Stormy spring 2017

We have wondered if the extra rain, cooler weather, and frequent rain and thunderstorms mean anything bad is happening climate-wise. To be honest, I don’t think so. I’ll explain.

When I was growing up, we didn’t have air conditioning at all at home. We were able to play outside or garden or do any number of things with very little heat stress. We got almost daily rains for most of the spring and well into summer. It wasn’t until August that we really suffered any from the heat, and even then the nights were pleasant.

I can even remember when I was in high school and was in the high school rodeos and other local rodeos and horse shows that the nights in July were cool enough that I could see my breath. Does anyone else remember those days? This would have been in the late 60s and early 70s. I was born in ‘52, so I guess it even includes the 1950s.

Yes, there were tornadoes, hail, and all the things you associate with spring weather across the South. We didn’t attribute it to climate change, global warming, or any of the other catch phrases people use these days. It was simply the cyclical pattern of weather that’s been around for millennia.

We were more concerned about Cuba and Russia (then, the USSR) than we were the regular weather events which occurred year after year. Those were tense times for our nation, and for our family.

Now it seems the weather has cycled back again to what I remember those many years ago. Cooler nights, warm, humid days, and plenty of rain and dew fall to keep plants from expiring.

There’s been a lot of flooding this spring, but there was flooding in the past, as well. In the 1980s, the river near us flooded all the way out into the bean fields and washed away the Corps of Engineers park near the lock and dam. In the 1990s, more floods filled valleys where small towns had sprung up far back in the past. Rivers and streams again overflowed their banks.

I really think these weather patterns do occur in cycles. This year just happens to be a wet cycle. I’m not complaining, though. It’s good for the gardens. It’s good for the pastures. And, it’s good for the aquifer that feeds my well.

I’m not complaining at all. Nope. I welcome this weather. It came on the heels of a particularly mild winter, which is one reason why I love where I live. Our average annual temperature is in the 50s. Right now we’re experiencing daytime highs in the 80s and overnight lows in the 60s. That’s not bad at all. We will get some days of blistering heat in August. Maybe even a few of them in July. Conversely, we may even get a few days of snow or ice storms that knock out power in the winter. But we’ve survived them in the past and I’m sure we’ll survive them again.

Technorati Tags: weather,storms,spring,weather patterns,homesteading

Spring storm

Well, the storm that was originally predicted to arrive this afternoon got in a hurry and came about 7:30 a.m. It's dark enough for the security light next to the house to be on! It's thundering, lightning, and raining hard.

As I type this, it's about 8:15 a.m. and I haven't been out to milk the mama goat yet. Because we took down so much fencing, I can't just run her out into the other area we have, where we had the milk stanchion previously under a small shelter, to go milk somewhat protected from the elements. I'm hoping this blows over in the time frame they are now saying it will. I know that goat is ready but I'm really not wanting to be struck by lightning! And the stanchion is now in the center of the nursery/isolation pen!

We will definitely be building a better milking shelter when we get to the new homestead. Some of the long pallets we have will work for that and I may have a source for others that are about 3 ft. by 12 feet to build animal shelters with.

It looks like it's supposed to rain pretty much all weekend. I can put on rain gear to go milk, but I don't have lightning gear if it storms!

Posting this before the power goes out since the lights just flickered!

Storms at the homestead!

We've gone through over a week of rain, and then on Sunday, March 13, 2016, we got sunshine. All well and good, you think? No, not really. See, in our part of the country when there is suddenly sunshine like that, it heats up the already unstable atmosphere and causes storms.

We were lucky in our particular location. It did blow in and it did thunder, lightning, and rain very hard. Some of the surrounding locations weren't so lucky. They got large hail, tornadoes, and damaging straight line winds. The news is full of damage reports now. So far, I haven't seen where anyone was injured, so that's a blessing.

We should have sunny, warm days until around Thursday night, when it's supposed to rain again for a few days. This means we need to get out this week and really work on accomplishing outdoor tasks. Things like planting more in the raised beds, cleaning up from the winter, and making repairs to coops. Maybe even finally dispatching 2 turkeys and 6 roosters!

I went out with my phone and took some video of the approaching storm, after I'd fed all the animals and given water to those who needed it. When I was through feeding/watering, I was actually sweating, it was that warm and humid. By the time I went back out about an hour later, it was downright chilly out! That's how it goes with storms, especially ones that will produce hail.

So, without further ado, here's the short video of the approaching storm clouds.