Finally, not a moment too soon, 40mm (1.6″) of gentle rain over the last day and a half, with likely a little more to come. Slow and intermittent is best for soaking in. This is great. Things were starting to get really dry: over the last week, I had to fire up the pond pump and (inefficient!) sprinklers to help along the just emerging and newly seeded beds. Now, we’re good for better than a week, for some of the crops at this stage, even two (the clay-loam is great at holding moisture). Some days, gloomy is good!
rain
Second day of spring
It’s pretty close to all-clear in the field, with the temperature well above zero and a steady rain on this second day of spring. I can feel the next stage of weather-watching coming on. At the end of winter, it’s all about snow being gone. No sooner than that happens, the watching turns to the day and night highs and lows, amount of sun, amount of rain and the trend for the next couple of weeks. Beneath all that is wondering what type of season it’ll be overall. With freaky weather now the norm, we could have a cool, damp, sun-less summer like three years ago (no two consecutive days of sunshine all season!), a spring time drought like two years ago (no rain from April into July, with heatwaves to boot), or just extreme ups and downs for two-three weeks at a time like last year. What weather will the season bring? (One month ago…)
Stormy weather
It’s been raining for days, interrupted by a few hours of sunshine here and there. Not entirely bad, the water is appreciated, but so is sun. We’re up to 3-1/2 inches (around 85 mm) in the last week…
First potato
The first potato plants are popping up. This is Gold Rush, saved from last season. The dirt on the leaves was splashed up by the pounding rain that came with yesterday’s thunderstorm.
50 mm
You don’t see that too often around here: two inches (50 mm) of rain over the last day or so, and this after weeks of hot and dry. It’s about time!
What’s up, early May?
Days are warm, nights are often still sub-freezing, and it hasn’t rained in weeks. Anything that looks like it’s growing is grass.
It’s all about the rain…
The jumbo rain gauge is something to keep an eye on. Once in a while, that little red disc floats upwards, and then, you’re looking for the magic 25 (millimeters, that is, a nice inch of rain).