So far, so good. The ones which always concern me... regarding 'too much water' issues... are the oakleafs. The last set of purchases went under a Chinese Pistache and a Nelly R Stevens Holly. Using the moist meter to measure, the one under the holly had good moisture on its left side and was a just a 1 out of 4 on the right side. Go figure that. The one under the CP was a 1 of 4on any side. I was commenting to someone this week how would my neighbors react if they see me watering that one! LOL!!!!! I can hear them saying 'are you crazy?!?!?!'

A few of the macs are showing signs of too much water by displaying early signs of iron chlorosis. I amended in March and normally that would have lasted thru July-September if not all year. No leaf spots or yellowing leaves or signs of root rot (wilting 24/7).

Little Lime seemed fine a few minutes ago when I sprinkled a small amount of soil amendments. Macs nearby are the ones showing iron chlorosis signs but that is because their roots cannot uptake the aluminum due to the water. LL does not show signs of it but I decided to sprinkle 1/4th of what I normally sprinkle in Spring just in case. LL should be going into the broccoli stage soon, in early June or so. The azaleas and camellias lost their blooms with all the rain so they will be green now for the rest of the year, maybe. Not sure if the sasanqua camellias or the reblooming azalea will do its thing on schedule (usually it reblooms in either June or July; again in August-September) because of the rain.

The roses are suffering from black spot, really bad. One was defoliated big time and is now putting on new leaves. Roses have basically shut down bloomage. I have maybe ten with a few blooms but that is nothing considering I have over 70. Because of the rains and the saturated soils, I am not cutting the hips in order to force new blooms. Would rather let them use the energy on the hips and the basics. When things improve, I may cut the hips to force new blooms. Bird feeders cannot be replenished because the food gets moldy so I stopped that ??? many weeks ago...

Weeks ago, I bought several fertilizers for the various shrubs but have not been able to put some on any plants because it keeps raining and it was recommended that I wait. That was three weeks ago, man.

I checked the various plants in the garden and no one seems to be complaining or turning leaves yellow and that sort of thing. The dogs are having a ball and coming into the house with their paws and legs all muddy. Big smiles on them faces though!

The dwarf peach tree seems happy. The apples on tree look "ok" and the other apple tree has a pittance of apples. Not sure if that is related to the rains or what.

It rained 1 and 7/8" yesterday, 1" the prev days and almost daily for the prev 7 days (xcpt one day) but I do not remember the amts. I had to replace the rain gauge, which broke a few months ago so I have to get used to cking it again.

Snakes are now reported getting into homes as they flee flooded areas. Retaining walls are under scrutiny in case they fail. The soil in some Arlington hills has failed and has come tumbling down like a river of mud. Some trees have come crashing down as their root system was weakened by drought and now by too much rain. Sometimes they split in half (Bradford pairs do that for example).

I feel very badly about the situation in Texas (and I guess Oklahoma as well) - natural disasters are always such major disruptions in one's way of life and to combine that with the loss of life and enormous property destruction, it's almost beyond words. I'm not sure that television gives the most accurate view but it's all us outlanders have to go by and the pictures it paints are terrifying. I hope things can return to normal as soon as possible but I understand more rain is forecast. You guys really need a break!

The PNW has always had a reputation for being a damp place with lots of rain. I don't mean to be facetious and make light of your situation, but it's nothing like the rainfall totals you guys can accumulate. You've received almost as much rain in the past two months as we get the entire year!

Again, I don't want to make light of your situation but it's times like this that I am very glad I live where I do. We don't have tornadoes or hurricanes, we don't get tons of snow and subzero temperatures, we don't get deluges of rain that make us want to run out and build an ark and we seldom ever have to deal with triple digit heat. About the only natural disasters we might have to contend with are brush fires (which can be bad) and then the biggies that are completely unpredictable and generally ignored until they happen (what else can you do?).........like a major earthquake or another mountain blowing up.

Sending good thoughts your way. I hope things dry up soon.