One thing that some meterologist weather cycle guru's are saying is that since we are in the opposite phase of the AMO/PDO cycle that we had in the 1980's.. "peak wet" years is that when we do get moisture today.. it comes more violently..  and we've had a couple 15" events over a 6 week period.. Last May 2015.. the previous June/July 2014.. and LH July and August 2013..  all three were similar.. bone dry going in.. beau coup water going everywhere afterwards.. 

Kind of like the joke about Lubbock rainfall..  "Ya know they only get about 12" of rainfall a year in Lubbock Tx.. and I was there the night they got it.. you should have seen it water going everywhere.." 

So we have a tailwater pit just north of my house.. that was dug in the 1950's.. until the drought of 2011 I had NEVER seen it dry.. since then.. it's been more dry than full.. but it does fill.. as it did last April..  Date of Picture: 4/17/15



As you can see we needed to fix the berms.. which we did this winter..

We had a D9 (actually pops says it was a D6) cat in the bottom of that sucker pushing dirt back up... date of Picture 1/4/16



Never in my lifetime till 2011 would that have been possible without pumping it dry.. we did not pump a single drop between the first pic and the 2nd.. that's all mother nature.. through evaporation and deep percolation.. and that's what I'm getting at with my posts.. we have playa's.. and I drove across every single one of them this week.. that NORMALLY have at least SOME water in them.. they were ALL bone dry like the 2nd pic above...

That's what I'm talking about. 

edit add: talked to pops about it today.. D6 vs D9.. (golly what do I know?) and in the 1950's it was dry enough to be empty.  For disclousre we FLOOD irrigated about 145 acres that will drain into this pit.. and that would mostly fill it during irrigation.  In 1998 we installed pivots and got away from flood.. Great efficiency.. more bushels per water applied.. etc.. so that would explain part of it.. still.. probably blowing it out of porportion a little.. but "it dry."  Again we live in Playa country.. and there's not many that have any water in them.. none on my farm.

probably got another toad strangler on the way in a few weeks.. and right now.. I could live with that... ;-)   Just don't flip the pivots like last year.. please!!

pic date: 4/3/15 

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