Rain at last!

Yesterday a group in New Braunfels held a public service praying for rain. Their prayers were answered, although the rain was only a fraction. What we need is at least two weeks of rain. The drouth is the worst in 50 years.

Night Vistas

Last night about midnight I awoke to a noise and opened the front door. There were the same three deer again, two does and a buck, eating the grass in the front yard. It is pleasant having them as visitors although some of my neighbors resent the deer eating their flowers. This morning I am getting ready to go to Bob and Cindy's house. The occasion is Bob's 75th birthday. Yes, Bob is 75 and I am 90. The sky is overcast but there is no prospect of rain. Nor is there any prospect of rain in the future. This is the worst drouth in 50 years. Trinka is at their place in Pennsylvania. She says it rains every day. Beavers are daming up the lake in front of her house. Do they know something we need to know? Old timers say that once it starts to rain we will get a flood. Since I am living on top of a hill I am willing to risk it.

Magnolia Trees

There are two large Magnolia trees in my front yard. They are 40 feet tall. The problem is that they shade the yard and the grass does not grow. Also during this dry spell they shed some of their leaves which adds to the diminishing grass. What would I give up if I had a choice: the trees or the grass? I am sorry to say that I would give up the grass. The Magnolia is a beautiful tree. It takes a long time for one of these trees to reach the size of these.

Back in Business

To my faithful readers, sorry for the interruption. Nancy came and fixed my computer. Last night there were three deer in my back yard -- two does and a buck. Call them survivors. And call me a survivor. This morning I read in the Express News that dust from Africa was causing our drouth. It underlines the fact that our planet (Earth) is really closely aligned. What can we do about it? Here in South Texas we can stop using so much water. I bet we can cut our water usage by about two thirds if we put our mind to it. John.

George Burns and Gracie

Once upon a time there was a radio show featuring George Burns and Gracie. After a while it dawned on me that George was the straight man and Gracie was the star of the show. Now I am going to a program where someone will read from a memoir which Burns has written about hisformer associate Gracie. I takes a lot of work to produce a successful comedy.

More Drouth News

This morning Forrest Mims, a columnist for the San Antonio Express News, said that this was the worst drouth in this area in 45 years. He also reminded his readers that the Guadalupe River was prone to flooding at times as well as responding to a drouth. And so, instead of moderation, we can expect to go from dry to wet. Given a choice, I would choose wet. Once upon a time during a war I was stationed in the San Francisco area. That is the climate I would choose, day after day and year after year. Of course one sometimes experiences an earthquake in that area. So far we have not had any earthquakes here. Along the Mediterranean the climate is nice. I was stationed on both sides of the Mediterranean during that Old War. The Gulf Coast of Texas has a lot of good weather, and the island nations in the Gulf enjoy good climate. But that area is vulnerable to hurricanes. What I am saying is that there is no perfect climate in these United States. But the changes give us something to talk about.

Rain at last

It rained about one inch yesterday here in New Braunfels. Although we are still in a drouth, it was a welcome respite. We have gone through many months without rainfall. We all hope that this is a change in the weather that will continue.

July Fourth

I am willing to go to the park and hear patriotic songs and celebrate our nation's independence, but I am opposed to fireworks. It is much to dry for fireworks, at least here in New Braunfels. The temperature is about 110 degrees and it is dry and dusty. A fire could spread quickly and cause a lot of damage. The fireworks vendors are crying foul and want to sell their fireworks everywhere. Tough shit! Let them sell flags instead.

New Braunfels is Cursed

I heard from both my daughters. The one in Pennsylvania complaining about too much rain, and the one in Austin bragging about a great rain. New Braunfels is still dry as a bone. What is the cause of this? Where have we failed? Alas and alack, we have failed somewhere.

hot

The local greeting is "Are you hot enough." It has reached 110 this week. My daughter who is enjoying a few days in Pennsylvania complains that it rains every day. It has not rained every day here and in fact it has not rained at all. The Guadalupe River is low. A report today said that Comal Springs might go dry. Help!