Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Moisture please.

I don't know when winter officially started, or if it even has. I can't think of any moisture in the last 90+ days, it's going to be another drought type year ahead. It's December 5th and I will water the yard again today, tomorrow, Friday and probably Saturday. They are predicting highs in the 20's for Sunday, and if we are lucky some snow. I'm already starting to plan my garden based on using less water.
I can't remember ever watering the grass and tree's in December, it's usually Thanksgiving that signals the snow to come in. Sure, it's nice on the utility bill to keep the heat off during the day, but I worry about water tables, stream runoff and reservoir levels. I have to be selfish and think about my water sources. If the world doesn't end before we get the kitchen done, I'm going to add two 55 gallon water barrels to the supplies.

No moisture doesn't help my rain water collection in the spring and of course makes us very nervous about forest fires. The other day a vehicle went off a dirt road above the house and started a grass fire. Luckily it was out fast but the scanner was blowing up with panic from all of the departments. The plates were missing from the car but the idiot who drove it.. yes, get ready.... dropped his license as he fled the scene.

I watched Doomsday Preppers last night, they had another rich guy on there who thought he had better protection than he really did. He said there was only one way in, one way out. However the 'cliffside' on the back wasn't tall and the tree's growing right next to the house made an obvious approach angle. It seemed he was relying on power without a backup system to run it during a grid down scenario. I did like the .50 he was using, but the beowulf (alexander arms .50 beowulf)ammo isn't easy to find and I don't see it being much better than a .308. The recoil is nasty on a short barrel .50, how can you keep it on target for semi-rapid fire?

The kitchen is /12 empty, tonight the rest of it will be boxed up. Demo will start on Thursday so we are already ahead of schedule. Saturday will be redoing the baseboard copper piping, then drywall repair. The baseboard heater routing is top priority, I'm frail and get cold easily.
We think that 20% of the stuff we removed from the kitchen will get donated/tossed out when we move it back in. It's a perfect time to get rid of excess or never used items.

8 comments:

  1. Yeah, wasn't impressed with his set up either. Looks to me like someone talked him into that rifle. Also looked like he had more money than smarts. Although I like what he said about bugging out only to get stuck in a traffic jam.

    We are now in a drought as well.

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    1. Nice entry gate with a driveway leading to double glass doors, shatter resistant film or not, that's just not smart. The dog wasn't involved in the anti intrusion measures indoors, that should be basic.
      Oh well, I'm sure someone would pick my stuff apart, but I'm not trying to sell my own invention of bed safes.

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  2. We are in extreme drought here, Max. No water, so I am doing the same, planning the garden with little water and mulching. We have had 0 water for over 4 months now, going on 5.
    Real smart of the dumb a** dropping his license at the scene of a grass fire. Wow, brillant thinking.
    I am cleaning out and going through things also, takes time, but the pile is getting bigger to take to the thrift center for someone else to use and enjoy.
    Have a great, productive week.

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    1. I'll drop a few before pictures tomorrow when I'm at work, I'm too exhausted from the gym. It's 90% empty so the demo work starts!
      I'm going to plan the garden with some shade screens to reduce the sun to about 60% instead of 80%.

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  3. I hope we all get the precip we need. We're almost a foot below normal on snow, here.

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    1. I wonder if that's a welcome break for you. this summer was the hottest and with the fire you couldn't open the windows at night. It's still early, maybe we will get hammered with snow.

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  4. Not only do we have some nice rain falling here in the Great Central Valley but the grass has turned green and is growing once again. It won't grow much on the lawn but the sheep, chickens, and ducks are sure enjoying it.

    Frail? You. I don't think so.

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    1. 100% frail.
      My grass is green but not growing as well. I'm hopeful it will really help the yard out on the edges come spring. It's so hard to get grass to grow in a few spots (including the holes Rock likes to dig once in a while) I just think of this as an early start.

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