1st Rain Since Last Summer!

[Dee]

We're getting a good rain right now. 50 mph gusts, but the 1st rain since mid-summer last year. Supposed to turn into snow ❄️ later tonight.

[ironglow]

  Wish I could send some your way, we rarely hurt for rain around here.

[Dee]

This area is considered "semi-arid" in a good year, but they were well into a several year drought when we moved here 15 months ago. We put winter wheat in hasn't come up at all. Hopefully it will now, and I can put cows on it.

I was told today that I'm  in charge of the ranching operation starting today, so I'll be putting in a few more hours than originally planned,  but it's something I've always loved, and I'm slightly smarter than everyone out there.

Everyone else out there are cows, but I countin them. It's really not hard work until vaccinatin, brandin, and cuttin the bull calves, but other ranchers will pitch in with that.

[ironglow]

  I hope this rain breaks the drought for you..and continues to visit regularly.
   
  Way back when I was stationed in Ft Sam Houston (1957) I had a buddy from Robert Lee, over near San Angelo. I would sometimes go on pass with him on weekends..so we could do some shooting etc.

  At that time, his home area had been in a drought for several years..and some ranchers were reluctantly, selling out..  It was sad.

[oldandslow]

We also got a rain yesterday, just enough to make the dirt on the car stick real tight. It lasted about 5 minutes. Our wind was pretty stiff and it really got to howling early this morning. I just turned over and went back to sleep. It has settled down some now but the weatherguy is predicting it will get up tp 40 mph this afternoon. Ah, good old March on the south plains. So far we haven't had any real rip snorter, shingle ripping, wind storms here this year. February was actually worse but March still has to time to catch up.

IG, it was a tough time all over West Texas during the '50's but tougher in that area. I lived up on the southeastern end of the caprock and we had it pretty tough but not as bad as the San Angelo area. The area's lake even went completely dry. Elmer Kelton wrote a novel based on that time in that area titled "The Time It Never Rained" because people were saying it was never going to rain again. It is fiction but historical fiction and Kelton was excellent with facts in his novels. All of  his books are based on Texas history and because he tells such a good story in each I have managed to read about all of them. I learned something about the state in every one although I studied Texas history in school. Right at the top IMO is "Stand Proud".

[Bob Riebe]

It rained this morning is snowing right now.

[Mule 11]

This is rain and mud season here. We have four seasons here and more like two. Rain and ice... butt. The biggest problem is leftists... I prefer fall and winter. The only seasons I truly enjoy

[Mule 11]

Truth told. We have 4 seasons. Not to fond of summer as it is humid and hot. Not as bad as some places. But not good and I sure don’t like it. Spring is wet but summer is the worst. I imagine if ya lay out in a lawn chair it might not be so bad. For me? Fall and winter...

[ironglow]

Thanks for the tip O&S, although I read little fiction, I may have to look that book up. I spent some time with GI Texas friends, and visited their homes often.
  Back then, I believe there was a sizeable oil patch near Silver, TX..  I had friends in Llano as well.

  For me, the movie "The Last Picture show"set in the 1950s, was very expressive of the lives of young Texans of the time, even covering the 'local soldier angle' such as I and my Texan buddies experienced it at the time.

  A shout clip..   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LoWGwN4ToE

[oldandslow]

It's time frame was '51 and '52 in north Texas. Good movie and good book. Things were a little better up on the caprock where I grew up during that time period. I became a high school freshman in "52 thanks to the rule that if you weren't 6 years old on September 1st you waited to start school until the next year.

[oldandslow]

We had a big blow out of the west yesterday. This morning it is a stiff, chilly, wind out of the north and we had another of those just get the patio wet and it's gone sprinkles.

[Dee]

We had a big blow out of the west yesterday. This morning it is a stiff, chilly, wind out of the north and we had another of those just get the patio wet and it's gone sprinkles.

Exactly the same here.

[oldandslow]

Just the joy of living on the southern plains in springtime, blow you over one day, turn around and blow you over from another direction the next.

[Dee]

Yep

[phalanx]

I have a windsock on a small tower i use. I once had a weather vain on that tower but it was old, rusted out and fell apart.
Windsocks are better, accurate and easily replaceable. The oil field uses them.

[oldandslow]

I have no idea of how many brackets I made to mount those things on tank battery walkway handrails and then had the pleasure of installing them. Not all handrails had the same size holes or spacings from the very old to the new so it was a see what is there and cut the holes to fit thing. It was bunch though and started when the dangers of H2S became widely known.

I have had a wind sock where I can look out the kitchen window and see it for many years and is usually the first thing I look at in the morning. Tells me the direction AND how hard the wind is blowing.

[phalanx]

I have no idea of how many brackets I made to mount those things on tank battery walkway handrails and then had the pleasure of installing them. Not all handrails had the same size holes or spacings from the very old to the new so it was a see what is there and cut the holes to fit thing. It was bunch though and started when the dangers of H2S became widely known.

I have had a wind sock where I can look out the kitchen window and see it for many years and is usually the first thing I look at in the morning. Tells me the direction AND how hard the wind is blowing.

Yup here also , i can see it from the kitchen window. It has a 1/2” steel pipe pole holding it up, and the rotator head has sealed brass bearings in it. The sock is a 40”, with the tower its 12’ tall.