Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[NativeSon]

Dennis, Congrats on the rain. I know it was really needed. We got back in town yesterday at DFW and as we came through Terrell the pastures looked real dry. They started greening up a little as we got further east, but still pretty dry. We need to get some rain soon as with the HEAT and the wind it's going to get much drier very fast.

Charlie

 

[Bird]

Must be nice, Dennis. We saw some clouds and I got a water bill from the city for $191.91, but not a drop of water from the sky.

 

[blueriver]

Great day! Nice slow moving thunderstorm. So far 1-9/10ths" of soaking rain. Came with some high winds, nickle size hail and lightning, but no damage visible. Lost power though. Seemed like it took an inch to start getting runoff, best rain in over a month for use . Temps droped to 76, so a greeat end to a muggy day.:thumbsup:

Thats absolutly awesome ... makes me feel good and I am pleased for you ... everything has bounced around us. I see the cloud banks, the lighting ... hear the thunder and keep thinking its moving in only to have it pass by.

 

[Western]

I guess we where fortunate and thankful for it,. Looked like the storms built up in the Northern part of our county then rolled southward. The last few storms seemed to hit all around us too, but this time we where in the right place!

Bird, our water bill has been higher this month since we have been watering pretty religiously, it went up about $15 to $38 ( a well)

BTW, Looks like NE Texas is getting some showers this morning on the weather radar?

 

[jinman]

We got only 1/4", but I'm not gonna complain. I kept hoping for heavier rain and watched it go west and south of us, but only one good short downpour here.

Bird, if you are paying a $200 water bill, you are almost as much as my total electric bill that includes my water well pump. I pump tons of water onto my yard and garden plus cool our house and cook our meals for around $250 in the summertime. I'm really happy with our coop power except for sometimes we get lots of unexplained power dropouts of just a couple of seconds that make us reset all our clocks. I'll put up with that for such inexpensive power and no water bill as such.

 

[Bird]

Jim, maybe there's some compensation - my electric bill has consistently run lower this year than last year. In fact, my last electric bill was $191.31 (yep, just 60 cents less than the water bill). Last year, at this time, my electric bill was $263.19. Every bill this year has been less than the corresponding month from last year. We've used a little less electricity (about 1,481 KWh less so far) and my old contract expired last Sept. and the new one has us paying about 2 cents per KWh less ($0.111 vs. $0.133 including all taxes, fees, etc.)

As for using less electricity, the only thing i know of that's different has to do with the central air. I have a contract with the HVAC company in which they come twice a year just for a routine check of the system. When the cooling was running, we've had some water (condensation) under the outside unit. The guys who have come to do the check in the past didn't know why. Then the last guy who came said it was because the system had too much R410, so he took some out, and sure enough that stopped the puddle under the unit. But he also showed me on the wiring diagram an "optional" capacitor and relay that my unit didn't have. So I had him put them on it, and it definitely sounds different starting. He said it would use less electricity and maybe he's right.

 

[Western]

Bird, that AC tech was a fortunate discovery for you, he likely saved you money over the long haul or at least your unit may run more efficiently. Nice to run into "knowledgeable" service , seems like a dying breed at times.

Jim, I thought you would post a better rain fall, must have built up between us, then came my way. Like you, I am happy with any moisture this time of year.

 

[bindian]

Y'all please keep the rain up there for the next 5 days. I am going to try finishing the pond starting tomorrow.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Bird]

I'm afraid it's about gone, even up here. The NWS shows my forecast to be nothing for the next week, except lows of 77-79 and highs of 103-105; not good at allo.

 

[jinman]

Jim, maybe there's some compensation - my electric bill has consistently run lower this year than last year. In fact, my last electric bill was $191.31 (yep, just 60 cents less than the water bill). Last year, at this time, my electric bill was $263.19. Every bill this year has been less than the corresponding month from last year. We've used a little less electricity (about 1,481 KWh less so far) and my old contract expired last Sept. and the new one has us paying about 2 cents per KWh less ($0.111 vs. $0.133 including all taxes, fees, etc.)

