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cocoabeachlorax

Only a fellow gardener could understand.

cocoabeachlorax
10 years ago

We are in Cocoa Beach.

We've had less than an inch of rain since May 11.

It's been cats and dogs everywhere else, even just north of us by SR 520 and A1A has gotten plenty of rain, Cape Canaveral, buckets full, Titusville, Melbourne, Satellite Beach.

There's some weird vortex here.

I even filled my pool up today figuring that might do the trick.

Nada. And nothing in the forecast.

Good for beach goers, bad for us. I've got some non irrigation zone fish tails I'm trying to establish and it's just very irritating to see all the rain all around and none here.

And if any of you watch Tony Mainolfi on WESH2, he completely ignores Cocoa Beach, calls us Cocoa half the time, and gloats about all the glorious rain and when will the rain finally end, blah blah blah, meanwhile we're bone dry (for the most part).

Sigh, just had to vent. Off to water the fishtails and beat off the squitos.

Comments (53)

  • amberroses
    10 years ago

    Same here in Largo.

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    We had that last year. We live just east of Lady Lake and I would watch radar every time a storm rolled in and it always seemed the storms either dried up over The Villages or somehow split and went around us. I checked topographical maps to see if were were on some kind of elevation that would cause the splits, but nothing unusual showed. The result was LOTS of humidity of us, but very little actual rain.

  • hester_2009
    10 years ago

    So..every spring I go through this...waiting for rain. My gardening friend up north calls and says "oh, I see you finally got rain". "No, I say, all around me but not a drop here".
    Grrrr. And , every day, I check 3 weather sites and hope that one will say 70% chance of rain, since anything less than that means no chance...not gonna happen anytime soon

    I hand water with city water - 2 hours every day to cover one side and by the time I get around the house, it's time to start again. I dread the bill.

    But then again, it's cool and dry this morning so the plants are not yet stressed, so sitting outside is a pleasure.

    And the rains will come like clockwork the second week in June. Can we all survive until then??!!

    Hester

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I'm sorry to hear you're all in the same boat, but I do thank you for letting me know I'm not the only one hand wringing about the dry skies right about now. Looks to be a dry week ahead. I can't really say if it will begin to change on Friday as "Tony the Tiger" says because he's likely referring to the Orlando metro area rather than us.

    SusieQ there is something about our area, wet weather from inland has to cross the Indian and Banana rivers to get to us, coastal collision storms seem to need to form just west of us, over the rivers, and here we are, stuck in the middle.

    It was a wet Spring, so hopefully that will sustain my babies until more rain arrives.

  • carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
    10 years ago

    Count me in as well out here near Treasure Island - crispy, crispy, crispy...

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    Boy, I do feel your pain. Last year, northeast Florida was classified as 'Exceptional Drought'. That's the worst level there is, even worse than 'Extreme Drought'. I've always said that my house is in a Rain Donut (see photo below). Maybe you have a Rain Donut, too. :(

    If anyone wants to look up the drought conditions for their area, I've linked the US. Drought Monitor below.

    Carol in Jacksonville

    Here is a link that might be useful: U.S. Drought Monitor

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Rain donut just makes me hungry for Krispy Kreme ;)

    Rain vortex sounds so much more ominous and threatening (tee hee)

    I'm sorry to hear you're dry too.

  • Chaoticdreams
    10 years ago

    Yep, same here in Port St. Joe, 30 miles south of Panama City. It seems to rain all around us but here. I was really hoping some some of that that drenched OK would head this way, but nope, every drop went north. Come to think of it, we haven't had normal Florida summers or springs in a long long time. Starting about now, we used to be guaranteed an afternoon shower every day through September. I go outside and it's all blue sky and hot, barely a wisp of a cloud. Blah.

    Although it's been a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend. The Gulf is absolutely breathtaking and emerald green :)

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    We are fortunate enough to not be dry any more - I have been lucky enough to be in the donut rather than the hole this year. But I sure can remember what it was like to hear thunder all around and not get a drop. :(

    Carol

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    I actually had the wierdest thing happen to me this past week, radar-wise. It started raining on Tuesday, so I hung up the straw hat (straw hats and rain don't mix) and walked inside to check radar. There was a single cell of rain over our neighborhood. The only other cell of rain for Central Florida was SE off the coast of Titusville. As the rain kept building and getting heavier, I kept checking radar (What in the world did we do before weather agencies started posting their radar sweeps on the internet??) and the cell kept getting bigger and stronger, but it wasn't moving. It finally got big enough to cover most of Lady Lake and a little bit of the eastern side of The Villages, but then it started thinning out and finally dissipated. And all the while, it never moved. It was like the above doughnut and doughnut hole, but reversed. It was a weird rain-related event for me, but at the end, I wasn't complaining. My yard got watered and my rain barrel got topped off. The downside is that the forecast of 40% rain for Thursday had changed to 0%. So the rest of the week has been dry. Not that my tomatoes care. They get rainwater every morning for an hour thanks to that little storm.

