THIS RAIN!!! (edited: THIS DROUGHT)

[musical comedy]

I know there are states that are in an emergency situation, so it's probably selfish to bitch about rain. However, it makes my life a living hell here in the rain. Almost every frigging day there is some rain. If it's not raining, it's cloudy. Add to that the wind. My mood is worse than usual, and that's pretty bad. Yes I have an indoor, but I have to walk from the barn outside to go to it. That means wrapping myself and horse in rain proof stuff all while the wind is gusting. Seems like not a problem and it wouldn't have been 10 years ago. Now, I guess I'm a fair weather rider.

[Chisamba]

I agree is misery creating weather. I would like some sun. I am going to look for all the positive thought I can muster.

[kande50]

Haha, me too, MC. My main man is out to pasture now, which means I either have to close gates and let him follow me to the indoor, or halter and lead him to the indoor, or lug all the stuff out to where he is to tack up, or ride one of the others--none of which is a big deal, but neither are any of the options as simple as when he was in a pen connected to the indoor.

[Moutaineer]

Even here in the high desert west, it has been an unusually cold, rainy, windy and grey spring--after an unusually cold, snowy, miserable and grey winter.

Very much over it!

We've just had 3 nice enough days, but we are promised snow on Friday. WTF?

[musical comedy]

We've just had 3 nice enough days, but we are promised snow on Friday. WTF?

For me, snow is better than rain so long as it isn't 1 foot of it. I suppose Ice is the worst. But rain is really miserable for me because I can't do anything outside and I have lots to do.

[Josette]

Well being forced to stay indoors motivated me to clean house and clear closets. Weather report says more rain this afternoon but I think that may be the end of it. I just hope the temperatures get warm gradually as I'm not good with sudden heat waves.

[PaulaO]

We had 7 days of rain and the horses didn’t go out. The pastures were underwater for a week. It was h3ll. I feel your rain pain.

[musical comedy]

And it continues and continues. Almost every day there is some rain and when there isn't, it's cloudy. It seems so silly to post and bitch about it, but somehow it releases a bit of the anger I'm feeling about it at the moment. It's a pain in the ass to be pushing a wheelbarrow full of manure while you are getting soaked. Plus the wimpy horses do not want to go out in the rain. And the gnats! They were absent for a few years here, but the moisture seems to have brought them back. I think I need to spend a couple months in those very hot or cold states to make me appreciate what I have here.

[Moutaineer]

Wet and rather cold here, too, so I sympathize. We have a horse show this coming weekend, it's going to be in the 50s and rainy. Ugh. None of us are set up to deal with this out here in the desert.

I guess at least we aren't in flames.

[kande50]

And here we are in New England getting (IMO) the best weather we've had in years. Course I can never tell if that's just my perception because I'm so happy it's not hot, or it really has been a great spring and summer so far?

That, and I just got a new round baler for my birthday and I'm looking forward to playing with it. I just hope we haven't missed all the good haying weather waiting for it to get here!

[Bip]

It has been nice temperature-wise, I agree. But I’m getting very tired of everything being wet! Hard to take the kids to the park or even in the backyard. And now more today and tomorrow.

[Josette]

This past week of daily heavy down pouring rain is really getting to me. A few days of daily thunder storms - but the rain volume is too much. I spoke last week to the local feed/farmer where I purchase my hay and she said they have been unable to get even a first cutting at her local farm. Also, her supplier who brings hay from upstate NY and Canada has been unable to deliver any out of state hay. My property is like walking on a soaking wet sponge and the 85-90+ % humidity requires gills for breathing - miserable! Did I mention the bugs - gnats, mosquitoes and ticks?!

[musical comedy]

This past week of daily heavy down pouring rain is really getting to me. A few days of daily thunder storms - but the rain volume is too much. I spoke last week to the local feed/farmer where I purchase my hay and she said they have been unable to get even a first cutting at her local farm. Also, her supplier who brings hay from upstate NY and Canada has been unable to deliver any out of state hay. My property is like walking on a soaking wet sponge and the 85-90+ % humidity requires gills for breathing - miserable! Did I mention the bugs - gnats, mosquitoes and ticks?!

