Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[farmgirl19]

Good Lord! I'd probably have the big O over that much rain! :laughing:

 

[houstonscott]

5/8 in rain gauge this morning in Oglesby. Starting to rain lightly again.


HS

 

[Western]

I picked my first zucchini and yellow squash today!!!! I'll probably pick more tomorrow. It goes on the grill, this weekend!

When the start gun went off, you where 20' in front of me already!!:laughing:

Went to Decatur, good rain falling there, came home and have .26" in the gauge! WHOOT! AND found a push mower I liked at TSC. Didn't care for the brand (Huskee), but this one has a Honda motor and that is good enough for me! $229 on sale, shoot just a Honda motor can run that much:thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

San Antonio has got over 12 inches of rain in the last 24 hours,, my son is San Antonio at the river walk.. Lou

Did your son take a spare inner tube? I'm betting the River Walk is really the River FLOAT with that much rain.

I just got 0.60" from a shower that passed over. Of course it rained because I got my tomato trellis nets up this morning and then sprayed insecticide. The nets are still great, but I'll have to do a repeat of the insecticide. I'd put it out every day if that would make it rain.

 

[Lou66]

Jim,, He and our daughter in law are on their way back,, talked with him on the phone and he said the only thing that is not flooded is I-10,, They were going to stay thru Monday but the rain changed their mines... Lou

 

[farmgirl19]

Did your son take a spare inner tube? I'm betting the River Walk is really the River FLOAT with that much rain.

I just got 0.60" from a shower that passed over. Of course it rained because I got my tomato trellis nets up this morning and then sprayed insecticide. The nets are still great, but I'll have to do a repeat of the insecticide. I'd put it out every day if that would make it rain.

jinman; If you spraying is what it takes to make it rain, I'll pay you to come spray here weekly! (and this from a woman who is all organic!)

 

[two_bit_score]

Jim,, He and our daughter in law are on their way back,, talked with him on the phone and he said the only thing that is not flooded is I-10,, They were going to stay thru Monday but the rain changed their mines... Lou

It was pretty bad in SA: Flooding claims at least two lives;

.

 

[txdon]

1.22" total 2 day rain for Northwest Lee County.
One of those deaths in San Antonio was at an attempted rescue by the FD. I bet that will haunt them for a while. Every flood seems to have people driving through and being washed away in low water crossings.

 

[farmgirl19]

I agree, txdon. Very sad.

 

[jinman]

It seems that these storms we are having all produce extremes: rain, hail, tornadoes, flooding, even freezes early-on. We've gone so long without precipitation and suddenly we get a bunch at once (in isolated places). Perhaps it's always been that way, but in less populated areas. This year it seems the heavy storms hit larger cities and more densely populated areas. Then, perhaps, mikim might remind me of the floods in Houston a few years ago and how his house was flooded. Maybe the fact that these storms all happen in rapid succession is the thing that makes them seem different.:confused3:

Well, I have to call myself out about my rain amount reporting (braggin'). I did not get 6/10'. I looked out at my gage and my ol' eyes tricked me. When I went out to dump the gage, I saw that I really only got 1/4". I'll take it because it was a very nice shower, but I don't want to put out bad info. Hey! Maybe even some of my insecticide stayed on my plants.

Speaking of plants. . . (garden segue warning). My tomatoes and peppers all have a new home this morning. My wife and grandson helped me and we put up our nets. The first picture below is the t-posts I drove (28 total) to support the netting. After putting in the t-posts, I strung line along the tops to tie the netting to. I didn't want to lace the line through the netting because that makes the job more difficult trying to put up line with the net in the way.





The netting is really compact and lightweight. It came in a roll about 1' diameter and 2' long. The whole 3.5' x 328' roll only weighs a few pounds. I kept looking at the package and found it hard to believe that it contained a full 328', but it did. The netting is about twice as thick as the heavy duty deer netting, but the large square openings makes it much less dense. This whole package weighed about as much as a 7' x 100' roll of deer fencing.



My wife helped me roll out the netting and then she held it in place and helped me tension it while I tied it to the t-posts. My grandson cut twist-ties from a 100' roll we bought at Amazon. I put the netting on the inside of the t-pots except at the end posts where I wrapped it outside for for better support. The job really looks professional in my opinion. As the plants grow, I have some 3/16" nylon cord to tie between the netting side-to-side to provide support where needed. I can also tie branches to the netting using foam padded wire. Here are some photos of the finished job.







...and finally, I had to show a photo of my Bush blue lake beans. They are blooming and making little beans under this canopy of green leaves. I'm thrilled at how healthy they look. Also, Farmgirl19, you are ahead of me by about a week on squash and zucs. I'll have a couple of yellow squash by mid-week and zucs a week later. I also expect to see little baby ****** melons by next weekend. My vines are big and covered in blooms.

 

[Bird]

Then, perhaps, mikim might remind me of the floods in Houston a few years ago and how his house was flooded.

I remember that, but what I don't remember is whether or not he had flood insurance. When we bought our current home, nothing was said about flood insurance. In some areas, I understand mortgage companies require it, but not here. But then a fellow who used to work for the city told me this area "used to flood". The official maps just showed a "moderate" risk a few years ago. And a fellow who lives 2 houses south of us and has lived there for many years said it flooded the house south of him, but not his place. I guess drainage ditiches have been improved since then. I did notice when we moved in here that there was a flood gauge (water depth gauge) beside the street right beside the police station. That sign has since been removed. And I do think if my house ever floods, the police station will be under water.

