THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER

I go out only when I have to, such as when picking up Mr. B. from school in the afternoon, but otherwise… KVUE’s pollen counter Illona Torok explains: "Another day, another huge jump in the Cedar pollen. Close to 5000 grains were counted today. A weak cold front will kick up the winds today, further [...]

You don’t see a lot of old-growth trees in Central Texas, like these Cypresses at Krause Springs in Burnet County southwest of Austin. The soil is too thin and the storms too frequent to prevent even old trees from being uprooted with regularity. So these monsters, at ten- to twenty-feet in circumference, were a revelation [...]

It isn’t easy, mowing a wet St. Augustine lawn. Especially with an electric mower. I keep thinking I’m going to electrocute myself. Got through the lower forty without doing so. Now for the upper forty. Wet grass clips all over my shoes and the lower legs of my jeans. Had to take them off before [...]

This is why Central Texans are praying the hurricane season confines itself to the Atlantic this year: "’Everything is saturated. The rivers are at capacity, the lakes are up to capacity — any tropical system that moves into Texas is going to create a lot of problems,’ said Joe Arelleno, director of the Austin-San Antonio [...]

All that flooding in England and Wales sounds familiar. If we get much more rain, we’re going to have our own flooding problems here shortly. Another 80 percent chance today and another flash flood watch. I suppose we shall all grow flippers and webs between our toes soon enough. Feast or famine. UPDATE  The Mad [...]

Showers off and on this morning, as the storms roll north, and a swallowtail butterfly comes to call. 

The Fat Guy is bemoaning the "shaggy" grass on his .55 acre, thanks to all the rain north and south central Texas has had in the past four days. He’s also suffering sun-deprivation. Indeed. The grass at the too-dark rancho also is threatening to need mowing soon. Rainwise, after a wet April with 3.71 inches [...]

Anderson Mill Marina on Lake Travis is back to normal after all the recent rain. Until a few weeks ago, however, it looked like this, which is what it had looked like since last summer thanks to the drought which now seems to be pretty much over. Lakes and aquifers are up. Goodbye to dry. 

Thanks to storm runoff and the Llano and Pedernales rivers:  "With the recent rains, LCRA hydrologists are forecasting Lake Travis to rise to an elevation of about 662 to 664 feet above mean sea level (msl) by this weekend. That is about 8.5 to 10.5 feet above where the lake’s level was when rain began [...]

National Weather Service has an ominous few lines in its weather discussion. We’ve already had one fast-moving set of storms with no thunder or lightning but plenty of sudden, short rain: MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW PW (Preciptable Water) LEVELS CLOSE TO HISTORICAL RECORDS…. THIS DOES NOT NECESSARILY TRANSLATE TO HISTORICAL FLOODING AS MARCH IS NOT [...]