Drought

“A prolonged period of dry weather, a lack of rain” as defined by Webster Dictionary.

If you could be here today walking the land as I am, you would see verdant hills and valleys. It’s still spring and we had a quarter inch of rain earlier this week. The native grasses respond within 48 hours, brown turns green. But looks can be deceiving as the following pictures show.

I was new to Texas in 1950 when a gas station attendant noticed my Ohio license plate and asked me how I liked Texas. My response was very positive. He replied, “Well, if you like it now, you’ll really like it when it rains.” This was my first experience of a drought. But fifty-nine years later, I’ve come to learn from experience the value of every drop of rain that falls and to appreciate conservation and land management principles that allow us to have water for ourselves, for livestock and wildlife . . . But even with all the land management practices we’ve implemented, there is a limit to how long our fragile “perched or local aquifer” can meet our needs. As the dictionary definition says, we are deeply into “a prolonged period of dry weather” and this has been exacerbated by above normal temperatures and high winds.

The creek that kept Madrone Lake at a fairly constant level stopped running in late July 2008. Photograph taken by Lois Sturm.

The lack of fresh water combined with high temperatures heats the remaining water which depletes oxygen and encourages bacteria growth which most likely caused the death of this three foot triploid carp. Photograph by J. David.

The Bromfield Trail is one of my favorite trails. We used to sit on the stone outcroppings with our feet in the water. It was our thinking spot with the limestone bottom and the sight and sound of the crystal clear water flowing through it. The water disappeared in September 2008. Photograph taken by J. David.

The Bridge to Nowhere. An unusual name! Justin and Poncho built this bridge for us when water was flowing under it. They were unaware that we are designing a trail to start there. As you can see the creek is bone dry and has been since October 2008. Photograph taken by J. David.

Carter Tank. This was originally built by a previous owner of the ranch whose last name was Carter. We have worked on it a number of times because it didn’t hold water. We’ve also enlarged it. Under normal rainfall years it is 25 feet deep and backs water up the draw. The tires are not trash! They are put there to protect fish spawn. The two cement cisterns store our drinking water. Each holds 5,000 gallons piped in from one of our spring boxes unseen further up the draw. They have float valves that divert the water into Carter Tank when the tanks are full. Photograph taken by J. David.

Dependable Clay. We’ve put no name on this small tank. This is a remarkable stock tank entirely dependent on runoff water from the surrounding hillside. Leroy has cut ditches 100 feet long that direct runoff water to the pond. What’s remarkable is the bed of clay that forms the bowl – this clay is impermeable. The only draw down is from livestock and surface evaporation. Finding this kind of clay is somewhat rare. In spite of this good material, the pond will be dry if we don’t get some rain soon. Photograph taken by J. David.

Oryx Pasture. This pasture is set aside for the exclusive use of our herd of Scimitar horned Oryx. They are a sub Saharan antelope from Africa that can go as long as 90 days without water. This tank is normally kept full from runoff as well as spring water piped to it. You can tell by the green vegetation and the cracks in the earth that there hasn’t been water here for months. Not to worry. We do have a number of watering troughs throughout this pasture. Photograph taken by J. David.

Four Cypress. Once again we haven’t named this small cattle and wildlife drinking spot. There was a small seep that we discovered above it 35 years ago, as well as, a small swale in the land above that would direct water to the pond. It worked so well until this drought. As you can see, there is not more than a week’s water left. The four cypress trees might not survive the summer. These were “planted” 14 years ago by throwing the seeds on the water! Photograph taken by J. David.

Summary

These pictures are but a few that show how critical our water problem has become. Wildlife, cattle and even we who live here are threatened. I believe this to be the worst drought of the century. Our Texas Forest Service agent, Robert Edmonson, stated that we have lost over 1,000 Spanish Oaks so far and other species are showing stress. Is the current condition a harbinger of the future? Is this our first sign of climate change?

Tune in next week to see some of the unique and innovative methods we are doing to sustain all life here at Selah.

Water; Madrone Lake, and Miller Creek

At Selah we are now seeing the effects of low fall and spring rainfall. During 2007 we were thoroughly spoiled by the abundant rainfall, when we had a total of 44 inches.

Miller Creek along the Bromfield Trail in July 2007 when the creek had a constant flow of water downstream.

However, during the last quarter of '07 we only had 2.46 inches, so from October 1, through December 31 was really quite dry. From January 1 to May 14 of 2008 our rainfall has been 5.38 inches. There have been 12 rain events, and all were less than an inch. Following each shower, there were high winds and warm temperatures which evaporated much of the water. We saw no runoff, and doubt that any was able to reach the groundwater reserves.

J David and I went on a walk Sunday, May 18, which was a wonderful cool day. We decided to walk the Bromfield Trail which starts near Hes' Country Store, follows Miller Creek downstream, and ends at Jacob's Ladder, a tank with a cement dam and low water crossing that J David built in 1971 and '72. Most of the pictures were taken then, except as noted.

When we entered the trail we noticed that the amount of water in the creek was low, and the water flow had slowed down in the past few months, and I decided that a blog on that portion of Miller Creek would be a good subject. I took pictures and transferred them to iPhoto, and started to write. Then on May 22nd I had a chemo treatment, and put off finishing this blog until I was feeling better. Yesterday I took some pictures around Madrone Lake, which are included.

Water is so important! It is essential for plants, livestock, wildlife and us, is beautiful to look at, and the sound of falling water soothes our spirits. Last summer, Jacob's Ladder dam featured the waterfall you see in this photograph taken 7/21/07.

One of the small creeks that flows down the canyon behind Hes' Country Story carries water from a spring high in the canyon. In spite of low rainfall, the spring there is still flowing. You can see a small amount of water on this low water crossing taken 5/26/08.

Near the beginning of the Bromfield Trail is a dam which has water flowing across it when we have enough rainfall. At this time there is very little water flowing over it.

Standing on the dam looking downstream is this nice view of Miller Creek.

As I sat on a rock for a short break David took my picture. It is hard to believe during this week of high 90's, that I actually needed a long sleeve shirt 8 days ago.

One of my favorite plants along creeks is Southern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum Capillus Veneris). If conditions get too dry it turns brown. When water is available again new fronds emerge. It needs wet limestone walls and limy water to be happy. We find it commonly here at Selah, where all of our rocks and soils are of limestone origin.

A close up of the delicate shiny dark stalks of Southern Maidenhair Fern with the leaflets of their mostly twice compound leaves.

A healthy young Texas Madrone tree grows beside the trail.

Not much water is flowing down the creek, but there is enough water to catch a nice reflection of trees.

The dam at Jacob's Ladder has very little water flowing over it now. There is still enough moisture to keep the water loving plants growing on the front of the dam happy. 

Last summer there was a time that the amount of water flowing into Madrone Lake exceeded the ability of the overflow/constant level device to move it downstream, and the water was up on the grass for a while. There is a valve that can be opened, which we did, to move the water quickly. Photo was taken July 23, 2007.

The water level now is down from its constant level by about 5 inches. Unless we get some serious rain, the level will continue to fall. Several years ago the water level dropped to below the bottom step. By then the temperature of the water was as warm as a bathtub. Photo taken 5/26/08.

A walk up the Nature Trail toward the center shows a dry creek-bed at Juniper Crossing. There may be a small amount of water flowing below the surface, but not enough to keep the lake level up. Photo taken 5/26/08.

As I walked the trail the red of the Scarlet Leather-flower (Clematis Texensis) caught my eye. Their seeds are quite eye catching too. Photo taken 5/26/08.

If you find yourself outdoors, and feel like dancing, try doing a rain dance. Who knows, it might actually help bring rain!