At Long Last, It Is RAINING!

[imp]

Unless one has experienced the desert solitude and harshness, one can hardly imagine the jubilation upon receiving a simple bit of rain. A wash (arroyo) about 5-feet deep traverses our lot, next to the house. Along it's meandering way, a variety of desert shrubs cling to life, awaiting the event. No Mesquite, or Palo Verde, but numerous desert plants manage to survive. We planted a tree, Willow Acacia, down by the gate, over 2 years ago. Touch & go whether it would survive or not. Today, it has rewarded us with magnificent growth, about 15 feet high now. However, below it in the wash, is a very old bush/tree, which somehow avoided death in this extreme clime, and it now lies in the plume of moisture coming down from the Acacia. This summer, it has produced thousands of pods filled with many thousands of seed! Not sure what this pernicious plant is, but it's leaves resemble Mesquite. I gathered and have planted several dozen of it's seeds, hoping to garner a Mesquite tree. We now are one-inch short of average rainfall for the YEAR: 2.0" received, vs. 3.1" normal. Thus, a 30% deficit, before TONIGHT! Things tend to even out, eventually, and tonight is charged with doing that!

Consider the implication: July of the year, precip. 30% below average., last measurable precip, over 40 days ago. Yet, these desert-adapted plants DO survive. They are formidably self-adapted to existence here. And will likely persevere well beyond the time in history where, water-related issues have exterminated Homo Sapiens. imp

 

[Don M.]

The West could well use some of the excess rain we are getting here in the Midwest. It's a challenge just to find a day when it's dry enough to cut the grass. This past week, we had almost 6 inches of rain, with a real "gusher" that dropped almost 3 inches in one hour Thursday night. It's drizzling again today, with more heavy rains in the forecast for tonight/tomorrow. There have been flash flood watches/warnings out all over the Midwest for the past 6 weeks. If these weather patterns persist much longer, it may become necessary to begin working on projects to move some of this water to the desert SW and California...or people in those areas are going to be in dire straits.

 

[AZ Jim]

We got completely missed again Imp. We had some strong winds and heavy black clouds but no rain at all. I guess the main hope is that we get it in the mountains so we capture runoff in our lakes. Shame we can't pipe the excess from back east and south out here where we need it.

 

[imp]

"Shame we can't pipe the excess from back east and south out here where we need it."

Jim, that's been proposed, in several forms, heavily argued against by the "powers" back east. Seems one area of deep concern is for the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides underground water to several states, Nebraska, Kansas, part of Colorado, if I recall right. Water is definitely becoming a serious issue, gradually, but definitely. imp

 

[imp]

Red, I certainly thank you for that! Studying Electronics as a young guy right out of high school, we had 2 quarters of Technical Writing. Such work involves explanatory diagrams, instructions, Engineering information. Those types of writing require specific usage of English elements, no weak or non-specific verbs, for example. Because of having had that technique drummed into my head, my "everyday" writing often sounds "put-offish" to many. I'll try to sound less strict, and more friendly! imp

 

[oakapple]

Very interesting imp , those desert plants are amazing.It has been dry here in England ( my part of it) so we are having to use the garden hose/sprinkler or all we have planted will die. last week, one day was 36 C I know That is nothing to parts of the U.S. But it's extraordinary here.:eek1:

 

[Glinda]

We got completely missed again Imp. We had some strong winds and heavy black clouds but no rain at all. I guess the main hope is that we get it in the mountains so we capture runoff in our lakes. Shame we can't pipe the excess from back east and south out here where we need it.

We have lots of sunshine which can be converted to solar energy. Some parts of the country have excess water but high energy bills. How about putting good 'ol American ingenuity and resourcefulness to work and creating an exchange? Don't think of reasons why it can't be done - think of ways to do it!

 

[Robusta]

I am going to be really argumentative here. Why should us "Easterners" share "OUR" water with folks that have done nothing but misuse abuse and pollute every drop of water that they have touched for the last century. Why should us "Easterners" help contribute to the folly of an ever expanding population explosion in a region that was never able to support the numbers that were there 50 years ago. How much shoud I sacrifice so that you can have a green golf course and cold swimming pools in Phoenix or Vegas or Bakersfield?
Our neighbors in Canada share the resource that is stored in the great lakes. What reason would they have to share with a greedy population to the south?

