Parched Earth: Musings on "Grass is Class"

So it's here we are at last. We all knew we’d get here… approaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit.  While this summer has not been as harsh as the last, I feel like last summer was something of a learning curb for me: being a new gardener and relatively new landowner during the crazy part of an intense Oklahoma heat wave.

I used to take the stance that if a plant a) does not feed me, and b) can’t survive in my yard without coddling, it’s not meant to be in my yard and I should get a different kind of plant. Survival of the Fittest and adaptation to the landscape and all… but last year I learned different. I watched two large shrubs and a honeysuckle bush, both of which just might be as old as me, struggle to survive. My Oklahoma native silver maple dropped its leaves very early. Patches of my Bermuda grass died off leaving me with bare sandy patches that the feral cats love to use for their personal business. I realized with horror what was happening almost too late… but I started watering my shrubs just in the nick of time. They are still not happy shrubs. They are nowhere near the hardy shrubs they used to be. One of them still hangs on to life with a tentative tendril. But they are not dead shrubs, either.

After last year, I gave in. In unusually intense weather I now water more than my food. My lawn gets periodic sprinkler treatments. My shrubs and other inedible plants get water, too. Even if they live in Oklahoma. I figure if my shrubs can live some 20-some years without much help, then they deserve a hand up, and if they need watering, I can’t expect anything else to live without it, either. I’d rather not be Queen of a sandbox next year. Droughts don’t last forever. Right?

Still.

Still. I can’t help but feel slightly guilty when I water. I water responsibly and I don’t overdo it. But I can sometimes just envision the state’s water resources shrinking, the lakes and aquifers drying up, all so I can save my honeysuckle bush and Bermuda grass until the rains return.

When I think of watering lawns, I often am reminded of a quote that came from a fantastic play my college did one year, “As Bees in Honey Drown.” The quote is “Grass is class,” and it comes with a rant about the snooty luxury of lawns. My brownish, crunchy lawn doesn’t make me feel particularly classy… but watering it sure as heck makes me think of that rant with a small degree of paranoia.

Picture from www.Travelok.com

I somehow stumbled upon a thesis paper last week where a student had done some modeling on how climate change might affect Blue River. Blue River. Guys, this is one of my favorite places in the state. Head to head, it battles the Ouachitas and Winding Stair for first place, that’s how much I love Blue River. I admit that I haven’t visited in years, but it felt so lovely and peaceful every time I have been there. Even on busy days I could tuck myself away on some little tributary, listen to the water, watch it swirl around the rocks, and feel like I’m the only person around for miles. (Insert wistful sigh.) I was delighted when I learned that the Nature Conservancy hadacquired a portion of the Blue.

But back to the thesis... which I admit to only skimming. This modeling showed that in future decades the Blue could be one of the waterways (like so many of Oklahoma’s waterways) that become seasonally dry. It’s just modeling, and I hope the predictions don’t come true, but I was dismayed and surprised. The blue is not shallow – in places it is plenty deep enough to swim in it! Right. So I added the bleak image of a dry Blue River bed to my list of water concerns – even if it is not yet realized.

The land adapts. People adapt. If I become the Queen of the sandbox, perhaps I shall develop a love for cacti and Arizona-esque landscape rocks. The hubby might dig it. Meanwhile, I have reluctantly given in to the urban urge to water my lawn. So please forgive me, and wish my shrubberies well. (If they die, will you fetch me a shrubbery?)

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Of course you know these watering tips.

• ·        Spot water if you can.
• ·        Trickle irrigate or use a soaker hose if you can.
• ·        Water during the morning or evening to prevent evaporation.
• ·        It is ok to let your lawn and trees go dormant so long as the roots get enough water to survive until next year… different based on your vegetation (I think I read that Bermuda grass needs a minimum of an inch of water a week during drought to keep the roots alive?), but you can use this handy tool from the good ol' mesonet to tell you what you need to do. 

The Drought of 2011, or A Public Service Announcement on Why You Should Water Your Lawn

If you are alive and well in Oklahoma, hopefully you have noticed certain… things… about the weather lately. Such as… it’s hot. And it felt kind of like we skipped spring entirely in order to make a nose dive into summer.  I have been waiting for the weird weather to end, and I have finally quit waiting out of boredom.  It will end when it will end. And until then, my plants will crispy-fry. I will wear tiny, breezy clothes. And I will post about it on ECOhoma!

