Photo taken: July 23, 2012
As far as extreme seasons I’ve experienced in my lifetime, it will be very hard for anything to touch the unbelievably arid Summer of 2012. Summers are generally hot and muggy here, but thanks to June, July and August being almost completely rain-free… we instead got to experience an Arizona type summer where the high temperatures reached triple digits (F) almost every day, but the air was so dry that it was more like being in an oven than a sauna. One thing I loved about that season… I only had to cut my grass once during the entire summer. And above you see why… here’s what my backyard looked like in late July after a month and a half worth of baking. You could tell which inconsiderate assholes were wasting water on their lawns that year… and as you can see, I wasn’t one of them.
Lawns go through a lot of changes with the seasons then toss in unpredictable dry spells or endless rain and it’s amazing they can eventually “get it together” !! Ours is in shock – erosion mostly then toss in weird summer and – well – we live in HOPE!
Pam
I’m pretty sure my “lawn” is about 90% weeds and 10% kinda-sorta grass. The sun side of my backyard grows like wildfire, and I really wish it would turn brown regardless of how much rain we have! Have I mentioned how much I hate mowing the grass?
Perhaps you need a “Nest Goat” ?????
I’ve always wanted my own backyard desert. Cool pipe!
I’m not sure my squirrels would like climbing cacti….. ow, ow, ow!
The “pipe” is utterly useless since it’s supposed to divert the rain from my gutters away from the house, but my gutters are so hopelessly clogged that water doesn’t even go through it. It’s mainly a trip hazard and balance beam for the squirrels and cats…
We are automatically on water low consumption from May through August and often longer. Because we all live on wells and we all share the same underground water, so there’s no avoiding it. You simply cannot water your grass or wash your car using your own water.
I’ve always considered watering lawns one of the ultimate suburban vanities. They should really fine the hell out of any homeowner who has a green lawn during drought conditions…
This is pretty much how my lawn looks, front and back. We just had the 2nd warmest, driest meteorological summer on record and we didn’t bother watering our mix of moss and weeds. I wasted enough water trying to keep the stupid hydrangeas happy. Any more summer like this one and those overly dramatic, needy bushes might find themselves chopped up in the yard waste bin!
I didn’t even know you could have a drought up there! I’ll send you all the water you need for your moss and weeds… I’m about ready to burn the backyard “grass” because all of our rain has made it grow like a jungle…