The drought here in Tennessee has been really bad and devastating to the wild-life. This morning the landlord's dogs were barking at this poor guy. I took the photo from my front porch. If you look closely you can see his ribs. It's awful to see a poor animal starving...
Starving Deer
Impact will outlast rain When wet weather returns, it won't wash away all effects
By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer
The persistent lack of rain complicated by high temperatures has driven Middle Tennessee into the kind of serious drought that hasn't been seen here since the 1980s. While scientists can't say when it will end, they do expect some environmental shakeout that will affect insects, fish and other animals for months and maybe years to come. The drought showed up last year in parts of the state, but came on with a vengeance this year as a high pressure system settled over part of the country and kept the rains away. Experts aren't pointing so far to global warming as the culprit, but this month's weather comes during a warming trend planet-wide. Droughts come and go in cycles, but this one is particularly noteworthy for Tennessee because it affects virtually the whole state. Many small streams around the Midstate that furnished homes to aquatic insects and fish have disappeared. The Cumberland, a major river that winds through Nashville, isn't too much lower, but it's moving a lot slower. Water that normally takes two weeks to flow from Cordell Hull dam about 50 miles east of Nashville, down to Old Hickory dam is making the trip in six to eight weeks, so it's warming up more on the way â causing problems for power plants and endangering native fish. "We've got to have some rain that moves some of the water through the system quicker, or we've got to have some cooler weather," said Bob Sneed, water management chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Nashville District. "The temperatures are probably the biggest challenge we have right now." Isolated thunderstorms early this weekend offered only a meager taste of moisture to the hard-baked ground. This drought's widespread Droughts in the past generally were more spotty, said Tom Womack, spokesman for the state Agriculture Department. This one is unusual because it's state- and region-wide, he said. Smoke had wafted into Tennessee earlier this year as forest fires burned in Georgia amid the growing drought. For some parts of Tennessee, the dryness began a year ago. Last fall, farmers in almost 40 counties qualified for federal drought aid. This year, all 95 counties are on the list. Agriculture is feeling a hefty impact as a result of three disasters this year: ⢠Record low temperatures in April that damaged pastures, nursery stock and fruits and vegetables; ⢠The continuing severe drought that's complicated recovery from the first weather assault; ⢠And record high temperatures this month. Not only crops have suffered, but also livestock. "Cattle don't eat as much when it's this hot," Womack said. "They're more susceptible to disease and other stress factors. "Cows don't produce as much milk for their calves." That means livestock weigh less when they're sold. Dairies can't churn out as much milk. "We think the (drought) will have a lingering impact into next year and perhaps the next couple of years," Womack said. Farmers, short on pasture and water, are selling off livestock. Sales were 60 percent higher for June and July than the same period last year. Consumers could gain by slightly lower beef prices, but the price could go that much higher later when fewer cattle are available. Drought is no Dust Bowl Droughts come and go, but times change. "Realistically this is a normal part of the weather cycle," said Brian Fuchs, climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. In the 1930s, however, when the country experienced one of its most devastating droughts, and even in the droughts of the 1950s, a greater share of the nation's population lived in rural areas, and people practiced less conservation of soil and water. The city and suburb dwellers of today might not be aware of a drought until they're told not to water their lawns. Farmers who are on the front line are better prepared now. They till the land less so the soil holds together and can stay more moist, and they have developed better techniques for water conservation. That helps avoid the scenes of 1932-38, when winds scoured the dry lands, creating clouds of dust as the gusts carried away the topsoil. Meanwhile, the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers have been heavily dammed since then by federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority, creating a system of lakes that can be used to store water for release as it's needed. "Even though climatologically, we may have seen the exact same type of dryness in a region, the advances have helped curtail some impacts," Fuchs said. A twist on past droughts is how rapidly this one has occurred in the Southeast, he said. There's been less than half the normal precipitation over a 24- to 36-month period. "If we go into this fall and this winter and have normal precipitation, yes, it's going to help with agricultural concerns, but there are long-term impacts. "There's still those concerns as far as deep replenishment of soil waters." This year a strong high-pressure system â basically a dome of dry tropical air â parked itself over the Southeast, Fuchs said. The pressure kept storms out of the center, pushing rains to the edge â sometimes referred to as the "ring of fire" â so storms tended to track away from the Southeast. When the "event" is over, scientists can go back and look at all the climatological information and try to determine what, if anything, global warming may have had to do with the whole situation, he said. Animals travel farther Wildlife of all kinds are having to make do in the drought. Pandy English found a broad-headed skink, a type of lizard, drowned in the water bucket set out for her Great Pyrenees dog. "They usually don't have to go to such lengths to get water," said English, who is the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife diversity coordinator for much of the Midstate. She's received calls from suburbanites worried about bats in swimming pools. Other calls have been about