The hay situation really worries me too. It's much worse for the bigger boarding barns where they have many horses to feed. Even with an indoor, the humdity is sweltering. If that isn't bad enough, I had excavators in here Monday and Tuesday to fix up my footing. They made huge ruts all over my fields coming in with heavy trucks. Then they got stuck and made things worse. The driveway got chewed up as well, and that was just done within the last year. And yes, walking on the grass squishes. It's just so awful. I wouldn't care if I didn't have horses and farm. Believe me, I'm not just saying this when I say I want out. It just not that easy to do....selling the farm.

[Josette]

We tend to have decent drainage here with so much sand in the soil. However not now. There are huge puddles of standing water everywhere including my ring. That will require some work as the heavy rains have shifted and moved loads of perma-flex rubber footings. It will require manual shoveling with wheel barrow to repair and then lots of dragging to level. More Work work work......

[kande50]

Believe me, I'm not just saying this when I say I want out. It just not that easy to do....selling the farm.

That's the big problem. The horses can always be boarded, but finding a buyer sometimes takes a long time, and in the meantime the farm has to be maintained in a saleable condition. Unless it can be cut up into building lots, and then around here at least, there always seems to be someone willing to buy it to do that.

[musical comedy]

And now, as I really expected, NO RAIN. None for well over a month. Lawn and fields are turning yellow. No rain in the foreseeable forecst either. <sigh> This is the standard for my area. I can pretty much guarantee it that once the rain starts (and it will), then it will be days and days of it and gloom. I'm in deep trouble for hay. I guess the old guy will have to live on all senior and maybe a complete feed for the mare too. At least I only have two horses to feed and fortunately enough money to do it. These fancy boarding barns are in worse shape than I am because they go through lots of hay each month. If I find good stuff, I can buy enough for a year. Usually in the cool fall, my guys spent most time in the fields eating, but not there is little to eat out there.

[Chisamba]

I thought it was supposed to rain today thru Saturday? Is it skipping you?

[musical comedy]

I thought it was supposed to rain today thru Saturday? Is it skipping you?

It's funny about rain. It has to start and stop somewhere. Often it will be dry here, and as I drive into Flemington, it will be pouring.

[Chisamba]

I thought it was supposed to rain today thru Saturday? Is it skipping you?

It's funny about rain. It has to start and stop somewhere. Often it will be dry here, and as I drive into Flemington, it will be pouring.

True, I was driving between Sussex and Lafayette and could see a distinct line on the road where the rain stopped.

[musical comedy]

<sigh> I'm a bleeding heart for the wildlife. They are thirsty big time. I saw a squirrel looking in my empty dish outside. I put water in it and he came over and took a really long drink. Please let it rain tomorrow for the sake of the animals.

[musical comedy]

Still no rain since beginning of August and non forecasted through the end of this month. This is a serious situation imo. This time I got lucky and am getting a load of hay from a NY dealer that I have previously purchased from. I had to pay $15/bale (50 pounds) for this stuff. It's local 2nd cut orchard. Big barns are going to be hard pressed to find hay. No matter how much money one has if none is available.

[Flight]

I just had to buy a roundbale of hay. They used to cost $80. I just paid $350. I'm getting my old horse back because my sister's place is 200 acres of just dirt. It goes for kms. The drought here is bad.

[kande50]

Still no rain since beginning of August and non forecasted through the end of this month. This is a serious situation imo. This time I got lucky and am getting a load of hay from a NY dealer that I have previously purchased from. I had to pay $15/bale (50 pounds) for this stuff. It's local 2nd cut orchard. Big barns are going to be hard pressed to find hay. No matter how much money one has if none is available.

Moving hay is expensive, but we had very good haying weather here in western MA this year, so there will likely be hay available without having to move it too far.