This was once hilly farmland, Arif, rich fertile soil all around. The soil is still good, so I should not complain. We have been getting fewer snows, maybe no more than an inch a year, and the rains are fewer as well. It has become drought ridden, more like a prairie and those very sensitive plants, like mayapples and trillium and ferns have a difficult time surviving here anymore, though they did in the past. They sprout up in April and by the end of June they are dried and crunchy with no signs of even the foliage. But they still make an attempt every year.
Two years ago we had an April flood, water was everywhere and though some seed crops were lost, there was time to plant again. We have over 200 days of growing weather usually, but after the flood, then the drought hit and the crops didn't come into fruition, so it's a vicious learning cycle now. And it's vastly different from about 30 years ago when we had heavy snow cover for all of January and February and normal crops for many years. Haven't seen a deep snow in a very long time.
The lakes are man made and their depth is controlled by dams and the rivers that are their source. The Mississippi River nearby is very low and commercial traffic has come to a standstill. The Ohio River is flowing fairly well, and so are the Tennessee and the Cumberland. The Ohio and the Cumberland are sourced by the mountains to the east and the Tennessee begins slightly to the east in Tennessee; so our rivers come from east of us; I think the Mississippi might start in Minnesota, not sure about that. I'm not a true geography person, sadly. Anyway, the heat and drought are coming from the west and meeting the rivers, which are flowing from the east. The meeting place of the forces is right here where I am and near where Tee is, just to the south of me.
Sometimes the rivers win and sometimes the winds and heat of the prairies win, so it's an ongoing battle currently. It will evolve into something, not sure what.
Arif!
