January 4, 2008

PRAY FOR RAIN


What once was Lake Turtle in Florence, Alabama


My friends in Alabama tell me that they've had the worse drought in a hundred years and so far there's no end in sight. The same goes for neighboring Georgia and other Southern states. Water restrictions have been in place for quite some time. Imagine not being able to water your garden or, even worse, if you're a farmer and you depend of it for your crops.

I should ask Phillip at Dirt Therapy how he's managed to keep his beautiful garden in Florence, Alabama alive.

In the meanwhile, please join me in saying a prayer for rain.

14 comments:

  1. I will do that. Here in Utah (a desert!), we depend on snow fall for our water. Our 'annual rainfall' is about 13 inches per year, if I am remembering correctly. So, we need that snow, then we need temps in the spring that allow for a gradual snow melt, so the water will get to the reservoirs w/out soaking in too much, or evaporating. Then we are ok. More and more people are coming here to live, which adds to the problem. So far, we are in good shape this year, with lots of snow in the mountains. We pray for 'moisture' here, because it is hard to pray for 'more snow', I think!

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  2. Thanks, Muum. You're right about more people adding to the problem -a case in point is Atlanta, Georgia.

    I'm glad that you are in good shape with lots of snow.

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  3. Wow. That's just terrible. Could we send some snow to them as a help? We have lots...and lots and lots and lots!

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  4. Hi Jodi,

    Wish I could send them some snow from Chicago as well.

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  5. In today's paper (the Buffalo News) there was a brief bit about finding a way to make use of our snow. If politicians could find a way to make money with it, we'd be golden. Though right now, there's little snow (you can still see the grass) and it's supposed to hit 50 degrees by Monday!

    Living between two Great Lakes, fresh water will never be a problem (as long as we're good stewards of the lakes).

    A friend recently moved to Atlanta. She was a gardener here. Along with the red clay-y soil and the garden/yard watering bans, she's finding it frustrating to live there.

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  6. It would be great if there was some way to ship the water from flooded areas to the drought-striken regions. I feel so bad for everybody there. Have you read about the town in Tennessee that had to truck in water? The people were allowed to use water for only 3 hours each evening. It's made me stop taking water (& showers, & doing laundry & the dishes) for granted.

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  7. This has been a terrible year for drought - fortunately our water was not restricted this year. The Tennessee River flows right through Florence and is damed by Wilson Dam and controlled by TVA. I know it is much worse in Georgia because I think they have only one lake for their supply. As for keeping the garden alive, I water, water, water! I use soaker hoses, sprinklers, you name it. I've lost a few plants this year - mainly azaleas. I don't have a lot of them but I can tell you that they won't tolerate dry conditions. It has been a very frustrating year - the worst that I can remember since I've been gardening. I surely hope that 2008 will be better.

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  8. By the way, what is Lake Turtle? I am not familiar with it!

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  9. Thank you, Phillip, for responding. I'm so sorry to hear that you've had a terrible year, especially for Azaleas which Alabama is known for -the 'Azalea Trails ' in Mobile.

    I surely do hope that the New Year will bring you a lot of rain for the garden.

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  10. P.S., Phillip : That should be Turtle lake, not Lake Turtle.

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  11. That's a scary picture. The drought becomes more real when you know people living through it, versus hearing it on the evening news. Yes, we should all pray for rain!

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  12. Hi Jim and welcome to Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. We're also fortunate in Chicago to have the great Lake Michigan.

    You have a great blog and I've added you to my blogroll.

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  13. MMD,

    It does give one pause, doesn't it. We do take water for granted here in chicago because it is so abundant. Wish I could send them all that snow we had the other day.

    I've heard that there are towns in Alabama that have to truck in some water too.

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  14. Thanks, Carol. Surprising little about the severe drought has been on the news here.

    Let's hope that a good soaking rain will come very soon .

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