Last June, I was in a mild panic, buying hay and feeding it out.
That’s how quickly our 10-acre pasture was eaten up by grazing and burned up by the high temperatures and lack of rain. We loved the sun and warmth, but animals and plants all suffered from the lack of moisture.
Check out this descriptive drought blogpost with images.
Note to those praying for rain: Enough Already.
The Iowa River, just downhill from our place, has been above flood stage for months and at 18 feet in Marengo, IA, it’s just a few feet below the catastrophic, record-setting mark of 2008.
The county road, a long gravel road that runs for six miles from Swisher to Amana, is largely underwater.
The Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area, the 14,000-acre parcel saddling the Iowa, home to fields, meadows, timberland and hundreds of animal species, is largely underwater.
In contrast to last June, I’m asking the horses to graze down the lawn, since mowing every five days is getting to be a bit much. They’re fat and happy and their pasture looks fine.
I suppose I’ll buy hay, but it’ll likely sit in the barn til autumn.
Images from our former riding routes, Left 2012; Right, 2013
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