Rain, rain, lightning, thunder, rain, rain and more rain!

It started raining about 8:30 pm last night. It rained all night with thunder and that sheet lightning that lights up the whole sky. My eyes didn't seem to have a problem staying open during the night. If they did close the extremely loud thunder opened them up again. Since dr has trouble with his hearing he didn't seem to have too much trouble sleeping. I did keep him awake some though when I grabbed onto him during some loud thunder and rain. The rain gauge says 6.8 inches. It's the super rain gauge that Jerry Sullivan sent to me so it must be pretty close to it. The forecast says 100 percent chance of rain today and tonight. I didn't look at the one for tomorrow. I saw that Dallas/Ft. Worth was under that same green cloud so Toni may have gotten more than 3/4th inches of rain this time. I'm glad Dan and Laurel didn't have to drive through that rain.

dooley

 

That was some storm, wasn't it Dooley? We got 3.7" between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. It was badly needed, but I won't be in the garden for a couple of days.
Sounds as if this will be an indoor day for both of us!

 

With drought conditions on the horizon, when do people start filling rain barrels? Or is there still enough later in the season to fill barrels with the occasional shower?
While the summers were hot and dry in NM, I never grew anything there so I was oblivious to friends with gardens who stored water for summer. Neighboring states of Arizona and Texas always seemed to be hotter and dryer, even in the 60's.

Jerry

 

Dooley good to hear that you had some rain. Funny how some parts of the US are being flooded and others are in such bad need of rain.
Here in Wis we have been having more rain than we need right now. It's keeping the farmers from getting in the fields. But I would rather have to much than not enough.
It seems like Ma Nature is a bit skitzo with all the weird weather.

 

Same storm passed through down here. It was still raining when I left home so I couldn't get out to the rain gauge to check it. But I'm guess at least 3 inches... hopefully more.

Jerry, I collect rain water all year. Naturally during the winter, the barrels stay pretty full. And once spring gets here, I use two of the barrels to water the containers. The other barrel I try to leave full for "emergencies".

I also collect water from the shower. I keep a clean 5 gallon bucket and catch the water as it runs... waiting on it to get hot. That water is usually used to fill the bird bath fountain, but also gets used to water plants.

But you just can't beat a good ol' rain shower!

 

Our rain last night was coming out of the northwest so we must have gotten Toni's share. Then, it switched and came the southeast off of the gulf. It was moving northeast so must have missed Toni.

dooley

 

Jerry, rain harvesting is the only way we can maintain our large gardens without going broke buying municipal water.
We have three 250 gal. fiberglass cubes attached to guttering; three 55 gal. barrels off the house gutters; like Cheryl we save the shower water; and I also save any water I use to wash vegetables (we have buckets all over the place!). The gardens are watered by hand, so only plants that need it get watered. If the rain water starts to run low, I make the hard decision of which plants we save and which we let go.
Right now rain harvesting isn't cost effective, but in a few years, considering the population growth in Texas and the likelihood of protracted drought, the question won't be the cost of water, it will be the availablity of water.

rainwater harvesting ( photo / image / picture from marlingardener's Garden )
These are the two big harvesters off the barn. The third collects off the garage.

 

Toni, if there is a die cast plant near you, they get the biodegradeable soap cleaner for their tanks in the 250 cubes. They also have to pay to have them taken away, so you can sweet-talk the shop manager into letting you have one pretty cheap (ours were free but my husband is a really goooood sweet-talker!).
I flushed out the tank until the water ran clear, and we've had no problem with contamination--the hens drink it, I rinse my grubby garden hands in it, and it is the first rinse water for potatoes and carrots and other root crops.
A cube does fit into the back of a pick-up without too much jockeying. I suggest tie-downs, or the ride home can be really exciting.

 

Toni, we have a little Ford Ranger, and we got one of the 250 gal. cubes into its bed. We used bungee cords attached to the truck bed sides and the metal cage that surrounds the fiberglass cube, drove carefully, and gave God an earful about protecting those who were trying to protect the environment!

 

We had those storms last night too, and they hit here just after 8 pm. I had to shut down my computer by 8:30 pm CST. I decided to finish reading a book I was working on, and by the time I turned to the next page, the power went down. It was down 4 1/2 hours or so. I left the lights on so I would wake up when it came back on, and it was 2:10 am. We made do with candles and flashlights until bedtime.

DS works 2d shift, and at his work, the rain came pouring through the roof into a light fixture. It started a small fire close over his head. THANKFULLY, they got it out okay. They dismissed work early and sent him home. On his way home, there were some downed power lines, and they were arc-ing all over the place. He had to take a detour, but he got home okay. Other than some minor flooding, everyone seems to be okay here.

We had lots of rain, at least 3 inches, maybe 4 inches here. More rain is on the way. The irises and other flowers are having a hard time.

I have seen those huge tanks to put at downspouts and collect rain water, but we do not have rain gutters yet. I am keeping my eye out for some rain tanks though. Getting it home in a car is not do-able, but friends have pickup trucks.

 

weather forcast in some countries is actually terrible but believable in some countries, i like your post.

 

My husband calls me a water hoarder. I have 3 rain barrels that collect water, plus my water tanker I keep full. When we get a good rain, I line up my buckets under the garage eaves to fill up too. Last rain I accidentally left the wheelbarrow under the eaves and it filled up too! He says I am out of control LOL