Lovely garden Jon! Such serene planting under trees like that. Aaah, Nature, winding down for winter's rest.

At my home we got about 3.75" rain over the weekend and Monday. Yesterday we got another 1/2" in the gauge. Not enough to pull us out of the drought situation, but we are grateful for sure :-) My gardens are looking so much better. A little rain water trumps a lot of tap water, every time.

Many of our local farmers are hurting, though. Corn yields in our area (on average) should be between 125 to 150 bushel per acre. This year averages are 1 to 17 bushel per acre. Without rain and humidity the corn silks couldn't grasp the pollen and, although ears formed, no kernels developed. There are some farmers that gambled, didn't get crop insurance and now are wondering how that will play out in their future...Those that had insurance, well, they are happy to save the diesel expense, keep the combines in the shed and still get a check.

It's yet to be determined if the late rain will help with soybean yields.

Deb

Thanks Deb,

We have really escaped any drought here and just had some taste of hot weather. I drove to Rhode Island today and the water was just gushing over a new rock dam that was just finished. Driving through Westport, MA the other day, through a lot of farms with corn fields that are not irrigated, the corn was normally high.

I would say the 5 inches we had the other day puts us well above average for this summer. I really feel bad for those who have really suffered this summer especially people who depend on the weather for a living.

Oh, and thanks for the comment on the yard. I have done some watering, but many people have not done any and it is pretty green here. I could see my puppies breath early this morning at about 6 AM so the writing is on the wall.

Jon

Jon, hardly looks as though your garden is winding down. It looks wonderful. Glad you got so much rain.

Cynthia

Thanks Cynthia, we have been lucky here. Actually the problem in this area for the past few years has been excess rain which has stressed and sometimes collapsed the old mill dams in the area.

The trend here is to tear down the dams which were built as power for mills. I don't know if it will be a benefit over all as it eliminates a lot of large ponds that the dams provided.

I think much of the country wishes they were facing this type of problem right now.

Jon

Interesting history of the mills. My uncle lives 1 hour north of NYC. That side of our country is so intriguing to me. Partly because of the colonial history but I love the landscape with rockery walls around many of the wooded yards. This country is so diverse, I love it!

The farmers will survive this, they are a tough breed. My comment wasn't meant to be a 'downer' I just thought the perspective from an area with lack of rain might be of interest.

Deb

Deb,

It didn't come accross to me as a downer. You were simply just relating what the situation is where you are. I think everyone can sympathize with the problems so many people have experienced this summer.

It's interesting to realize how New England at one time had almost every acre of land possible used for farming. The shift to the Heartland and to California for food production has left New England with several times the forests than 100-150 years ago even with the huge increase in population.

Jon