When it rains it pours

I’ve been busy and I haven’t had time to blog! I started working part-time with two different community gardening projects in town and its been really fun but has me running around a bit more than I had become accustomed to over the past 8 months. Along with trying to get the gardens going and my writing group starting back up I’ve been rippin’ and runnin’ as they say.

We got 5 inches of rain this week in two separate storms. Three and a half inches on March 4th, and another inch and a half on March 7th. Real gully washers as my Papa woulda said. Check out these before and after pictures of the creek in December and then this week. It’s amazing- we couldn’t remember how long it had been since we had rain like that- maybe more than a year.

Looking up stream from the same spot

Dec 20th and March 4th

Looking downstream

The pond filled up and its creek was raging.

Our little creek was out of its banks
And the dry wash was even running steady on Friday afternoon.
We need way more rain barrels than the two trash cans and 15 five gallon buckets that currently are brimming with rain water, another project for another week I guess.

I got the rest of my spring seeds in the ground last weekend, more lettuce, spinach, radishes and carrots, beets, broccoli raab, turnips, tatsoi, and cabbages- which I thought were broccoli when I bought them but realized as I was planting them they were not, oops, I guess I’ll have to go get some broccoli plants. I still haven’t gotten the potatoes planted but hope to this week- getting some new ground ready for them.

I started the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in their flats yesterday and they are now sitting on the heating pad to encourage them to sprout. I did 9 kinds of tomatoes and 6 kinds of peppers! As usual- over the top, but I love variety.

We are going to paint the house- another one of those got to do one thing before you can finish another- we are planning a big cedar arbor for the West side of the house to grow roses and clematis on, but need to paint the house first and that rose is about to spring to life any day- so this week we’ll be behind the rollers and brushes- getting the West side done at least.

One more funny picture from the rain- our neighbors kids beach balls got caught by the high winds, blew into the creek and floated down into our yard. So colorful and surprising to see amidst all the brown and rushing water after taking some pictures we returned them home.