NEWS FLASH: Drought ends at Ponderosa

Had an inch Saturday night/ Sunday morning, then 0.90" late last night and into the wee hours this morning.
That makes 30.05" YTD
I ran into an old friend yesterday that I hadn't seen in a couple years, so it was catch up time. He is up to 36" this year, granted he is in an area usually a little wetter, but still only 40 minutes away(when the roads are dry). He was wondering if we were headed into an extremely wet winter, like the winter of '58-'59. I remember that one well. The Thanksgiving Day '92 blizzard was the start of a wet, snowy and sloppy winter and a record snowfall of 61.3"(July '92-June '93). Also talking about the milo harvests in '68 and '73(recalling those dates to the best of our ability), when cutting was only possible when the ground was hard frozen, sometimes with the milo heads only a little above the snow on the ground. He said the water holes he cut around during this year's wheat harvest are much larger today. Again, the milo fields are the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Well, 46 days until the Kansas opener, for those of you counting. What will the weather conditions be headed into the opener? Will you need a tow truck on your speed dial to pull you out or will it dry out, only time will tell.
 
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From the Cedar Bluff Facebook page:

Cedar Bluff State Park received approximately 2.93” of rain last night!!
Pa’s Pond located at the Cedar Bluff Area Office actually flowed over its spillway for the first time since the expansion of the pond was completed in 2020.
We have been getting a lot of calls and emails asking about the lake level.
Page Creek is flowing again which is a very welcome sight to see!
As of this post, the Smoky Hill River is flowing at 10.5 cfs at the Arnold gauging station and flowing at 11.6 cfs at the Elkader gauging station.
The current lake level is 2121.14’.
Conservation Pool is 2144’.
This means the lake is currently 22.86’ down from what we would consider “full.”
The website below will link you to the current reservoir levels for Cedar Bluff Reservoir.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=06861500&legacy=1
Enjoy the attached pictures and feel free to share your own pictures of the recent rains! Keep it coming and let’s fill Cedar Bluff!!!
 
Monday night the Ponderosa just had some lightning and thunder and a sprinkle. I have heard reports that Edwards County around Kinsley had standing water and also Ford County around Spearville the same. Generally this time of the year it is really slow drying up. I continue to expect wet fields for the Kansas opener. A little corn being picked, both dryland and irrigated, A farmer friend has been picking corn the past two weeks. He said their combines can handle a fair amount of wet ground, but a 60,000 pound grain cart is another issue altogether. I have only seen three milo fields harvested and many milo fields with water holes.
 
Picked up a half inch last night. 31.35" YTD
This last dry spell allowed the fields to dry some and corn harvest has been proceeding full bore. Wheat is planted. Last hay cutting put up with no rain on it. A little milo is ready to harvest. Bucks getting active. A few pheasants around ( a disappointing number in my opinion for the prime conditions). Decent quail number. Unreal cottontail numbers. CRP is tall, not tall enough to hide a rider on horseback, but now a midget on a shetland pony would be a different story. Keep a good eye on those bird dogs and youth hunters that could be hidden in this jungle. Cover is awesome. Overall, all is good. Praise the Lord!
 
M. R. Byrd said:
Picked up a half inch last night. 31.35" YTD
This last dry spell allowed the fields to dry some and corn harvest has been proceeding full bore. Wheat is planted. Last hay cutting put up with no rain on it. A little milo is ready to harvest. Bucks getting active. A few pheasants around ( a disappointing number in my opinion for the prime conditions). Decent quail number. Unreal cottontail numbers. CRP is tall, not tall enough to hide a rider on horseback, but now a midget on a shetland pony would be a different story. Keep a good eye on those bird dogs and youth hunters that could be hidden in this jungle. Cover is awesome. Overall, all is good. Praise the Lord!
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I’m so happy to hear Kansas got some good rain this year. With regards to the low numbers, I think that next year will show the benefits from this year. not much cover available for nesting this spring, at least that I saw. But no emergency haying and grazing means that there will be ample early nesting cover coming into next spring. I’m really hopeful!
 
After I dumped the rain gauge this morning, it started raining again, just a slow steady gentle rain, pretty much all day. Picked up another 0.55" bringing YTD 31.90"
Was a good day to spend in the shop and house and watch a little football.
 
M. R. Byrd said:
After I dumped the rain gauge this morning, it started raining again, just a slow steady gentle rain, pretty much all day. Picked up another 0.55" bringing YTD 31.90"
Was a good day to spend in the shop and house and watch a little football.
Click to expand...
I was in northern Oklahoma last 2 days and man it’s wet. Slow moving storm just came in waves, wheat should shoot out of the ground, no birds spotted but not a surprise due to conditions
 
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