Category: 2018

Friday (April 20) we finally got some rain.  It was predicted to start at 7 p.m. but didn’t start until 7:06.  There was a little more on Saturday and altogether I emptied .73 of an inch out of the rain gauge.  Yes, it’s true that isn’t much but when it has been six months without anything more than a wetting, it seems like a fair amount.  That is more than I can put down running a traveling sprinkler around the tree line and rain waters everything.  Needless to say our rain barrel was empty and had been so for months.  I was interested to see how much water it collected and was mildly astonished to see that it was full.  It only collects the runoff from the front of the garage.  If we don’t have to go weeks without any more rain this one will be a good start to recovering from the drought. Continue reading “April wrap” →

Probably a decade ago or more Grady gave Joyce an orchid, maybe one he’d raised in his greenhouse.  It has prospered in spite of depredations by little people over the years.  Those little people have all reached an age where they don’t present a threat to orchids or other tender things around the house and Joyce thinks this year’s bloom is the prettiest to date.   If not, it’s got to be hard to tell the difference. Continue reading “Orchid in bloom” →

It finally rained. No, that’s not an April fools joke. Earlier in the week I emptied .27 inches of rain out of the gauge, enough to clean out the bird droppings and wash dust off the grass.  It didn’t stop me from continuing watering, though. I run the traveling sprinklers around the perimeter any day it isn’t too hot or cold. It’s a slow process and only time will tell whether it makes a difference. Much to my shame, there are still trees standing along the perimeter that perished in the drought of ’11.  I’m hoping we don’t lose any more. Continue reading “April fools” →

It was supposed to be a pleasant day here in the Panhandle for St. Patrick’s Day, but nooo.  The predicted calm didn’t last past sunrise.  And it’s cloudy to boot.   No rain since October, in case you were wondering. Continue reading “Honky-tonkin’” →

I could complain about the weather.  I could complain about the cold, the wind, the drought, yada yada, but that would be boring so I won’t.  Let’s just say Joyce and I survived February and the befuddling flu, although the effects of the later still linger.  Some weeks I wasn’t able to work outside more than a day or two because of the cold.  Last week I was outside Monday through Thursday, but Thursday was March 1 so I guess that still counts as only three days for Feb. Continue reading “February wrap up” →