We got rain, and lots of it!!

Well last week on Thursday night (11th Dec) around 9pm it started to rain, and continued, and continued, and still continued. At around 7 in the morning I went out side and measured that we had had around 70mm of rain over night. Everything was nicely soaked including the chooks food, I dont think they were too impressed with "Chook Food Soup" for breakfast. This was the end of the street on the way to work, now you cant really see it in the photo but we do actually have gutters on both sides of the road, and that water is actually flowing down the road it is not because the drains had blocked up, there was just lots of water!!

But that wasn't it, the rain continued throughout the day and fell consistently, when I got home from work we had received another 60mm of rain (since I had checked at 7am), that's 130mm in less than 24 hours. I probably should say that for us 10 to 20mm of rain is something we get a bit excited about, and our average annual rainfall is around 250mm, so this was just amazing. It even closed some of the bitumen roads around the place because the creeks were flowing, really well. This is a picture of the road to Quorn, which at the time was closed, when I took this it was flowing at around 0.2m but apparently a couple of hours before that it was at 0.6m. As you can see this was a bit of a novelty event, people came out to have a look and for kids to play in the water, I haven't seen this creek flow in the (almost) 2 years we have been here.

While the rain was good, and we don't dare complain about it, after the lack of rain that we have had, the weeds have loved it too, and has meant that even DP has given me help to get out in the garden and try to keep the Caltrop prickle plants under something which resembles control. A little bit at a time is the key I think, it is amazing how much progress can be made by a quick, well half hour, stint of wandering around, pulling a few plants out here and there. This is what I now have to contend with, after this lovely rain, this is a ground covering plant but in this picture there are quite a few plants that are starting to mat together, and each plant can set heaps of thorny (magnetised to your feet) seeds.

The other interesting thing that came from this down pour is this:

No I didnt dig a hole and no we dont have a dog, on closer inspection the ground has collapsed and there is a tunnel either side, my thoughts is an old rabbit waren. There is rabbits around this area but I have never seen any in or around the yard. I thought because it is down the back of the yard maybe the lady over the back had once had an "escapee" rabbit that might have tunnelled under the fence, but no she has never had rabbits and she has been there for quite a few years. Ahwell ready made fruit tree hole, although I would have liked it about 2m this way a bit LOL.

Whats happening in the garden

Well the last week we have been lucky enough to have a bit of rain, the garden has appreciated it but so to have those pesky weeds, I have just been outside to identify a few little boxthorn seedlings I had thought might have been some sort of useful plant, but no just a noxious weed, green and healthy but a weed all the same. I also noticed that the caltrop is starting to germinate around the place so I will have to keep ontop of that and pull them out before they flower and set seed.
I have planted some tomato seedlings (a Black Russian, 4 Big Beef, and a Cherry tomato) and a capsicum seedling where the rocket was in the middle, and because I let it go to seed there is now little rocket plants coming up amongst the tomatoes but they will stay there if they survive past the two leaf stage, I'll just have to make sure I keep them pruned back the last lot ended up quite big. Things are a bit messy and need a bit of weeding, but thats life, no airbrushed photos around here.

The plants in the native garden are powering along, especially the acacia argyrophylla which I want to use as a screening plant, its about halfway up the fence now and its only been in for around a year, and that was as a tubestock, so I am quite impressed.

The lawn has magically truned from being dry and brown into being lush and green, helped along by a very timely (not at all intentional) application of blood and bone (by DP) a couple of days before we got rain a couple of weeks ago

Rain, Rain, Lovely rain

Its a long weekend here (Queens Birthday) and as I sit here writing this the rain is starting to get heavier, in yet another shower that is passing through.

It has been raining steadily since Thursday afternoon, stopping for yesterday afternoon long enough to do a load of washing and hang it out to dry before starting again last night. It has been truly wonderful a nice soaking rain, not enough to cause the yard to flood but enough to ensure the ground is wet for more than the top couple of mm's (the usual thing around here).

Checking the rainwater tank yesterday (cant convince myself to go out today and brave the wet and cold today) it is at least a third full and I think after today's efforts should be pushing the halfway mark if not more.

Now if only it would stop long enough for me to get the natives (mostly eromophilas) that I bought this week into the ground. I managed to decide which ones were going where, dug the holes, and filled the holes with water (before I knew there was rain forecasted) but didn't get around to planting them so they are sitting in there pots, in their holes waiting for the rain to stop so they can enjoy their new home.

Rain Glorious Rain

Yesterday we had showers for most of the day. It was wonderful but everyone around here was hoping it was going to be a bit more than just showers, we really need some decent rain.

I woke up at 6:30am to the sound of rain on the roof, just wonderful, then during the day there were a series of light showers. On the way home from work I managed to catch another shower (there goes the wash the car had last weekend) and had it suggested that I brought the rain home with me. Now if only I could master that skill!!

Heres some of the Toppies having a bath in the rain on top of the chooks cage