The funny thing about planting gardens on time is that the weather just might end up hating you for it. I couldn’t have predicted when we beat the light rain shower that day that the next 2 weeks would be a continuation of the rainy misery we’ve suffered through here in the Midwest. And now that it’s sunny and my plants are all flooded out, the coast has cleared enough to go in and inspect the damage.
From 3 rows of sweet corn, 5 plants made it through the deluge. The cantaloupe came up in a fury, but I’m worried that it will wilt fast under the weather now because it hasn’t been able to leaf enough to shelter itself. Our herbs are starting to pop bravely back through the soil in the basket but they are behind schedule severely. Pumpkins are up and growing, but I didn’t even mean to plant those; they’re just volunteers from last year. Our strawberry plant drowned and subsequently fried, suffering a death rivaled only by the Spanish Inquisition, while even our indoor tomatoes have slowed their growth because there wasn’t any sunlight for them to absorb. The only two plants which came up nicely were the beans (eaten by our overpopulation of groundhogs and deer) and the peas. Hopefully the peas will survive the sunlight and give us a few flowers before they die from the sudden season change.
It’s a sad time out in the gardens, but since there’s extra seeds we’ll give it one more chance I guess. Hopefully it’ll get better and hopefully my guesses are wrong, but this isn’t looking to be a very wet summer. If I was a farmer, I’d really struggle convincing myself to put in all the effort on the slim chance that my harvest comes out right this year. Good luck to all that are out planting right now or making hay.
Showing posts with label flooding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flooding. Show all posts
06 June 2011
11 May 2011
Sunshine at last (duplicate post)
I've been watching everyone else blog and report on the rain for the last few weeks, and we don't live on a flood plain or near one of the hugely overflowed rivers this week, but it has been wet here as well. But in an effort to avoid beating the dead horse, I'll refrain from elaborating on just how much water we've gotten. Needless to say, the breeze the last couple of days with 85F and sunshine has been a much-needed blessing and there is finally some hope of recovering the pastures and getting a vegetable garden in.
Record rainfall here for the month of April doesn't even begin to describe how soft the ground was getting, even in our yard. The dog finally started refusing to even go outside because she got tired of having to deal with the rain and stepping in the mud. Out on the farms, the pasture hasn't even been able to grow grass to keep up with the appetite and hoofprints litter the ground, damaging the roots of the plants so it's going to take a while to recover.
I remember a few years back when the dams almost breached because of the rain then, but that was on frozen ground with less absorption and increased direct watershed flow to the dam. This is different because the ground took everything it could first, before it started a mass migration according to the law of gravity.
But of course, our damage and the local crops not being planted long after they were due is nothing compared to the damage I saw today from the tornadoes in the South. It was unbelievable to see the footage from the tornadoes and even more astonishing to see the damage after. The South hasn't seen a swath of devastation like that since our very own Sherman marched to Atlanta and the resolve of the populace to bounce back is impressive. I saw a show this morning that highlighted the projects and groups who are helping to rebuild and those people should be commended for their efforts.
Hopefully this week we'll finally be able to start working the garden soil and planting all the starters my brother has going. Now if we can just avoid a long-summer drought or corn prices will be through the roof. It feels really good to have a hot sun beam down and to not have to run from car to building to not be soaked, but I worry that it won't be long before I wish that sun would be covered by some clouds again.
Record rainfall here for the month of April doesn't even begin to describe how soft the ground was getting, even in our yard. The dog finally started refusing to even go outside because she got tired of having to deal with the rain and stepping in the mud. Out on the farms, the pasture hasn't even been able to grow grass to keep up with the appetite and hoofprints litter the ground, damaging the roots of the plants so it's going to take a while to recover.
I remember a few years back when the dams almost breached because of the rain then, but that was on frozen ground with less absorption and increased direct watershed flow to the dam. This is different because the ground took everything it could first, before it started a mass migration according to the law of gravity.
But of course, our damage and the local crops not being planted long after they were due is nothing compared to the damage I saw today from the tornadoes in the South. It was unbelievable to see the footage from the tornadoes and even more astonishing to see the damage after. The South hasn't seen a swath of devastation like that since our very own Sherman marched to Atlanta and the resolve of the populace to bounce back is impressive. I saw a show this morning that highlighted the projects and groups who are helping to rebuild and those people should be commended for their efforts.
Hopefully this week we'll finally be able to start working the garden soil and planting all the starters my brother has going. Now if we can just avoid a long-summer drought or corn prices will be through the roof. It feels really good to have a hot sun beam down and to not have to run from car to building to not be soaked, but I worry that it won't be long before I wish that sun would be covered by some clouds again.
04 January 2011
Follow-ups from Jan. 3
In case you were still troubled by the plight of the blackbirds... it is now confirmed that they died of trauma of unknown origin, and that they couldn't have been poisoned. Apparently, the pet owners whose cats ate the birds have reported no dead cats. How scientific...
And then there's the flooding in Queensland. Well, that was all good and well until they reported today that it's shaking out all the local reptiles in a search for high ground as well. There's nothing quite like snakes invading your houses. I wonder how long they live there afterwards...
