NEWS FLASH: Drought ends at Ponderosa

Frangler said:
Kocia can be a miracle worker when crp isn's available... In fact it may be better than Switchgrass or Indian grass. I agree there's less habitat but there's still good enough numbers out there to make a turn around if our government can make crp competitive again... I'm not holding my breath on that. Flushed over 100 birds two days ago out of two five acres of kocia. two counties south two days prior moved 100 birds out of a kocia draw and three year old crp. All WIHA.....
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Easy to do when the weather is like this. Every bird in a 10 mile radius will group up in the best cover. We used to have a 100 birds in every section.
 
M. R. Byrd said:
Been quite a yo-yo year at the Ponderosa. 7 and a half months with no rain or snow, then nice spring moisture rebound and moderate temps, now brutal heat and dry and no rain in sight. The early rains created a jungle in my waste areas with weeds as tall as my tractor cab. My pastures remained green much longer than usual, but now are fragile under foot. No idea what the wildlife is doing. The quail that had been calling around the farmstead are absent. My wife did see one nice turkey hatch, but that is it. There are two hen turkey hanging around the farmstead so they aren't raising any young this year. With all the cover it is hard to evaluate what is happening with the critters.

There is quite a mix of crop conditions here in this area. Milo and dryland corn that went in timely and of a shorter maturity are looking really good, but starting to stress now. I did make a trip across to eastern Kansas along Highway 50. Crops in Reno, Harvey, Lyon were looking poor. Some corn fields had already been harvested or cut for silage. Lots of combines in the fields harvesting corn. Bean fields were suffering. Didn't have a chance to talk to any farmers as to yields on the corn.

I sure cannot get a handle what hunting will be like this fall, but I have yet to see anything to offer any encouragement, but as an optimist, I am hopeful.
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Any sort of update at the fabulous Ponderosa this spring?
 
Very dry. Had a couple inches of snow on the level on February 10th. Had a few mini blizzards with just a little snow and gale force winds over the past few months. A lot of red flag days. Forecast looks to be dry for next ten days, with a 60% chance on saturday, the 27th.
Thanks for checking. Hope you are well.
 
M. R. Byrd said:
Very dry. Had a couple inches of snow on the level on February 10th. Had a few mini blizzards with just a little snow and gale force winds over the past few months. A lot of red flag days. Forecast looks to be dry for next ten days, with a 60% chance on saturday, the 27th.
Thanks for checking. Hope you are well.
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Thanks Marshal for the fine report out of the Ponderosa. Hope to visit you and the First Lady of the Ponderosa this coming season. Stay well.
 
ole_270 said:
Here on the other side of the state the drought is definetely over. I had 4" Thursday night and 4.8" last night with multiple tornadoes scattered around the area. Lots of water everywhere you look.
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good deal. I had heard LV County was 8" below normal in the NE corner of the state and SE corner was in drought also.
 
ole_270 said:
Here on the other side of the state the drought is definetely over. I had 4" Thursday night and 4.8" last night with multiple tornadoes scattered around the area. Lots of water everywhere you look.
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Wish it was over in my part of southeast Kansas. It most certainly isn’t, though.
 
We're still dry here in southcentral. Had over an inch in January, .08 in February, .24 in March, and now .57 in April. We're way behind, but hoping to get back into a normal or near-normal cycle. I've held off on all but 1 of my burns so far. We've had 2 wildfires at the campground. Need a change and soon.
 
I had 7 1/4 inches for the weekend at my house in Wilson County. Some reports north of my place in Allen and Woodson County had 11-12 inches. My pond has been 4-5 foot low for 2 years, not anymore, its full and running around the overflow.
 
Only an inch and a half out of the whole thing here in Caney. Drought persists. Ponds still critically low. Praying we get a good soaker soon. It’s been years since we have, at this point.
 
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