Ding, dong, the drought is dead!

After three long, dry years Georgia's worst drought in more than a century is finally over. We've normal rainfall so far this year, which to us has felt like an extremely wet spring. Lake Lanier is now only about 4 feet low. The state has lifted the very severe restrictions that have been in place for so long, and reverted back to the permanent watering schedule (restricted, but far less than what we've all lived with for the past few years). When called on to conserve 10% last year, metro Atlanta exceeded expectations. Lets hope some of those good habits stick.

I'm looking forward to enjoying my gardening hobby again. I've definitely got my work cut out for me. Lots of my landscape plants are dead or are very scraggly and unhealthy. The lawn is a sea of violets, weeds, moss, and monkey grass. It is full of ant hills and grubs. Between being unable to water and having to study this spring and last summer, I completely let the yard go. It will take a lot of effort to get it back. But hey, it is work that love and I can help out some local gardening centers at the same time. Looking forward to the challenge!

And waterwise habits notwithstanding, I am also looking forward to finally washing my car that hasn't been cleaned in more than two years. Oh, don't fuss. I'm not gonna be doing it every week or anything. I'd just like to remove the dead bugs and bird poop from 2007, assuming they haven't yet chemically bonded with the finish.

Tri-state water wars? Still on. Some things never change.

Rain!

Getting any sort of rain here in Atlanta is, sadly, now a noteworthy event. It has been a bone dry September. Great for sports, but not so good for gardeners. The yard is a dry, dusty wasteland of crunchy weeds and dead grass. Trees are stressed, and smaller plants are comatose. We got less than an inch of rain last month, and no significant rainfall since the remnants of Fay passed through. Hearing the rain once again make music on the roof overnight was a welcome sound. Gray and rainy? No complaints here. It was a nice, cool change of pace.

Border Wars and Wounded Pride

Georgia's state legislature has been hard at work this session, fighting injustice and righting new and old wrongs. (This is the kind of thing that Dave usually covers, but I see he has posted about other news today.) Just what does this very important work entail? Mostly they seem focused on protecting the wounded pride of UGA fans, but they've also had time to put forth some really ridiculous solutions to the water crisis.

Last month they voted 151-9 to enact a resolution calling on the NCAA to replace the BCS with a playoff system. Because this is clearly pressing business that the state of Georgia has control over... NOT.

They're barking mad over the new "Florida Gator" license plates that just gained approval by the Georgia DMV. Several other colleges from neighboring states have special Georgia plates as well. Some legislators have introduced a bill that would require reciprocity, or the out of state schools will not get their tags renewed. I think all this hoopla is because the Gators really get under UGA fans' skins. They didn't get too worked up when Georgia Tech rival Clemson got a plate. But U of F? That's going too far and cannot be tolerated.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any sillier, I present to you SR822. This bill seeks to correct a surveying error that occurred in 1818, when the Georgia-Tennessee border was incorrectly moved about a mile south of the 35th parallel, which remains the official border. This error, while seemingly water under the bridge for almost two hundred years, has the unfortunate consequence of placing the Tennessee River out of Georgia's reach in a time of historic drought. We're already in a longstanding fight with Alabama and Florida over water - sure, why not pick a little border fight with Tennessee while we're at it! Because that will be so helpful. I thought this was a joke when I first heard about it, but apparently it is serious.

What the legislature will not consider, even though a majority of Georgians are in favor of it, are Sunday sales of alcohol. It is an election year, so that topic is DOA.

So there you go. The legislative priorities this year are set. We'll rekindle the Civil War - this time with Tennessee - and make sure that the University of Georgia fans get everything they want. I can't decide if I am mad that the legislature is wasting time with crap like this, or happy that it is keeping them occupied and out of trouble (can't make a mess out of real problem solving if you are busy with this kind of stuff).

Disaster! Paratroopers! Crappy Video!

It's official: I live in a disaster area (and I feel fine). Actually we got a little bit of rain over the last 24 hours. Not enough to help the water table or lake levels, but we'll take whatever we can get.

