my sister is packing up the heirlooms, papers, etc, and grabbing all of her livestock that they can, but with no trailer for the mules, she is just praying they will survive...

the wildfires are knocking on the back door of her 48 acres!
Please keep the people of Texas in your thoughts as they watch this great state burn!

My mom and sister also, they live around the Palo Pinto area. So far they have gathered some items and are at the ready to get out. Said there is heavy ash falling. Where is your family?

We are in Arkansas and will be praying

sending Prayers!

Ranger! I know Palo Pinto well...

This is all very sad. Such destruction all over the nation.

It's getting scary down here for sure. Couple of days ago, I looked up as I was walking out of the studio. Smoke as far as I could see. We grabbed the truck to investigate and called the Sheriff's office. The thick smoke in the valley was coming down from four fires west and northwest of Fort Worth on heavy gusty winds.

With the water table lower than we've ever seen it, the well water literally stinks. At least, for the time being we have enough for the livestock. No one even smokes a cigarette on our land. The bluebonnets didn't make it this year. Hay will cost a fortune this summer, because the pastures are nothing but dry. We inspect our mama cows every day, and water the garden twice a day by hand to conserve water. Worst year we've ever had....please pray for quiet gentle rain, and lots of it.

it is like that up here in OK as well...they say this is the worst drought for up here in all of OK history.....wheat is dying in the fields now...we water from the well by hand as well...put a lot of things in containers this year to cut down on watering....

You have my prayers. God bless you all and comfort you through these challenges.

Folks from Palo Pinto had to evacuate today due to the PK Complex fire. So far at least 1 church and close to 150 homes have been destroyed by these fires. Graford is on standby to evac. The evacuaees that were located at the Graford ISD have now been moved to Mineral Wells. I am told the feds are coming in to help. These guys out there have been fighting the fires around here for 5 days straight. I had bags packed and ready to go as the fire from PK had jumped the highway and was headed straight toward us. They managed to get that part under control and today the winds changed to the South. Good for us, but bad ffor the folks south of us. I am praying in earnest for rain. We have our field plowed and ready to plan hay grazer, but if it doesn't rain it won't do much good to plant... Not looking good folks. This is the dryest we have been since 1895...

Prayers for all of Texas.

Sending prayers!

We are far south of all that. Prayers for all in harms way. Prayers that we get at least a little rain in the next week. Fire and water are so unforgiving!

water the garden twice a day by hand to conserve water. Worst year we've ever had....please pray for quiet gentle rain, and lots of it.[/quote]
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Prayers for a long rain. Maybe I'd better visit Texas again, the last time I was there in mid summer it rained almost every day.

For planting, go for heavy mulch. Up to your knees if you can find that much. There is the stuff they put in pots to hold water, if you can find that it would work but expensive. Still, good old mulch works wonders, even old newspapers with hay or grass on it.
Here in the blazing sun of central California, I most times make up my own potting mix. Sawdust, peat moss, wood shavings, tiny wood pieces, cat litter (NEW) because it is formulated to hold moisture, HINT=mix it in while the other stuff is DRY,
Finely cut up newspaper and shredded papers, DRIED grass clippings if you don't use chemicals on the lawn, perlite. All of this, mixed with about 1/4th or more of the volume being plain old dirt, will grow plants that don't need as much water as they would in the ground.

Check out RUTH STOUT's books, she was Organic Gardening's
top writer for mulching gardens.

Prayers for all of you, including my two daughters near Ft. Worth/Dallas and Ft. Hood.

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Prayers for a long rain. Maybe I'd better visit Texas again, the last time I was there in mid summer it rained almost every day.

For planting, go for heavy mulch. Up to your knees if you can find that much. There is the stuff they put in pots to hold water, if you can find that it would work but expensive. Still, good old mulch works wonders, even old newspapers with hay or grass on it.
Here in the blazing sun of central California, I most times make up my own potting mix. Sawdust, peat moss, wood shavings, tiny wood pieces, cat litter (NEW) because it is formulated to hold moisture, HINT=mix it in while the other stuff is DRY,
Finely cut up newspaper and shredded papers, DRIED grass clippings if you don't use chemicals on the lawn, perlite. All of this, mixed with about 1/4th or more of the volume being plain old dirt, will grow plants that don't need as much water as they would in the ground.

Check out RUTH STOUT's books, she was Organic Gardening's
top writer for mulching gardens.

Prayers for all of you, including my two daughters near Ft. Worth/Dallas and Ft. Hood.[/quote]

thanks for that info...we do it all organic, so it is time consuming and that makes us better stewards of the moisture control...less is best when it comes to having to water/weed, etc....

we have found though that the more mulch we put in the garden, the more snakes I seem to attract....... :thumbdown:

I don't live where the wildfires are (we're in South Texas) but we are in a serious drought and I worry everytime I have to leave our place. All it takes is one careless act...there are burnt patches of grass everywhere caused by cars pulling over in tall dry grass or someone flicking out a cigarette. I pray we will have some rain soon...