It's awful to say, but I'm ready for hurricane season.

I'm glad because forcasters are predicting 13-17 named storms. ;-)

That is so Roswell though, isn't it? Set up a 24 hour tattle tale hotline so everyone can rat on their neighbors instead of being civilized and friendly.

so everyone can rat on their neighbors instead of being civilized and friendly.

But you know, it seems we've evolved into people that don't really know their neighbors (and aren't willing to) and certainly don't want to confront them (especially if you don't know them). I try to get to know my neighbors and we share favors as needed (pick up mail, papers, I even pull my neighbors' weeds if they're getting big). Not sure that applies to many people here because we're gardeners and gardeners seem to be naturally friendly folk.

It really is astounding that the scorching conditions continue. These high pressure ridges seem to be getting worse every year. This is the kind of weather pattern that can negate the possibility of help even from a hurricane. As bad as it is here there are places even worse off. I can't recall where in Alabama this person lives, but they've had only 0.09" of rain for all of May. I've had 1.19" here. His/her year to date rain total is 7.65" compared to 11.73" for Atlanta. I've had 11.89" for the year so far. To give an idea, the normal for Atlanta to this point is 21.92".

To top it all off parts of the state are dealing with wildfires, with most if not all of the state dealing with smoke. It seems almost biblical to stand outside in baking weather and choking smoke!

To tell you the truth I'm just as guilty. I've been tattle taling on people who are violating the new dog chain law. Honestly though I think that's more serious than a water restriction violation but still I am a tattle taler. I just thought it was fitting since a friend of mine who lives in Roswell because I hear of so many laws and ordinances there that are strict.

Don't tattle on me. I left my soaker hose on after 10am (after running around with the sprinklers from 6AM to 10. I just forgot about it. The sad part is, we had that soaker hose running for over an hour and there was no run off at all. The ground is so dry it just soaked it all in. More mulch!

Thank you Sugarhill and Quirky quercus! I have felt guilty hoping for hurricanes ...every year now. It's nice to know that I am not the only one who thinks such things. As I tell my Wife, that is why God invented insurance.

Those people in Roswell and Clayton county must be made of much sterner stuff...so STASIesque. I may hope for hurricanes but I could never turn in a neighbor for watering their azaleas, even one I don't know. In truth, I would be more likely to pay their water bill.

Thank you, nippersdad! I could never turn in a neighbor either. I live in a bizarre redneck neighborhood to say the least, but people here sure wouldn't rat each other out to the county. What do I care if my next door neighbor watered on an odd day? He wasn't cheating and adding extra watering days - he just watered on odd instead of even. And if another neighbor's dog comes trotting down the street, I know what happened - it figured out a new way to undo the lock on the backyard gate. Glad I don't live where people report this kind of thing.

Jeepers, Sugarhill et al:
I, too, am hoping and praying for rain. It's hard to "wish" for hurricane season because of the potential destruction. I am wishing for enough storm activity to bring rain but spare lives and property. Oh, I know you meant no harm. However, if you live or own property at the coast, you know the fear and financial hardship that hurricanes cause. Many can't even get insurance now. If they can, it is so expensive that it is unaffordable. A lot of people callously said that that Ivan and Katrina cleaned out a lot of undesirable real estate, but I know that it was at a great cost. Don't mean to be a mean old scolder. (I own coastal property but I hate this drought, too!)

Folks in our neighborhood wouldn't (at least I think so) report someone using water on an off day. If they start enforcing water restrictions here in a serious way, someone is going to have to remind our Mayor that they apply to everyone :~). Just a note about dogs and leash laws. We felt it necessary to file a vicious dog complaint against a neighbors dog a few months ago. We're familiar with most neighbors dogs, and sometimes take them home when they escape their back yards. This particular dog was large, and aggressive. It was one thing for us to have to deal with an agressive dog roaming the neighborhood on our daily walks, but when our nearly 90 year old neighbor who lives across the street from the dog told us it chased her into her house for the second time in a week, and that she was getting afraid to go outside to get her mail, that was just too much. We did speak with the dogs owner and ask them to keep it confined but he said he couldn't bear to "choke" his dog. It was a big dog and could easily jump over the chain link fence. So I guess in a way we ratted out a neighbor. The family who owned the dog opted to move. He must have loved the dog a lot. I respect that. But I have to say it's nice to see our nearly 90 year old neighbor out watering her flowers in peace.

