Donald says that he remembers a year when the hills did not turn green. He was forced to pump water from the lower pond, which fills first and quickly, to the upper, much larger pond, to capture and save what rain water he could.
This has not happened in the 20 years that I have lived on our ranch, but I do remember drought years in the late '80’s, and some before in the mid '70’s. We were living in Marin County at the time, and the reservoirs went dry. We were put on water rationing, only 40 gal