Back around mid-September, we had a strong string of storms and I stopped watering my lawn and gardens around September 11th. Every week, we had one or two good storms through about mid-October. But since then, we’ve hardly had anything. It had looked like it was going to be a cold winter, but then we’ve been setting records for warmth off and on for a few weeks. It was in the 60s on Tuesday this week, and in the high 50s on other days.

I have a spot in my lawn that was looking a little sick, and I cut into the sod with a shovel to see if there were grubs underneath eating the roots. The surprise was that there were no pests, but the ground under the sod was bone dry! Most of the lawn looks good (still nice and green) but that spot on an incline must have drained water too easily back when it was getting watered, and it’s gotten very dry. I got the hose out and soaked it for a while. I might have to do that again.

The ski resorts are opening up now, so I guess the weather’s been OK up in the mountains, but I’m a little concerned about how we’re doing here in the valleys. It makes me worry that the big drought might be coming back after two good winters. Maybe it’s global warming. I enjoy the mild days, but at least some rain would be good for the rivers, lakes, and aquifers around here.