However, I've seen stranger things happen with floods in Dallas during the years I worked there, so I bought the flood insurance, and I just renewed it. As I expected, the premium went up 12.9% this year. Now $332 for $125k coverage on the house and $50k on the contents.

 

[pacerron]

I remember that, but what I don't remember is whether or not he had flood insurance. When we bought our current home, nothing was said about flood insurance. In some areas, I understand mortgage companies require it, but not here. But then a fellow who used to work for the city told me this area "used to flood". The official maps just showed a "moderate" risk a few years ago. And a fellow who lives 2 houses south of us and has lived there for many years said it flooded the house south of him, but not his place. I guess drainage ditiches have been improved since then. I did notice when we moved in here that there was a flood gauge (water depth gauge) beside the street right beside the police station. That sign has since been removed. And I do think if my house ever floods, the police station will be under water.

However, I've seen stranger things happen with floods in Dallas during the years I worked there, so I bought the flood insurance, and I just renewed it. As I expected, the premium went up 12.9% this year. Now $332 for $125k coverage on the house and $50k on the contents.

Bird,
I think the area has to be listed as in a flood plain before the insurance companies are allowed to sell flood insurance.
If it wasn't they'd try to sell it to folks at high elevations, like me, to bring in more premium to spread the risk for those that do live
in a flood plain.
Ron

 

[foreman Etexas]

Bird,
I think the area has to be listed as in a flood plain before the insurance companies are allowed to sell flood insurance.
If it wasn't they'd try to sell it to folks at high elevations, like me, to bring in more premium to spread the risk for those that do live
in a flood plain.
Ron

Can't the toliet/tub/etc. Flood the house?

 

[pacerron]

Can't the toliet/tub/etc. Flood the house?

That's not flood insurance.

 

[Bird]

Bird,
I think the area has to be listed as in a flood plain before the insurance companies are allowed to sell flood insurance.
If it wasn't they'd try to sell it to folks at high elevations, like me, to bring in more premium to spread the risk for those that do live
in a flood plain.
Ron

Ron, I found it very difficult to get any real facts about the maps, risk level, etc. But as the FEMA website says, floods can occur anywhere it rains. So you do not have to be in an area actually listed as a flood plain to buy flood insurance. I think most insurance agents don't really care about selling it because they make so little money on such policies.

If you buy or build a house in a designated flood plain, mortgage providers would require flood insurance.

 

[Bird]

Can't the toliet/tub/etc. Flood the house?

Yes, and I've personally known of that happening to 2 homes at different times in 2 different cities. And your homeowner's insurance may or may not cover such things. If you don't know whether yours does, you might want to check your policy. But as Ron said, that's different from the kind of floods that flood insurance covers.

 

[pacerron]

Here is how to see if you are in a flood zone by address.
https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/sto..._1&title=How%20to%20Find%20Your%20Flood%20Map

 

[foreman Etexas]

Yes, and I've personally known of that happening to 2 homes at different times in 2 different cities. And your homeowner's insurance may or may not cover such things. If you don't know whether yours does, you might want to check your policy. But as Ron said, that's different from the kind of floods that flood insurance covers.

I put flood on mine,cause I figured flood meant flood,either by mother nature(not in flood area) or something like a toliet,water was water to me,may need to check further into,thanks

 

[mikim]

OK folks here's what I know .....ANYBODY can buy flood insurance. If you're not in a flood zone -- IAW current maps ---then you get to buy it cheap. - Like $200 yr. You might have a problem getting an insurance company to write the policy though cause it costs more to do the paperwork than the premiums the company will ever see out of it. I happened to have flood insurance because the previous owner had it and I just carried it over. Figured it was a good idea. If you do live in a flood zone then the people that require you to have flood insurance is your LENDER. The insurance company will then charge you according to their perceived risk. And as I mentioned - IAW current maps. Those maps are a moving target. Lets say that when you bought your house there was very little development in the area and you were NOT in a flood zone. Then after several years of development you find out you are and you're going "say what?" I've never been in a flood zone before ......well no ....but over the years as ground gets covered by concrete the parameters change. AND so does the amount of flooding that occurs. You want to say "we've been here for years and it never used to flood this bad. Weather must be screwy" hmmmm....no again.... It isn't the weather pattern that changes so drastically as it is the population and the things they do to our otherwise natural runoff etc. It's like along the coast --- hurricane damage has increased a bunch over the last 20 years ....hurricanes must be getting worse......or maybe the it's people building and building and more building in harms way. BTW --- all the preachin' I'm doing here is from my experience with my personal flood, my job with NWS, and the wife's job with title companies. Am I missing some points? no doubt.... anyone with better education and knowledge in the area is most welcome to set me straight if needed.

 

[mikim]

Jinman----Bernice picked 2 big bowls of beans out of her little patch .....I AM NOT GOING TO SHOW HER YOUR PICTURES!!.....she'd die of envy. and then she'd start taking notes with a heading "things for mike to do when he gets better"