Texas Heat!

   / Texas Heat! #121  
This heat is starting to scare me. It is looking more and more like the summer of '80. My first son was born in Feb. of '80 and during the heat wave my wife couldn't get out of the house with him as the morning low was around 92 degrees every day. I'm praying we don't have that kind of a summer this year.

Charlie
 
   / Texas Heat! #122  
fun, Fun, FUN !!!
(in the SUN)

Back a few months ago the man made global warming denying folk were mumbling something about ice storms and snow fall being clear evidence that the planet is cooling.

They go remarkably quiet when heat records fall {or maybe they "rise", this might be a cause of their confusion (-: }

Ho hum; difference between weather and climate - I guess we need to remind them of THIS thread next January/February ?
(IF there is snow)
 
   / Texas Heat! #123  
I probably won't make any friends by saying this, but my moisture level seems to be about normal. Looking at the drought report shows that I am just within the changing zone of normal rainfall to extreme drought. My 3/4 acre pond reflects that because it is full, maybe 6" below the spillway. There are also green patches of grass where trees cast their shade/shadow. That tells me that the sun's heat is the biggest culprit for drying. There is moisture still in the ground here, but any unshaded areas are getting baked in the sun-oven. For that reason, I'm not mowing anywhere but about 3 acres around my house and barn. The grass/weeds in my woods are being let go to preserve all the ground moisture their shade can provide. It sounds like a lame excuse for not mowing, but it is obvious when you look at the unwatered mowed areas because they are brown while the grass in my woods is green. My yard around my house is a green oasis. Sprinklers running 6 hours every other day does a marvelous job of keeping a huge patch of green grass. It guarantees the best fire protection around my house in case of a wildfire. The direction from which a fire would come is clear of tall vegetation and solid green grass mowed to 3-1/2" tall.

Maybe I sound overly concerned about fires, but I don't think so. We have neighbors who shoot fireworks off and have a history of getting uncontrolled fires started. I have a huge fire-break between my house and those areas most likely to be burned if a wildfire breaks out. My county has NOT banned fireworks. I think they should, but obviously the economics of fireworks sales has a lot to do with their decision. I'm just worried about neighbors who are not as cautious as I am. I normally have a big 4th of July picnic and fireworks show over our 12 acre lake. That's about as safe as it gets. This year, I'm taking a year off and will try again next year. I'll be spending my 4th with my daughter and grandkids about 75 miles away and watching a Texas Rangers ballgame with fireworks afterward. I'm just hoping I still have a house standing when we get back here around midnight on the 4th. :rolleyes:
 
   / Texas Heat!
  • Thread Starter
#124  
Jim, don't know why your worried about a fire, most of Texas has already burned!!:eek:

I hear ya though, pretty much the same at my house, but now my water pressure goes down when your sprinklers come on:laughing:

12 acre lake huh?? and your going to be gone all weekend??? hmmm have a "boat" ramp??:D

Just say'in
 
   / Texas Heat! #125  
Maybe I sound overly concerned about fires, but I don't think so.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as "overly concerned" about fire dangers.

Our lakes are not in bad shape, but I sure hate to keep running up the water bill watering the yard. I just spent two and a half hours with the string trimmer and an hour on the lawnmower working on our yard and the ones on either side of us. That's not a bad job in nice weather, but with 95 degrees out there, it gets a bit uncomfortable.
 
   / Texas Heat! #126  
12 acre lake huh?? and your going to be gone all weekend??? hmmm have a "boat" ramp??:D

Just say'in

Well, the 4th is on Monday, not the weekend. Is the heat gettin' to you Dennis?;)

No, I don't have a boat dock, but I do have trees near the shore so I can sit in the shade and sip a brew while watchin' my bobber.:D It's actually way to hot to even fish except for early in the morning. We did throw some catfish food in our small 3/4 acre pond this morning since the water has suddenly cleared. We could see catfish coming from almost half-way across the pond as they zeroed in on the food -- lot's more fish than I expected.:thumbsup:
 
   / Texas Heat!
  • Thread Starter
#127  
One thing I have noticed, the bird bath and any other water sure gets allot of use. We have been watching a pair of Painted Buntings using the water trough allot, but seem to prefer the sprinkler droplets on the rose leaves, same with the Hummingbirds. Actually saw a Hummingbird using the bird fountain, that was a 1st for me.

Watching the Dove is funny, they are like the "big guy" on the block, they take a bath and it's like a sumo wrestler diving in a 4' kiddy pool!
 
   / Texas Heat! #130  
coming home from work on Tuesday at around 5:30 PM slowed to not smear a raccoon all over the FM road as it ambled accross and then he stood in the ditch looking at me. Must be looking for water. this morning the wife called at about 9:30 and said the dogs had an armadillo cornered by the shed and it was digging in and thumping itself. Dogs were trying to bark it to death. Seem this fella was gettin a sip from the dogs water. Gettin pretty dry around here, my tank is dry dry dry. The frogs are pretty deep underground I bet. Black Widows seem to be doing pretty good for themselves this year. This week alone I bet we have killed several dozen in various places. Snake bites are up also as the snakes are looking to get somewhere that has moisture, cause that is where their food is going to.
 
   / Texas Heat! #131  
Well, it is VERY hot as I am typing this post. My thermometer says 107.1 F. That's either very hot or I have it tuned to an FM radio station.:confused2: WHEW!