    Which reminds me, I still need to get another barrel or two...

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    We're on the top of a hill, one of the highest points in our county. I can often watch a band of rain come, and split right around us, only to join back together after it passes. So, I guess I'm in the hole of a rain donut, too.

    We did get some rain about 3 weeks ago, which was great - except it poured for a couple of days and nothing since. Since we are on a hill, water drains fast, so our grass is thirsty, plants are thirsty, and everything is demanding water.

    It is frustrating, but I have realized that for the past four years, from late May through June, I complain and whine about how dry it is. I think maybe I am beginning to notice a pattern that I hadn't realized until I started gardening. (I'm a very quick learner ;) )

  • KaraLynn
    10 years ago

    Well, according to the drought map the all of Citrus county falls under severe drought. Lovely...

  • KaraLynn
    10 years ago

    Well, according to the drought map the all of Citrus county falls under severe drought. Lovely...

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    Yeah, it's interesting how the term drought changes once you read up on things. You can talk to people during the summer months and mention that we're still in a drought and most will say, "How can we be in a drought with all the rain we've been getting?" But the engineers and scientists working behind water management aren't just looking at the rainfall we get, they're looking at lakes, rivers and underground aquifers. As long as they're low, we'll be in drought conditions and that's the part that a lot of people just don't get.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    I don't want to jinx anything, but there is some stuff coming out of a gray sky at my house!

    Unfortunately, I'm looking at the radar, and there was a line that got just left of the little arrow that is "me" and stopped. Then it came from south, and shows just to the right of the little arrow me. Then on both sides. Hopefully it will decide to stay on top of the little arrow me, at least for a while!

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    Maybe I did speak too soon and jinx myself.

    But maybe if I go out and start a project, we'll get another band.

    This post was edited by aharriedmom on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 14:28

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    fill your pool up ! ;)

    We did get some rain last night; I'm so grateful.

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    We watch Channel 4 news. We live in SE Georgia. They only report the temps in the county seats of Ga. There is a big empty spot where we live. We get neglected most of the time. We can judge our temps by the local town. So many times it looks like we will get rain and we don't. We should have gotten an inch of rain today and it only sprinkled.

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    10 years ago

    The rain donut has returned. :(

    Carol

  • ckjudd
    10 years ago

    I hve been in a type of hole for the last few days. Gets very over cast, then can hear the thunder, waiting,waiting,......nada.....guess the hose will come out again this afternoon.....:(

    Cindy

  • ckjudd
    10 years ago

    After posting the previous comment...noticed my Weather Channel icon flashing.....my area is part of a flood watch until fri. with the poosibility of 4-7 inches.........Praying I get just some of this glorious fluid from heaven!

    The neighbor was out watering her beds about an hr ago....

    Cindy

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    There is rain all around us. A few hours ago, there was a big downpour close enough to see the rain.

    Now there is one west of us, and one to the northeast and east.

    I just watered ALMOST everything. I didn't trek down to the woods to water the plants around my husband's "hideout", but I think I might drive down there - better yet, I should walk.

    What better way to make it rain than to have spent the last 45 minutes watering everything, or be walking fairly far from the house?

  • hester_2009
    10 years ago

    At last! Big rain right over my house for about an hour - it didn't move much so folks nearby lost out. But I needed it badly so I am finally not so cranky (although my cat is - he is scared of rain)
    And yes, I spent yesterday watering for a couple of hours.....
    Take heart, all, it will come!
    Hester

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    When I saw some dark clouds heading my way, I went outside and started lightly fertilizing my plants. The theory was that if I use fertilizer, the rain would come and undo that fertilizing by washing it away from the plants. The kicker was that I didn't want to fertilize too much because I didn't want the stuff to wash down the hill (though that's not likely to happen with our extreme draining sandy soil), so I had to fertilize just enough to tempt fate, but not so much as to be a complete waste. And it worked. The rain started coming down as I was typing this out. Yipee!

