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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

My spring garden



I started this post before we had a week of rainy, stormy, heavy clouds that blocked my Internet reception.  When I started, we were under another thunder storm alert with possible large hail. These pictures show the result of 3+ inches of rain in a little over an hour.                                                                                                          Don't forget to click on a picture                                                                                                         
Court yard path opening to gardens, wall of water heading down hill
From the patio, French drains cannot handle this much water!
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


I started my thoughts and lost connection. So, to continue:  We have been going to bed
several nights in a row wondering if we would be
hit with hail or worse.

Many places were over the course of several days and nights.  Some deaths were reported.
A small community in east Texas was all but destroyed.  All the school buildings were located in one area and most were severely damaged. Fortunately, it was a Sunday.


Salvia
Mother's Day the country was
experiencing snow in several states
and heavy rain in others with floods
and damage and tornadoes. While
on the south east coast they were
waiting for a tropical storm to hit.


 This now is Wednesday.  Yesterday, light rain with brief hard rain.  No wind, hail or worse.

I repaired a washout caused by ever cursed moles.  This sucker had tunneled from one bed, under the gravel path to another.
Heavy rain washed through and path sunk.
What a mess!
Did the best I could with things at hand.  We will see what happens with today's forecast of heavy rain.  No storms mentioned yet.          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
This transplanted area is doing ok.  It is not one of the lower plots.  I put cone flowers and salvias here

This bit of dirt was washed out with a wall of water rolling down the hill. 

This is the former cone flower bed. Now given over to California Poppies and Alyssum and one lone Red Wild Poppy.
I think that with the continuing cool, rainy weather, every seed that hit the ground has germinated (including weeds!) The tiny leaves are cone flower seedlings.  Surprised me when I pulled out the water logged California poppies. I am sure more will germinate. I don't know if I will transplant any this late in the season.  Who knows?
This may be a special garden after all.

Everything is bursting with foliage and flowers!  A much greener and blossom filled garden area than the past 4 springs. In the background is a wild tangle of vines  that cover stand of dead plum bushes.  The birds love this area and I want to keep it, even if the neighbors think it is a weedy mess.

I am going to end this post on a down note.  My attempt to repair the path and redirect water from gardens is not working and things are flooded again.  The terraced areas seem to be doing ok for now.  We have more rain in the forecast. Nothing to be done but wait until it stops.  Funny thing is we in North Texas have been praying for moisture, and we got it.



Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the
rain. And for the chance to wake up in three hours and go fishing: I thank you for that now, because
I won't feel so thankful then.
Garrison Keilor