I had so many plans for yesterday. I was going to weed and clean up the yard, my son's going away party is Monday, and take a nice long walk. Instead, I turned over and went back to sleep. Why? Because it was raining! After a summer of water restrictions it is wonderful to hear and smell that rain. And it is still raining this morning. Lots and lots of lovely rain. The kind that just soaks the earth. We really need it too. The lake is very low, it went down 20 feet in one week at the end of July. The last time I saw it so low was when they emptied it to make dam repairs. Although the lake doesn't effect us as regarding water, we are upstream, it is a good indicator of local water supplies.

We'll have our first frost is about 2 weeks. The fall color is all around us. The mountains are wreathed in floating clouds that part to show glimpses of bright oranges, reds and yellows, with the green of the pines and the gray of the rock slipping through. I really live in a beautiful area.

Living in the country keeps me in tune with the weather. It isn't just an inconvenience, it is a life or death matter, a very important topic of conversation, and the one immutable fact that everything else is planned around.

What is the weather where you live? Is fall coming, with all the rewards of harvest?

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), August 31, 2000

Answers

Anyone with excess rainfall can direct it to West-central TN. Last week I had to have a trackhoe come in and dig five small waterholes for my herd. Hit water in four out of five about four feet deeper than the normal water table.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 31, 2000.

Hi, Cheryl--It is hot and sunny here--supposed to get into the 90's. We live in south central Indiana. Where are you?

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 31, 2000.

In Northeast Texas, we are scheduled to have cooler weather. Friday and Saturday it will only reach 103. Yesterday was 108, today is supposed to be the same. We have been at 100 or above every day since around July 20. We have had .2 inch rainfall since June 15. There is nothing to harvest. Our neighbors are feeding hay to their cattle. Haying shouldn't start here until November 1. On the plus side, we shouldn't have much trouble with army worms. There ain't nothin' left worth eatin'. Even the elderberry bushes have died. But at least this year we have enough water in the well to pump. This time last year, we could barely get a bucket to sink in the well, and then the water was so dirty we had to let the sand settle out before we could pour off the cleaner water to drink. Notice I said cleaner, not clean. Oh, well, this too shall pass.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), August 31, 2000.

i hate to say this but NO more rain!!! last year we went almost the whole summer w/ no rain this year it has rained atleast 3 times a week. the ground is so soft alot of outside jobs have been put on hold. when your livelyhood depends on getting on to lawns w/ machines it realy hurts you. the garden washed away once then gotmold so the crop real suffered. the lack of sun has played havic on veggies.they wont rippen, so much hay is lost we would cut because they said no rain for a day or 2 and it would pour.the corn looks good and same w/ soybeans, it should do well as long as we donot get the fall winds early.the winter is coming quick this year highs around here are getting out of the low 80"s we only had 1 day of 100. the birds are gone and so are the bats and butterflys. the animals are getting in their winter coats fuzzy calves in augest?

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 31, 2000.

Cheryl, It's about to rain here. Looks like rain all weekend. I am grateful for it, as it's been so dry. We got our first significant rain within the last couple of days. Too bad it's going to rain over a holiday weekend, as so many people make plans to be outdoors. Of course, they will go ahead and do them anyway, as folks in the Pacific Northwest spend so much of the year in soggy conditions. You'd stay home all the time otherwise!

Our frosts won't be until November, or late Oct. if early. I'm still waiting for my corn to finish! My green beans are just starting to form. Today I'll pick strawberries and blackberries. I hope we get summer for a few more weeks anyway.

Good news for the firefighters and all in fire country.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 31, 2000.

We are setting records for heat & no rain here in Ks. Crops & everything needs rain! We live in cattle country & they are takeing cattle off the grass that would normally be done in Oct. because ponds are dry & no grass to eat. We are all praying for rain where ever in the world it is needed! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), August 31, 2000.

I live in Liberty, Ut. That is in the mountains east of Ogden which is north of Salt Lake City. Any one east of us should soon recieve our rain. As these responses show, no one has perfect weather for homesteading. Either too wet or too dry. It really hurts when I hear of people losing their crops and gardens. Good Luck everyone!

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), August 31, 2000.

We havn't had rain sence July 4th here in North Cental Idaho..Spokane t.v. says showers this week-end. Hope its enough to do some good... Doris in Idaho

-- Doris Richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), August 31, 2000.

