When it rains, it pours. I mean that literally and figuratively. We seriously got dumped on from the skies of El Nino on Tuesday and Wednesday. And my water vessels were already full.
As the rain came down here and blessed Southern California, an old friend in Tennessee was taking flight, after a few years of debilitating health problems. Steve was loved by many and will be missed. That makes three friends, old and new, that died in the last two months. When it rains, it pours.
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“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21, King James Bible
Now, El Nino is responsible for this deluge, but it sure feels like a blessing from above. When we drove through the Los Padres National Forest after Christmas I couldn’t even spot water in the bottom of Lake Cachuma. Too bad it has to come all at once, but we do live in a semi-arid region, and the whole of Southern California would be brown most of the year if not for irrigation. Which is why growing succulents is so rewarding. They need little water.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that raccoons capitalized on the soft wet soil of my garden to search for grubs. I was royally irritated that they disturbed fresh seed plantings, and I got my revenge by replanting seed and covering with netting. I should take a peek this morning and see if they one-upped me last night. (They didn’t.)
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. – Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897
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Two more rain barrels came yesterday which I will situate below the main downspout off the back of the house, even though that means cutting into a good section of copper gutter. A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do, right?
My master gardener old friend, Dotty, cautioned me that cacti can only take a day or two of pouring rain before they start to suffer, so I take care to move mine in out of a “good-un” as my father used to call a good one (anything from car races, to storms, to meals, to farts).
Are you hunkered down in freezing weather, or are you able to get out and enjoy your garden? Please let me know, and thanks for reading! – Kaye
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