About Blogging

I seem to be thinking too much about this blogging thing.... so many others manage to post more regularly like twice week or even daily.  There are certain unwritten rules that I seem to be following in my head that others are not:  don't post anything too personal, don't post anything that can identify my family (call me paranoid about keeping my family safe), don't post trivial things but post meaningful, educational, interesting (at least to me) topics, etc... Since I named this blog "From All Directions" I intended it to include many topics with pictures, but it doesn't seem that I have been successful.

Lately the weather has taken up everyone's thoughts - the drought, the rain we've managed to get lately, the amount of rain we still need (somewhere around 22 inches), the changes in humidity, etc.  So the following is a picture that I took last weekend (again at Brazos Bend State Park) of Creekfield Lake.  I had heard from one of the volunteers that the park had begun pumping water into it again (as opposed to what I was told  - their original plan of letting nature take its course), and then the next day they received several inches of rainfall.  Personally, I'm torn as to whether pumping was good or not - almost seemed too late, the lake had dwindled to only the gator hole remaining, with probably no fish, very few water birds, etc... a real disruption in the ecosystem.  However when we get rain, everything will eventually return - the natural cycle & one that people could come & watch.  With the artificial pumping they are maintaining a certain water level - which is good - but I hope they continue to pump so the ecosystem doesn't take another "hit" & can remain sustaining for all the wildlife that is dependent upon that small lake/marsh area.  Here's a picture of Creekfield Lake after the pumping, but before the rain. 

Creekfield Lake @ Brazos Bend State Park, Texas

I'm really happy to see the water in the lake, but hope the park makes the commitment to maintain a certain water level/depth.  If they are going to interfere/react to the natural cycle I think they should make the decision to keep pumping.   To see a picture of how low Creekfield Lake was a few weeks prior to this picture scroll down a bit - I'm standing on the same bridge looking the same direction - towards the pier.

Texas Fires

What a labor day weekend Texas has had... wildfires seem to be sprouting up everywhere.  I think I fear fire more than hurricanes - more time to prepare for a hurricane.  We've had dry spells in the past, but nothing like this dangerous fire weather that I can remember.  Weather underground has a really cool map that shows where all the current fires are in the state as well as the smoke trails - some of the smoke is so dense/heavy it is showing up on weather radars. 

http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=30.13563&lon=-97.51465&zoom=9&type=hyb&units=english&rad=0&wxsn=0&svr=0&cams=0&sat=0&riv=0&mm=0&hur=0&fire=1&fire.sat=1&fire.smk=1&fire.day=1&fire.day=7&fire.hrmin=19&fire.hrmax=24&fire.opa=70&fire.mode=0&tor=0&n

It is also interesting to read what other people are saying about Texas & the fires. I read one article from Reuters about several of the fires (including one that killed 2 people) and I don't know if I'm more saddened by the reality of the fires or the comments that people have added to the article. Maybe I live in a dreamworld & people really don't like Texas or her people? Here's a link to the article, in case you'd like to read for yourself:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/05/us-texas-wildfires-idUSTRE78426D20110905

I don't have any of my own pictures to add to the blog today - actually I'm grateful for that - meaning I'm not close to an area where fires are burning.  Very sad to read/watch on the news how some of our state parks/forests are burning.  I can't imagine watching the fire approach and take over a house.  It is also very upsetting to think that we may not be receiving substantial rainfall for the next 3-6 months (heard that on the weather news this morning). 

Brazos Bend State Park - 2011 Drought

Brazos Bend State Park is close enough for a day trip, one that I try to enjoy as often as I can.  I visited a few weeks ago just to see how the park was handling the drought.  Shocked and saddened don't even begin to explain my initial reactions when I walked around Creekfield Lake (the paved path leading to the observatory) - it was reduced to a puddle.  There were alligator tracks leading to it - clearly the alligators were still around, but very few birds (and fewer species) were still fishing, wading in the remaining stagnant water.  The marsh side of Creekfield Lake wasn't in any better shape - those beautiful cattails, drying up, burned brown by the hot sun with nothing but cracked dirt trails around them.  Even the cypress trees are showing their stress in their brown leaves.  I was fortunate to be able to chat with a park volunteer who told me the small pump they have to bring water into Creekfield Lake just isn't enough to keep up, so they were no longer even trying - whatever happens, happens.  I can't help but wonder about the bullfrogs that you hear at dusk talking to each other.  The volunteer also said he expects it to take a few years for the bird and insect populations to recover -- birds won't come when there isn't water.  Here's a few shots of how Creekfield Lake looked on that day.