I have to agree with Renee! I'm not far from her and if it rains one more day this week, I'm going to scream!! The tomatoes are so waterlogged that they rot as soon as you get them off the vine. I normally have people begging me to take zucchini... not this year. I actually had to go out and buy them.

Whoever said that it's either too wet or too dry was absolutely right. Last year we couldn't get it to rain enough, and now this year is too much!

Oh well, God knows what He's doing!

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), August 31, 2000.

Here in North Texas we haven't had a drop of rain in over two months and we've had temperatures over 100 degrees over 40 days and it was 106 yesterday and is predicted to be 107 today and over 100 for at least the next week. Everything around here is either burning up because of the heat or catching fire. It's the worst I've seen since the '50s. Big cracks in the ground and everything just burning up.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), August 31, 2000.

i so feel for anyone who has not had rain. hay prices here are so cheap, good clover is going for $1 a bale at auction some does not even get bought! if i can help anyone hook up w/ hay let me know, the auction is every tue. morning. i do not know a hauler but i can ask around and set things up on this end as well. like i said in another post our farmer still has 1 more cutting of alfalfa i will gladly ask him if i can have it and pay him for 1/2 our steer. he averg. 1 and 3/4 hay wagons out of that field. please feel free to ask me for help , iam sure we can work this out!

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 31, 2000.

there is an after thought....if i take the alfalfa to auction sell it and buy grass hay i am almost sure i could double the bale count,i think the bir round bales are going for 35$ that may be another option.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), August 31, 2000.

After hearing the situation some of the rest of you are in, I am counting my blessings. We have had some rain this summer, more than last year, but the ground water table is still dropping. My neighbor bales my hay for me (predominately round bales). We got a very good first cutting. Second will be about half of the first, but still better than last year. Am also buying hay from him ($15-$18 for a large bale). Should have enough to winter the herd since I still have some from last year also. A mild winter will also help since forages will continue to grow a bit if they get moisture.

Waterholes were so the herd didn't have to walk from one end of the farm to the other to get a drink out of the spring fed pond I have.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 31, 2000.

Here in North Central Alabama, I thoght we had an earthquake the ground cracks were so big. If I have to shave another door to get it to close I have to replace em when the rains finally do come because they will look like salloon bat wings when the house straightens out. Only good news I heard was they expect 2 days worth out west at the fires.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 31, 2000.

Rain Rain Rain!!!!!!!! downpours with occasional drizzles....crops are at risk here in interior Alaska. But we have no forest fires. The snow has come way down on the mountains. Our hearts are with those of you who are in drought conditions.

-- Norma Lucas (trooper806@webtv.net), August 31, 2000.

the extra hay has been spoken for and is on the way. the amount of folks needing help blew me away...if anyone else needs help please let me know i will be going to the sale tue. am and seeing how much i can buy both @the sale and direct.we think we found a hauler too.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), September 01, 2000.

We were in the drought last summer, 3 months without, and it was so awful. I do hope it rains for you all that need it. We fed all our winter hay last year before November. This summer has been wet, rain every week, every time it comes I am so thankful. And my garden is booming. If I can help with any hay I would be glad to try for you all, lots around here. They have trailor spaces available in horse hauling across country, and I know Kentucky helped out one year. We need to help each other. I am not ready for fall yet, need to get firewood from the Amish sawmill still, it's free there. We better get on it huh? And I still want to buy a used outdoor wood furnance before it gets cold. Ours dosen't last more than 6 hours and I need to go strip tobacco to make some money each winter. So glad you got rain Cheryl.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 01, 2000.

108 yesterday, 108 forcasted for today (it was 87 degrees at 7:30 this morning) 107 forcasted for tomorrow and Sunday and over 100 for the next week in the forcast. No rain in sight. Whew. A lot of my plants just burned up. Watering didn't even help, the heat just killed them. We haven't even had a cloud since early June. Oh well, as I always say, at least it isn't cold. (I hate cold weather)

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), September 01, 2000.

It is 110 here again this afternoon. The gates of hell have opened. It was 57 degrees at 4 p.m. in Leadville, Colorado yesterday. If only I could make a living in Leadville.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), September 01, 2000.

