Some Southerner Sharing

A friend I grew up with in Texas shared some photos and gave me permission to share them on here. Scott Welch and his family have property with horses in Texas. Unfortunately with the drought, one of the worst in years, they say since 1950's, he is losing the watering holes that many enjoy for fishing and keeps the cows and horses in water while they are pastured out. This could have affects on all for years to come.

The photo above is what the ground begins to look like as water dries up in serious heat. Scott had to take his tractor plow down to one of the ponds and decided to make it deeper and prays it will fill up. The pond he keeps fish in has not completely dried up, he has put out a call to anyone who wants to fish for 10 pound cats to come on over and fill up your freezer. (this photo is from earlier in the year- I do miss seeing cowboys in their garb)

Scott also shared photos of properties all around him going up in flames. They are not the wildfires which have destroyed so much around Texas you are hearing about in the news, but are still dangerous when so much is dry like this.

The is one of the reasons I all too happy to leave Texas- the heat and so much brown landscape from June until the fall. My heart does go out to Scott and my many other friends who are enduring the heat and drought.

To my readers- Sorry for all the sad crap I have posted lately....back to the funny southern Creative TMI in the days to come...I might throw myself into a giant vat of doughnuts and ruin my new healthy eating style if I keep this up!

-This image above was taken in Canadian, Texas

Huffington Post, 2011- As the state struggles with the worst one-year drought in its history, entire ecosystems, from the smallest insects to the largest predators, are struggling for survival. The foundations of their habitats – rivers, springs, creeks, streams and lakes – have turned into dry sand, wet mud, trickling springs or, in the best case, large puddles.

"It has a compound effect on a multitude of species and organisms and habitat types because of the way that it's chained and linked together," said Jeff Bonner, a wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Since January, Texas has only gotten about 6 inches of rain, compared to a norm of about 13 inches, making it the most severe one-year drought on record. Last week, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said the La Nina weather pattern blamed for the lack of rain might be back soon, and if that happens, the dry spell would almost certainly extend into 2012.