 

[imp]

"I am going to be really argumentative here"

Can't say as I blame you. Still, you have little to worry about, yourself, as far east as you are, but speaking on behalf of all East and Midwest folks, your comments are true, as far as they go. However, solving the problem is less easy than simply deciding where water is allocated, or if it is at all. The movement of population in the country resulted from the folks having freedom to do so, for whatever reasons they had to migrate. The over-population of arid areas cannot be undone without a massive social upheaval. So, perhaps encourage thousands of folks living in the arid Southwest to migrate back east: perhaps offer great incentives to do so.

What would you say if, say, a few million folks moved from California, for example, to your area? Welcome them? imp

 

[imp]

Las Vegas was hit with a huge deluge yesterday. A guy who just took off from McCarron Airport took the pic below. It most vividly displays typical "Monsoonal" activity in the arid desert. Rain is falling in buckets in a confined area probably little more than a mile wide, and perhaps that deep. Such a downpour will often move slowly across the Vegas Valley, varying in intensity as it moves along. I saw it happen many times while I lived there, in the '70s. In 1974, around Independence Day, an enormous storm struck, and the run-off from surrounding mountains, as it is always funneled and channeled unerringly towards Las Vegas Wash, the natural drainage for Vegas Valley which empties into Lake Mead, absolutely destroyed vehicles parked in Caesar's Palace parking lot, where signs indicated possible flash flood area. Seeing it on the news, I ran down there, and secured some pics, which I will dig out and post later. For now, that below is one of the most illustrative I have seen. imp

 

[Glinda]

I am going to be really argumentative here. Why should us "Easterners" share "OUR" water with folks that have done nothing but misuse abuse and pollute every drop of water that they have touched for the last century. Why should us "Easterners" help contribute to the folly of an ever expanding population explosion in a region that was never able to support the numbers that were there 50 years ago. How much shoud I sacrifice so that you can have a green golf course and cold swimming pools in Phoenix or Vegas or Bakersfield?
Our neighbors in Canada share the resource that is stored in the great lakes. What reason would they have to share with a greedy population to the south?

Where do you think most of your fruits and vegetables come from? We're all in this together. I hope you don't have to find that out the hard way.

 

[Debby]

I'd share with you if it was possible. We can count on two/three days of rain and three days of sun almost without fail. Summers in the maritimes are great. Green, sans firestorms and smoke free (unless someone is foolish enough to try burning the weeds off and the you might lose the siding on the house or maybe a garage) and not too hot. 25 degrees is average in our area.

 

[imp]

BIG Vegas storm, July, 1974, by the time I got there, the cleanup was well underway, there were no restrictions imposed on my walking in and taking pics. Dozens of vehicles had been wrecked by the torrent of water which roared through the parking lot. As you can see, Andy Williams happened to be performing there. The pics are grainy, cheap little camera, sorry for lack of clarity.

The van, below, had New York license plate, obviously had been rolled over. I wondered what folks' reactions were going to be when they ceased the frivolity of the casino, and returned to their vehicles! Signs in the parking lot, though not large, warned against parking there, as the lot was traversed by a huge, major channel which carried the run-off from many square miles of slope, mountain foothills, downhill, under Las Vegas Boulevard through a gigantic concrete duct beneath the pavement, and on to Las Vegas Wash, eventually. Living there was a wonderful experience, for the most part! imp

 

[AZ Jim]

That water that Robusta describes as "HIS" is, in fact the property of the United States. If an economically feasible way to import it to us out west, that will happen just as our products and produce go to NY.

 

[AZ Jim]

We did get a little rain today, Imp. No much but it was a joy to watch it wet things down. I remember a few years ago when we had a home in Lake Havasu City and the streets would be virtual rivers this time of year. Well we take what comes and are thankful for it.

 

[Shalimar]

Although Canada has one quarter of the world's fresh water, only six percent of it is renewable. BC uses more water than other provinces, because we are water rich ( and stupid,) but even on the Island where I live, there is water conservation during summer months when dry conditions require it. Already American interest groups are pressuring our gov't to sell our water, but our politicians are hamstrung--70% Canadians against selling.