Our beautifully green slice of Lone Star Heaven is brown.
Most are probably unaware of the water/heat wave conditions here in Texas. Today in College Station we are experiencing our 23rd consecutive day of 100+ degree temperatures (the 48th such day this summer); and with the 10-day forecast showing more daily triple digit temps, there's simply no end in sight. Everywhere you go, comments such as, "Dear God, please help" are overheard.
We can handle the heat--it goes with the territory. But the lack of water is catastrophic--less than 2.5 inches since October. Lawns are gone. Hundred-year-old Live Oaks are dead. Trees have dropped more leaves than they do in the throes of fall and winter. People are losing lifetimes of work and livelihoods. A friend described the situation perfectly:
It looks like Mars.It's no longer the color of dead brown grass; here in Central Texas, it is a twisted, bizarre, reddish-orange hue that makes you sick to your stomach.It just continues baking under the daily 107 degree sun ... day after day.As you go more towards the western part of our county, desertification is setting in, or so it appears.You have to see it to believe it.
Tropical Storm/Hurricane Irene: The state of Texas would like to meet you.
A few more images from around town:
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This is too sad for me to look at. Every time I look at a weather map, I hope to see some green (or even red or yellow) over Texas.
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