The Mud Years
3/19/08 - 4th Day - After Breakfast. Well, we have received a goodly portion of our March rains. According to the prognosticators, our average monthly rainfall for March is supposed to be 1.9 inches. Now, I suppose that "average" takes into account drought years over the last century when there was no rainfall in March, but I can't imagine it. In the 3 years we have lived here, including the excessive drought year of 2006, we have had 5 inches of rain or more in March every single year - and I was told by the Realtor that in 2005 the area received much more than 5 inches. So I don't see 1.9 inches as a realistic "average". We have received somewhere around 3 inches in the past two days, and we had a bit over 2 inches earlier this month.
Now, no one is complaining. Not me for sure. I am glad to have the rain. Our water level has been low in our catchwater cistern for the last 6 months, and I am glad to have more water going into it. Yesterday, with our front catchwater vessels full, we started the family bucket brigade to haul the water to the cistern. We moved 150 gallons or so before the rains came again and refilled the front vessels. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be crystal clear and sunny, so we hope to haul some more water into the cistern today, and to see the ground dry up some as well.
For those of you who have been reading the Off-Grid Living series, you might want to get used to the concept we call "The Mud Years". Since this is our second homesteading experience in the past 10 years, we are well acquainted with "the mud years". When you first start your homestead, you will find that landscaping is way, way, way down the list of important projects - if it is on the list at all. Usually you will live off a long dirt driveway, which is off of a long dirt or gravel road. Some of you will have the money to haul in a bunch of truckloads of gravel for a nice private road, but most of you will not be able to do that at all. So one principle reality of your life will be MUD. Now, we have especially muddy mud here in Central Texas. It is the clay, gooey, peanut butter mud that just kind of sticks on everything and builds up as you walk. But the point is that you will constantly be dealing with mud. Mud is very frustrating for the few days it lasts, but it is also a constant reminder that God has favored us with rain. After the severe drought we suffered in 2006, I committed to never again disdain the rain. Last year was a very wet year, and some of the prognosticators are calling for another one here this year. We can only hope and pray, but if it is wet, then it will also be muddy. Where my cabin is, our field was never planted with pasture grasses. It was overrun with weeds when we got here, but those died off pretty quickly, and due to the traffic and constant work, no grasses or ground cover has grown up. So when it rains, we have mud. Now, some day, if the Lord wills, when all of our building and projects in this area are up and running, we will landscape some and plant grass. We will bring in nice gravel for the road and for the parking area, and we will put in some stone sidewalks from rocks we have on the land. In that day, we will look back on the mud years with a mixture of fondness and utter disdain. Our "mud years" at our old homestead dragged on for about 3 years, and I assume our mud years here will last much longer than that. Strangers and city folk will never understand why and how you can do it, but when you have been through it, you'll understand.
We thank God for the rain, and from the water from heaven.
Michael
Now, no one is complaining. Not me for sure. I am glad to have the rain. Our water level has been low in our catchwater cistern for the last 6 months, and I am glad to have more water going into it. Yesterday, with our front catchwater vessels full, we started the family bucket brigade to haul the water to the cistern. We moved 150 gallons or so before the rains came again and refilled the front vessels. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be crystal clear and sunny, so we hope to haul some more water into the cistern today, and to see the ground dry up some as well.
For those of you who have been reading the Off-Grid Living series, you might want to get used to the concept we call "The Mud Years". Since this is our second homesteading experience in the past 10 years, we are well acquainted with "the mud years". When you first start your homestead, you will find that landscaping is way, way, way down the list of important projects - if it is on the list at all. Usually you will live off a long dirt driveway, which is off of a long dirt or gravel road. Some of you will have the money to haul in a bunch of truckloads of gravel for a nice private road, but most of you will not be able to do that at all. So one principle reality of your life will be MUD. Now, we have especially muddy mud here in Central Texas. It is the clay, gooey, peanut butter mud that just kind of sticks on everything and builds up as you walk. But the point is that you will constantly be dealing with mud. Mud is very frustrating for the few days it lasts, but it is also a constant reminder that God has favored us with rain. After the severe drought we suffered in 2006, I committed to never again disdain the rain. Last year was a very wet year, and some of the prognosticators are calling for another one here this year. We can only hope and pray, but if it is wet, then it will also be muddy. Where my cabin is, our field was never planted with pasture grasses. It was overrun with weeds when we got here, but those died off pretty quickly, and due to the traffic and constant work, no grasses or ground cover has grown up. So when it rains, we have mud. Now, some day, if the Lord wills, when all of our building and projects in this area are up and running, we will landscape some and plant grass. We will bring in nice gravel for the road and for the parking area, and we will put in some stone sidewalks from rocks we have on the land. In that day, we will look back on the mud years with a mixture of fondness and utter disdain. Our "mud years" at our old homestead dragged on for about 3 years, and I assume our mud years here will last much longer than that. Strangers and city folk will never understand why and how you can do it, but when you have been through it, you'll understand.
We thank God for the rain, and from the water from heaven.
Michael
posted by Michael Bunker at 3/19/2008 05:48:00 AM
3 Comments:
Rain... how wonderful. While living in the city, I nearly hated the rain - interfered with my entertainment plans. But thankfully as God began to teach me His Truth and His ways several years ago, I now love the rain; a good spring thunderstorm even better as it leads me to think on Him. I am happy to report that my husband and I have begun looking at property w/land. Going to look at a 1+ acre property this Friday. Not much, but its cheap, its near wide open, mountain spaces, and it gets us out of the city quickly. ~Sonya
Yes, thank you for reminding me to thank God for the mud. Sometimes, I forget... :-)
Glad you are getting the rain. Sounds like you are getting more down there than we are in Lubbock.
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