NEWS FLASH: Drought ends at Ponderosa

Had 0.20" in the gauge at headquarters this morning, but only a sprinkle on most the the ranch. That brings headquarters up to 8.10" for the year from rain and snow.
 
We set a new record low for the high today. (If that makes sense) we only got up to 73* here in the ft worth area. It's not supposed to get back up to triple digits for 2 weeks at least. Hope Kansas catches a ton of rain soon. I've been hearing great reports about the quail down here. Hope it holds up!
 
0.15" in the gauge this morning, bringing year's total to 8.25". Very cool day today and late afternoon showers around.

I have yet to see a hatch in the ditch, except the other day. I was driving through a cut and two birds flushing from the bank ahead of the truck. One bird flew off, the other just up the road a ways, then again up the road a ways. My hired man and I were trying to figure if redtails or great horned owls. I am about to drive out of the road cut and the bird flies out into a plowed field. Now we can see it is a young, but nearly full grown great horned owl. I stop and it does a "lay your head on the ground" move like an ostrich. I had never seen that before and reach for my camera, but it decided to fly away before I got a pic.
 
0.50" bringing year's total moisture to 8.75"

Cooler temps have sure made work outside nicer, especially for the shovel work today.
 
Maynard Glad to hear some moisture has made it your way! Hopefully the clouds will drop some more in the next two days.
 
I am hoping so too.

We were digging out boulders today. Thank God for the backhoe to get some of the overburden out of the way. It would have been pick and shovel(or dynamite) otherwise.

A very different year and I am thankful. I keep hoping to see some hatches of lesser prairie chicken.
 
Yeah Maynard, I sure hate to see them listed as threatened. It might be the right thing to do, but I'd sure like to see us change the tide without it.
 
We saw the closing of the season on lesser's in New Mexico, Colarado too, Texas has it suspended, If it goes into the vault in Kansas, I doubt we will get it back. To difficult to manage, unfortunately, at least with the energy and ag interest. A bird of the world that existed, before us, on a landscape unchanged. I sure hate it. :mad: By the way, when we talk about conservation, this is good issue, If I never hunt them again, I would like to think that sitting in a rocking chair in my old age, I'd like to think they were out there, where a guy could see them, with my last breath, I want to think they were there, anything else diminished our generation.
 
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Glad your seeing some moisture....

Maynard, Troy and Steve......I am so pleased y'all are seeing some moisture this summer! I know you have a way to go until the drought is over.....but at least there is some grass and weed growth and some insects for the little buggers to eat. Rain dance and prayers for continued improvement in God's Country.....aka Kansas!

Troy......any word on spring / summer quail whistle counts?

HB68
 
I haven't heard anything about the whistle counts. The crow call counts were down 37% statewide. We start roadside counts Monday. I am hearing several people talking about quail broods on a regular basis, but pheasants aren't being seen as much in the places the people I've talked to are from. I am a bit amazed just how little time it takes for us to look like we're back in the drought. I still have ponds that haven't filled and the springs and creeks go right back down within days of any rain. The country is begging for more and swallowing up anything that comes.
 
We had those pop up thunderstorms all night last night.
The popped up all AROUND my place, got zip.

Think I am going to wash and wax the truck and leave it parked there, that always brings rain. My buffers around the crop fields have done nothing because of no rain at all after planting.
 
I saw the radar at 10:30 last night and would have bet we would get some, but it never made it here. Oh well, I'll take mine later anyway. The rain this week has broght the millet up in the bison marsh. We checked it Wednesday and some was already 1/2 inch. The wee duckys may well have a banquet set for them.
 
Well a thunderstorm popped up over my place this afternoon. Got at least a 1/2"
Got at a shot at some more tonight.

Maybe my 30' buffers that have milo planted will start to come up now.... if the dang turkeys haven't eaten all the seed.
 
I snuck out to Lamar Colorado yesterday and met my buddy from Pueblo to borrow his Full Tilt male for a breeding. There was one unusual green strip west of Lakin Kansas. Most everything west of Greesburg was otherwise pretty brown compared to points east. However, I did drive in rain the last 60-75 miles. My gauge showed .45 this morning.
 
It remains pretty anemic out west. Much better than the last few years, but still a long ways to go.
 
The vast expanse of oxidized, dead residue that IS the cover for a good part of the country west of Dodge City is apalling! It's gonna take some time. My buddy the bio told me that some of the CRP that was hayed or grazed out west last year had to be chiseled this summer to keep it from blowing! That's horrible!
 
This year is a different year than the last few in that there has been some rain and the temperature is much lower. Seed stock is low and the drought is far from broken. My hired hand and I drive a lot of back roads every day. By now we would have seen a lot of hatches in the ditches, but to date we have yet to see a single chick in the ditch. I have seen two pheasant hatches at the ranch, no quail hatches, but hear them calling and no lesser prairie chicken hatches.

My precip is up to 9.15", but only three events were that beneficial, that being 12" of snow in a storm in February and 2.55" of rain in June and 1.10" over two days in June.

Here is my precip:
1/10 0.75
1/30 0.25 from snow
2/20 1.00 from snow
3/09 0.10
3/23 0.15
4/27 0.80
5/30 0.75
6/05 2.55
6/08 0.45
6/16 0.50
6/17 0.60
7/15 0.20
7/16 0.15
7/17 0.50
7/21 0.15
7/23 0.25

I keep hoping it will be over soon(the drought, that is).
 
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Thanks for the fine update Maynard, it is going to be tough on everything and everyone for awhile I guess. I will probably call a couple contacts in SW Kansas starting next month but don't expect to hear much good news. Even with optimal weather the seed stock is very low right now.
 
Bilbo Baggins said:
Thanks for the fine update Maynard, it is going to be tough on everything and everyone for awhile I guess. I will probably call a couple contacts in SW Kansas starting next month but don't expect to hear much good news. Even with optimal weather the seed stock is very low right now.
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Nothing I can do except ride it out. It will get better.
 
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