Finally, after 6 weeks without decent rain (not counting the pitiful amount that arrived 4 days after the 115mm deluge), and enduring higher than normal temperatures, the dry spell has been broken. This has been looming tentatively on the weather outlook for weeks, teasing us with its variably as it finds its final position on the forecast. But even as recently as yesterday morning they were suggesting we would receive 140mm with 53.8mm of that happening in one single hour. In reality we got just half of that – starting in the night and winding up late morning, finishing off with a rainbow.
Other locations north of us fared a lot worse with our entire 70mm coming in just an hour and more than a month’s worth during the entire storm. There has been flooding and damage to many places and properties, so we seem to have escaped the worst of it.
And the beauty of being on sand is, while the back yard was flooded with puddles while it was raining, since it has stopped it has all soaked away, locked in deep into the soil. Just the kind of reset my soil has been crying out for. There is supposed to be intermittent rain showers for the rest of the week, but nothing like today, so I need to plan carefully what I do next, but with a good deeply quenched soil the opportunities are exciting and once again sowing and planting is back on the list.
With the autumnal equinox occurring in the midst of the rain in the wee small hours, the season has quite firmly made its position known – we are no longer in summer, and there is no point pretending any more. But that is ok – autumn is my favourite season – so long as it doesn’t transition too sharply into winter!
Come again soon – the garden and the gardener will be reinvigorated after today.
Sarah the Gardener : o)
So happy for you to finally have rain. Your garden will be drinking it up – nothing quite like rain to perk everything up. And nice not to have to think about watering. Here in Hawkes Bay we’ve been having a lot of rain for what feels like weeks – with sunny breaks in between. Everything is flourishing and looking very green and I haven’t had to water the garden for many weeks – most unusual for summer.
I hope this latest round of rain isn’t too brutal for you. There has been some terrible flooding on your side of the country. For us this time it has been the wind – but we do live in the ‘exposed places’ often mentioned in the weather forecast. : o)
Sarah, Today will be a day to spend in the garden. Even though the soil temperature is still too cold to plant, it will be nice to spend time just enjoying the cleanup from dead debris accumulated from the fall. The spring here is just not ready to come yet, and I suspect a late one. The night temps are still close to freezing. We are in a drought condition here too with the hope of some rain this week. Hopefully, it will be the beginning of replenishing the moisture in the soil. We are in a no burn restriction. There have been many brush fires in Nebraska as a result of the drought and winds conditions. One spark can set off a raging fire in the dead grass pastures. Each year seems to have different challenges for gardening here.
I am beginning to sprout seeds to plant in the seed cells under the grow lights. So, gardening here ramps up and your ramps down. Have a great fall day.
Nebraska Dave
Urban Farmer
Fire is such a scary thought, it has been so dry here I’m surprised we didn’t get any out of control wildfires this season. Now we have had rain everything feels damp. I do hope the rains come for you in good time for your growing season. A garden is a great place to sow hope for a new season. : o)
We’re finally getting a wee bit of rain here in the Hutt – but today’s high is 28 degrees! That’s not at all what I expect of an autumnal equinox!
This is certainly a strange season. I hope it settles down soon because I really struggle to decide what to wear from day to day! : o)
Ah! It looks . . . wet. We got only a brief rain shower on about January 4, but otherwise no rain this year. This is supposed to be the rainy season, and it ends soon! Nice weather is . . . well, nice, but rain is important also. I happen to be away from home at the moment, in Washington, where it actually rained a little bit. (Washington is famous for rain, even though only certain climates [where most people live here] are actually unduly rainy.)
Gosh, that is definitely a dry spell. I hope you get rain soon. : o)
Yes, but technically, it is not too unusual. It sometimes happens.