Land Considerations

As i get older, i’m more aware of how much time and hard work a piece of property can be.  Many years ago, my grandpa gave me a 160 acre piece of his land and i now realize that he was about my age now when he gave it.  I was much younger and was thrilled, but now i can see that he was probably tired of managing and fixing all its problems.  In fact, it is only about the east 80 acres of the farm i now have that incurs 80% of the work i do on the 520 acres i now own/manage.  (it is a sad reflection of our time that in north Missouri that is no where near enough property to make a living on).  At the same time, it’s the corner of that piece that is the best for working and loading out livestock.  (interestingly, my daughter, at about age 11 made the comment, ‘i don’t like this farm, it is too much work!”)

Truth be told, if it was possible for me to control the land to the north of me and to the south, i could all but eliminate the massive erosion and washing problems which cause my little piece to be so much work.  But i don’t, so difficult repairs are recurring.  Controlling the ‘heads’ of the water by building ponds or dams would practically stop all but the worst rain events which cause such destruction.  The biggest help would be to seed down the hills that are being farmed every year.  There are no roots to hold any soil in place and increase water infiltration on acres and acres of slope.

So, a point i’m trying to make is – look to your future self when purchasing a property – is this property you are considering fixable?  or will it be constant work?  We actually looked at a property last year that was adjoining and for sale, but with all it’s deep ditches and no control of the head, it would be more work than what we wanted to take on now at retirement age.  It is FAR too much asking price anyway.  (It’s still for sale)

The water rushes through this gap so high and fast that there is brush and sometimes huge logs on top of the sealed road you see in this photo.  This time, there are only a few small pieces on the road, my fence caught most of the trash.  The fence is laid over so much, that i’ll actually take the wires off the two posts you see, pull the posts and reset them on the inside of the trash and it will still be in line with the existing fence.

For fun, i found this map which shows the watershed area through which this one water gap i’m repairing all the runoff water passes through.  I measured the area and it encompasses 560 acres of surface land area.  When we get gully washers, which do come at least 3 times a year, that’s a lot of water rushing down Lick Branch – no wonder my fence gets washed out every time.

Sun, Sand Storm, Rain, Flood

So, is Dubai just like Missouri?!  We joke in Missouri that if you don’t like the weather, just hang around a few hours and it will change – and it’s true quite a lot.  One morning you’ll be running the furnace because the temps are in the teens (fahrenheit) and by afternoon, the air conditioner is coming on because it’s in the 80s!.

In Dubai this week two days ago was sunny, hot, and 98 degrees, next day was sand storm and 96 all day, and early this morning, i woke to the gentle ping of rain on the window.  Not much accumulated, but the streets are flooded!

Dubai’s annual rainfall is 3.71 inches per year, with March being the second highest rainfall month of a whopping .87 of an inch (March has the most days of rain at 5)  However, the past couple years, the annual has risen to nearly 5.91 inches a year.  Apparently, UAE is seeding the clouds to hopefully increase the rainfall.  Whether or not that is working or if this is just a natural increase we’ll never be know, though i suspect the cloud seeding enthusiasts will be claiming success!

Of course today of the Sightseeing tour, it is a sand storm!  Eating sand and gritty eyes, but –bonus–no crowds!  A bit eery –no one in the restaurant we chose, all those vendors you see in the photo, but not a single shopper.  There were a few people enjoying the beach and water, however. This is at the famous Dubai Marina Walk.

Only a few tenths causes flooding in Dubai!

Ragweed and Weather Reign!

This week our area received up to 10 inches of rain in one night! Flood waters raged in the night and next day.   After two days, the waters are starting to recede back to their banks, but a lot is trapped in sloughs, oxbows, and drainage ditches.   ALL of our water gaps are gone – not just mangled – but gone!  The boys and I are leaving for Scotland on Sunday, so I’m thankful that husband Allen and right-hand man, Christian, will be hard at repair and rebuild.  They will have at least two weeks dedicated to repairing and rebuilding the water gaps, interior paddock fences and posts, cutting up trapped logs and trees and removing from culverts and fences. They’ll put up temporary fence up until they can get to all of the perimeter water gaps to keep cattle and sheep from getting out onto the roads and neighbour’s fields.  Many have compared this flash flood to one which occurred in 1946 – yes, this one is worse than the 1993 flooding!

My allergy prick test resulting in.. several grasses, trees, cattle, cats, molds, and, of course , ragweed stood far and away the worst.  After the prick testing, I could take Benadryl which I could not do for these previous five days which has resulted in being trapped in the house and sleeping very little due to such discomfort. Once my appointment was over, Allen (who had thankfully driven me to and from Columbia), took me out to the Olive Garden at which I took two old Benadryls I found in an obscure pocket of my purse. Within a few minutes, relief was on its way, and despite drinking three cups of coffee with lunch,  drowsiness crept in.   Allen took the wheel and within five minutes of leaving the restaurant, I was sawing logs and what seemed like two minutes later I awoke to us pulling into the Orscheln’s parking lot in Brookfield (2 hours actually). We had stopped in to pick up my script for a steroid to help get me caught up. I plan to sleep some more tonight because I feel pretty daggone good now! I won’t start the oral immunotherapy drops until after we return from our month in ragweed free Scotland.  How a healthy person can be so miserable for weeks on end is beyond me!