In an attempt for the moment, to get back to the original intent of this thread, how has over 2 years of perpetual drought affected the habitat work and enjoyment of the outdoors? It has in profound ways. First, we've now lost innumerable planted trees -- that number will increase dramatically soon as well. We leave for vacation on Monday, I've decided to let that trip be an end to watering trees and to just let the chips fall where they may. For how long? Who knows? Watching 3 and 4 year old trees die won't be easy. Second, our family has not fished one time this year. We fish the river and ponds -- never been a lake fisherman. The river has been so low for so long, the water looks and smells nasty, I have no desire to eat blues out of that water. As far as pond fishing, I have no desire to stand on the edge of a dying pond to catch bass and crappie, it would be too depressing. Just to give you and idea of what it is like, my in-laws have a great pond -- we've caught many +2 lb crappie out of it and many +5 lb bass in the past. When full, it has a surface area of 3.5 acres. It is setting at 3/4 of an acre right now and getting smaller by the week. Unless something changes, it will not last the summer -- this is a pond that has not gone dry EVER! That is, since at least 1976 when my father-in-law first laid eyes on it.
Thirdly, the one bright spot (if you can call it that) of this year over the last 2, is the timing of the rain we have gotten. We're still setting at less than 8" on the year (we average 41" a year), but the rains have come at times when most needed. As a result, the crops, except for the beans they are really suffering, look much better than the last 2 years, and the food plots look better too. So I guess that's good??? It does give a false sense of security to those, who have no connection to agriculture, when they see yards looking relatively green and think everything is ok. But it's not, and even very locally the difference in rainfall is absurd. We've mowed our yard on a weekly basis this summer for the most part, the in-law's haven't mowed in weeks -- and he is ANAL about his yard. In short, short-term droughts stink, but longterm droughts suck in a way that affects a lot -- there isn't a more longterm helpless feeling as an outdoorsman. On a night like the last 2, when we're "supposed" to get significant rainfall, I don't sleep, I can't. If we didn't have such deep roots sunk in this part of the country, I'd be doing everything in my power to talk Dawna into moving after +2 years of this crap. I didn't even touch on EHD and fawn recruitment as a deer hunter; don't really want to think about that right now...
