Wow ! this drought has been just torture. I am that type that just loves hot weather, I would rather toil in my garden in 100 degree weather than in 50 but this last few years have me reconsidering. Heat is one thing, drought is another, it depresses it saddens and dismays.

My hens have just now began laying again. My pond is down six feet, I lost 15 trees on my 10 acres and the ground cracked open all over the farm. I actually started to read Grapes of wrath to feel a kind of kinship with others who have come thru this hardship. I had to stop reading because It was so depressing and relevant. Yes we have started to see some precipitation in the last couple of months but we are still considered under severe drought conditions.

On the bright side, I have much more respect for my natural resources namely water. I thought that I always did but this drought has shown me that I was naive. Is it not a GLORIOUS sight to see the rye grass that had been seeded for several years come up in every nook and cranny!! I cant believe that these amazing grass seeds sat dormant in the baked earth for so long, just to shock and surprise us with this flush of green? I will be asking my neighbor(he has a back hoe) to dig me another stock pond on the south end of my property this is where my water flows in the rare event of rain.

I have learned to watch the water when it rains. I have learned that rain like all other natural resources is absolutely precious. I have also invested in simple human powered machines like a push rotary mower and a pasta press( hand crank).I have learned to rotate my animals in pastures instead of just letting them roam. now that our region has suffered thru this drought my city friends are beginning to think about living a more simple life about moving to the country, so I guess its not all been bad. The more that people realize that a simple country life of simple pleasures and a respect for the land and animals, the better.

Ya God knows what he is doing after all.