This year we are only at 29.8 inches. That's about 20 inches short! Normally, in August we get 9.08 inches of rain. This year 0.0 inches. The grass and landscaping is dying.
The grass looks like it normally does after a heavy frost. We turned the water sprinkler on and the grass greened up under the oak trees. Today, we put the electric fence up and let the cows eat the new growth. They were happy.
There is good news, however. As I look at the forecast, we have a 37% chance of rain on Sunday, a 53% chance on Saturday, and a 55% chance of rain on Monday. Those are the best chances we've seen in over a month.
The other good news is this. LuLu and little Nicky are doing well. I have had the water sprinkler going in her pasture. The grass is green and growing. That's helped her. She is not back to normal. The heat has her stressed and I spray her with water daily to cool her down. But she is getting better. We thought we might lose her for a while. Nicky is growing and he kicks his legs in the air and runs around the pasture with energy!
We welcome September. A month that promises better chances of rain and hopefully cooler temps.
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