Posted by Scott on August 19, 2008, 9:20 am, in reply to "Re: The Weather"
159.134.204.130
This is the wettest August on record, so far. It's been raining and raining and... you get the idea.
That said, last Thursday the entire day was lovely here in Co. Waterford. And most days we get a few minutes of sunshine. Whoop-tee-do!
Why isn't the whole place ditched and trenched and set up for rain? Actually, it was. But, in the last decade Ireland has totally trashed its systems.
First, by allowing unbridled development in flood plains and in all the fields that used to take the overflow so that flooding rarely affected the towns. Or, if it did, the whole setup was designed for that - warehouses along the waterfronts which had empty lower floors, etc. Now there are apartments overlooking the rivers and high maintenance voters yelling for protection.
Second, the county councils used to employ guys who would move along the roads and byways with scythes and hooks and keep the drains and ditches free. They eliminated all those jobs in the past decade and rely on much, much more expensive diggers and crews who do feck all. Now the homeowners and farmers are supposed to maintain the ditches and drains and the road crews come along once every few years and actually pave over drains. The farmers do their maintenance by hiring hedge cutters who shower the road and drainage ditches with debris, ensuring that the water runs on the roads.
Crazy, but they assure us that this is progress. I am convinced that Ireland could save money and have a much better road and drainage system by retiring the diggers except for exceptional jobs and rehiring the lads with their billhooks and forked sticks to do the job.
Scott
--Previous Message--
:
:
: Hi -
: This is my fourth summer in Ireland. The
: first two were brilliant - warm and sunny,
: not much rain. Last year our summer was two
: weeks in April .. this year ... not much.
: Loads and loads of rain. Today in fact feels
: like winter but I don't mind.
: I've only been to Seattle a few times but I
: lived in the SF Bay Area for almost 20yrs. I
: like this weather. I could never live in TX
: because of the heat !
: Daily , I plan for rain . I don't even
: bother with the forecast. I don't bother
: with an umbrella and my vanity about my hair
: is gone. It's always wild. A friend told me
: , soon after I arrived in Ireland , not to
: put off doing things by waiting for a dry
: day. Get out in the rain .......
: Today I have a nice fire going and I'm
: baking bread and making spaghette sauce.
: I've already been to town for groceries ,
: wine and briquettes....have friends coming
: over later.
: It's all good........
:
: Hey !! there is a bit of sun and blue sky
: out there now !!!!!!!!
:
:
:
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