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    My genius plan backfired. Yeah, we got rain. We got deluged by rain. It was coming off my roof so fast that the gutters couldn't keep up and it was spilling over the edges (my gutters and downspouts are clean). It also managed to come down at just the right angle and intensity to nail the 9 Beautyberry sprouts I had just put out yesterday in a 'safe' spot to start hardening them off for the Inverness party. All plants were still in their pots, but the rain knocked out most of the soil from each one. I've already added more soil back to the half-empty pots and I will have to wait and see if there was any permanent damage done.

  • ckjudd
    10 years ago

    I actually got some of that liquid from heaven....yea!
    As long as it stays cloudy it might keep me from having to water tomorrow....Love the sun , but it drys everything out to quick, but such is life in 'The Sunshine State'!

    Cindy

  • Chaoticdreams
    10 years ago

    Keeping an eye on the Gulf here. I'd take a good tropical storm to get the rain at any rate. If only it would just be rain though :(

    I think I live in the wrong part of the state for that seeing as us up here haven't had a tropical anything in a long time aside from grazes. Nope, not complaining, but man, the rain would be appreciative. Looks like the stuff out there now is heading our way a little bit......

    50% chance according the NHC to become a storm as of now. I really hope it's just a lot of rain.

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    All clouds and no rain since Sunday, sigh. Lots of rain all around, but none for us.

    I'm wondering if we'll even get anything from this "disturbance"...

    I'll keep you posted.

  • thetradition
    10 years ago

    Okay, I've had quite enough rain, thank you. My tomatoes are splitting : (

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    Ah, Leekleman & TheTradition, that stinks. Hopefully no damage was permanent, Leekleman.

    ~

    We got about 1/2-3/4 of an inch yesterday, an unknown amount this morning, and it's raining again now. Thank goodness, my grass needed it desperately - the areas around some of my pots were green & growing too tall - everything else was crispy.

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    ... still dry as a bone except for some wispy droplets earlier.

  • amberroses
    10 years ago

    We had three days of clouds and some misty sprinkles. Allegedly Tropical Storm Andrea will bring a 90% chance of rain.

  • botaniphile
    10 years ago

    It's been raining here south of tampa for a couple weeks now :(. I wish it would head your way and leave me alone! I have work to do!

  • Chaoticdreams
    10 years ago

    Thank you Andrea for the much needed rain. That will be all though!

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    My kids' last day of school was yesterday. I did want rain, but it would have been more convenient for it to have been during the past three days, or only at night...

    :) I am never satisfied.

    (I also had wanted to mow today, the grass has taken off since the rain came back on Tuesday.)

  • amberroses
    10 years ago

    We're getting plenty of rain now :)

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    This isn't about rain, but it is something only a fellow gardener can understand.

    There is an estate sale around the 'way' today, it starts at 12. I will be there, hoping there are gardening-related items!!

    I'm going to take my car, not mini-van. Sort of like the rain, if I don't have room for stuff, I'll be more likely to find it. I'll just have to stake a claim and come home to switch vehicles.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    ......and nothing. There was a wheelbarrow for $10, but someone already bought it. He must have been early because I was there at 12pm, and said I wanted it at about 12:05.

    ~

    Oh well. Coming back in the house, walking on the squishy ground made me debate putting on wet-weather gear and working on the digging of the new bed. Because I feel the need to transplant the grass to bare areas of the yard, making new beds is a big project. Wet, easy to dig ground, and the lack of sun are very appealing right now. I would get soaked, though. Shoes are a problem, as I discovered a day or two ago that my garden clogs have developed cracks in the soles - I had wondered why my socks were getting wet when I didn't think I'd stepped in a puddle.

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I say go for it, it's going to be so hot for so many weeks and months ahead, take advantage, and just go with the wet feet.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    The wet feet I could handle. However, the "dripline" of my raincoat ensured that the jeans just above my knees got extra wet, and then the wet traveled up the material and soon my jeans were soaked.

    The digging was great, but I only lasted about 20 minutes before I was a little too wet, and, ironically, too chilly.

    I shall get try again early tomorrow.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    The rain slowed down, so I went out and dug up about a 4ft sq area of sparse grass that was impossible to mow. I transplanted all the grass to more deserving areas, moved the brick border out, leveled it, and put down mulch. No more hated, unmowable spot!

