Stinkin' Hot/Drought & Christmas Lights

[Cudedog]

I went out earlier today to clean the gutters on the front of my house, and also to put up some solar Christmas lights that I ordered from Amazon.

I really like the solar lights - they are the "fairy" (very small) type lights, although they are quite bright. I like them because I don't have to remember to turn them on or turn them off, and don't need to hunt for a place to plug them in. I had a really nice solar set that I have used for the last three or four years, when I went looking for it just before Thanksgiving couldn't find it.

About decided not to do the outside lights this year, then thought "dang it!", I have put up lights EVERY year on the outside of the house since my kids were small (this was always something I did, the ex couldn't be bothered) and so decided that I wasn't going to skip a year, so ordered new ones. Got two nice strings, about 70 ft. long each, for about $12.00. Now that I have got the new ones, I will probably find the old ones.

Anyway, what I like to do is combine the gutter cleaning with the light-putting-up, since I have the ladder out anyway.

After about 10 minutes of up-and-down on the ladder, I was about ready to take a rest. It has been extremely (and unseasonably) warm here over the last several days, topping out between 78 - 83 degrees every day for the past week at my house. I finally stripped down to shorts and a tank top to get the Christmas light job done.

After that, went out in the back yard, haven't looked at last summers garden lately, and the tomato plants (which should be dead by now) are growing great guns! They seem to like the cooler weather, they were pretty straggly over the summer - tomatoes really can't cope with 110 - 115 degree weather. Plants are now about 6 feet tall - and are still putting on a few tomatoes! In December, for crying out loud. If it doesn't freeze this year (and at this rate, it might not) I may just leave them in the ground and see what happens, although I will need to cut them back - in addition to getting tall, they are vining all over my back yard. Tomatos are perennials, not annuals, so it might be interesting.

While this kind of weather may sound wonderful (and, in a way, it is), it is actually also getting scary. This is our (or should be!) cool (maybe 60-some degree high days - NOT low 80's) and rainy season. We haven't had a drop of rain since the gully-washer in early October, and there is NO rain in the forecast.

My area of northern California is one of the - if not THE one - primary growing areas for rice in the entire world. Northern California rice is exported all over the globe. However, rice grows in fields that need to be flooded - the early stages of rice grows in water. No water = no rice (or any other crops for that matter).

Northern California is the breadbasket of the nation. For those of you that have water, and a yard large enough to do it in, I strongly advise that you think about putting in a vegetable garden come spring. If things don't change here, and change soon, there may be food shortages coming - and even if there are no major shortages, there will definitely be price increases on foodstuffs. Count on it.

I have put in a large-ish garden in my backyard the last two years, but if the water restrictions that are being discussed are put in place I will not have enough water to even do my backyard garden.

I have lived in this area for more than 40 years. There have been droughts here before, but I have NEVER seen such a severe lack of rainfall.

Please pray for rain for us.

Thanks.

Anne

[JudyJB]

I can't put in a garden with my mobile life, but I might stop at your place at the end of next summer and beg for a tomato or two!!

A garden is something I really do miss. Even when I just had a condo, I always put in one huge tomato plant in a half barrel on my front porch!

[Cudedog]

Sorry, Judy. Might not be able to grow tomatoes next year, they require a lot of water to grow.

Here is a bit more on our drought situation:

"Water agencies in drought-stricken California that serve 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland won’t get any of the water they've requested from the state heading into 2022. . ."

https://news.yahoo.com/california-water-districts-0-requested-215236743.html

Anne

[MandysMom]

Anne what city are you in? Here it's barely reached 70, most days in 60's and foggy mornings.
Velda

[JudyJB]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for California getting more water this winter. People are important, but the animals are suffering as well.

[snowball]

we are all dependent upon water... mankind animals as well as plant life...
I took a route that took me past one of our big reservoirs.... a very empty reservoir I couldn't even see the channel of water that fills it due to the "beach" very sad!!! we see it occasionally but I don't know if this might be the worse I've seen... with this particular reservoir... the river the Snake River is also very low and we won't even talk about Jackson Lake this drought is all over the western United States.... I don't like to drive in snow don't like snow but am praying that we have the moisture that we all need throughout the western US whatever that moisture might me..
sheila