Never Before As Dry As This

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/08/03/the-moonstone/

Later this afternoon we drove Flo and Dillon to Brockenhurst where we left them to wander for an hour while we continued up Rhinefield Road passing

parched moorland featuring walkers and ponies on our way to the

woodland along the Ornamental Drive.

I have often photographed pictures like these which appeared on https://derrickjknight.com/2022/03/14/from-wilverley-plain-to-rhinefield-road/ of the stream that runs under the road.

Never before have we seen it as dry as this.

The day was overcast and humid – weather which kept the ponies mostly seeking shade.

This evening we dined on a second sitting of Hordle Chinese Takeaway’s excellent fare, with which Jackie and I drank TsingTao beer, and Flo and Dillon drank Ribena.

80 comments

  1. I hope you get the much-needed rain soon, Derrick. Don’t be like Las Vegas and this terrible drought. I can’t hit the Like button, not your fault, sorry.

  2. We seem to be getting more than our share of rain this summer. We have been getting a heavy rain almost every night. It is good for the lawns and trees and gardens but the mosquitoes are terrible.

  3. The weather people on TV said that this was the driest July ever, but I really do feel that it would have to go some to beat 1975 or 1976 when all the grass was brown and at Angers in France the Loire was only flowing under one span of the bridge rather than all seven.

  4. So many places seem to be experiencing drought conditions lately. When my husband and I drove around Vermont last weekend, the rivers and streams were as low as I’ve ever seen them.

  5. So sorry to hear about this. That kind of dryness/drought is horrible. 🙁 I hope you get some rain soon. I feel for the animals, the trees, ETC! 🙁
    There is no water like rain water.
    We’ve finally been getting some good summer rains…one each day/evening for the past few weeks.
    I wish I could box some up and send it to you.
    (((HUGS))) ❤️
    PS…When we lived in San Diego, CA (for 10 years) we lived through 7 years of drought…not one drop of rain. I NEVER want to have to live through that again.

  6. Striking images of the low/no water situation in your woods. It is a shame that so many areas are suffering through drought conditions. And yet, in the U.S. State of Kentucky near 30 died these past few days from never before seen levels of flooding. Sad times.

      1. I hope they are successful in that sale. We are fairly well acquainted with Kentucky, our state (Indiana) lies to the immediate north. May we ask what part of Kentucky?

  7. It’s interesting that Texas is quite dry now, while the next state over, Louisiana, has been getting good rains. In fact, some of it is creeping our way, into east Texas, and we’re beginning to get those pop-up showers that betoken a weather change. I’ll hope for some change for you, too.

  8. Wish I could send you some of our rain. It washed so many stones down out of the hills that the roads were closed for awhile this morning as men cleared them away.

  9. Your area appears to be experiencing the kind of drought we have – I empathise with you all for it is disheartening to see rivers and dams dry up; never mind the inability to keep one’s garden plants watered!

  10. Have you still not had rain? In my Yorkshire neck of the woods we’ve been very fortunate to have had a steady rainfall every day for over a week, receiving overnight and daytime showers. Nothing heavy, but enough downpours to keep the land well watered.

    1. Barely discernible drizzle yesterday morning – otherwise none. Kent and Sussex will have hosepipe ban from next Friday. Ours starts tomorrow. Thanks very much, Sue

      1. Oh, no I’m sorry about the hosepipe ban. There has been talk of it here because of the reservoir levels, but I wouldn’t have thought anyone up here was using a hosepipe right now.

  11. It seems to me you are initiating Flo and Dillon to a lifestyle away from the hubbub of big cities. The woodland photos are marvellous; the tree with multiple sharp limbs looks mysterious, the bend in the stream and the bone dry bed form pretty frames that have inbuilt backstories.

  12. Hi Derrick, Oh for a bucket of water for those poor ponies…Am familiar with Fordingbridge area as we ran a modest hotel in Bournemouth for a few, hectic, years! Now retired in Spain, it was 30 degrees in our living-room yesterday, with two fans basting away. Phew! Come on, Mother Nature, be kind… Keep c o o l. Cheers.

  13. The opposite in my region in New Zealand – it will be the first summer for some time that we won’t have water restrictiions as some of the dams are overflowing and overall they are at the 90% capacity that is needed…

    1. There remain underground streams which they know; and a number of local residents put out water tubs for them. Thank you very much, Brian

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