No--It Couldn't Be! Could It?!?

Rain gives them an appetite.  Honey, there's a pellet on your forehead.
 We woke to rain Friday morning.
 photo ablue5248_zpsc0a2dba4.jpg

 photo aRain5268_zps1c425f33.jpg
No gardening for Friday.
 photo aRain5251_zps6c24c6d2.jpg
The rainfalls of the past three years have been skimpy in both number and the amount of rain they actually delivered.  The previous storm ten days ago, and the storm that arrived Friday both delivered.
This is what did it:  an atmospheric river of tropical moisture breaking off northwards, meeting a cold low pressure system coming down from the northern Pacific, creating rain for California.
Chart by NOAA, arrow by moi.
 photo PineappleExpress_zpsca8accbe.jpg
 
Dust and spiderwebs got washed off.
 photo aRain5305_zps67a783af.jpg
Tillandsia usneoides turned green.  I didn't know it could turn green.  
 photo aRain5310_zps9ae4b5e5.jpg
It rained enough to actually wet down the exterior of the house. 
 photo aRain5322_zpsac695e58.jpg
Water pouring down.  Oh look, there's a drought-tolerant native California plant (Baccharis) growing out of the scupper.
 photo aRain5317_zpsc4c81e62.jpg
I'd emptied the bins of rain water collected in the previous storm into the garden.  Friday morning they were all full again...for a while.
Full enough to spring a leak:
 photo aRain5256_zps0391222c.jpg
I pumped the fountain full of water, to save for a few days.  When the soil dries out a bit, I'll use it to water the driest areas of the garden. 
 photo aarain5282_zps190f3de0.jpg
The koi enjoyed the rain.  
 photo aRain5320_zpsb1c001ca.jpg
They could stick their heads out of the water without fear of their faces drying out.  
 photo aRain5260_zps85b566a4.jpg
Streams of water started running down the exterior walls in a way I have not seen for several years.
 photo aRain5301_zpsa4768d89.jpg
And then I saw it:  the most amazing wonderful thing!  No--it couldn't be!
 photo aRain5302_zps9b42a351.jpg
Yes!  A puddle!  A puddle!  An actual puddle!  


Comments

  1. It´s all or nothing with the rain at your side. I can imagine how glad you are to see the water streaming, even your kois seem to enjoy it. And your puddle, haha, we have the opposite, always too many puddles.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rain glorious rain! And if you don't get it often even puddles become little sources of joy :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have not seen a rain puddle in the garden in three years! Lead to irrational exuberance.

      Delete
  3. It's great you are finally getting some rain down there. Your koi seem to really be enjoying it too, so cute. The plants will all be happy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Question: Which are your absolute most favorite Austin roses (or any rose for that matter); and which of all your roses is the most compact grower (especially Austins)? I have very limited gardening space and I want to add MORE ROSES, so I'm looking to plant shorter ones in front of the tall ones I already have. (Most are 4-6ft.) I live in South Florida and although we don't have similar climates (aired vs humid) we both have HEAT and I noticed we grow a lot of the same roses (Moonstone, Juila Child, Belinda's Dream, etc). I'm into Austins at the moment and I currently grow Wildeve, Heritage, Evelyn (the diva), Pat Austin and Huntington Rose (named after the Huntington Library no less). I'm also interested in OGRs that dont get too large and may I recommend Dames De Chennonceau, she's a good one down here and thrives in the hottest days of summer. She might do well in your climate. :)
    PS love your blog, love love love it. I think I read it from beginning to end these past couple of weeks. :)
    PPS: Have you ever grown black and blue salvia? Its one of my favorite plants

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!

      A friend has Dames de Chennonceau, and says it is beautiful but that it Rusts rather badly. The little Austins--there are not many--look at 'The Wife Of Bath', 'Prospero', 'The Prince', 'English Garden' stays petite but it may blackspot--I can't say on that one. The 2004 version of 'Bolero' is not an Austin but is better than any of the white Austins. It's really good. There's a Barden rose called 'Golden Buddha' that stays very reliably short here and blooms very steadily--you might look for that one. Roses tend to get huge here, not many small ones.

      'Black and Blue' is very aggressive here. I love the flowers, but the plant is a thug in my soil.

      Delete
    2. Oh yes. We have very different disease pressures in our climate. I don't really get rust here, and very very little powdery mildew, but I do get tons of black spot. I have to spray my roses (i hate it) but its really the only way to grow roses in my region. I try to stick to only spraying them in the really humid time of the year (may-september) and then only spray as needed the rest of the year if at all. Dames is great with black spot but no clue about how she'd deal with rust. Oh and I can imagine black and blue would get invasive in your climate. I hadn't thought of that.
      I actually have Bolero on my list for my Christmas roses (my hubby is getting me roses for xmas, yay!) And I actually tried to get golden buddah a couple of times but they were sold out both times (although they have it now). I got Incantation last time and thus far its been tame, but she's still a baby. Roses tend to get pretty huge here too, but if you're not careful you end up with a huge leafless twig monster. Thanks for the suggestions. Again, love your blog (makes me want to move to So.Cal LOL)

      Delete
    3. I admire your dedication. It is tough spraying in hot weather--it is tough spraying in any weather!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. + birthday + last Christmas + the Christmas before than AND the Christmas before that... :^)

      Delete
  6. Oh wow, that's fantastic to see. It's fun to grab the camera and go in search of puddles. I think we get our rain from the same type of system this year, they call it the "Pineapple Express".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, pineapple express. I hope it continues until May.

      Delete
  7. How much rain did you end up getting? I hope it was a sizable amount.

    I love your rain photos. I was too wimpy to go out in the rain the other day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one 10 or so days ago was 2.5", this last one was 1.75", which adds up to more than we got all of last year.

      I go out and stand in it. I love it. The puppies refused!

      Delete
  8. I'm glad to see you got some rain at last. Not enough though, I know, unless it persists.
    I have just the same reaction when the sun comes out..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think a rain storm of several inches here is the equivalent of a whole week of warm, sunny weather for you...very uncommon!

      Delete
  9. Party, party! I'm so thrilled for you. We, too, have had our first rain last week, and today we got a sprinkle. In one area of my back yard, it does not take much for puddles to form on the non-amended terracotta soil. When I see it, I always think to myself "The rain in Spain lies mainly... on my yard!" Then the sun comes out and wicks it away. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, and happy for your rain also. Let us both get frequent gentle rain all winter!

      It has been so dry here the soil just sucks it up and leaves no puddles. The one in the photo was the only one in the garden.

      Delete
  10. It wasn't enough rain to cause slope problems, was it? I can understand how the koi like the rain -- the toads and frogs really seem to here (in the summer of course)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, the soil is so verydry--in spots on the slope I dug down and at a depth of 3 inches it was bone dry, still.

      I heard a toad this morning--we've not had them around for three years!

      Delete
  11. The "Pineapple Express" roared through our area just after 3am on Friday. It was exciting and just a little frightening as it was accompanied by light effects created by electrical transformers visible from a distance as they blew. I understand there's another, lighter storm on its way tomorrow night too...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Transformers blowing...wow! That happened here in the bend on the road during a Wind Event a few years ago. The fire fighters got right on it, thankfully.

      Yes, more rain! Isn't it wonderful? :^)

      Delete
  12. One could drown in our puddles. Still, I applaud your celebration of rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the equivalent of your winter sunshine--rare and precious. :^)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Always interested in your thoughts.

Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.