I am sure that the 1" foam insulation I added onto the south side of our house when I had HardiPlank installed has a lot to do with my electric bill being less. In the past, our 3rd floor bedroom would be stuffy on a summer night. That's no longer the case. It's one of the cooler rooms in the house and I don't have a split system. We just got our electric bill for last month delivered yesterday. After telling you that our bill was low, this bill is for $279. We've had our air conditioner running several days in our cabin this month and I watered heavily on my yard before the July 4th fireworks. Still, when you consider that my house is 2000 sq. ft. and we have three refrigerators and a freezer plus our well pump and aerobic septic system that runs 24/7, I cannot complain. When the weather is mild and the HVAC doesn't run at all, our bills are around $160 per month. Having a $100 per mo. rise in the summer when the AC runs and the pump waters my yard, I can't really complain. Of course, it's the cost when I have to repair something that makes me catch up with city dwellers in a hurry.

 

[blueriver]

What temps are you guys showing? I've got 105 on the porch ... in the shade with the breeze !! All week is supposed to be warm. I have mister's, sprinklers and fans running to keep the stock cool (er)

 

[Bird]

It's only 102 here, both officially, and according to my infrared thermometer here on our patio.

 

[jinman]

I think we are in for a hot week. I didn't notice the temperature yesterday, but I'm sure it was in triple digits. Last weekend, we went to Weatherford, TX to buy some peaches and also bought a big Isreal melon and a seedless orange meat watermelon. The ****** melon was super sweet and we all enjoyed it. I've had the watermelon in my spare refrigerator for a week and we cut it yesterday afternoon. YUM! It is cold, sweet, and the perfect snack for a hot triple-digit afternoon. Watching the Olympics and eating watermelon is great lazy man's activity.

 

[Western]

107* here today and light winds, humidity fairly low is the only good thing.

The news talked about an interesting web site concerning the North Texas area and water use, thought I'd post the link for those that may be interested.

Save North Texas Water

 

[jinman]

107* here today and light winds, humidity fairly low is the only good thing.

If I ignore the heat, will it go away? Of course, what I mean by "ignore" is sitting inside under the air conditioning with a big glass of iced tea.:thumbsup:

 

[Bird]

And in addition to the heat, we've had a small skunk in our back yard a couple of times at night in the last week. Sure have to be careful about letting the chihuahua out at night. The city animal control guy has some traps you can borrow at no cost; just a $50 deposit, but I just talked to him and they're all out right now. So now I'm trying to decide whether to buy my own.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

If I ignore the heat, will it go away? Of course, what I mean by "ignore" is sitting inside under the air conditioning with a big glass of iced tea.:thumbsup:

Or lemonade, margarita, pina colada, or possibly even an ice cold barley pop.

Or, better yet, an air conditioned cab tractor. Another reason to buy one is, West Nile virus, they just had their 1st fatality in Austin Tx. and all they would say is that the man "was in his fifties when people are more susceptable to these kinds of things" I'm saying Holy Cr*P, almost everyone I know on the board is about that age so....

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

and they are saying this high pressure heat wave could persist most of August with little or no precipitation...

 

[Western]

If I ignore the heat, will it go away? Of course, what I mean by "ignore" is sitting inside under the air conditioning with a big glass of iced tea.:thumbsup:

Sounds like a good idea, great time of year to make "sun tea" too! Mornings are still pleasant, but it sure isn't taking long to heat up.

Bird, if you where closer I'd let you use mine. $50 deposit?, they wont come trap it for you?

 

[Bird]

Bird, if you where closer I'd let you use mine. $50 deposit?, they wont come trap it for you?

Dennis, I got a trap from them before to catch a feral cat. They deliver the trap, and when you have something caught, they come get it. Before, I did the deposit as they asked; i.e., I wrote the city a check for $50, but they never cashed it; just returned it when they got their trap back.

However . . . I went to Tractor Supply Co. this morning and found they currently have a sale going; 2 traps, one large, one small for $25. So with tax, it was $27.06 and I now own 2 traps.