Trivia on the Uber-Summer of 2011

·        Oklahoma City was featured as one of five cities on the Weather Channel and one of two cities on NPR for being crazy hot this June. On June 29th, we had 29 days in a row with temperatures above 90 degrees, breaking a 100-year record. We also are currently running on ten days in a row with temperatures above 100 degrees, and temperatures forecasted to be 100 or more for at least the next ten days.

·        This last June was the second hottest on record for the state of Oklahoma since records began in 1893. Texas had its hottest June ever recorded.

·        It was Oklahoma’s 4th driest June since 1893. Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico had their driest 6 months ever.

·        When it comes to acres burned by wildfire, the country experienced twice the average, at 4.8 mil acres for the year. 1.3 mil burned in June. Texas had record wildfires.

·        Excessive drought covers 367,000 square miles, or 12% of the contiguous states

·        Drought/Heat conditions are comparable to or more severe than the Dust Bowl of the 30s. So why aren’t we covered in dust? Say thank you to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, founded in 1937 so that the Dust Bowl would never happen again. The Dust Bowl was as much a result of unsustainable soil and farming practices as it was weather.

Interview with a Meteorologist

I was itching to know what the cause of our current weather trends may be, so I asked Patrick Burke, a National Weather Service forecaster, for his opinions. Because he’s a nice guy and I am a lucky girl, he did! Hooray! Below is the text from our informal email interview:

Me: Why we are having this crazy drought and heat? Are we in a funky El Nina or something? Are we about to crash into the sun? Am I just that hot, and need to dress less awesome and eat more junk food? I must know.

Patrick:  Everyone wants to know.  We are the recipients of increased media interest, so a few of us are working up some information this morning.  A lot of processes in weather/climate are chicken and egg questions.  It's hot because the ground is too dry... it's dry because the air is too hot.  So there is no single culprit.  But here is what we know:

This drought began last Autumn when precipitation was much less than average. The winter is almost always dry, but was even drier, and this was consistent with a strong La Nina. The La Nina remained strong through the spring, which is usually our wettest season. In part because the ground is so dry (Extremely dry from OK/TX to NM/AZ) extremely hot temperatures began earlier than usual in June.

The Southern Climate Region experienced the 2nd warmest April-June on record and 5th driest October-June on record. The farther west you go from Interstate 35 it is closer to The Driest October-June on record.

Here is what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2007:

“…by 2010 to 2039…year-round temperatures across North America will be outside the range of present-day natural variability. The projected warming…is greatest in the summer in the south-west U.S. Warm extremes across North America are projected to become both more frequent and longer. Annual-mean precipitation is projected to decrease in the south-west of the U.S…” 

 Here is my interpretation (not an official interpretation of my office):

Any single heat wave arises from a number of influences – especially drought, season (summer), and in this case, a strong La Niña that existed during spring. It is impossible to say how much, if any, influence global climate change has on this single hot summer.

If we were to see an increasing number of these types of heat waves over the next few decades… that observation would be consistent with the predictions of climate modelers / climate models.

Me: So, if I water my lawn, the ground will be less dry, and it will rain??!!!  Woohoo!  (I am only partly kidding. If everyone watered their lawn, would it increase likelihood of rain?)

Patrick: Technically, that is true.  If everyone in a concentrated area added a lot of water to their near-surface soil, studies have shown that would create a locally lower cloud base and greater instability.  If other factors were not strongly opposed to making it rain (e.g., a strongly subsiding air mass) then the chance of rain over and downwind of your house would be slightly greater.  Of course, if you have to sacrifice water to receive water... hmmm...

I suppose it would be worthwhile just to mix things up.

So there you go, my friends: from the horse’s weather man’s mouth.  If you share my Okie condition, I hope you caught some of the showers we’ve been having over the last couple of days and have been eating lots of popsicles!

As a very big, important PS: If you are a resident of central Oklahoma, you very well may be under water rationing. I know that if you live in Oklahoma City, we have been asked to water our lawns only on even-numbered days for even numbered homes and odd-numbered days for odd numbered homes. Folks on the city fringes are having problems with water pressure, so be considerate! And if you live outside of OKC limits, you may want to check up on the status of your city's water supply, as well.