Dry Creek

While driving by Belle Meade Plantation the other day, I noticed that the creek that runs in front of the mansion is suffering from our drought. Note how dry the creek is.

Yesterday marked the third consecutive day of record-breaking heat in Nashville; the 30th consecutive day where the temperature was over 90 degrees; the 23rd consecutive day where the temperature was over 95 degrees; and the 15th consecutive day where the temperature was over 100 degrees. The monthly average temperature is almost 10 degrees above normal. Coupled with the fact that Nashville has had .05 inch of rain during the month of August, the area is experiencing what the National Weather Service has deemed an "extreme or exceptional drought" situation.

Because of the heat, schools in Nashville were open only half days all last week. Several schools had air conditioning problems, students couldn't go outside for recess, and the heat on the buses was suffocating. Farmers in the area have been selling livestock much earlier than normal because there isn't much grass for the animals to eat or enough water for them to drink. And, because of low water levels in area lakes, rivers and streams, several surrounding communities have put water restrictions on residents.

Last evening, we did have a brief thunderstorm in the area. While it rained hard for about five minutes, it didn't rain enough to help very much. In some areas of Middle Tennessee, the winds were so severe that they did quite a bit of damage. The roof of a hotel south of Nashville blew off when straight-line winds went through the area.

Home Grown Tomato Art

I thought I would post one more photo from yesterday's Tomato Art Fest in East Nashville. As we were walking through the craft booths that were set up between two buildings, I noticed tomato art hanging on fence behind a tomato garden! Unfortunately, there were not a lot of tomatoes on the plants due to the drought, no doubt.

The drought has affected all crops. On our way home from the Tomato Fest, we stopped at the Farmers' Market for a few things, and I noticed that the price of tomatoes rose dramatically in the six days since I was there last. Last Sunday, I bought Beefsteak, Heirloom, Bradley and yellow tomatoes, paying $1 per pound for each variety. This week, the Beefsteaks were $1, but the Bradley and yellow tomatoes were $1.50 per pound, and the Heirlooms were $2 per pound. Squash prices were also up, although they were just 25 cents per pound more this week. If the South doesn't get some much-needed rain soon, there won't be any fall vegetables.

Suburban Nashville

When we moved to Nashville from Las Vegas in the mid-90s, we bought a house in a new subdivision located off of a rural route. In the 11 years that we've lived here, a lot of subdivisions have popped up along that rural road, although there are still a few farms with cow pastures on both sides. (Most of these subdivisions now occupy what was once cow pasture.) If you continue on the road past all of the subdivisions, you very quickly come to more farm land.

That's where I took today's photo just after sunset last night. . .just beyond the subdivisions of suburban America and a mere 15 miles from downtown. I think the fact that we still have such pastoral settings so close to the "big" city is one thing that makes Nashville such a wonderful place to live!

There are two things that I want to point out, although they're quite obvious. As I mentioned yesterday, we're experiencing quite a drought in the south this summer. These rolling hills are normally a vibrant green, but the lack of water has turned them into nothing more but organic kindling. In addition, if you look closely at the banks of the pond, you can see how much the pond has dried up as the edge of the vegetation is the normal water level.

Feeling the Heat

Nashville is HOT! The south is suffering through a heatwave (and drought) this summer, and temperatures have hit the triple digits a few times over the past few days. We are under a heat advisory again today with the temperature expected to hit 102. I happened to drive by the Red Caboose Park in the Bellevue area of Nashville around 11 a.m. yesterday and noticed that not one child was on the playset there. Actually, I was the only person in the entire park, and even I didn't last too long as the heat just pounded down on me as I took this photo. You can see the effects of the drought and heat on the grass which is now nothing more than dry, crunchy blades. And, the weather will not get much better over the next week or so. As a side note, over 1800 Bellevue-area residents helped build the playground in Red Caboose Park in 1996. It includes swings, slides, mazes, climbing stations, and more. In addition to the playground, the park also has picnic tables, a small amphitheater where they hold concerts weekends during the summer, the red caboose (of course) and the old Bellevue cabin (I'll show that sometime.). Stay cool!