In other disasters, Georgia Tech's star running back Tashard Choice was injured early in Saturday's game against Army. The latest word is that he needs surgery on his knee and will miss at least one game (the VT game, unfortunately). He is a tough player with a lot of heart, and I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.

Speaking of football, we had a treat before the game when four paratroopers from Fort Benning landed on Georgia Tech's Grant Field during the pregame show. It was a lot of fun to watch (and lasted much longer than a flyover). I used my tiny little camera's movie function for the very first time, and created my first tiny little movie. Unfortunately, I kind of suck as a videographer, especially since my camera's LCD screen is completely useless in bright sunlight. I couldn't tell what I was pointing it at (apparently, not what I was aiming for most of the time). I cropped the really awful part (believe it or not). So I present, without further adieu (or excuses), my very first crappy little video, ever:



I hope my shaky camera work didn't just make y'all sick. By the time the last guy landed, I sorta had the hang of it. Mostly.

I'm still eating my vegetables, just so ya know. I tried LL's fried zucchini, Magnetbabe's sauteed green beans, and Jim's roasted cauliflower over the weekend. Everything was delicious. I took tonight off because PDM made Mulligatawny soup. Mmmmmmm.

Water Wars

Who knew that the silly movie Tank Girl had it right? It isn't oil that future humans will fight over. It is water.

Nearly the entire state of Georgia is experiencing "severe hydrological drought". Lake Lanier, a man-made lake, is Atlanta's main water supply. Inflows are controlled by Mother Nature. Outflows are controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers. The same Corps that accidentally released 22 billion gallons of water in 2006, just as the drought was beginning, draining the lake two additional feet. Mistake notwithstanding, the Corps still controls the outflows, which are reported to be ten times larger than inflow. The outflows are mandated by federal law for downstream power plants and some sort of endangered mussel. State and federal sources say that there are about three month's worth of water stored in the lake, and if there is not a significant change in the weather, we will run out of water at that time. They are talking about lake levels that are so low they haven't been seen since the lake was originally filled.

The entire northern portion of the state is in a Level 4 drought, which calls for severe water use restrictions. (Georgia has a water plan in place that restricts water use even in plentiful times.) The state is considering even tougher measures. There is going to be a huge economic impact. There is no question that restrictions will go even deeper, especially for businesses. No other major metropolitan area, including frikkin' Las Vegas, has ever had to impose these type of measures. Meanwhile, Alabama has no water use restrictions whatsoever, and the Corps keeps sending billions of gallons downstream to them and to Florida. Normally I am sympathetic to environmental causes and endangered species concerns, but we cannot continue to supplement the natural flow by a factor of ten (and yes, the Corps in their infinite wisdom just RAISED this amount as inflows continue to decline). This is very scary stuff here. We are not talking about having green lawns. No, we are talking about being able to take showers, drink, and flush our toilets.

For our part, PDM and I are trying to conserve. Shorter showers, less rinsing of dishes, and more conscientious water use. I save gray water when I can to take outside and pour over shrubs and trees. I keep a pitcher by the sink for such purposes, and a bucket in the bathroom for shower water. But all of this crap makes me seriously think about having a well dug on my property. Not going to do that yet. But if the rain deficit continues, we may have no other choice. It is only a matter of time before further rationing sets in, and they attempt to restrict indoor water usage.

Rain Dance

Georgia needs rain. Badly. Do a rain dance for us. Send us watery wishes. Pray for rain. Whatever it takes. The dark areas of the map above are the driest. Our whole state is in trouble. This is much worse, much earlier than last year. I can't remember the last time we had several days of rain. It has been a long time since we've had more than a few scattered showers. Every time I check the 10-day forecast, it is as if I live in California -- every day fair and sunny. It sounds nice, but it isn't. We need rain. Days and days of steady rain. It has been so long I almost don't remember what that is like. This isn't about green lawns, or watering restrictions, or any of that. It is about farmers going broke, and native species going extinct. This is serious. And we need rain.