And then there's the flooding in Queensland. Well, that was all good and well until they reported today that it's shaking out all the local reptiles in a search for high ground as well. There's nothing quite like snakes invading your houses. I wonder how long they live there afterwards...
03 January 2011
Randoms
I wanna start this post by saying that for the new year I will be concentrating more on time management and thus will be controlling the amount of time I spend on blogger. Hopefully this will also have a reader benefit in the form of higher quality posts, but let's not get that hasty quite yet.
So on to business. For starters, I have been blown away by all this flooding down in Australia. I guess I'm unfamiliar with whether this kind of deluge is typical, but regardless it is so much bigger than normal that it's really epic in proportions.
Next, it would seem that there was a huge flock death of red-winged black birds in Arkansas over the new year. Whether it's the weather that caused it or other causes is yet to be determined. But it's always kinda creepy to have that many die all at once.
And then there's Facebook. I remember back when it was getting started how different was from now and while the changes haven't been fundamental it's still mind-blowing to see just how far it's gotten. I bet even Zuckerberg didn't even expect to have a $50 billion company on his hands or be Time's person of 2010.
And finally for today, read up on BBC's 6 ads that changed our world. Interesting read to be honest.
So on to business. For starters, I have been blown away by all this flooding down in Australia. I guess I'm unfamiliar with whether this kind of deluge is typical, but regardless it is so much bigger than normal that it's really epic in proportions.
Next, it would seem that there was a huge flock death of red-winged black birds in Arkansas over the new year. Whether it's the weather that caused it or other causes is yet to be determined. But it's always kinda creepy to have that many die all at once.
And then there's Facebook. I remember back when it was getting started how different was from now and while the changes haven't been fundamental it's still mind-blowing to see just how far it's gotten. I bet even Zuckerberg didn't even expect to have a $50 billion company on his hands or be Time's person of 2010.
And finally for today, read up on BBC's 6 ads that changed our world. Interesting read to be honest.
01 October 2010
No homework and Fantasy Football
I know this sounds crazy, but I don't have any homework to do this weekend. Don't be fooled, this doesn't mean I don't have homework; it just means that I've spent the week working hard (mostly) and so I am ahead in my reading and all my homework so that I have nothing to do this weekend except spend time with Amanda watching OSU and MSU (and NCState) as they enter serious conference play.
Speaking of Amanda, she's sleeping here beside me right now. Yeah, welcome to the typical Friday night in married life. She's been up since 5 am, yet I have not, so I'm spending the time blogging while she's catching the z's that I already got in the early morning hours before my biochem quiz. And to be totally honest, I love the married life. Everyone's always asking me how it is, and believe me, it's not perfect but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is real life and after all those dating relationships where I tried to "play" married and failed out, I finally feel like this all just fits together. Good thing too since this is the real deal, eh? We just have a really good understanding of how we function together and although every day brings something new, there is nothing we can't face together. I think she's fantastic.
My picture of the day is from the flooding along the east coast of the US. Scrolling through some of the pictures can have quite an effect on you. Keep these people in your prayers along with those in C. America as they struggle to deal with too much of a good thing right now.
The original reason that I planned to blog tonight was about Fantasy Football. Guys, if you do this stuff you're way better than me and you'll probably laugh at how terrible I am. Girls, this whole thing's really not that big of a deal and if I knew anything about football it wouldn't take much time at all to underachieve as poorly as I have this year. Then again, that statement holds true for 2 years now. At least this year I remembered I had a team and I've logged in 3 out of 4 weeks so far to update my players and move players around. My biggest mistake of the year was to draft Brett Favre. I should've known better; Dani always hated him so much, but I had it set on auto-pick and when I got back at the end of the weekend I felt pretty good about having such a legendary star so I kept him. Worst mistake of my year thus far, that's for sure. Luckily I picked up Mike Nugent and Michael Vick who somehow got dropped by someone else (somebody who probably already kicked my pants off in a match) and so my team shows signs of recovery for the rest of the season. Let's see if I can turn 0-2-1 (0 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie) into a 0.500 season.
For those of you who haven't played Fantasy Football before, I just want to give you the short breakdown on how this all works. First, you'll have a team administrator. If you haven't played before, this isn't likely to be you. Instead you'll probably receive an invite from someone who more than likely heard at work that you were the easy person to screw into last place in a fake football league. Your story might differ some from that but mine isn't far off the mark. Once you sign into an account after creating the account you'll have to look at the rule. It's not too hard to find any of this stuff, but for me understanding the rules and points systems was a little too difficult. Skip the points scoring and just remember that the better players will get you more points. Your points are based on their performance each week and you'll be matched up against someone else. Whoever scores the most points wins so you want good players.
You might be saying, "Sure, that's great. I'd love to find good players but I don't know how to find them." My rule of thumb is to let it auto-pick based on preferences I set for positions. I choose for it to pick a certain position first on my turn (best available) and the computer system will figure out my best option for me. If you're stuck and have to do a live draft, just do a little scouting from last year for a spreadsheet on leaders among the NFL for each position. It's a good bet that if they were good last year, they'll be worth thinking about this year.
