Rain in the Desert - Finally!

Rain in the Desert - Finally!

The last time it rained at my home was August 13, 2009 and I got 1/2 an inch of rain. I remember well because I lost almost all the rain from my barrels - you can read all about it at Mourning the Loss of the Baby Rain Drops.

This time I was partially prepared for rain, at least I had the faucets closed! It rained for most of the day on Saturday, September 3, 2009, three weeks and 3 days after the last rain. I checked my rain gauge when I got home on Monday and there was .4 of an inch and two full rain barrels. They looked like they over flowed, but unfortunately I did not have the overflow diversion tubing hooked up!

I wasn't even home to witness this glorious event. I was out of town for the Labor Day weekend in Sedona hiking and visiting a friend. It rained about 30 minutes after I finished my morning hike and put a damper on my hot tub time to ward off sore muscles. Then it continued to rain all day long in Sedona so I at least got to spend a rainy day reveling in the coolness and wonderful smells of pine and creosote.

Even though I didn't have a chance to plant the rain where I wanted to with the overflow diversion, I am still happy it rained. The grass seemed to have grown an inch over the weekend so I know the plants were very happy for the rain.

And I am too - now if it would just rain again SOON! But not before I install the Barrel conversion kit for the third barrel!

Happy Rain Harvesting,

The Garden Goddess

Down 2 Earth Gardens, LLC

Mourning the Loss of Baby Rain Drops

Well it FINALLY rained at my house in Phoenix, AZ last night - and into the morning. We had a real honest-to-goodness thunderstorm. By the looks of the yard it was pretty windy, too.

I was very excited to see how much rain I got and how much I collected in my 55 gallon rain barrels. I have three barrels and although it is only 165 gallons of water - I reuse that water over the span of a few weeks to water some of my gardens. Rain water is SO much better for the plants than city water. It has less chemicals, especially salt and chlorine, in it.

I stumbled out of bed and directly into my sandals and headed outside about 6 AM. It felt cool and certainly smelled like the desert. Although I live in an urban neighborhood, I have a creosote bush in my back yard that smells heavenly when it rains.

I immediately looked into my barrels. I could hear the water trickling down the gutter and into the barrel. I went to the closest one and was surprised to see so little water in it. Scratching my head I looked down and saw water trickling out the tap (spigot) near the bottom. I had forgotten to close it the last time I drained it! So I turn the handle closed and went to the next barrel. Same thing! Darn! I wondered how much I actually lost.

Then I remembered, I still have one barrel I have not tapped yet! I went around the side of the house and checked it knowing it would have water in it and I found it half full! Woo Hoo! Now it is heavy with water. I will be leaning into it to dunk the watering can to get the water out. After it is empty I better get busy and install my new Barrel Conversion Kit.

Next I checked the rain gauge in my garden and it measured 1/2 an inch of rain - that is a lot of rain for a storm in Phoenix!

As I sat on the back porch sipping my morning tea and watching the cats play in the wet grass, I reflected in my loss of all those baby rain drops. Frustrating? Yes! but I was very happy overall that we got such a nice rain for the first time this summer!

Happy Sloshing!

The Garden Goddess

www.down2earthgardens.com