JTB, that's pretty much the same scenario here in Hendersonville (middle Tn.). I mowed the entire yard 3 times this season, the last time was in mid June. There is a section of lawn at the edge of the concrete driveway that I have to mow (about 18" wide) in spite of the drought because that is pulling moisture from under the slab. But even that grass is suffering now. Next spring will be "boom times" for landscaping related business's as I have seen probably thousands of dead shrubs and lawn trees in my community alone that will not be turning green again.

Mownie about said it all for Middle Tennessee, though here south of Nashville we've had a little rain over the past several weeks, and that's greened things up a good bit. The forecast moisture that was expected at the end of last week must have dropped somewhere else, because we didn't see any. A good many white pines have turned brown around here, and we lost several Japanese maples. Most everything else though was just stressed. I overseeded two weeks ago so I've been watering some, which has brought back mowing for the first time since June.

If history stays true to form, this is an unhappy hot dry spell that will give way to happier times down the road. I pray that it will be that way.

John

Just as hot and dry here in East Central Alabama.

same in north georgia. On track to be our driest year on record. Worst thing about is now the news is filled with nut cake weather experts and environmental kooks claiming the end of the world is near. Droughts come and go, about every 7 years in north georgia, like clock work. Each time they occur, the politicians go nuts, the TV interviews people who just installed sod and the young (or people new to the area) who have not experienced one actually start to panic. Tonight on the news, they interviewed a young couple who "wished they had known" and they would not have moved here. Good grief. I truly hate the things and NOAA has predicted the south is in for a dry winter. This could be good news, because they predicted last winter would be wetter than normal and we have seen the results. Atlanta is actually proposing a pipe line from the tennessee river (where it dips into ga) for future water supply. THe only good thing is all this "news coverage" brings focus on a truly valuable resource. If history repeats itself, and I hope it does, in two years we will have too much rain. Off Topic - Tenn clobbered UGA, who'da thunk it. South Carolina is 7th in the polls (NO WAY). UF looses two in a row on the closing drive of both games (auburn, LSU). Does it get any better than that? (I'm a Florida grad but love close/good games win or loose).

Amen to the cyclical nature of weather. I'm looking forward to when this phase of the cycle is played out! I've found as I approach 60 that yardwork is a lot more fun than it was when I was a teenager.

History is a good teacher, even about weather. From what I've read, an unusually warm period in the 14th century, I believe, was a period of amazing productivity. So, there are advantages to warmer temperatures.

Then 30 years ago things seemed to be getting cooler and Newsweek and the New York Times headlined the approach of a "new ice age," complete with dramatic artist's conceptions of glaciers toppling over skyscrapers. Didn't happen. There's a segment of the news establishment that thrives on spectacular reporting, even when it's contrived, and today is no exception.

Tennessee really looked good against Georgia. Only time will tell if their season has turned around. It's a topsy-turvy football year.

John

The drought seems to be affecting much of the eastern US, and the high temperatures aren't helping. I was just up in CT- the driest my mother can recall. Here in FL, we just finished a rather dry 'rainy season'. Now we're into really dry weather. I have property in SC- same thing- terrible drought. I hope this weather is only a phase. According to some, the Earth is warming much faster than thought possible. Others believe it is partly caused by higher than normal solar activity (Mars is much warmer, too). After the solar activity slows, we tend to have a cooling-off. We'll see...

On a happier note- the USF Bulls are #5! My son goes there, so we have been fans for several years. I really don't think they deserve the ranking- but it's fun anyhow!

Same here in NC. The last good rain we had was about 4-5 weeks ago (3.5") and jump-started everything for a couple of weeks. They're gonna go to full restrictions in a week or so, so no watering anything then.

Yeah, I'm a long-time Dawg fan and could not believe how TN handed UGA their butts. It's a wonder I didn't break the TV. LOL!! We've got some serious issues there and I hope they find out what it is soon. Anyway, the SEC always promises to put on a good match. I saw Spurrier on TV interview poor-mouthin' and laying it on thick about the upcoming NC/SC game Thursday. The evil genius is a piece of work. :)

Yup. It's the increased solar activity causing the global warming. But you'll never hear Al Bore say that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sun website

We haven't had any appreciable rain since last winter.
Chattanooga is 17.5 inches behind on rainfall.
Where I live in Dunlap is even further behind.
We are rated as severe drought. The worst rating you can get.
I normally mow about every 10 days. This year I haven't
mowed the yard more than 3 times since last winter.
The field across the road usually gets 3 cuttings of hay.
This year it hasn't grown enough to get one cutting.
Wells are going dry. Water is being trucked into some areas.
We need rain really really bad.

Pooh Bear

Here is a link that might be useful: Dunlap TN is 25 miles north of Chattanooga

Sure like to have sent you guys some of this rain we keep getting here in south Texas, still got parts of the back lot that are too wet to mow. This week has been clear and nice, got my fingers crossed it continues.

Its so dry here in Missouri that the trees are whistling at the dogs...

LOL! grassmaster...not that's just asking to be nitrogenized!! It's pretty close to that dry around here too.