The drive home yesterday was blustery but dry with lots of high clouds and rain showers off in the distance. Hurricane Dolly’s approach to the Texas coast was being felt first far north of the expected landfall. The first bands of showers croosed Galveston Island early yesterday morning.

The drive in this morning was wetter…A slow gentle rain falling the whole way in. The prognosticators are predicting more all day. As I watch the radar out of Brownsville this morning it appears the storm track is running a bit north of the predictions.

South Texas will be getting much needed rain today and tomorrow. If my grandfather was still out on the ranch in McMullen County, he would be happy to see the tanks filling up with water once more. For all of the years I knew the man he kept track of the rainfall wherever he lived…recorded daily on the wall calendar in the living room. He kept fiberglass cistrens for collecting rainwater for the garden in South Texas.

When he lived in Orchard he had a windmill and a large cement water tank that was used for the garden and nursery he ran then.

Grandpa’s tanks were used for more than watering plants and livestock. Growing up I spent many summer afternoons cooling off swimming in the tanks. The picture above shows the stock tank in south Texas. To the right is the home place in Orchard Texas now so grown up the tank is no longer visible under the trees. I have many fond memories of both places…