Rain Rain Rain

Reposted from May 11, 2011 http://hipurbanfarmer.myblogsite.com/entry15.html#body


It's spring and I like most people am dying for the sun after being in the dark all winter.  Yet, it's raining!  And to top that off it's still dark outside every other day.  While this darkness and rain does nothing for my undiagnosed seasonal affective disorder (SAD), it does wonders for the garden. A lightening storm is even better.  When the lightening strikes, it releases the nitrogen in the ground- not just the howl from your hound.

My dog, now deceased used to cry and hide every time there was a thunder storm. Pardon the pun.

My point, however, is that the rain is good for gardening.  I know you've heard it all before:
April showers bring May flowers 
But it's not April,  you say.
So let me help you reframe these feelings of ughs and ickiness from the dampness of the swamp we live in in three words. . .

 Rain harvesting season!

Yes!  The ickiness and ughness of all this rain can be overcome if you just get yourself a rain barrel.
Bear with me now.
Think about it as if it is  a toy. It's a toy that only works if it is raining.  Well, not really, but,  I'm always going out in the rain to play with my rain barrel.  First of all, I want to make sure it is filling up with water.   

Really I've got to assuage the guilt I feel from taking so many baths.  I may be clean, but I definitely use a lot of water.
Then I check the faucet to make sure there are no leaks.  Of course, going out in the rain, gives me an excuse to wear my nifty yellow rain gear- a yellow jumper and coat, my rain boots.
Uh huh that's me!

Now go out there and harvest that rain!  It's good for you!