Tag: drought

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2014 Hay Season

This years hay has come in and it is beautiful but super expensive!  For hundred plus pound bales last year of high grade hay I paid $13 delivered.  This year for the same level of hay I’m paying $19.  Ouch!

haytruck

California is having serious drought conditions and it has affected this years growing season.  There wasn’t enough rain for a lot of crops to grow and some fields didn’t even get planted.  Because of this we are looking at higher demand for the hay that was grown.  Word around town is there just won’t be enough hay to go around this year so regardless of price people are having to stock up while they can.  I know some people have had to sell off a lot of their animals which is so sad but I understand the predicament – less grass grew because of less rain, meaning they would have to buy extra of already pricey hay.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday will be my last delivery load and I’ll be done buying hay for the year.  Its been an expensive month!  But to see my critters happily munching on some tasty grass hay or alfalfa makes it well worth it.

barnhay

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When it rains, it pours

ducks in puddle

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California had been waiting for rain and worrying about dry conditions.  This weekend we got a storm that took an edge off that worry.  On Saturday my house got 6″ of rain in a 24 hour period.  That’s A LOT!

I cleared all the drainage ditches in the morning and by the afternoon so much debris had washed down from the hills the ditches had overflowed and I had flooding.  It was a long day trying to get so much water to flow the ways that I wanted.

The sheep decided to stay cozy in the barn over the weekend while 8″ of much needed rain fell on the roof.  The ducks however had a ball!  Running/waddling as fast as their web feet would take them, they’d race towards the pasture and the little streams that popped up to dig their bills deep in the water and mud.  Whenever I get tired of the rain I can always watch the ducks thoroughly enjoying their playground and I feel happy about it once again.

DSCF3395

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We need rain…

sheep pasture

I rely heavily on the pastures I have to feed the sheep in the Spring and Summer.  Unfortunately this year we have not had much rain yet and it is making me a little nervous.

The little rain we did have started some of my grass seed growing but since we’ve had virtually no precipitation since then it has actually started to turn yellow and brown.  I’m just hoping for some measurable rain very soon so that all of it doesn’t die before it got a chance to be even an inch tall!

The other concern of mine comes with what this potential drought means for the hay crops this year.  If we don’t get enough rain it could have a serious impact on hay yields and prices come Spring.

I’m just trying not to worry since we often do get lots of rain in February, March and April.  Plus there is not a lot I can do about it one way or another.  This situation is clearly not under my control!