Monday, January 9, 2012

Wherefore art thou?

See my header pic up there?  That was taken in early December 2011.  This pic below, that was taken this past Saturday... so about a month later.  Other than that big shadow at this end of the hayfield it looks pretty much the same.  Which is bad!  Snow, snow, wherefore art thou snow?!
Around here snow is important.  It insulates plants & roots and contributes to our spring moisture. 
Sure the city people are happy, they're not shovelling or dealing with crappy roads.  But will they be happy if we get a lot of extra rain this spring & summer to make up for no snow this winter?  NO.  And its not like that's a guaranteed trade off anyway.
Whenever they give me grief for missing the snow and say we don't need it I always say "Well, do you like to eat?  Because the farmers need it!"
I know not every area gets lots of snow (or any snow) for the winter, but for the places that do (like here) this is not a good sign.  Compare those above pics to this one below, taken early November 2011:
*just a random shot towards the neighbour's arena
the hayfield is off to the right of where I'm standing to take this*
 
Not a lot of snow, but its there and more came later. 
At the rate this winter is going I'm getting concerned about my pasture & hayfield for this year.

9 comments:

  1. Our lake here in Texas is more than 4 ft. low. We will take precip in any form it comes.

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  2. I didn't realize farmers needed snow. I suppose I'm outing myself as a city girl by saying that :)

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  3. It's been a weird winter here as well. We have maybe 3-4" of snow, which is really low for us.

    I hope you guys get some snow soon - we need those hayfields and pastures to grow!

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  4. Right there with you - besides that around my neck of the woods. The snow pack is what protects the forests in the summer from wildfire. No snow pack means a dry campfire-less summer, with lots of forest fires. Its gonna be so dry this summer you won't be allowed to so much sneeze in the woods for fear of starting a fire...

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  5. We hardly ever get much snow over winter and what we get is susually so dry there is no water left in it. So I am happy getting snow in March for a couple weeks then it can melt and runoff for water and we are good.
    No snow actually works good for us for most of winter cause the horses eat grass all winter and we never had to feed our cows till about a week ago (we usually start begining of Dec)
    All our snow is good for is runoff anyways, but it sure is a weird winter thats for sure.

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  6. yes, between the warm weather and the lack of cover I too am worried . This is the type of year when we hear the words "winter Kill" on our hay crops

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  7. Drought is looming as a real concern. It could be a tough summer if we don't have a wet spring. This is shaping up as the winter that wasn't.

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  8. I'm holding my breath. We've had a few snow storms and I think they have brought adequate moisture. I would like to see continued weekly snowfall of several inches.
    The weather across the US is wacky, indeed!

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  9. I get the need for snow, its been too mild everywhere this year except for poor Cordova Alaska who had had a record 20 feet of snow so far this year..:-)

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