Even so, our ponds and lakes are maintaining very well. Please don't send me hate mail, but here are a couple of pictures. The first is a pond that is 12 feet deep. I cleaned the silt out of this pond about 5 years ago. The 2nd photo is a nearby pond about 5' deep and our 12 acre soil conservation lake in the background. The lake is full to its overflow. Our recent 3 inch rainstorm put us in good shape for July. By August we could be down a bunch though.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1167.JPG
    IMG_1167.JPG
    157.2 KB · Views: 118
  • IMG_1179.JPG
    IMG_1179.JPG
    167.9 KB · Views: 113
   / Texas Heat! #132  
Officially, I see the NWS shows Denton to only be 101, but my infrared thermometer gets 104 to 106 in different parts of my patio (all in the shade all the time). It's just miserable if you have to get out in it. And we're supposed to have a roofing crew here Tuesday. I've shingled a few roofs, but the last one was 22 years ago, and I'd sure hate to be up there on one now.
 
   / Texas Heat! #133  
Jim ... funny you should mention that FM station, I listen to 106.3 and I have on my digital 106.3 degrees ... my tanks/ponds are down a little ... we are holding on and hoping for one of those straggler hit and miss afternoon storms to roll thru.

HOT ... how about that dust storm in Arizona ???
 
   / Texas Heat!
  • Thread Starter
#134  
Jim, sure looks nice!! I see in the first photo, looks like a "receding" water-line going on, must be "age":D

BTW got my water line about 5 miles short of your lake and ran out of $$, so waiting on a guvment bailout! :laughing::thumbsup:

106.7 here today. Allot of deer and varmints on the road as I drove back tonight from finishing my job in Granbury.

Starting to loose a couple of large Oaks which is really a bummer.
 
   / Texas Heat! #135  
Western- We've got some trees dying off out here too. Most of the ones I've noticed are some pretty big Red Oaks.

Charlie
 
   / Texas Heat! #136  
Well, this is my little garden. Our cukes are doing spectacularly because we are watering them every other day with soaker hoses. The plants are huge. If they don't get watered that often, they just wilt and look like they are dying. I think it's because the plant can't get water out the long vines to the leaves. I've never seen a plant wilt down so quickly during the heat of the day as they do when not watered on time. Because we water them and have kept them free of bugs, we get 15 to 20 pounds of cukes off of them every 2 or 3 days. If we don't pick often the cukes look more like zucchinis. I picked one last tuesday that we didn't see. It was a foot long and 3" diameter.:laughing:

Now, my tomato plants really difficult to water the correct amount because they wilt down some, but if overwatered just a bit, the tomatoes will split from too much water and the plants get yellow leaves at the bottom. I'm trying to just overwater a bit to be on the safe side. In the excess heat, the tomatoes are not setting many fruit, but they are producing nicely. The early girls have nice baseball sized fruit that is perfectly formed. Some of the other varieties get a bit cat-faced with the overwatering. My sweet peppers, banana peppers, and pimentos are doing just fine in the heat and seem to do well. I'm sure I'm overwatering them, but the plants are just covered with peppers.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1214.JPG
    IMG_1214.JPG
    304.3 KB · Views: 126
   / Texas Heat!
  • Thread Starter
#137  
Sad to loose a red oak.. I have a couple of Live oaks that are browning, just hoping it's the lack of water and heat, not white root rot. (forgot the proper term)

The couple melon plants I have will fruit and then after a week the little melons turn "black", never had this before so I cut them off and put in the burn barrel.

I am babying a couple of the trees close to the house, but can't do much for the hundreds in the woods. I know Ft. Worth and a few other of the Mid-cities are talking water restrictions already.
I am surprised there has been no mention on the news on the condition of our various aquifers??
 
   / Texas Heat! #139  
110.4 today.:thumbdown: I keep hoping for a break, but it ain't happening. Dennis, I hate losing trees to drought, but I lost about 100 trees back in 1997/1998 and again in 2005/2006 when we had droughts. Those were native trees. Are your red oaks and live oaks native?
 
   / Texas Heat! #140  
104 Yesterday. Out here in Lake Country the big lakes (Fork, Cypress Springs, etc.) are running 5-7 ft. low so I'd think DFW needs to look at water rationing.

My garden is really taking a beating this year and I'm watering the heck out of it, just to keep it from burning up. About a day and a half between waterings and everything is wilting. The Cukes , Eggplant, and the Basil are doing pretty good but the tomatoes and everything else aren't doing to well. I think it got too hot too early so the tomatoes just quit setting.

The trees that we are losing are Native.

Charlie
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

HIGH END MINI GOLF CART (A58214)
HIGH END MINI GOLF...
2020 Peterbilt 367 Weldco Hydra-Lift WHL45TC100 45 Ton Tri Axle Telescopic Crane Truck (A55973)
2020 Peterbilt 367...
F -550 Bucket Truck (A56438)
F -550 Bucket...
RAKE ATTACHMENT FOR MINI EXCAVATOR (A58214)
RAKE ATTACHMENT...
4-Wheeel Hay Rake (A56438)
4-Wheeel Hay Rake...
2013 Ford Taurus Sedan (A59231)
2013 Ford Taurus...
 
Top