What a Difference 2 Weeks Make

In a recent blog entitled "Settling In" posted on June 30, I included a picture of our house just after the yard had been hydroseeded for Bermuda grass. I want to post that same picture again with another below it showing what the yard looks like 2 weeks later. You'll notice also that the drive is cleaner, as is the curb area. We have several houses under construction our here, including 2 to our immediate south and 1 across the street, so in the early picture, debris from their work was still in the street. I have since cleaned that up.



Just after seeding



After 2 weeks of intensive watering

The back yard is rather large, and it has some barren spots I'm working on. Donna and I got out yesterday and pulled weeds from the extreme back of the lot. There were some bull nettles we were cautious about and were careful to protect our hands and arms from. But another weed caught us off guard. We were less cautious about it and ended up with some discomfort on our arms and hands. Donna had welts, and my fingers swelled somewhat. I'm not familiar with the weed obviously, but will look it up later to determine what it was.
Because of the drought, lawn watering is restricted in San Angelo. You are allowed to water your lawn only once per week. Because we have a new house with a newly seeded lawn, we have an exemption for one month. At the end of that month, we then must cut back to one week. However, my yard should be established by then (July 28) and only 1 to 2 months of extreme heat remain after that. It should survive as the fall comes on.

All of West Texas is dry. The town of Llano has a supply of only 30 to 60 days of water available. Their only source of water is the Llano River, and it is drying up. Robert Lee, a small town just north of Angelo, also has a shrinking source of water. They use E. V. Spence Reservoir as their water source, and that lake level is down to only 1%. O.C. Fisher, the formerly large lake on the outskirts of Angelo, is also down to 1%. Twin Buttes, another lake on the outskirts of Angelo, is down to 11%, while O. H. Ivie is at 24%. Lake Nasworthy, where Donna and I stayed in our trailer while waiting for our house to be completed, is at 82%.

We need rain. We have a 2-year water supply remaining, and our restrictions are being tightened regularly and water rates are being increased in order to find and develop new water sources. We look forward to the coming of fall and cooler temperatures.