My part of state is desperate for rain too. Ranchers are selling off their herds and the roads are even developing cracks and splits. Maybe this will be our salvation.
We've all been praying for rain...
VERY little hay this year (three bails out of 10 acres), the pastures are all dead. The trees in our ravines are dying - some of them large cedar elms. You know it's bad when the milkweed dies...
I have a bucket calf, and the only place where I can stake her out is in the orchard, where I've been watering my trees by hand. We're bringing our horse and our neighbor's horse in from our neighbor's pasture to ours. We'll let them eat what's left of our hay pasture, but there's so little there it's more an act of letting the other pasture rest so it won't be trampled to dust.
I'm amazed we still have water in our central pond - I think we may have a spring or a seep down there.
It's been so hard on our neighbors, most of whom are beef ranchers. The prayers for rain have truly been heart-rending.
And here comes El Nino! Thank you GOD!!