{"id":12935,"date":"2012-06-28T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=12935"},"modified":"2012-06-22T18:01:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T23:01:16","slug":"life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Life By the Drop: Between Hell and Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-12935 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/crackedearthcwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CrackedEarthcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CrackedEarthcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CrackedEarthcWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CrackedEarthcWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12938'>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cThe drought was abysmal,\u201d Meinzer says. \u201cI felt it was my duty to document it in all of its ugliness.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/bulldozerc-wyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/Bulldozerc-Wyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/Bulldozerc-Wyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/Bulldozerc-Wyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/Bulldozerc-Wyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12936'>\n\t\t\t\tOn the 6666 Ranch, in King County, earthmoving equipment is used to clean out dry stock tanks in anticipation of potential rain.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/cowmudcwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CowMudcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CowMudcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CowMudcWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/CowMudcWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12937'>\n\t\t\t\tWith stock tanks at historic lows, cattle, such as this steer on the Patterson Ranch, in Knox County, are driven by desperation to wade into the quagmire that surrounds each remaining water source, where they become stuck.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/stuckcowcwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/StuckCowcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/StuckCowcWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/StuckCowcWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/StuckCowcWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12946'>\n\t\t\t\tOn the Patterson Ranch, a cow, paralyzed after a prolonged struggle to free itself from the mud, is about to be dispatched by Kynn Patterson.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/haycwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/HaycWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12942\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/HaycWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/HaycWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/HaycWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12942'>\n\t\t\t\tRancher Kynn Patterson and his partner, Pate Meinzer (Wyman\u2019s son), use an old mixer to produce their own cattle feed in order to avoid the high feed prices brought on by the drought.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/rivercwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/RivercWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/RivercWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/RivercWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/RivercWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12943'>\n\t\t\t\tThe bacteria Chromatiaceae, which grows in oxygen-deprived water, turns Croton Creek, a tributary of the Brazos, eerily red during the 2011 drought.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/drytrackscwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DryTrackscWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DryTrackscWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DryTrackscWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DryTrackscWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12941'>\n\t\t\t\tHeel dust marks the path of cattle leaving a man-made water source on the Williamson Ranch, in Knox County.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/driedrivercwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DriedRivercWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DriedRivercWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DriedRivercWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DriedRivercWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12940'>\n\t\t\t\tA parched Brazos River wends its way through Knox County.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/deercoyotecwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DeerCoyotecWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DeerCoyotecWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DeerCoyotecWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/DeerCoyotecWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12939'>\n\t\t\t\tA coyote and a young whitetail, usually adversaries, eye each other cautiously near a dwindling water source in Baylor County.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/28\/life-by-the-drop-between-hell-and-texas\/skeletonscloudscwyman-meinzer\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/SkeletonsCloudscWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/SkeletonsCloudscWyman-Meinzer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/SkeletonsCloudscWyman-Meinzer-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/SkeletonsCloudscWyman-Meinzer-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12945'>\n\t\t\t\tThe carcasses of two Hereford cows that perished on the Patterson Ranch.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/06\/18\/coming-friday-a-special-report-on-the-drought\/waterpanel-kutad\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12808\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-12808\" title=\"Life By the Drop\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/WaterPanel-KUTad-300x216.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/WaterPanel-KUTad-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/WaterPanel-KUTad-620x446.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2012\/06\/WaterPanel-KUTad.jpeg 625w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Last year, Wyman Meinzer got an unsettling feeling. Meinzer was raised on a ranch in West Texas and has weathered many dry spells, including the drought of record, when he was just a boy. But last spring, he started to notice unusual patterns. High winds for days on end. Temperatures much hotter than normal. Waterholes shrinking and filming over.<\/p>\n<p>Meinzer is the official state photographer of Texas. He\u2019s known for capturing images that show the state\u2019s beauty. But as the drought set in, he decided to document it in all its ugliness.<\/p>\n\n<p>You can listen to Meinzer&#8217;s story and see some of his images in the slideshow above. And you can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.texasmonthly.com\/2012-07-01\/feature4.php\">read Meinzer&#8217;s story <\/a>in the new <em>Texas Monthly<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>This report is part of the series\u00a0<\/strong><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/life-by-the-drop\/\">Life By the Drop: Drought, Water and the Future of Texas<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/strong><strong>collaboration with KUT News and<em>\u00a0Texas Monthly\u00a0<\/em>and StateImpact Texas.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>You can listen to<em>\u00a0<\/em>a special one-hour audio report from the series<\/strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/p1ODOS-3sX\">\u00a0here at StateImpact Texas<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>And you can learn more about the history of the drought at our interactive web page,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/drought\/\">Dried Out: Confronting the Texas Drought<\/a>, and share your thoughts on Twitter with the hashtag #txwater.<\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last year, Wyman Meinzer got an unsettling feeling. Meinzer was raised on a ranch in West Texas and has weathered many dry spells, including the drought of record, when he was just a boy. But last spring, he started to notice unusual patterns. High winds for days on end. Temperatures much hotter than normal. Waterholes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":12937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[61,140,179],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}