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I woke to rain several times last night–it paused for an hour or two this morning, when we made it outside to check the gauges near the house (1.3 inches at that point) and walk out to the near meadow (puddle behind the #3 gabion.) Then it started again.
From the front porch, here’s water coming off the near side of the carport:
And a closer look:
We’re planning to put a big tank there but hadn’t had it delivered yet (let alone installed.) We definitely need bigger tanks for the carport, but it’s not on really level ground. The sad looking sticks just this side of it are part of the fig tree that’s held on (but lost its figs) this year.
Out the kitchen door, looking across the back yard, the lily pond is full to overflowing:
The surviving grass has turned green already. When I was out in the near meadow, though it was not raining right then, I heard not one bird calling. But the plants that were looking wilted are perking up; the grass is showing green at the bases and partway up the leaves. It’s possible that plants that haven’t completely died yet may not die this year.
We are grateful for the rain…and hoping for even more. It’s still falling…hurray!
Comment by Margaret (Merrow) — September 11, 2009 @ 10:13 am
What a lovely sight!
Rain, rain stay around,
Stay and soak the thirsty ground.
Comment by ajlr — September 11, 2009 @ 11:01 am
Yay! It’s a lovely smell, too, isn’t it.
Comment by elizabeth — September 11, 2009 @ 11:45 am
Yes–not just the rain smell, but the smells of wet earth and growing things that are finally free to release their fragrances into the air.
Comment by elizabeth — September 11, 2009 @ 11:47 am
Exactly! And so far it is staying around. A rancher friend of ours had just finished re-shaping his stock tanks a few days ago–and now they’ll be filling, I’ll bet. From the radar, it’s raining harder over there (about 15 miles east of us and a little south) than here.
Comment by AnnMCN — September 11, 2009 @ 4:06 pm
We were in a drought here in Georgia, not so terribly dry as you have been, but I know how you long for rain. Our drought has broken, although we stll don’t have a surplus, and should be thrifty, but it’s so good to wake up to the sound of rain.
Comment by elizabeth — September 12, 2009 @ 11:11 am
We’re now at 5+ inches, starting from yesterday morning. Water’s pouring off the highway east of the 80 acres, and the rise on the other side of the road, through the culvert, and onto our land. I hope the check-dams and gabions hold and wish very much I’d managed to get the other planned gabion built (but it was SO hot, and I had SO many deadlines.)
The creek should be well up, but neither of us feels like walking that far in the rain, esp. as the various rain gear has developed cracks and holes in the past two years–including my rubber work boots (gee, they’re only 30 years old–what could be wrong with them? I bought them the first year we lived here, in ’79.)
Getting to church tomorrow could be interesting, if this amount of rain falls the rest of the day and tonight–the bridges out of town can be impassable for a few hours. Maybe I should warn my choir director…since I have to start before sunrise, and if it’s raining it’ll be pitch black…not the best time to tell if the high water is really “that”high.
Comment by elizabeth — September 12, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
We’re now at 6.7 inches. The creek should be up. That’s not quite sustainable, but it should flow for several days, at least. I’m hoping, anyway.
As the rain slackened off about 15 minutes ago, I’m beginning to hear birds doing their autumn singing. Nobody’s coming to the artificial water (why would they?) Plants look much greener today. It’s amazing how fast native plants–especially grass–can show green once the rain starts.