Scott, Isn't that simply incredible to think about? It isn't just the extreme lack of moisture, but the extreme heat that accompanied it too. What worries me is that this seems to be a trend that isn't breaking and may last several more years. I felt sure you would get good fall rainfall and that your year-to-date rainfall would catch up with mine and surpass it by the end of the calendar year. I no longer think that because we've had 27.5" and I cannot imagine you'll get enough rain before the year ends to beat that number. We've been really dry the last few months, but had pretty good rainfall through the end of June, which has carried us through the year about half-decently. I'd rather have had more rain recently, but it hasn't happened. We were out at a wildfire in the southwestern part of our county two weeks ago, and it was shockingly dry. They have sandy soil, and I don't have much sandy soil, so maybe it is just that I am not used to how extremely sandy soil looks when it is dry, but the soil looked awful. Usually it looks more like beach sand, though slightly more brown. This time, I was watching as a local rancher was going around us in circles, trying to plow a fire break to protect what was left of his hay pastures, and the soil was flying up into the sky like a huge cloud of ultra-fine, almost talcum-powder-like dust. It was just superfine and stayed suspended in the air forever. It was scary, reminding me of those dust bowl clouds that blackened the sky. I don't see superfine dusty soil like that here in my part of the county. It was shocking to see it. For everyone wondering how the rainfall looks at their local Mesonet station and how it compares to other areas in the state, I'm going to link the year-to-date rainfall map. In our county, we've have 3 or 4 years drier than this year just since we moved here in '99, so while we've been dry, we haven't been record-setting-dry for the year overall like Scott has been (and I bet Dorothy's rainfall for this year is about as low as her area ever has seen too). Dawn Here is a link that might be useful:

One of my sisters used to live in Placerville, CA. (Est. circa 1848.) Every year at Christmastime they put Christmas trees on the guard rail along the highway running through town. All have lights, many also have some decorations. It's so awesome to drive through town (which you have to do if you're driving Hwy 50 to South Lake Tahoe) at night and see the trees. Neat looking during the day, too. And, yes, Thomas Kinkade grew up in Placerville, Most of his Christmas -themed paintings are of Placerville.

Kathleen44, every year I buy my daughter a special gift on Christmas. Four years ago I got a call from the hospital telling me she was a patient and needed a procedure done. She was not capable to give permission. She was very very sick and was only given a 50-50 chance to live. She was there because she was a heroin addict and was very close to death. She had left our family and we didn't know where she was for over a year. She spent almost two months in the hospital went into rehab and today is a happy healthy young woman. My gifts to her each year are to celebrate her "new life" and I consider Christmas a rebirthday. This year I am giving her a small wooden sign that says "don't stumble over what is behind you". My point in telling this story is to help you understand that you can begin a new life and live it YOUR way. If you don't want to celebrate Christmas this year maybe you can help someone less fortunate by helping at a soup kitchen or visiting a lonely person in a nursing home. Nothing makes us more human than reaching out to others. Don't stumble over what is behind you.

Sometimes I have two trees- one for home and one for the river house. It depends on whether DD2 and her family come home or go to river to celebrate with us. Two daughters live nearby and they come to my house on Christmas Eve and then we get together again at one of their homes on Christmas Day. When DD2 comes to the river house after Christmas, everyone ventures to the river house for another Christmas, hence another tree. At home, I will set up the tree in the living room. If the grandkids can't come over (they are getting older now and have activities and commitments) a week or so prior to Christmas to decorate the tree, have lunch, and make crafts, then my husband and I set up the tree and the kids put the finishing touches on Christmas Eve. I have a lots of ornaments and the grandkids enjoy selecting one or two (if they wanted more no problem) for themselves. If we go to the river, I decorate a tabletop artificial tree in the family room.