Sigh! Today we have our first day of sunshine we have seen for a while. We are looking forward to the beginning of our summer. Last month when the tomatoes were starting to look yucky, I planted snowpeas and that is my bumper crop of the season.

Out here in the rainforest. We get about 14 FEET of rain per year. I would gladly send half of it to those of you who are less fortunate. Out here, 95 inches is considered a drought.

No, I am not whining. I live in the most beautiful place in the world! We have no winter, no summer, just perpetual spring and fall. I just have to learn to give up trying to grow summer crops.

I think out top temperature so far this year was 87 degrees. Last Christmas it was 65 degrees and the lawn needed mowing. The one thing I am thankful for with all this rain is that we have godd drainage!

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), September 01, 2000.

I can vouch for Cheryl's area being beautiful in the fall. I grew up just a couple miles from where she lives. Here in eastern Colorado, we have had thunderstorms almost daily--but not much rain. Lots of grassfires, though. Our garden is almost a total wash this year. Just didn't matter how much we watered, things just dried up and died. Do have some squash growing, which is a surprise, but the corn only reached about 18 inches tall and hardly pollinated at all. Oh, well, get ready for next year, and make the best of it! Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), September 01, 2000.

108! 110! My stomach just turns thinking about that kind of heat! [Once it gets above 80 deg.,I consider it hot!]How ARE you all handling the heat? (Those in the hot areas that is.)

We have had a very nice blend of rainy and sunny days this year,thankfully.It was only two years ago that OUR area made headlines nationally because of devestating flooding and storms. Last year,we had a quite a drought going on.

I hope everyone's weather improves soon, Blessings~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), September 02, 2000.

sheepish, is it just me or are the leaves around here falling a little faster than before. maybe the nice summer numbed my brain but i think fall is coming sooner this year.

-- Amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), September 04, 2000.

We've had 105 or better for two weeks. I'm in NE Oklahoma. Saves time drying fruit, we get raisin right off the vine. We had about a two minute shower the other day. The raindrops raised so much dust that it didn't really help. (You think I'm kidding!?) I've quit watching the weather channel, it just makes me want to cry and I can't spare the water! The ducks, frogs, geese, etc. hang around the house hoping someone will turn on a water hose. I thank God for my air-conditioner and pray for RAIN!!!!!!!!!

-- Mona (jascamp@ipa.net), September 04, 2000.

Its 10:30 CDT here, Sept 4, in northwestern Wisconsin. We had .75 inches of rain yesterday... on top of that much or more just the day before. And more before that. 55 degrees this morning. And Di just came in and said the tv weatherman reported that there might be light frost just to the north of us tonight.

Problem for farmers now will be harvesting corn in the mud. For us homesteaders, itll be onions and potatoes rotting, along with the frost problems. (Time for green tomato recipes.)

No matter where you live, life in inneresting, no? ---Jd

-- Jd (belanger@tds.net), September 04, 2000.

Amber, I think the leaves are falling faster, b/c it's been so dry and the trees are drying out and just shedding them. It has been unseasonally cool here, though. We had hardly any rain for the holiday weekend, and it was called for every day. I finished painting my fence; got lawns mowed; hung shutters; cleaned the barnyard; had a barbecue; all those things that I thought I wouldn't be able to do. I thought I would be putting up plums (inside). Guess I had better get to that today, as it's supposed to be close to 80 at the end of the week (howls of laughter, no doubt, from those in all that terrible heat!). I realy hope that you all are comfortable by now.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), September 05, 2000.

How ARE you all handling the heat? (Those in the hot areas that is.)

Friday, 109, Saturday 109, Sunday 110 (maybe you saw the Cowboys football game) Monday, 112, today's forcast 107 However, joy joy, our high temps. this weekend are forcasted to be down around 99 or 100...

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), September 05, 2000.

My husband says we had a frost last night, though it must have been very light, as my tomato plants didn't show any damage today. But it is supposed to get colder tonight, so he covered the tomatoes, and, I hope, whats left of the dahlias and gladiolas (which I'm counting on having for church Sunday!). We had a few hot days, into the nineties, but today I don't think it got over the sixties except in the sun -- there's hardly been any hot weather here this summer at all. Today was gorgeous out, though. I picked blackberries (wild) from the little gully in our pasture that we are letting grow up and it was a perfect day. Of course, now I have purple fingers and scratches all over my arms, but it was worth it!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), September 05, 2000.