I’ve had an “ear-worm” stuck in my head for a day now. It’s the song made famous by Burt Bacharach, called Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head. It started in the garden yesterday, in the rain, of course. It continued well into today’s cold, dry weather and refuses to let up. I wish I could say the same for the rain which has let up. Again.
I understand that the rain is not for everyone. People living in Hamburg, Germany or Seattle, Washington get plenty. Living in a semi-arid climate like California means our rain is minimal compared to many other areas of the world.
I’ve always liked the rain. It’s fun to walk in it. I’ve been known to pull weeds while it’s pouring down. The sound of the rain on the roof at night is both calming and romantic. Gathering puddles bring out my inner child. It’s true that I don’t like to drive in wet weather. People seem to lose their heads when it rains. They drive too fast, follow too closely and we have the invariable car pile ups. Away from that nonsense, however, I do enjoy the wet stuff.
While snapping pics in the drizzle and humming my rainy day song yesterday, it was clear to me that all the plants in my garden agree. Rain drops keep falling…
Rain refreshed cauliflower
Cat fencing holds rain drops
Rain and Light
Delicate fern; beads of rain
Rain drops cling to new growth
Average Annual Rainfall (in inches):
- San Jose, California – 15 inches
- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – 19 inches
- Hamburg, Germany – 28 inches
- London, England – 29
- Seattle, Washington – 38 inches
- Kauai, Hawaii – 460 inches
Gardening Nirvana 
I love the rain if I’m indoors and can enjoy it falling against the windows as I’m reading a good book. Unfortunately, it usually rains heavily when I have a day off from work and need to get the garden sorted out (we’re on heavy clay soil that just gets very sticky). In England we feel the same about sunshine as you do about rain – we don’t seem to see it very often and all go a bit mad when it appears!
Aaarrrrgggghhh……… I’ve got the ear worm now!!
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Oh-oh! Sorry about the ear worm. 😉
That would be disappointing to have it rain on your days off. I hope you get a lot more sunshine this year to help you dry out from all that rain. Knowing you have heavy clay soil also explains why the flooding was so bad. It doesn’t have any where to go.
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There’s heavy rain forecast again today and more flood warnings here unfortunately. It’s going to be a very wet christmas! The main reason for building the raised beds in the kitchen garden was to improve the drainage and bring in some beautiful, crumbly, black soil that I have envied for years! It’s been heaven x
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Oh dear. I’m two days behind with my reply, here. Are you getting the heavy rains they predicted? PJ are you closer to the Lake District? I think you may have said once upon a time but I can’t recall.
Raise beds are great for controlling soil conditions. I’m so happy for your…and your plants!
Fingers crossed that the flooding is minimal. Still…flooding of any kind is terrible. Hugs, PJ
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What a fun post Alys, thanks for the including Edmonton in your list. I didn’t even know that. Sure doesn’t seem like much does it? I guess it all comes in 4 months compared to your twelve. Although, we did get a crazy shower with thunder in October. I’m never sad about a rainy day. Time in the craft room or baking for Mr B or like PJ, read a good book or one of the many Magazines I couldn’t resist at the news stand. At the lake, it was the perfect time to pick small weeds from our rock driveway..they pulled so easily. So your gardening story made me chuckle. What great close up photos you’ve included. I loved the ferns, such a nice green. How long before you’re serving up that Cauliflower? It’s looking super healthy.
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I can just picture you out there pulling those weeds, too. You’re right, they come up nicely and cleanly. Having lots of great indoor hobbies is definitely key to keep yourself busy when the weather is cold or wet and the days short.
Thanks for your appreciation of the pics. I love that fern.
I think the cauliflower will be ready in January. It’s forming nicely which is exciting. This is the first year I’ve grown it.
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Neat, you’re going to eat a meal from your urban yard! That’s really a cool thing. I saw a Jamie Oliver thing, he was in a young class, they were maybe 6 years old. Many of them couldn’t identify their veggies. Didn’t know where they came from other than the store….isn’t that shocking. You’re really helping your boys connect to what they eat. That’s a great side benefit of your garden.
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That’s a good point. I hadn’t really thought about that. I remember so clearly bringing in tomatoes from Dad’s garden for lunch. It seemed really special at the time, and of course garden tomatoes are to die for.
I envy PJ all that space and those raised beds. One day I’ll convince Mike that we need more vegetables and less grass. In the meantime, I’m having fun with what we’ve got.
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Oh yes, the grass dilemma….we used to have that conversation…for some reason Jim disliked mowing around beds…”no problem, I’ll do all the mowing hon”…giggle
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Wonderful pictures!!! Makes me feel refreshed. I love the rain though I can’t drive in it yet… The part I love about the Portland, Oregon rain is there is no lightning attached to it. I’d rather face a tornado than lightning. Rain is refreshing even after months of it. We had a little snow yesterday but it’s already gone and I didn’t have to shovel it. 🙂
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How nice to get a dusting of snow. You get to enjoy the view, but it melts before getting out of hand.
Thanks for the nice words about my photos. It was a challenging getting pictures in the drizzle while keeping the camera relatively dry. Fun, too!
Hurray…another rain lover.
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The cauliflower looks marvellous, I don’t have much success with them here. When I lived in Greece, my friends and I used to pray for rain and we did little rain dances outside the office where we worked. It never worked of course!
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I bet you had fun dancing, though! That’s gotta count for something. 🙂
How cool that you lived in Greece. I’ve never been but it is on my list.
This is my first year growing so wish me luck that it continues. It’s so cute right now.
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Beautiful photos though as a Brit I don’t share your romantic feelings about rain! It is great for the garden though. Great cauli!
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I can certainly appreciate that, most especially after this past year. I’m sure you are good and fed up.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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Hello and a very happy new year to you and your hubby and son. It has been a pleasure blogging with you and I look forward to carrying on next year! X
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Tthank you. The feeling is mutual!
Happy New Year.
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