A warning for the Fourth of July

[MadHound]

64. From one old RFD volunteer to another,

I'm sure we could swap stories that are full of dark humor and wonderment at the idiocy of human beings(you decided to burn your garbage a day that was dry with winds running at forty mph?), and perhaps we should sometime. Being a volunteer was a blast, but I wouldn't want to do it at my age now.

I'm one state north of you, in Missouri, and are having the same problems you are, drought that has been going on for a long time, dry crunchy grass, the whole bit. I have to reach back to 1980 to find a summer comparable with this one.

We decided in the winter not to do a garden this year, let the garden go fallow for a year, add some manure and compost to revitalize it. I'm glad we did. I am watering my trees however, the oldest are eight years, the youngest planted last year, and they really can't go without water.

Next year, hopefully(depends on whether I get a classroom teaching job or not), I'm going to be putting in both a well and a cistern system to collect rainwater from the house and outbuildings, along with an irrigation system coming off of that. Going to power it all with a windmill, should be real cool by the time I get done.

I've thought about going with hybrids, but think I'll stick with heirlooms for now.

Stay cool and safe down there, and have a great Fourth.