Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Rain.....



Ghost image because I had to shoot through the window.

The first storm came through on Sunday, the next one on Monday, followed by another storm on Tuesday, and guess what today brought? Yup, another storm. And tomorrow? Yeah, another. Friday? Supposed to be wet again...



Jake wants to know when it's going to stop.



The fountain was empty on Saturday.
By Friday?




One of the views from my desk.




Do you think that the weeds might drown before I get to them?




That's not fog, nor mist, nor clouds obscuring the view across the valley.
It's a downpour.
Look what the wind did to the finch feeder.




But look! That's blue sky over there!




Yeah Jake, it's nearly stopped raining.
For the moment...




The finches are coming out of hiding.




And a few of their friends.
You can even see the other side of the valley again.




The wind was not kind to the kale.




It got the peas the other day.
I cut them down to a couple of feet.
The chickens got a treat.




Jake found a perfect spot to enjoy a moment of late afternoon sun.

27 comments:

  1. They have been talking about the west coast storms on the weather here, they are supposed to blow this way. Could be rain or snow by the time it gets here, time will tell.

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  2. Oh goodness... Jake is just a darling!

    You are getting our wet storms that we normally get here in the coastal northwest during winter - El Nino is pushing it down to you instead this year. Take heart though... we will probably get a wet and cool summer and I am certain you will have a return of sunshine to look forward too. :D

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  3. It seems the weather's gone a bit beserk all over the place this winter! Love the pictures of the finches, and I hope you get some drier weather soon.

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  4. It seems like a good excuse to curl up with some hot tea. Or maybe that is just the cat in me speaking.

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  5. Hi Michelle! We are watching all this rainy mess and guessing if some of it will come to us. Wouldn't it be great to save some of this water for summer?!
    Stay dry!
    P.S.I hope you got the Joe Pie weed seeds, I mailed them before Christmas.

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  6. We've had a lot of rain here as well. So much, in fact, that everyone is having trouble with their septic tanks not draining because they red clay here is already so saturated. Stay dry!

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  7. Dan, I imagine you should be getting this stuff soon. It hasn't been quite as bad as I thought it was going to be, there just hasn't been enough time between the storms to get out and get anything done.

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    kitsapFG, Jake is a big sweetie pie! He's got a bit of cabin fever right now though. Do you really get weather like this all winter long? Whew! I'm not sure how long I could take it...

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    Jan, The weather has been strange. We've had more lightening in the last 3 days than in the last 3 years. It's really unusual here.

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    Daphne, I did indulge in a nice cup of hot cocoa the other day. Can't do that too much though, I tend to munch when I get stuck in the house. If this weather keeps up I'm going to have to go on a diet.

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    Tatyana, Actually, this is how we get our summer water in California. There are resevoirs all over the state to catch our winter precipitation since we get no rain in the summer. They have been going dry over the last few years so this is just what we need! Sometimes I wish I had a big cistern to catch some rain for my own garden.

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    Ribbit, Oh boy, I hope that's a problem I don't have to face. I think that being on a hillside helps, much of the water just flows down the hill and the lovely drains that we installed help too.

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  8. I don't know whether or not to cheer the bits of clear or just sigh because there's more coming. I'm gong to run today, though. Rain or no.

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  9. Stefaneener, You are a brave woman to be running out in that weather. I'm starting to go a bit bonkers but it's really windy and I can't stand the wind. Anyway, there's a lot of trees dropping branches out there, at least that's my excuse for not getting out to take a walk...

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  10. My meteorologist friend says the worst is over. I hope so! My peas are looking sad, too. Surprisingly the fava beans don't look bad at all. Love the sweet little finches!

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  11. Jackie, Am I ever happy to hear that! It's looking lighter even now. My favas seem unfazed also, but they aren't tall enough yet to get tossed around too much.

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  12. Hello Michelle, found you thru Blotanical. Lovely photos of fog and mist, and I especially like the planting around your charming fountain.

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  13. It always seem that other gardeners have what the other needs. We could do with some of that lovely rain here in oz. 36C here today and no rain in th forecast for the next 10 days :( e

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  14. Funkbunny, how true. If I could have a bit of your warmth and sun in trade for some of our wet we would both be happier. Oh well, at least we're not worrying as much about another year of drought here.

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  15. You have The Most Beautiful views!!!! Hope you are staying dry for a little while now and that your garden suffered no long-lasting damage...

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  16. GetSoiled, The garden seems to be holding up ok so far, just a bit wind blown. It looks like it'll be less wet for the next few days. Yippee!

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  17. I sympathize, Michelle but have to say it could be worse ! Think snow. :)

    Glad to hear the end is near. Bright side, you've saved on watering ?

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  18. Miss M, Oh my, just imagine all that precipitation falling in the form of snow! Talk about cabin fever...

    We are definitely saving water, It was dry enough before these storms that I had to start watering pots again and I was on the verge of watering the vegetable garden as well. No need now. And I'm collecting jugs of rain water for my indoor plants too.

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  19. HI Michelle, this is a bit off topic but I was wondering if you could give me some advice on piracicaba broccoli. Is it as hardy as conventional broccoli? I'm trying to decide when would be best to sow and transplant this spring. Thanks!

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  20. Poor Jake. I feel his pain as he looks out the window.

    That is a LOT of rain. Hope you get to dry out soon.

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  21. Hi Thomas, I'm not sure I can give you good information about the hardiness of Piracicaba broccoli. In my garden it has been as hardy as any other broccoli I've grown, but I'm in zone 9! The mature plants sailed unprotected through the 28F nights we had in December, but I've never had seedlings planted out when we've had such lows. Actually, Piracicaba was developed to be heat tolerant, so I imagine you could actually plant it later than standard type broccolis and since it tolerates the heat of summer it will extend your season for broccoli. Last year I sowed my seeds at the end of April and planted them out in mid May and started harvesting shoots in July. But I think that my summers aren't as hot as yours.

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  22. Susan, it's supposed to be mostly dry today! Although, we did wake up to the sound of a shower pelting down :( But the sun is out now and so is Jake. :)

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  23. Yes, the rain has been torturous this entire week. Nice clicks. This is the first time I stumbled over your blog through a google search for an ingredient.. I am so glad I came here, you have so much information about the food that you grow and delicious recipes to pair with. Thanks for sharing!

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  24. we just got some of your rain today, but I can tell by your photos that it looked prettier at your place!

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  25. Wow, that is rain! It will be good for the garden, though, if not for the cat! I'm interested to see you have the same roof tiles that we have here - it makes sense I suppose as you have a similar climate.

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  26. Lovely pics...very nice blog...

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