rain barrels and new plants

Nate has rigged some kind of contraption that forces the water from the rain barrels into the pvc pipes that run to the garden boxes. So instead of us filling buckets and hauling the water, the water will run through the pipes to small sprinklers in the garden boxes to water for us. good concept. I'm waiting to see how well it plays out. 

We haven't had much rain here lately. Quite a bit on tuesday, but that's it for the week. It's not really our rainy season yet. wait another month, then it'll hit. 

yay for rain!

summer rain

We are getting some much needed rain here this morning, thank god. We need it. There was a small brush fire nearby recently (a couple miles away) but that is close enough. Winter isn't usually our rainy season. Everything is dry and brown since we have no rain. We didn't get much rain over the summer either, so brush fires are something we'll have to deal with. I am glad that it hasn't gotten so close to us. We do have a green space just east of us, between our neighborhood and the one on the other side of it, which is only some 500 yards away. I keep my eye on it. 

The plants like the rain and now we have more water for our rain barrels. Another winter project is putting up some more gutters to route more rain to the barrels instead of just the ground. We have a list of outside projects to do before April, when it starts to get really hot. I told Nate, this year, I am NOT working outside in July. I'll be glad to help outside up until 10a, and after 6p in the evening, but other than that, it is just too damn hot and uncomfortable to work in the garden. We'll get it done. 

rain today

It looked like this for most of the day today. It wasn't as cold, but the rain was biting, so it didn't make for such a great day. At least the plants got fed water, and they didn't freeze. I uncovered a bit of the fish pond, for some fresh air and possible sun, and all the fish are they. I bought a plant for the pond in the hopes the plant would provide some shelter and warmth and fun for the fishes to swim through. I just got one. The last time we had this plant it took over the pond, but we bought, like 6 of them. A little overboard with the plants at that time, but now we know better. The kittens are enjoying being outside again, but not the rain so much. Rain makes it difficult for the kittens to slide gracefully off the top of my car. 

rain barrels, and composters, and compost, oh my!

There is a local organization, Mills50, that is hosting a green fest tomorrow. I really like this area of town. It's very quaint, is walkable with many local businesses and has a unique culture. There is a big asian influence in this part of town. Some of the best peanut sauce you can find anywhere! Anyway, at the greenfest they will be selling composters and rain barrels, and these are exactly the same ones that I bought through work for a charitable organization:

and the prices are even cheaper than what I paid for originally. We're getting there early tomorrow to buy 4 rain barrels. Since we didn't have much rain this summer, we have used up almost all of our water from the barrels. One is empty and the other only half full now. These will come in handy next year during summer, if we don't get any rain over the winter. Sometimes we have a short rainy season in winter. Not as much as the summer downpours, but enough to get us some usable water. Hope to see you there!

cooler weather, still no rain

Moses, our 3 legged cat

The weather has been so much nicer to work outside, but we still have no rain, and no great chance of rain anytime soon. Only 20% chance tomorrow and wednesday. That's not much. The standard saying here in Florida is that if there is a 50% chance of rain, you will get rain. One of our rain barrels is empty now. We have one that is almost full, but with watering the new bamboo we put in, as well as our other plants, I'm afraid it's going to run out before it gets filled again. 

This was a very dry season for us, and it doesn't bode well if this continues. We've had brush fires around here in years past, and we really don't want that again. 

Time for another rain dance...

Finally RAIN!

Yay! we finally had some big rain today! When I first moved here to Florida, I had never seen such big rain! It seems to take up the whole sky when it rains here! and it's not like a little drizzle for days either. It rains A LOT in a relatively short amount of time, and then it's gone. The thunder and lightning sure make for a big show and can be very scary sometimes. The yard and the plants are very grateful for the rain. As am I. It helps to cool us all down, which we desperately need. It was in the 90's again today. The white tent looking thing in the garden has sweet potatoes growing in it. Nate decided he had had enough with all the damn bugs and made a cover for one of our planters, and they look pretty good in there. They are coming along nicely and don't look burnt or have leaves full of holes. that's one thing about Florida, too many weird funky damn bugs and not enough cold to kill them off. 

rain, rain, where is the rain?

This is usually our rainy season, through most of the summer, notwithstanding hurricane season. We have not had much rain at all this month, maybe 2 days worth which is very unusual. This can create many problems.

1. We need rain for our garden. (duh)
2. The rain helps to cool the outside temperature. It has been in the 90's, with the heat index of 100's lately. we need the rain for cooling purposes. 
3. The rain helps to stave off brush fires. If we don't get some rain soon, there is a threat of fires. We had a big run in with this about 10 years ago. We didn't get any rain through all of July, and not until August sometime. It caused quite a bit of problems. 

Now needless to say, we don't want so much rain that it floods, or that we get rain from hurricanes, but some rain would be nice. I am hoping the rain gods are listening.