so glad we're renting

western north carolina got a major rain/snow storm this weekend that dumped inches of rain in one day.

the living room ceiling sprouted lovely new water damage.

i feel badly for the people who own this house. they had to replace the entire HVAC last year for us (because it was spewing carbon monoxide and wouldn't heat above 60 degrees), and now it looks like they'll need to replace the roof.

there are 8 huge old dead hemlocks in the back yard that need to be removed too. the wooly adelgid killed them sometime in the past 5 years. if they take these dead trees and their roots out, and don't plant something major in their place, however, the yard will be barren and i believe this house will slide down the hill in the next decade.

home ownership is not cheap. especially ownership of 100 year old homes built into the side of hills.

downed branch on line

downed branch on line, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

somebody should call somebody

creek (april 2009)

creek, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

after the rain of the last couple months, asheville has pulled itself out of its 2 year drought. they're warning the summer will be hot and very dry but i'm hoping they don't know what they're talking about.

either way, it's refreshing to see everything green and flowing.

dried up creek (august 2008)

dried up creek, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

wise holden

wise holden, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

we have gotten so much rain in the last two days, but the skies cleared for a while this afternoon
holden hopes it keeps raining because we're still a foot low

practicing confrontation

downtown asheville, walking past the jerusalem garden restaurant this morning, a man who looked to be the owner or manager was hosing down the sidewalk. spraying water on and in between all the cement blocks to wash cigarette butts into the street or in front of his neighboring businesses on either side.

he paused as i needed to walk on the sidewalk he was spraying

me: you know we're in a terrible drought?

him: (yelling) people should not be allowed to smoke on the street!

me: don't you have a broom? this is so irresponsible and greedy.

him: (glare)

rain!

la la la la la la lala la la laaaa. la la lala la la la lala la laaaa. (smurfs song)

drought

everybody turns their head up
when stepping outside
to see if the dark sky
might get darker
and wash us all with rain
and soak us all with rain
or if again today
these stone gray puffed castles
will glide march overhead
with slightest far off rumbles
refusing still to cry

rainy leaf heart

rainy green heart, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

alleluia! more rain last night!

how dry i am

extremely fucking dry. the Salisbury Post has the stats:

U.S. Geological Survey

Streamflow in the French Broad River at Asheville has reached the lowest level since 1895, when the U.S. Geological Survey first began making measurements at the site. On Sunday, the streamflow was about 121 million gallons per day (Mgd), or 188 cubic feet per second.

Previously, the lowest flow at the site occurred in 2002 when the flow was 139 Mgd.

Before 2002, streamflow in the French Broad River at Asheville had not been below 155 Mgd since 1925.

Last year, when much of North Carolina was in exceptional drought, the lowest flow in the French Broad was 199 Mgd.

Most of southwest North Carolina (18 counties) remains in an exceptional drought and virtually all of western North Carolina is in extreme (15 counties) or severe (8 counties) drought as the state moves into the driest time of the year. (See http://www.ncdrought.org for the latest North Carolina drought conditions.)

Monthly average streamflows were at all-time record lows for the months of June and July at more than half of the USGS long-term streamflow gages in western North Carolina. For example, in the French Broad River at Asheville, the July 2008 flow was 20 percent lower than the previous lowest July average flow in 1986.

Minimum record streamflows also are being recorded in the Yadkin, Catawba and Broad River basins of North Carolina. With a few exceptions, streamflows throughout much of the rest of the state remain at about half, or less, of normal conditions for this time of year

Ground-water levels in western North Carolina are about 2 to 5 feet below normal for this time of year, although no record minimum levels have been recorded. The number of ground-water monitoring wells across the state is relatively small, and records only extend back about 30 years at a few sites.

A monthly summary of conditions at unregulated streamflow sites and ground-water monitoring sites is available at http://nc.water.usgs.gov/monthly/index.html and all North Carolina USGS streamflow and ground-water data are available at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/nwis.

i may be overreacting, but things are dry as hell around here. i took nacho for a hike yesterday on some trails about 20 minutes away and the water he jumped in that used to be a creek and swimming holes was basically standing water and he smelled like ass.

thanks ashevegas for calling my attention to this article.

it rained!

it just rained! for at least 2 whole minutes. for the first time in at least a couple weeks. but rain fell. ahhhh.

the difference

field, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

here's what happens to grass in a drought, exactly one year later

not too drastic but there's less green

parched

the southeast is in a drought.

where i am it is higher than extreme - it is exceptional.

i moved here from southern california because i missed rain. i felt guilty every time i turned on the faucet knowing that they dammed the colorado river to get water to san diego, a desert, and that's not right.

the past couple weeks ive really started to notice all the lawns in asheville are brown like hay.

it's depressing.

there's nothing i can do about it but move.

i don't have to live here - my job is on the internet and i can live anywhere with electricity.

i love it here and i love all the people i've met.

i feel guilty about sucking water out of an overtaxed system.

i absolutely would not have moved here had i known about this drought.

i'm thinking of vermont. i'm thinking of colorado. i'm thinking of oregon.

is that crazy?

i hate feeling guilty, and every time i use water that's just how i feel.

the rivers are way down, the lakes are way down, trees and bushes are dying of thirst, this is no good.

reservoir

reservoir, originally uploaded by skippy haha.

asheville's water source, the north fork reservoir, from around craggy gardens on the blue ridge parkway. water levels are up from last year's drought and the yellow-green of spring is starting to spread up through the wintry brown trees.

omnibus & nacho & i went for a walk up there last night, we walked on the trail from the craggy gardens picnic area to the visitors area, then walked down the parkway which was closed to cars, back to the picnic area. we went through a tunnel and saw santa claus riding a bike and the rocks along the side dripping out melting water. we also saw a turkey flying into a tree which could be confused for a bald eagle or a buzzard.

AMJAM photos

festival!


pounding rain, trees down, lightning on the way to deerfields








michael franti sun salutation behind the stage


he is the man


the bridge was funktastic


pony grazing in the parking lot


tijuana city of tomorrow




avett brothers jumping around breaking banjo strings

AMJAM = LOVE IT!