It's hot here in Texas, ladies and gentlemen!
"Yesterday was the 5th consecutive day that the Austin, Texas Bergstrom Airport tied or set a new daily temperature record. On Monday, June 6, the airport hit 103°F, the earliest in the year that location had ever hit 103°.(Dr. Jeff Masters'WunderBlog, June 8, 2011)
Hot and dry!
"In Austin, rainfall from October through the end of April was only 5.3 inches, the third driest on record since 1856."(from the LCRA website, latest update May 2011)
And here in the Hollow, with no rain to keep it in its place, caliche dust coats everything... my car, the dogs, the juniper trees lining the road, the few flowers hardy and stubborn and resilient enough to bloom...
Even the sky is a dusty shade of blue.
Our pond is completely dry now. See that white bucket sitting in the middle? It's a souvenir from our upstream neighbor's pond, an in-your-face reminder of a time when water flowed down Long Hollow creek. When the pond is full, that spot is at least 20 feet underwater.
Hard to imagine, isn't it?
It's also hard to imagine the little waterfall ever roaring like an ocean surf crashing on a beach, so loud you have to raise your voice to be heard way up on our back deck.
The only thing making that much noise in the Hollow lately is the panting of two hot puppy dogs, searching for some cool shade.
Water, Water, where for art thou, Water?