alligator tracks lead to the puddle that once was Creekfield Lake

A few remaining herons wade in the shallow water

marsh side of Creekfield lake - cattails burned & dried by hot sun

I also visited the 40 acre lake area - since there is more water here, there are also a LOT of alligators in close proximity to each other.  That day everyone seemed to be behaving themselves & the gators were easily visible in the shallow water.  My sister commented that the lake looked like an abandoned swamp.  On the west side of lake (with the sloughs), duckweed has covered the surface entirely, giving everything a deceptive healthy green color.  There were several gators here as well, but well hidden in the muck.  A few moorhens were fussing and a very few herons were fishing.  The lake level is down here as well since the park decided to no longer use the pump to maintain the water level.  The sloughs were dry and cracked.  It was easy to see where the gators were coming/going to the water - their tracks/slides easily visible in the preserved mud.

duckweed covers portions of the 40 acre lake

alligators are still there

sloughs along 40 acre lake are dried up, vegetation burned by heat/sun

alligator tracks/slides through what was the slough to 40 acre lake

It is very tempting to go off the paths & walk around in the dried up areas, but there are more reasons not too - alligators (there are over 500 of them in this park), habitat destruction (the drought won't last forever), bullfrogs and others than are hidden from view can easily be stepped on not to mention the snakes - although not always seen - be assured they are still there as well. Besides walking off the designated paths is a big break in the park rules.

Our area is forecasted to have some break in the current weather pattern in the coming days, so I plan to go back to look around and see what is still there as well as observe any changes in the fauna that I hear/see - do they really believe the weather is going to change? 

Weather Changes

Wow - we actually received measurable rain yesterday - officially 0.90 inches (UPDATE:  official total ended up at 1.26 inches) - which brings our August total to: (drumroll)....... 0.97 (UPDATE:  1.33 inches)... not much of a dent in our drought (UPDATE:  at least we did get 1/3rd of our average rainfall for this month).  But I walked around outside just to see if the rain had any affect on the outside world.  The most obvious & first change was the remaining green grass grew at least an inch overnight and the burned, dying grass is at least a little softer.  A hummingbird was flying around and there were a couple (2 exactly) new flowers blooming - both pink (wonder if that means anything).  The native passion flower is still struggling to survive much less bloom, but the lizards are still out & about.  I also noticed a few more flying insects (wasps, grasshoppers) venturing out.  Further out in the yard, where it isn't as protected, the wide cracks are no where near closing up (left my slipper in the picture for perspective). 

Here are a few quick pictures I took a minute ago - it is hard to spend much time in 99 degree heat (w/heat index of 104)... I'm really hoping fall will be better - if not at least wetter.

pink pentas finally bloom

dwarf humminbird bush hanging in there

native passionflower still struggling

sensitive brier - wildflower

lizard or anole - love his hands

crack in yard

Hot Hot Hot

Yes - we continue to experience record breaking temperatures and drought.  I know I've posted several times about our weather, but I along with many others are just surprised that the pattern continues with no real break seen in the future.  Just to give you an idea:

August 21 - August 29  our temperatures will range in the upper 90s - mostly 99 & 98 and mid to upper 70s for the night, but we do have a few chances of rain - only 30% (better than the 0% we see most days).  In fact today we had 3 alerts:  1 heat advisory & 2 air quality alerts - crazy stuff.
Our historical averages for these same dates are lower 90s (would feel chilly) during the day and lower 70s for night (wow winter). 
The .07 inches of rain we've received so far this month hasn't added much to our total rainfall (historical average 3.84 inches for August).

September - our historical average temperatures should range in the mid to high 80s for day and right at 70 degrees for nighttime.  September is also our big rain month - averaging 7.12 inches -- which coincides with our most active time of hurricane season.

We continue to have high pressure over our region that does bring us beautifully clear days, but the combination of the heat and dryness/drought only make our temperatures stay high.  Sadly most everyone in the area hopes for a tropical storm or even category 1 hurricane, just for the rain. Unfortunately these high pressure systems also steer all rain-bearing tropical systems away.  Trees are dying, farmers are selling off their cattle because there isn't always hay available to feed them. 

I recently drove to a local state park where the drought is even more evident - their marshes/ponds have become puddles, the birds for the most part have left, there are only a few insects (mostly robber flies), nothing like you'd expect to see.  The park staff said it could take a few years for the birds to return in full force as well as the insects.  Their trees are also stressed & turning brown, and although they expect to lose a few oaks, most of the trees are expected to survive.  They gave no prediction how long it would take for the park to recover as a whole - refilling marshes & ponds, etc. 

I've posted a picture of a ladybug (lady beetle - which ever you call them) because this is something we haven't seen this year.  Nothing green for the aphids to eat, no aphids, no ladybugs.  We usually have a colony in our backyard during the summer & we enjoy watching their life cycle, but we haven't seen anything (not even mosquitoes).  I just hope we get some relief - real relief, not just enough rain to make mud & a mess, but some to make a dent in our deficit.

Interestingly there are madatory water restrictions going into place in many cities that addresses water usage during certain times.  We don't usually water our yard (cost too much), but we have had to water our house -- waiting for the ground under the house to crack open wide enough to swallow our house or at least our foundation.  So far so good, but we need help fast.