By Pauline Tom.
If you’ve followed “Montage” through the seasons, you know my favorite devotional writer is James Denison. I read his daily devotional daily. He has a downloadable Lenten Devotional Guide, “Resurrected: Finding Your Victory in Christ”. Download at www.denisonforum.org By the time this column runs, it will be a full week into Lent, but it will be easy to catch up.
Will we catch up on rainfall? The U.S. Drought Condition Map, dated Fat Tuesday, shows Mountain City in the area of severe drought. Some weather projections show possibility of rains in late 2014 due to an El Nino weather pattern. We know that a single 17-inch rain (that’s the highest Mountain City reading I’ve found for the Halloween 2013 rain) did not break the drought.
The “Texas Drought Project” website says, “Climatologists who have studied both the history and the computer models on Texas rainfall have concluded that the state is headed for a very long period--possibly marked in hundreds of years--wherein rainfall continues to decrease, and more of the state becomes desert-like, a process known as desertification.”
| The Axis deer herds are back with a vengeance, so look for deer resistant plants for your garden. (Photo by Pauline Tom) |
We added a 420-gallon Bushman rainwater storage tank recently, thinking of times when no outdoor watering has been allowed, when water could not be purchased from the outdoor faucet at any price. Even when outdoor watering is allowed, plants prefer rainwater.
The rainwater storage tank system diverts the first several gallons from each rainfall through the drainpipe, so dirt from the roof does not enter the tank. And, it strains leaves and debris from the water that enters the tank. Once the tank is full, the overflow goes through the drain pipe connected to the gutter. A gauge shows how much water we have in the tank. Jeff Radke installed the tank with its bells and whistles.
Hays County removed the burn ban in late February. The website says “When burning outdoors, please let your local fire department know (not the Sheriff’s Office), keep a water source nearby and never leave the fire unattended until you are certain the fire is entirely out.” Our local fire department is Kyle.
And, true to a time of ongoing drought, the “burn ban lifted” notice mentions the ban may be placed back on sooner rather than later, if low humidity returns.
Our major water diversion project for our front lawn (necessitated by Halloween 2013 storm damage) is heavy with rocks and boulders. But, it does include some new plants. I check possible plants for “drought-resistant” and “deer resistant”, with a strong preference for “Texas Native” and “attracts butterflies / hummingbirds”.
Lawn and plant-trampling Axis deer herds are growing. Ron photographed a herd of over 40 moving down Live Oak Drive one morning last week. James Polk, Live Oak at Pin Oak, says that’s a common sight on his corner.
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Thanks! Love, Pauline