snakes in garages and basements. "They're trying to cool off," she said of the snakes. "They do not like to be 100 degrees. That's bringing them closer to people." Her tack has been to try to calm down the callers and get descriptions to identify the reptiles. Almost all the snake species in Tennessee are nonpoisonous. Her advice? "Let them be for a while. They're not going to do anything but eat the insects in our basements." Water is needed for late-breeding amphibians, including the Eastern spadefoot, a toad-like insect eater that reproduces only after heavy rains. "They burrow up in the ground and just keep going deeper and deeper when it's dry," she said. "This may be a year that they don't breed." They could rebound next year if this happens, she said. "If you look long-term, it probably all evens out. It just depends on how serious this trend is." Smokies lose leaves In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a top tourist draw for Tennessee, leaves are falling early from water-deprived trees, which could undermine the traditionally colorful autumn "show." "It started about a week ago," said Nancy Gray, park spokeswoman. Wildlife there face the same challenges as in the Midstate. Problems were already forecast last spring, when the late freeze zapped the blooms of many nut-bearing trees statewide. Acorn and other nuts are staple foods for many creatures, including bear and deer, and likely will be in short supply this autumn. Other food sources are also more scarce because of the drought. "Blackberries, blueberries and persimmons haven't produced like they normally would," Gray said. "Our streams are shrinking. They're probably below 50 percent of water flow. That's shrinking habitat and food sources for fisheries and creates a crowded situation." Floods can be even more harmful for aquatic life, however, she said. "We've seen this happen before," she said. "Wildlife that is looking for water may have to travel further. That might put them in developed areas." Their search for food and drink could mean more bear, deer, raccoons and other creatures in suburbs or killed on roads in Tennessee. Visitation this year at the national park, ironically, is up about two percent through July over the same period last year, as humans sought refuge from the heat and city life. Deer virus hits harder A chunk of the white-tail deer population could be lost because drought stress is making the species more vulnerable to a common malady called "epizootic hemorrhagic disease." The virus, spread by biting flies, afflicts deer but isn't transmitted to people or other animals. This year more deer are succumbing earlier. Deaths have been reported in at least 30 counties, and more are coming. "We can expect to see die-offs as high as 40 percent in some highly localized areas," said Roger Applegate, TWRA wildlife disease coordinator. Any reduction in deer numbers "will easily be made up within a couple of years," he said. Little Goose Creek near Hartsville is one of the state's many creeks that has quit running. "Nearly all the small streams are no longer flowing, unless there is a strong spring," said Kim Sparks, state environmental specialist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. That can affect a chain of aquatic creatures and other wildlife that feed on them, including wading birds. "It will take several years for fish to re-colonize and at least six months to a year for the aquatic insects," Sparks said. Eggs of some of the insects, particularly mayflies and some stoneflies, can survive drought for several months or longer, hatching when the water reappears. The same goes, however, for mosquitoes. Flies from other water bodies, also, would show up to repopulate a once-dry creek, but fish would have to swim in and are slower to reproduce. More rain may be near Some see an end in sight for some drought-related matters. "I think we're probably into the worst of it," said Bob Sneed, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where much of the concern is about water temperatures. "Once we get about through mid-September, I think we should see these conditions improve. We ought to start getting some cooler temperatures and that will help the situation." Warm water is a problem Meanwhile, power plants are running into trouble as they seek to get rid of water heated by their processes that generate electricity. Rivers and lakes into which many power plants discharge are already warmer than usual, and state permits put limits on water temperature changes. In the natural world, there could be winners and losers in the drought. Tulip poplars and locusts are among trees in the Midstate whose leaves are already turning brown. Many should make it into next year, but some dogwoods are struggling, said TWRA's English. As to whether exotic species might get a boost over natives, it's too soon to tell, she said. "We'll see who survives and who doesn't when all this is said and done next spring," she said. One wild card that would help end the drought are hurricanes that can send rainstorms. What's needed are regular steady rains into spring. "This drought could linger into next year," said David Matson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Old Hickory. "A tropical system could put a slight dent in it, but we need a sustained wet season. That's not likely to occur this fall." Since heavy rains tend not to hit the state until winter and spring, there could be a wait. The Tennessean
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In the beginning that closeness scared the hell out of me. I've been burned you see...I felt like running away from it all for a short time. Little did I know Chris is in it for life. He accepts me. He treats me 'right'. Just crazy enough to love ME. 
He saved my life.
and he makes me go for it... 
I was once brought to tears in the middle of Toys R Us when I was trying to pick out a diaper bag (of course I had the pregnancy hormones raging). This is why I now ask Chris to pick stuff out for me. He always gets what I like! However, this time around I've had to be very involved. I've treated the whole thing like a job. Also, if you know me at all you know once I put my mind to doing a job it will be done to the best of my ability. 
I will keep you posted! 
Yep, it's time to go take my pills...