Once you have your team you'll be able to shuffle players around each week from the extras you have on the bench to the ones that you have starting. Each week you need to consider if any of your players have a bye (where they won't be playing to earn you any points) or if they are injured or if they are likely to have a good game or a bad game that week. Don't over-analyze this. In truth, your big know-it-all football friends probably just watch more ESPN than you do and don't know anything about the game either except what they've heard from someone else. If you don't have a sports geek to give you the inside scoop then just either go with what you can read about in a short summary article online (EPSN's Fantasy even tells you their predictions) or go with your gut feeling. Most importantly, if you have any pride, then don't do this, but if you're in it for the fun then just go for exactly that. As long as you're having fun, then who cares if half your team hasn't scored all summer? Heck, one of my guys wasn't even starting and I still had him in the lineup even though he obviously wasn't helping me out any.
I hope this gave you a brief explanation of what seems to occupy everyone's time during the week. Next time they tell you you oughta join them, think twice before you say yes. Otherwise you end up like me - fighting for dear life to survive in a league where I don't stand a chance. Good luck and have a nice night!
Speaking of Amanda, she's sleeping here beside me right now. Yeah, welcome to the typical Friday night in married life. She's been up since 5 am, yet I have not, so I'm spending the time blogging while she's catching the z's that I already got in the early morning hours before my biochem quiz. And to be totally honest, I love the married life. Everyone's always asking me how it is, and believe me, it's not perfect but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is real life and after all those dating relationships where I tried to "play" married and failed out, I finally feel like this all just fits together. Good thing too since this is the real deal, eh? We just have a really good understanding of how we function together and although every day brings something new, there is nothing we can't face together. I think she's fantastic.
My picture of the day is from the flooding along the east coast of the US. Scrolling through some of the pictures can have quite an effect on you. Keep these people in your prayers along with those in C. America as they struggle to deal with too much of a good thing right now.
The original reason that I planned to blog tonight was about Fantasy Football. Guys, if you do this stuff you're way better than me and you'll probably laugh at how terrible I am. Girls, this whole thing's really not that big of a deal and if I knew anything about football it wouldn't take much time at all to underachieve as poorly as I have this year. Then again, that statement holds true for 2 years now. At least this year I remembered I had a team and I've logged in 3 out of 4 weeks so far to update my players and move players around. My biggest mistake of the year was to draft Brett Favre. I should've known better; Dani always hated him so much, but I had it set on auto-pick and when I got back at the end of the weekend I felt pretty good about having such a legendary star so I kept him. Worst mistake of my year thus far, that's for sure. Luckily I picked up Mike Nugent and Michael Vick who somehow got dropped by someone else (somebody who probably already kicked my pants off in a match) and so my team shows signs of recovery for the rest of the season. Let's see if I can turn 0-2-1 (0 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie) into a 0.500 season.
For those of you who haven't played Fantasy Football before, I just want to give you the short breakdown on how this all works. First, you'll have a team administrator. If you haven't played before, this isn't likely to be you. Instead you'll probably receive an invite from someone who more than likely heard at work that you were the easy person to screw into last place in a fake football league. Your story might differ some from that but mine isn't far off the mark. Once you sign into an account after creating the account you'll have to look at the rule. It's not too hard to find any of this stuff, but for me understanding the rules and points systems was a little too difficult. Skip the points scoring and just remember that the better players will get you more points. Your points are based on their performance each week and you'll be matched up against someone else. Whoever scores the most points wins so you want good players.
You might be saying, "Sure, that's great. I'd love to find good players but I don't know how to find them." My rule of thumb is to let it auto-pick based on preferences I set for positions. I choose for it to pick a certain position first on my turn (best available) and the computer system will figure out my best option for me. If you're stuck and have to do a live draft, just do a little scouting from last year for a spreadsheet on leaders among the NFL for each position. It's a good bet that if they were good last year, they'll be worth thinking about this year.
Once you have your team you'll be able to shuffle players around each week from the extras you have on the bench to the ones that you have starting. Each week you need to consider if any of your players have a bye (where they won't be playing to earn you any points) or if they are injured or if they are likely to have a good game or a bad game that week. Don't over-analyze this. In truth, your big know-it-all football friends probably just watch more ESPN than you do and don't know anything about the game either except what they've heard from someone else. If you don't have a sports geek to give you the inside scoop then just either go with what you can read about in a short summary article online (EPSN's Fantasy even tells you their predictions) or go with your gut feeling. Most importantly, if you have any pride, then don't do this, but if you're in it for the fun then just go for exactly that. As long as you're having fun, then who cares if half your team hasn't scored all summer? Heck, one of my guys wasn't even starting and I still had him in the lineup even though he obviously wasn't helping me out any.
I hope this gave you a brief explanation of what seems to occupy everyone's time during the week. Next time they tell you you oughta join them, think twice before you say yes. Otherwise you end up like me - fighting for dear life to survive in a league where I don't stand a chance. Good luck and have a nice night!
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