Rain, Rain, Go Away......

[DianaB]

We've had so much rain. It rained off and on all day yesterday. Last night every time I woke up it was raining and this morning it's pouring. The sky is so dark that you'd think that it was evening and it's only 8:00 in the morning. We're in a flash flood warning and a flood warning. Bummer!!! The crops have had enough rain. Now we have to worry about them going under water or being washed out. We have rain forecast for most of the week. Shoot!!!!

Marilyn, Gayle, Sandy, and Betsi, I really, really wish that I could send this rain to you guys!!!! We don't need it!!!

[Janet]

It didn't rain here yesterday, but it felt like it was going to. Woke up this morning to thick fog. A 2-hour delay should have been called, but it wasn't. I was so worried about Rick driving to school this morning. 40 minutes in fog is dangerous.

[Tiramisu]

We getting a pretty good shower right now and it's really dark outside. Thank you God!

[DianaB]

Glen said that we had two inches yesterday and it must have been 6 more in the night for a total of 8 inches!! The river is out and we had quite a time getting to church and back home this evening.

We have some crops under water and in the water but the water should be down tomorrow so hopefully they won't be hurt too badly. We'll just have to wait and see. We have more rain forecast for this week. Bummer!!!!

[Blueyes]

Good Grief! That's a lot of rain!! Y'all be careful, and I hope you don't get moldy

[DianaB]

Betsi, our house is on a hill so we're up above where it floods but the river is only about 1/2 mile from the house. If the humidity gets too bad we'll just turn on the airconditioner. That will remove the humidity from the house and prevent mold. That's not usually a big problem here.

We had to go to church last night (Glen and I are both teachers) and we had to drive way out of our way in order to avoid water that was too deep for our vehicle. We still had to drive through some pretty deep water though.

This morning the water is still going down but because of all of the fields being planted it's slowing down the water and so, it hasn't gone down much. We were expecting it to be further down than what it is this morning. Dae Lynn can't drive out to bring Karlie so Glen is headed to town to pick her up.

I hate it when it floods, especially when we have crops. You never know how much it's going to affect the plant. Hopefully, our beans are in a stage where it won't be affected, otherwise it means a lower bean yeild and less money for us in the end. UGH, the joys of farming!!

[Janet]

Hopefully Diana what rain is in the forecast for this week won't be much and the water will continue to recede.

[gja1000]

I'm so sorry Diana, that you all are overwhelmed with rain - especially when some of the country needs rain so badly!! I guess "mother nature knows", but gets confused sometimes!

We actually had .4 of an inch of rain last night WOOOOO HOOOOO! We has .1 of an inch twice in the past couple of days, so now we have had just over 1/2 inch this week. We had about 1/2 inch last week too, so we are making some progress! I"m looking at the radar right now and it has all moved north of us but maybe it will come back!!!

OH OH! And the temperature yesterday stayed in the 70's DOUBLE WOOO HOOO!!! When Gary and I were in the car yesterday at 6:00PM, it was 76 - I think it was probably back in March the last time it was 76 at 6:00PM - SOOOO NICE! Yep, fall is my favorite season in Texas!!! Of course, it is supposed to be 95 in a couple of days, and it will be, but we will start having more of these "dips into the 70s/80s" and it will feel SOOOOO GREAT!

[DianaB]

I'm glad that you're finally getting some relief from the heat and some rain. I can't imagine being so hot and dry.

We did have a drought here around 1980 and our crops weren't hardly worth harvesting. That was a really bad year for us. Sometimes I think that it would be nice for Glen to just have a regular 8 to 5 job and then we wouldn't have to worry about the weather and could enjoy holiday weekends, but, this is what he's chose to do.

When we came home last night we were still driving through a little bit of water. The crops really kept the water from going down very fast. It doesn't usually take this long. I hope that it doesn't hurt our beans. You never know what to expect when you farm.

[Tiramisu]

The weather people are watching a storm in the gulf that might get a name. I'm 99% sure the wedding will be moved indoors tomorrow. We have rehearsal this evening.

[gja1000]

I'm afraid you are right, it looks like an indoors day tomorrow. I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible!

[DianaB]

I hope that everything goes well too. That's too bad that your plans have to change but it's better to be prepared.

[Marilyn]

Diana, I can't imagine living where you can have two crops a year. The farmers here can only raise one. It's too hot to plant a second crop. They have to plant in February and March for a June/July harvest. Then they prepare their fields to lay fallow over the winter so they can plant the next year. Most farmers also have pasture land and run cattle which they take care of during the winter. This year, they had to feed all spring and summer, but on a normal year, while their planted crops are growing, they cut and bail their hay to feed to the cattle in the winter, so they stay busy all year even though they plant only one crop. They also plant more than one thing at a time usually so they spread out the harvest. Normal crops here are milo (also known as maize or grain sorgum has different names in different areas), corn, cotton and soybeans.

Sandy, hope you are having a beautiful wedding. It's not raining here today. Perhaps you got to stay outdoors???

[DianaB]

Marilyn, we can't plant two crops a year. We don't have a long enough season for them, but if the farmers have grown wheat (which is cut in the spring) they can plant beans in the same field after the wheat is harvested. They're called "after harvest beans" and they don't produce as much as other fields that rested in the winter. Glen doesn't like to do that because it's really hard on your field and takes so much out of the soil.

You can get soybean seed that grows in a shorter or longer season depending on where you live and how long your growning season. My husband likes to plant his a little later so the beans are still small in the summer heat and have some fall rains to help them grow and fill out. All the farmers have their own way of doing things. Some like to plant early in the spring and some like to plant late. Being a child raised in town I still find things that are confusing even after 35 years!!!

In our area we grow wheat (which is not a lot compared to western Kansas), soybeans, corn, and milo (or grain sorghum), and sometimes sunflowers. Alot of the ground we farm is river bottom so the soil is very rich, but the downfall is that it floods when the river is up. Farming has been a very interesting lifestyle for me. My Mom and Dad both had jobs in town so I grew up very differently than my kids have. I've always been a tom boy at heart so the change hasn't been too bad!!!