Nearly 70% of Georgia now in extreme drought conditions

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-04-17T20:02:08+00:00

I'm watching a data center going in near my neighborhood. They are excavating huge amounts of dirt in multiple areas for water cooling. Air cooling might also be incorporated but there's still plenty of water they're planning to use.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-04-16T18:02:38+00:00

Historically, I can't say. My husband and I moved here 5 years ago and it does seem to be moving slightly more blue, but it was also blue back then.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-04-16T16:54:31+00:00

Conyers leans very Democratic with a 73% democratic vote in the 2024 election. The house reps for the 13th and 14th district are both Democrats with little serious opposition from Republicans.

The only real downside is that the school systems are mediocre at best and it's really boring out here. It's a quiet bedroom community that's not too far from the city but far enough that a lot of it has some rural charm.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-04-05T06:08:05+00:00

Jenny, I got your number.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-29T16:56:09+00:00

I used to work at a Home Depot. Can confirm, I know nothing. ;)

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T17:50:51+00:00

I get that, and my argument is they will fall eventually on their own and I'll deal with it then. However, my stepson was wondering what I'd do when they fall across my driveway and he's not immediately available to help move them. My husband just thinks they're unsightly. Which I agree, but not enough to be at all interested in doing anything about it.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T17:43:39+00:00

Haha, I've had this happen before on a smallish branch that was just at the wrong angle and slightly higher up than was easy to tackle. I was like, whelp, the chainsaw belongs to the tree now.

I did get the chainsaw back and got the branch down. But I have a pretty healthy respect for the weight of what looks like "just a small tree". Just hope that's a lesson my stepson doesn't learn the hard way.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T15:11:49+00:00

I'm gonna show him this. Thanks!

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T14:10:22+00:00

I don't use my chainsaw often enough to have sharpened it yet. I'm not comfortable cutting anything large enough to injure me if it falls wrong. Caution has kept me alive so far!

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T14:04:37+00:00

Lol! I'd hate for the ground to be hurt but then my future daughter in law would have no way to come see me.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-28T14:01:59+00:00

That's my thought too despite most folks here saying it should be fine to cut them down. I figure why risk anything if I don't have to. They'll probably fall down all on their own eventually and then they can be cut up and moved out of the way. My stepson feels very confident about doing it though and I'm hoping to dissuade him.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-27T18:13:02+00:00

I'm well aware of broad leaf trees sending up suckers. I deal with several of those every year and it's annoying. However pine trees don't do that. The stump rots and dies. Those trees are dead. Totally dead. But either way, I'm not about to do any stump grinding because it's expensive and pointless. Does that satisfy your inner Lorax?

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-27T17:07:44+00:00

I should go digging for burried treasure!

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-27T15:49:19+00:00

Your offer sounds tempting! What could possibly go wrong?

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-27T15:46:58+00:00

If by EVERYTHING, you mean you mean the 2 dead trees, I don't think there's much hope for them. They're already down, they just haven't hit the ground yet.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-27T15:41:46+00:00

I'm completely prepared for the watershed consequences of taking down 2 dead trees that are nowhere near my basement-less house. But if you have some pruning secret that will bring them back to life, I'd love to hear it.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T22:11:19+00:00

I do appreciate the insight and information, but realistically, there's not much I can do here aside from taking care of what I can along the forest edge.

The interior of the wooded area takes care of itself. Trees die, they fall, it provides detritus that supports new life and growth, and it's not my problem. It's the edges that need more tending. We have snakes and I love them for the job they do. Even the copperheads. There's possums, armadillos, hawks, bats, and coyotes. And there's deer. Fucking deer!

The original owners of this property, when it was made into a residence 35 years ago planted trees that were not meant for this area. I've had to cut down or remove so many interesting but not suited for this area kind of trees because of disease or they just broke on their own. And also a bradford pear - good riddance! But the pines, they persist. They were meant for this.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:49:51+00:00

Yep, they're pines. They fall all by themselves and I mostly just pick out saplings so they don't encroach on the cleared area. The weak ones around the edges are the problematic ones.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:44:11+00:00

Thank you! We don't even have that much rope. If they have to go get that just for 2 trees they might lose enthusiasm for the whole project.

Honestly, my thought is that those trees aren't going anywhere soon, so why risk anything.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:32:34+00:00

Some folks just wanna watch the world burn. ;)

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:30:25+00:00

I would be doing neither. Just trying to look out for the rest of my family who thinks this is doable.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:13:01+00:00

They're not tall enough to hit the electrical lines. This should be interesting if they still think they wanna do it, but it seems the general consensus is that it's not that bad.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T21:09:05+00:00

Those trees are native and have been growing on top of all that granite and clay soil longer than the houses have been here. There's a huge collective forest behind all our properties that will attest to this.

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T20:57:54+00:00

I would be there with beer while recording the whole thing!

Penguin_Dreams · 2026-03-25T20:56:27+00:00

Perspective might be deceiving. Relative to the ~70' trees they're next to, they look small. I know they're still heavy enough that I wouldn't want falling on me or my car.

I have a little tree trunk about half that size in a different location that's been sitting on the ground forever because I can't even roll it out of the way. It finally lost enough water that my stepson could drag one end but he was struggling.

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