Mrs. Ichabod I viewed the problems of the Three Gorges Dam in a video when the news was tilted toward big fires all over the globe, seemingly at once. Fires are horrible, but floods seem far more powerful - impossible to stop.
Floods also set up a system where evaporating water can easily come down again as rain. We saw that in St. Louis, with 60 straight days of rain, flooding, and recycling of the water. We saw hogs floating in the floodwaters, looking like inflated rubber toys.
Three Gorges was built in haste, bypassing many safety features.
Epoch Times says today -
The seizure of fake IDs is on the rise, and Customs and Border Protection says most of the fake documents come from China.
So far this year, the agency has seized almost 55,000 fake documents.
CBP Memphis Port Director Michael Neipert told The Epoch Times that they are "high-quality fake IDs because they can definitely fool the average person."
Apparently, the Chinese are perfectionists when it comes to fake IDs.
One region of the dam's drainage will have 50 inches of rain, which will move toward the dam this Saturday. News is difficult to obtain, but that looks like the final test this year.
We do not get the rough parts of storms as they pass through Sprindale. The storms go north toward Joplin or south through Ft. Smith.
I had Poke Weed in distress before the last big rain. To make one a star weed with neat flowers and fruit, I covered the base with coffee diapers full of used grounds. That became messy, so I covered it with cardboard and a layer of wood mulch. Special plants got stored rainwater and so did this Poke.
The weed stretched out its branches to collect as much sun as possible - like an umbrella. Of course, plants in the shade would normally have little chance to grow. The cardboard and mulch made that safety zone even better. The Poke flowers are becoming fruit now and the leaves are filled with moisture instead of hanging like old rags, the fate of a nearby - but neglected - Poke Weed.
Those who look down on piles of weeds, dead grass and leaves should consider the ability of organic matter to absorb and hold moisture while the soil denizens do their work. Plants like cool feet. Swimming pools provide "cool decks" so tender feet are not burned in August. Plants make their own cool desks by dropping leaves and collecting organic matter. I recall that organic matter holds four times its weight in water. Those who love to rake leaves into plastic bags know how much wet leaves weigh compared to a bag of dry ones. I simply leave them in place and watch them disappear into the soil - turning into soil.
August is like winter - I think about gardening I will do when the weather is friendlier. I am going to cut down some of the big flowers in the Rose Garden where the bees and butterflies have finished their work. The Joe Pye flower becomes brown and fuzzy as the individual flowers are pollinated by the insects. Seeds form next.
Joe Pye and Bee Balm are bully plants that take over their space quickly and eliminate ground weeds. I do not think Joe Pye will grow a second set of flowers, but Bee Balm will.
The mailman cut some Bee Balm in his way, blocking his reach into the mailbox. The presence of Bumble Bees might have motivated his project. Now the little stalks are presenting new flowers for the bees, near the ground floor rather than the mailbox itself. As I say apologetically to visitors, "It's a mint. Can't stop a mint."
