2016 ended with the region being 10 inches in the negative in precipitation. The local lakes looked like tiny puddles surrounded by acres of sand and red clay. Wildfires broke out as the seemingly endless days of clear blue skies and sun stretched on into the forecast.
The winter came and and it was mild. Mostly warm and dry. We got one day of slushy ice and that was winter. Not the norm and it only added to the deficit.
2017 however is trying to make amends for the errors of the recent past. Not only has it been raining, it has been storming. Soft ball sized hail, tree splintering lightning and deluges have been an almost weekly occurrence. Just last weekend we got 4″ of rain in 24 hours.
The region is positive 5 inches for 2017 which is pretty astounding since we only started getting rain in March. January and February were as dry as the last year. That means that overall we are now only 5″ shy of where we really should be. Still a desperately large volume but we seem to be heading in the right direction.
Unfortunately SC is just not that…umm…tough when it comes to the weather. I mean, when it is nice, sunny and warm 300 days of the year, what’s the point in suffering during those rare days when it rains, snows or is cold? I get it. Sort of.
An example: it was calling for severe thunderstorms. Maybe some hail. Schools let out at lunch. For rain. Really?
This has made riding lately difficult. Indoor arenas are unheard of and covered arenas are few and far between. My scheduled lesson for Sunday got canceled due to the rain. The arena was still under water come Tuesday when I could get there with Gem, so it got backed off to Sunday of this week. Weather looks like even more rain tomorrow then a break and rain Sunday. I’m not sure if any rain cancels lessons or if it was just the absolute downpour we had in store and got that did it, so we will see.
I also can’t ride at home right now. The hay field is mush and not only would it destroy the hay, but it wouldn’t be particularly safe footing either.
It may be time to hit the trails again if I can find some that aren’t under water. It’s bad timing with so much to work on and not that much time, but there isn’t anything I can do about it so I’m trying not to fret.
In the meantime I’ve been spending money as if I had it and am now anxiously awaiting my packages to arrive. The sun needs to return to the south or I may just go broke.
The Roaming Rider 
That is a LOT of rain! Holy cow!
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I’m thinking of building a boat. More storms today and tomorrow it appears.
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oh boy, welcome to my world! While I didn’t like having 5 years of drought, mother nature went a bit extreme on us, sounds like for you too! I hope your trail systems hold up better than ours, we have so much damage it is unlikely some trails will ever open again… In the meantime, enjoy your gummy worm cake, happy birthday!
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OK, I’m a nerd and have to fix my double negative…”likely they trails will never open again.” or “Unlikely the trails will ever open.” sigh…
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Ha 🙂
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Thankfully the local trail clubs are really good at building sustainable trails with run off built in and raised regions. I haven;t been on them in a while, but even with past rainy seasons they haven’t disappeared from slides. Hoping to get out this weekend to check them out.
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Ugh rain itself doesn’t bother me but it sucks when it futzes up all the footing. Hoping it dries out soon!
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Another inch between now and Monday so that will be 5 total inches of rain in a week. The frustrating part for me having lived up north is that no one down here is prepared at all. The arena footing goes to crap quickly and takes forever to dry back out.
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Happy Birthday! I like the cake that Wyatt picked. 🙂
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It was interesting that’s for sure. The kid doesn’t like chocolate so it was vanilla cake, marshmallow cream, strawberry ice cream. Not a piece of chocolate to be found
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Ugh yeah I remember you talking about this when you were visiting Cali
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the cake!!!!!! Best cake ever…good job Wyatt!!!
the rings at riverbend are fairly decent and do hold up….but as you said the obscene amount of rain we’ve received has pretty much sucked the life out of riding…. oh well….the good thing is it’s spring so all the plants are drinking up the water and helping it dry out faster!!!! I’d much rather have to much rain then none at all… or at least for this moment 😉 I might change my mind next week 😉
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He picks the best 🙂
I had a lesson with her tonight and she said it dried out by Wednesday which was nice. I’m not sure any footing could handle 4″ in 24 hours and not be soupy.
I hope it is a rainy year! While I don’t like being sidelined, I love my pasture staying green.
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