I think the purpose of the odd/even days is to minimize the effect of increased demand. For example there would be a lot more people watering on the weekend most likely and that could make it a little hard to get a decent water pressure and be very taxing on the utility.

The chain law I mentioned is in Gwinnett County.
It is also illegal to have dog roaming around off leash (not under voice control) or unrestrained. Of course by the time Animal Control shows up 2 hours later the unsocialized, unneutered and unvaccinated dog has just knocked up every other chained dog in town, and mauled every person it sees.

That's why when he got through inventing insurance, God invented dog kennels.

Hello Yomamanem:
Of course we mean no harm to anyone by hoping for Hurricanes...but equally, Hurricanes and tropical storms are what provide us with nearly half of our precipitation in these parts. It is difficult not to hope for them in the midst of the second fifty year drought in five years! And, I presume, those who buy property in close proximity to the beach have some knowledge of what they are potentially letting themselves in for.

Katrina was not the debacle that it turned out to be because of the storm, but because of a defective levee and a Federal Government uninterested in the welfare of its poorest citizens...just watch what would happen if Boca Raton were to be similarly affected.

As for dog stories...You may like this one Sugarhill. While I could never rat out a neighbor for just about anything, we once had a cat killing dog which lived next door. All of the neighbors had complained about it to this group for years and they just didn't do anything. My Wife found our (then most recent stray) cat gutted next to our porch one day and I put him in a box...went next door with him while they were eating breakfast and told them to look at him, remember him well...that the next time I saw their dog on my property I was going to shoot him, gut him and leave him on their porch with a note about "how sorry I was to have to do it." (I don't even own a gun :0))

It was really ugly ("Why does that man want to kill my dog Daddy?") They had a six foot fence up the next week. I don't know what I would have done if they had called my bluff. I thought that this was really cool since I am so bad at poker! Honestly, it's the irresponsible ones who can make life miserable, isn't it?

I have never complained about anyone, neighbor or not, using water, whenever they choose. But I was not afforded that same privilege, when I had to water some plants on the "wrong" day! Someone called in a report and the dummy that came by to give me a citation did not want to hear that I was exempt from watering restrictions, because I have a valid Live Plant Nursery License, issued by the GA Dept. of Agriculture. He also refused to give me his supervisor's name and phone number.
Dogs can be a joy to their owners, but a royal pain in the derriere to neighbors that have gardens, when they are allowed to prowl the neighborhood 24/7. Have one resident across the street that doesn't believe the leash law is fair to his animals and for years, he refused to abide by it. I tolerated him and his unvaccinated, unkept curs for years, until one day he came home with a large Rottweiler and turned him loose to roam the area. The Judge ordered him to dispose of the Rottweiler immediately, fence in his dogs, show proof of rabies vaccination and maintain them on a leash whenever they were off his property. He was assessed a substantial fine, warned that it would be trebled if he appeared again and he(the Judge) would also consider confiscation of the animals.
Did I feel any sympathy for the guy, of course not. I had warned him numerous times, two elderly neighbors had made previous complaints and he had received warnings from animal control.
Rb

In this day and age, there is no excuse. My husband and I went for a stroll the other evening. We went down the next cul de sac, we hadn't been there in a while. I saw a cat in a driveway and was petting it, when I saw two beagles dogs in the yard next door. The cat didn't flinch. Then I realized that the dogs were in a yard that had an electric fence! The dogs would not go past a certain point. Being beagles, all they could do was howl at us and the cat. The cat just stood there with, well a cheshire cat grin! Not that I approve of the cat being allowed out unattended. The garage was open a crack, I guess that's something.

I'll stop watering when they close all the carwashes in Buckhead.

