CMO water rationing

Today I decided I better start watering less than normal, even though I wouldn't have enough water to make it to next summer either way. Gotta get at least one monsoonal rain this summer. Maybe I should have started rationing sooner but it seems silly to ration, then get a monsoon and no where to put the water. When we installed the new 65,000 tank it was just to be used in case no monsoon arrived. But I need a place to put the water that fills the stucco tank during a flash flood so I can pump it out and check for leaks. And the tank water is better for the plants since it hasn't been subjected to evaporation. So it's a gamble. There's still several feet of water in the big tank that I can use when the new tank gets empty. It probably is about two-thirds empty now. And the next ten days at least are forecast to be triple-digit and dry. Pretty depressing.

Meanwhile, my beloved soapberry thicket is losing leaves. It has before, and will probably survive, but still....

While watering today I came upon a couple of just-fledged Bell's Vireos. Here's one attempting to get fed. I think the parent realized the worm was too big and probably departed with the worm. While looking through my viewfinder I couldn't really tell. This is all I ended up with.