    About 10 minutes before I was done with that area, and was then was going to move out to my bed-in-progress and dig up more grass, the rain started harder. I finished the one spot, dripped my way inside.

    I now only have one more pair of gardening jeans that isn't soaked and filthy, so only one more chance this evening, lol.

  • Michael AKA Leekle2ManE
    10 years ago

    I still don't fully understand this concept of having certain clothes for gardening.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    Ha, because I am so messy at it! I have "going out and looking like a human" clothes, I have "riding" [horse] clothes, and I have "riding at home and/or gardening" clothes. There is generally a hierarchy, and as the clothes age, they progress down the line.

    I have never been a person who can do messy things without getting messy, so it's helpful to my "human" clothes to keep them separate from my messy activities.

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ah ! Horse riding, you are so lucky. I would so love to be able to keep and care for a horse, but it's not in our cards right now.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    I've always loved horses, and when I was a kid, I basically lived at a local trail riding stable (being will free labor). I got a job that let me afford to buy my first one when I was 20. I had her for 17 years, until she died in 2008. I got my second about a year later, in '92. I currently have four (a retired oldie; a sweet, yet not-quite-right 16yo, who I have had since he was born, but decided was safer as not a riding horse; a 5yo mare who is my current riding horse, I got her when she was just over 1yo; and a pony). I likely wouldn't be able to have any if I had to pay to board them, but there's plenty of room here for them.

    Between my kids and being in school myself, I don't get to ride nearly as often as I used to, or would like - but once all my "time sensitive" gardening is done, I plan to ride more this summer.

  • cocoabeachlorax
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Aw, give them all a good snuggle for me. I dream about adopting an "oldie", a sweet, gentle, calm old horse who would be just as happy to walk beside me as maybe let me sit on for slow ambles around a meadow. I have no desire to ride fast or jump, just to sit and be still with a sweet old horse. Never say never... there's lots of land still out there and I just may own some one day.

    I think that if I had the go ahead from my husband, once the kids are at school, I'd work extra hours enough to purchase a few acres and put a stable and attached "hurricane bug out shelter" up. Get my horse, and have a place to retreat to should the need arise during a storm (we live beachside).

    Of course, I'd have to have at least 2 horses because they need company at night and when I'm not there during the day. Then they'd need some entertainment, so maybe a few pigs. And before you know it, the little bug out shelter would have to be expanded to accommodate spending more time there.

    So I guess what I'm really saying is I want it all ! ;)

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    Haha, I totally understand.

    You have the beach, though. I grew up in S. Florida, near the ocean. I took it for granted, and now I'm about 1.5 hours from the Gulf, which just isn't the same as the Atlantic beaches - plus I've only been there twice. I didn't have any idea, when I moved up here in '94, that I would actually miss the water. (I definitely don't miss the crowds, though!)

  • Rhonda
    10 years ago

    It took a tropical storm but we finally got rain. Woo hoo! I'm doing the happy dance :)

  • Chaoticdreams
    10 years ago

    I don't think I could leave my current area. Born and raised here in the panhandle and as a kid I hated it because it's a small town and there is nothing to do aside from beach. Now, it's quiet, peaceful, and we're on some of the most beautiful beaches in the US. I loved living in Tallahassee when I was going to FSU, but I found out that I missed this area a lot. Sadly, there are no jobs as the industry moved out and the county seems to be doing little to attract more aside from tourism. That's great for the retirees and stores, but doesn't exactly bring in decent paying jobs for younger people like me and my husband :(

    I love the Gulf. Once you go to Destin/Fort Walton, or even just St. George Island, and drink in the redneck riviera and emerald coast, it's very beautiful and relaxing. I too took the beach for granted when I was a kid and it wasn't nearly as crowded with tourists as now. Georgia kinda found out about us and invaded I sometimes think LOL

    I for one loved the rain yesterday and so did my roses and veggies. :) Just so very happy it was just rain and nothing else in my neck of Florida.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    We had a beautiful morning, it's starting to storm now. It looks like we'll get worse weather today than we did yesterday.

    I took advantage of the weather this morning and did some much needed yard work... weedeated, figured out why my mower was making a weird noise (piece of nylon strap wound around a blade, probably picked up in one of the more neglected areas that I occasionally mow), and mowed most of the immediate yard. Then the cable that turns the blades on broke, so my mowing was over. :( At least I got all around the house done, what isn't finished is further out.

    I wandered around trying to decide what to do and then worked on a few little projects until I saw lightning.

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