cmartenson » Pioneer Valley Resiliency Group: Well, I was out picking the first…

Well, I was out picking the first few Japanese beetles off of my Cherry trees (mainly) and suddenly noticed that the trees themselves were stressed. In a 'duh' moment it only took me a few milliseconds of conscious observation to see that they were water stressed.
So I watered them all and had that disturbing experience of standing to five minutes at each tree, watching the water pool up and sink in around each, only to have bone dry dirt leap to and float on the surface of these pools when I nudged my toe into the seemingly soggy earth.
It's a lot dryer than I thought here and the clover wilting in my yard should have been a clue well before it actually registered in my brain just how dry it actually is.
I am now going to accelerate my efforts to get my second well into play using a solar pump. Just like last year we are having an unusually dry late spring/early summer. I wonder if this is a new pattern (to which I am slow to adjust) or just a normal variation that will be followed by its exact opposite?