Check in for Hurricane Matthew

[Squirt's Mom]

Watching the news this evening has me very concerned for our K9C family that are living in the path of this huge storm! I hope you have all evacuated to safer havens by now. When you get a chance, check in and let us know you are alright, ok?

Praying for all who must face Matthew.

[molly muffin]

It sure looked like a doozy. Hope everyone could evacuate and the ones that couldn't are safe. (and dry!)

[Budsters Mom]

Check in Marianne. Let us know that you are okay. Been watching Matthew hit Savannah on the Weather Channel. Not sure how close you are. :o

[labblab]

Hi guys! No need at all to worry about me! I'm in Atlanta, far away from the hurricane. In fact, too far :o. We are in a severe drought here with no relief in sight. I was overjoyed last night when a brief outer band of Matthew actually rained on us maybe even 1/2 inch. That's the most moisture we've had in a long time. Just took Luna out to pee early this morning and the stars are shining brightly again, though, so that will be "it" for us. The poor Georgia coast is indeed getting hammered, though. :(

[Joan2517]

I have a friend in McDonough, who also is praying for some rain! My son was supposed to be in Orlando this weekend for an anniversary party...sadly, but wisely cancelled his trip on Wednesday (was to fly out on Thursday). He was going to be spending Friday in the Magic Kingdom and as soon as he heard they were closing the park, that was the deciding factor! 36 years old and still loves Disney...my baby boy :)

[Budsters Mom]

So glad you are fine Marianne. I am not so sure about your "severe" drought in comparison to California. We have been in a drought for what seems like forever. We have water restrictions where we can only water two days per week at certain times. I have a brown, scorched yard, where grass used to be and only a few hearty plants left. :o We are no longer able to wash our cars in our driveways. We have to pull them up into our yards to avoid runoff. This, of course causes our dead yards to become muddy and our cars become even dirtier. Washing cars has to be done with a bucket and a low flow spray valve, which practically does nothing. It must be turned off between sprayings. This is our norm now. So, how severe is your drought?

[labblab]

Yeah, Kathy, I do know you guys are in bad shape. According to the National Drought Monitor, you guys are experiencing "Exceptional Drought," which is the worst designation. We are one step below you in "Extreme Drought." We are on the verge of watering restrictions similar to yours, with the exception that we would not be allowed to wash our cars at all. We have had several periods of drought in recent years. The worst was a couple of years ago when we were not permitted any outdoor watering at all other than handheld hoses for vegetable gardens. At that time, the lake that supplies the water to metro Atlanta was drying up, triggering a bunch of interstate lawsuits in which we were trying to glom onto water from other states' rivers (sound familiar to you? :rolleyes:).

Having lived in both Southern California and Georgia, I know that even during normal years, the precip patterns are very different. You guys should have rainy seasons; we should be getting some degree of precip year-round. Right now, none of us are getting anywhere near normal moisture. We have been dry all summer with abnormally hot temps. I gave up on our lawn a long time ago, but I've been trying to hand water my shrubs. Long-term autumn forecast does not look good for us, though, so we will see how long I'm permitted to do that. At least we're heading into winter so a lot of the grass would be going dormant anyway. It's the farmers who I really feel sorry for, though. For me, it's just the appearance of my yard -- for them it's their livelihood. :(

[Budsters Mom]

Those who have been affected by Hurricane Matthew, please check in so we know you are okay.

[labblab]

Hey Kathy, stumbled across this article in the LA Times, and I'm sad to say that we're now joining you in "exceptional" drought. :(

Plus, we have a smoke alert right now from all the smoke blowing down from wildfires in north GA and Tennessee. I know you guys have weathered so many fires out there, too. But in this case, misery does NOT want company -- misery wants relief...:o

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-deep-south-drought-20161109-story.html