Not much new news around here. Still dry. Rains seem to mostly pass us by. And with that, also the hail, some have been getting. Which is a blessing. What little graze we have would sure be missed if it were hailed off!
One year quite a few years ago, we had a dry year and it hailed, mostly on the south side of the ranch. I thought, “Well, at least we got a good rain out of it and it will grow some grass.” Boy was I wrong! I am not sure if the hail froze the ground or just beat it up so bad, but it barely got green again until the next spring.
We have had hail storms that also sent a lot of rain, fast, and it ran water. Though most of our dams and waterholes are dry or almost dry, we do not rely on them for livestock water. We have windmills and wells with waterlines, so we can always get livestock water. Not so for some, out on the gumbo.
Someone said a few years ago, “It used to be that there would be enough dry years that there were pastures out on the gumbo where you couldn’t run livestock, as there was no water for them to drink. So they got a chance to heal up. Now, so many have dug wells and put in pipelines, they have water all over it. And they can over graze it just like everybody else does in dry years!”
Yeah, our pastures are getting hard use. What else can you do? Cattle too cheap to sell right now and we all live with the hope and prayers we will get some rain and this will turn around.
One thing I have noticed in the past 63 years. This ol’ country is awfully resilient and can heal it’s self if given half a chance.
I hope we get some rain all over this dry ol’ country. It is so dry, it hurts to look at it.
Dennisranch 
I sure do pray that you will get the rain you need. We are in the same boat here, although with being in the mountains and near a river and lake we are ok for livestock feed here. But everything is dry and crunchy. Our hay producers say their yield is down 40%, and without rain there won’t be a second cut. I was thinking this morning about all the stories we heard about the dust bowl of the Dirty Thirties, and all the stories about the natives and their rain dance. Our politicians are trying to blame it all on Climate Change, as if this is something that we have never seen before, and use it as an excuse to tax us even more. (insert eyeroll….)