The sky here has been hazy/smoky for days now even as far south of
the border as I am. And it is incredibly dry. It is interesting to
hear your take on it, Walt.
----------------------
Suzanne
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/swilli41/www
Florida, USA
--- In Walter Knapp <>
wrote:
>
> Posted by: "M, J, & V Phinney"
>
> > Walt - are you anywhere near the big fires that have been making
the news
> > around the Georgia/Florida border? Gald to hear the southeast is
getting a
> > bit of rain...
>
> Most of a day's drive from here. Or a good part of a week on my
trike.
> It's in Southern Georgia, other end of the state from me, pretty
close
> to the Florida border and I live in the GA Piedmont east of Atlanta
(too
> close to Atlanta, unfortunately).
>
> Fires like that are part of the natural system, otherwise
eventually the
> swamps fill in. I know that country down there well. One big fire
set is
> in the Okefenokee and will probably just burn naturally, a result
of the
> drought conditions. The other is in a big area that's behind locked
> gates in mixed timber and swamps that feed the Okefenokee and I'm
sure
> it will be fought by the timber company. They don't care about
natural
> cycles, just growing one species of pine. Actually more likely they
will
> get the state to spend the money on the fire on their land.
>
> It's only a bit of rain we had, we have just over 9" on the gauge
here
> for the year. It should be about 20-25" by now. I'm watering just
about
> everything, all new plantings, my fruits, the bamboo, even many of
the
> trees. We have a 460' drilled well that could supply a small city.
And I
> have to pump water with the tractor from the creek into the pond
I've
> built in the creek bottom for the frogs on a weekly basis.
Otherwise the
> hundreds of tadpoles won't make it. And the frogs were happily
putting
> more eggs in last night. I'm building that pond as my small
compensation
> for the swamp a little ways down the creek that a real estate
developer
> drained to "pretty up" the land (the creek floods it from time to
time
> so you can't build on it).
> http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/docs/dry_pond_swamp.html
> However, the frogs did not wait for me to finish, as soon as there
was
> any water in it they started using it. I now can only work on
expanding
> it during the slack season for tadpoles.
>
> The nice thing to see is the return of at least some afternoon
> thundershowers. Been years since we have had them. Also the first
named
> Atlantic storm was off the GA coast recently, the more of those the
> better as they sometimes break through the dry pattern to give us
rain.
> Unfortunately this first one was a bust.
>
> Walt
>
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