You think that is bad, twice in the past week I've had unrestrained dogs (One without a collar and tag and unneutered) run out from their properties as we are walking by on a busy street with speeding cars. Forget for a second about consideration for other people and their gardens. How stupid do you have to be to think that dogs will look both ways before crossing? They don't. They just run out into the street! Yesterday in fact, a couple dogs ran out from one unfenced property while their owners yelled for them to come back from an acre away (this is legal and ok). The dogs ignored them. I yelled to the owners that cars were coming yet didn't want to lure the dogs across the street. Seconds later one of the dogs ran into the street as a car was approaching and the car slammed on their brakes and skidded to avoid hitting the dog. The car was not speeding and the driver was even yapping on the cell phone. To her credit she was able to pay close enough attention to stop in time. Disaster averted once again. I say "once again" because this is not the first time that has happened with that property and just about every other adjacent property. The wasn't an unusual week. Just about every time we go out for a walk we have problems with unrestrained dogs.

Simply put, people do not care about their animals or about others. I, on the other hand, do. Which is why I'm reporting animal code violations. Not because I want to be a jerk to the idiots in the neighborhood but because I care about animals and other people innocently walking and driving by. Kids on their way to school and that. I don't have the patience for morons... I lose it so I call the professionals who are trained not to get all worked up.
Watering on off days... I couldn't care less.

I think I nearly shorted out my keyboard when I read that Vroomp will stop watering when they close all of the carwashes in Buckhead. I don't think I have ever had iced tea coming out of my nose before...

I agree with vroomp about the carwashes, in fact I will go him one better. I will continue to water my plants and trees AFTER they shut down the carwashes. The natural production of Oxygen via photosynthesis is vastly more important than driving a spotless vehicle.
Rb

Actually maybe car washes are the answer to conserving water.
People are paying around $5 in quarters to use the automated D.I.Y. carwashes. Or they're paying even more to have someone wash the car for them. Either way they're using pressure washers which don't use very much water. And they're paying through the nose to have it done. Better idea than using a hose at home and using cheap water at 5 gallons per minute, isn't it?

About the Roswell watering enforcement: I live in Roswell and am happy that my community is taking this drought seriously. As for "ratting out your neighbor" I have done no such thing nor have I been a victim. But I am proud of the city for taking measures which strongly discourage the lavish landscaping of the new developments which are filled with water loving exotic plants. I walk frequently in my neighborhood and community and see midday watering at subdivision entrances and many freakishly green lawns. I feel these restrictions are especially targeting the people addicted to neon green front lawns despite the consequences to our communities water supply. I see neighbors watering their lawn 3 times a week!!!!
We are all exempt to restrictions when it comes to new plants (with a receipt) and edible gardens. The other watering needs can be easily met with an investment in a hose timer or setting your alarm clock.
I applaud Roswell for enforcing our water restrictions under these extreme circumstances!

I won't report my neighbors who water their garden plants on the wrong days, because they are clearly clueless and not using that much water. It's not like they are watering every day or for long periods of time. I think homeowners should be able to protect their property values by keeping their plants alive.

I can understand why there are exemptions for water-based businesses as long as the water levels aren't at emergency conditions. However, why do I see business buildings with grass out front running their sprinklers during the day? I drive by a subdivision that runs the sprinklers on the grass by the entrance every morning. Grass doesn't need that much water to survive. There's a huge difference between keeping things alive and being wasteful. I'd like to see some of the commercial properties get fined.

A lot of office parks have ponds and use that for irrigation systems.

What about sprinklers that are not set properly and the water is going into the sidewalk and down into the gutter?
Shouldn't the city or cities be able to control this?
I think so.

They can control it.....
By
raising
rates

I think car washes recycle their water. So they just take the water that runs off, collect it and that's what is washing your car.

I live in Athens-Clarke County and have been faithfully following the water schedule that I was sent and even double-checked with the little public utilities newsletter ACC sends out every now & then. This came last week and the water schedule was the same: odd numbered addresses on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday. Even numbered addresses Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday with NO watering on Friday or from 10 AM to 6 PM on anyday. I don't get our local paper so that was what I thought was my reliable source.
But I was getting strange looks from some of my newest neighbors when they were walking their dog and I was watering at 7:30/8PM. So I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised when I went to the ACC public utilities website (to double check that the garbage/recycling didn't come on Memorial Day, but would come on Tuesday) and learned that they've changed it to no watering except from midnight to 8 AM! ARgh! I do understand the water restrictions but now I'm supposed to water at night in the dark or get up early enough to be done by 8 AM? Wonderful.