Thread: It Don't Rain But it Pours!

Yesterday I finally got the leftover firewood off the porch and hung the porch swing. I thought maybe today it would be dry enough to do some chainsaw work, but not a chance. We got hit with another torrential downpour and thunderstorm in the wee hours this morning, and another after breakfast. So instead I got to shovel some of the lane off my yard, drag the lane with the box blade and put the diversions back in before the next one. Probably be later tonight. Now the sun's out and it's probably 200% humidity, heading for 300%. And everything's still soaked. Pennsylvania is becoming a rainforest. Although I will not be surprised if the later part of Summer is quite dry, as that appears to be the pattern we've been in for a while now.

Well, I've got some oak I can split in an area that should have decently dry footing, so what the heck....

Send some rain over to Seneca County Ohio, the northern part. Bout as dry as a popcorn fart. Had a few rumbles of thunder last night with enough rain to say that it rained.

Same here in southwest MI. Humid and warming up! Wish I had more done than I do, but keep plugging away.

Same here in Northern Indiana. Not a drop for weeks now. If we miss the rain in the spring we usually miss it alltogether. It's bad news for the farmers round here.

It may take some time to sort this new planet out.

Man, I'm up trying to split wood. I'm soaked and all my clothes feel like they weigh 60lbs. It's somewhat unpleasant. I think I will go find something else to do.

It's why we lowly "homeowners" ( what's with that use here ? ), or even lower "weekend warriors "( another P² -ProPro use here ) only saw and harvest in winter. Hate heat with sawdust in crotch and pits. Thanks be to why we live way north Zog: little heat, few snakes, good looking people.

BTW: A second to the post remembering the why of Memorial Day.

Super dry here in Iowa,too! The crops are looking OK but a lot of seed is just sitting in dry ground,waiting for some moisture. Plants in the garden are needing rain and the last couple of days have been curling up from heat stress (95degrees today). Please send some this way.

Sorry to hear that - I was kind of expecting it from the patterns I saw last year and over the winter. From the look of the radar map we're gonna get whacked again tonight unless it breaks up. Earlier it was pouring buckets for a few minutes with the sun shining bright.

Originally Posted by Ronaldo

Super dry here in Iowa,too! The crops are looking OK but a lot of seed is just sitting in dry ground,waiting for some moisture. Plants in the garden are needing rain and the last couple of days have been curling up from heat stress (95degrees today). Please send some this way.

Ronaldo the rain has been very hit and miss here in Iowa. From Thursday afternoon to Saturday night we had a good 1 1/2 inch of rain in North Central Iowa. Really greened things back up and yes after 2 1/2 weeks of no mowing I got the mower out this morning. Still a touch on the dry side but no corn curling in my neck of the woods. Hope one of these hit and miss storms finds your area soon!

Wood Heat Warrior, buy one of those cheap portable garage shelters and work where it's dry. I've had 1 for a few years now and use it when it's really hot out to split wood. I made extensions for the legs to raise mine up to 8' high at the edges. Even on a windless hot day there seems to be a breeze under it. Rainy days are usually cooler so wood splitting in the summer isn't as bad either.

Originally Posted by WoodHeatWarrior

Sorry to hear that - I was kind of expecting it from the patterns I saw last year and over the winter. From the look of the radar map we're gonna get whacked again tonight unless it breaks up. Earlier it was pouring buckets for a few minutes with the sun shining bright.

Howdy neighbor-yes, wasn't that strange-sun out and pouring rain? We put the garden in yesterday and I had to replace a few plants already due to damage from the downpours! Today I found myself on a ladder with the extended pole-trimmer cutting back more branches off the Norway Maple so it doesn't shade the garden too much; I did that a few weeks ago but the tree is STILL experiencing "side effects" from that crazy storm back in October!

It's not raining at the moment but don't get your hopes up because as you know it turns on and off like crazy!

The nightly storm:

Last year every time a black cloud went over it rained. There is moisture 4-6 inches down but the top several inches is pretty dry. We still have 40 acres of beans to plant but the drill we use wont put the seeds in the ground deep enough. Hoping to use the neighbors JD 750 drill they will dern near plant in the road.

Originally Posted by logbutcher

It's why we lowly "homeowners" ( what's with that use here ? ), or even lower "weekend warriors "( another P² -ProPro use here ) only saw and harvest in winter. Hate heat with sawdust in crotch and pits. Thanks be to why we live way north Zog: little heat, few snakes, good looking people.

BTW: A second to the post remembering the why of Memorial Day.

I screwed up (long stupid story) and got frostbite pretty bad up there. Didn't lose any extremities but I think it was close. ... I stuck it out a few more winters but...I couldn't cut it any more man. Freeking painful and would ache nine months out of the year. Whole body would ache and could never get warm no matter how many clothes and layers I put on. Had to do some strategic relocation because of that. I tried just a scosh warmer down in Mass..nope, that didn't work. Had to really get where it never got that cold again.

Then it took me a few years to adapt to here, but now I can work year round, and it is about a wash, I can handle what passes for cold here, plus work in the heat, so that's cool. In fact it's weird but I can handle the heat a lot better than most guys here, I think it is because we don't run AC. Got to be 99% of the population here runs AC. The guys that do never ever seem to adapt to the summer months. I've worked hard outside right alongside guys born and raised here, mid summer, they are reeling and soaked in sweat and I just get a little sweaty. Of course I slow down a lot, I won't work as fast as I do in the cooler months, I can rip then, but I can still keep moving pretty good in the 90s and high humidity, even with long pants and long sleeved shirt on.

Now inside the greenhouse, mid day...nyetski! That would kik anyone's heat bootay. Gf does that action, and the garden, from around 5:30 AM to 9 or 10 AM, then that's it, she's mostly done for the day, putzes around with little projects then. Then later in the evening we both do some firewood, stacking or splitting and stacking or whatever. But during the day, I work, 7/365 excepting heavy T storms with lightning.

I actually look forward to getting caught up with chores*** so I can go cut and haul more, doesn't matter to me how hot it is.

***won't happen any time soon, boss is 2 out of 3 full time clucker farmers short, so I have to help out.

I'm the youngest guy on the farm at 60! The one other full timer (I am alleged part time...uh huh) is 64, and the boss got to be 80 something, but he won't tell me exactly. He pulls a full shift ever' day himself.

I have yet to see any younger guys hack it longer than two years. They quit or get fired or something, just don't last. No idea why not either. It's what I would class as just a medium hard job, but it still seems to be too much for all the younger guys.

Originally Posted by WoodHeatWarrior

The nightly storm:

And to think we were at super-dry fire warning conditions this spring. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to move/transplant some trees due to drought. Not now! I spent the afternoon trying to dry out my garage and digging trenches to divert water.