I never dreamed (when I slipped out to take the daffodil photos on Thursday) that I wouldn't be able to get outdoors with my camera for two more days. Actually, I'm still not outside ~ just taking photos thru the window. We are in the midst of a phenomenal spring storm, which has shattered precipitation records in our state (for the most precipitation received on one date). For many of you, three days of rain is a most common occurrence but NOT in the state of Colorado. Yesterday my rain gauge looked like this at 3:30 PM:
That 2 1/2 inches, my friends, would be an incredible amount of rain in itself. But it didn't stop there. Overnight, the gauge has filled even more and this morning is reading this extraordinary number:
Can you believe it?!! When my dad mounted this gage on my fence post, I never would have dreamed I'd be worried about it overflowing but that's exactly the case now. It's supposed to continue raining all day today, not clearing until tomorrow. Should I empty it and start over? I never kept track of precipitation when I lived in a wetter climate so this is new to me. Meanwhile, I've been keeping myself occupied indoors. Thursday afternoon I sowed seeds of my "core" annuals. One of those was these 'Antiquity' Cosmos:
This morning I happened to glance into my little greenhouse and quite surprisingly (two days later) they were already up:
I guess today I will separate them out into individual containers along with the sunflowers, zinnias and thunbergia 'Blushing Susie' seeds that have also already germinated. That should keep me busy on this rainy Saturday, don't you agree??
Enjoy the rain, I which we had some more!
Posted by: Sheila | April 18, 2009 at 12:18 PM
This has reminded me that I need to sow my cosmos and rudbeckia this week. Enjoy the rain
Posted by: Helen - patientgardener | April 18, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Yep, it's time to direct sow! When it rains like that here...I wish for a cistern to collect it for the drought of summer! gail
Posted by: Gail | April 18, 2009 at 02:09 PM
That's a lot of rain, Kathleen! Hopefully it was warm and soothing, not cold April Atlantic rain like we get here.
And now...many many thanks for your awesome creativeness in the Gardening by Letter project! What a lift it was to get that parcel yesterday and see what everyone had sent, and yours were especially heartwarmingly lovely. I work all week in an office elsewhere in the province, and I'm taking the cards with me to put on my bulletin board for instant cheermaking. Thank you again, and I'm glad to get to 'know' you across the miles.
Posted by: jodi (bloomingwriter) | April 18, 2009 at 02:29 PM
That's alot of rain! Hope it dries out soon for you. Thanks for the reminder. I really need to get my direct sowing done now that I've got most of my plants in the ground.
Posted by: Racquel | April 18, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Did you empty the container and begin again? I'm curious as to how much rain you actually received!! :-)
Posted by: Shady Gardener | April 18, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Well, the packet said guaranteed to grow and they were right. That is a very pretty variety I've never seen before. Hope your rain stop soon.
Posted by: Catherine/gardenerprogress | April 18, 2009 at 08:20 PM
Hi Kathleen, All that rain bodes well, at least in my book with so little the last few years. Yes, I would empty the gauge and start over. I always check mine after a rain and find it most helpful. That storm is here now and I am loving it. A good excuse to relax inside with HGTV:)
Posted by: tina | April 19, 2009 at 07:53 AM
Growing plants from seed is most entertaining, isn't it? I bet your plants are going to love the rain.
Posted by: Sweet Bay | April 19, 2009 at 08:31 AM
So how much rain did you get? Sounds like an awful lot. The Cosmos look healthy and that is a fast germination rate!
Posted by: Anna/Flowergardengirl | April 19, 2009 at 03:50 PM