Rattling of the (B)rain?

The year is half gone. Where did it go? It was only yesterday the furnace would kick off and on and the trees hadn't donned their spring wardrobes. And now, here we are with the Fourth of July being celebrated. The days are getting shorter; believe it or not, they'll really start shrinking in a few weeks.

You probably know what this is leading up to -- the half-year weather report since several persons (make that at least one) have asked me how the raindrops are stacking up so far this year. I'll try to make it brief because there's another topic that has been playing around in my mind. If you'll hang in there, I hope you will find my latest "crusade" interesting.

But back to the weather. I know and you know, after a most unusual winter, it bears noting that the 2015-16 winter season was one of the most unusual on record -- not for deep snow, not for the ice storms, not for sub-zero weather -- but rather for a mild several months. So mild not a single day of school was lost because of the weather. Can you remember that happening before? In fact there was only one barely measurable snow during the months when we can usually expect at least a couple of shovelers.

We had flurries last December 18, a few flakes on January 8 and a month later, February 8, a few more snowflakes floated down in Eagle Observer country. Put together with a "skiff" (where did that word come from?) on January 18 followed by about an inch of white stuff three days later, that's about it. Remember weather patterns can be different just a few miles apart; in fact, summer downpours can be different a block or two distant.

I know you're thinking, "I thought this was going to be short," so I'll get to the meat of the mess. What is important, particularly for the agricultural community, is the fact that we are almost 8 inches short on precipitation for the first six months of the year.

I know, you're thinking the lawns are green, gardens have been growing, farm ponds still hold water and lots of large round hay bales dot the countryside. There's even sparkling water in Spavinaw and Flint Creeks and the kids caught catfish in Sulphur Springs lake during their Independence Day celebration. But ... we're still mighty dry as we head into the usually hot and dry July. And then there's August.

Both January and February accounted for less than a half inch of precipitation -- .47 inch in January and .39 in February. There were 3.03 inches of rainfall in March, 3.76 inches in April, 3.54 inches in May and only 4.78 in June. Total for the six months amounted to only 15.97 inches. That's 7.88 inches less than the 23.85-inch average over the past 60 years according to the NOAA records at the Gravette station.

I guess the near-record 12.52 inches we received last December, following a generous 8.10 inches in November, put us in pretty good shape. But we have to do a lot of catching up to reach the 44.87 annual average. (Last year we received 63.55 inches). That's enough weather woes info. Now on to that other subject: A Slim subject to be exact.

It's about a man we all knew as "Slim." Slim grew up in this area, went to Hollywood, had numerous roles in western movies, entertained kids on the west coast with his talents and his "Josephine" and finally returned to his home grounds to continue being a kids' favorite in the four-state area. He always provided a special performance during the annual Gravette Day celebration.

Now that I've gotten this far, I'm gonna change direction again and postpone the "Slim" story and an idea that's been rattling around in my brain for some time. I promise to delve into a story about Slim in the next 'Cuff. Please bear with me. I know you'll find it more interesting than the weather that I rambled on about this week. See you in a couple?

Dodie Evans is the former owner and long-time editor of the Gravette News Herald. Opinions expressed are those of the author.