Rain in the mountains

It poured yesterday. Lots of rain. Our small bog will be happy, as will the sedum garden.

It looked like a tropical rain forest.

Finally a prospect of some decent rain

Gardeners and naturalists are almost as keen as farmers following the weather. Where I live, garden, and pay attention to the natural world, we're in the center of quite a severe drought.

We normally get fairly even rain throughout the year, but not for the past ten years or so, except for one year (the year the front meadow looked especially fabulous, with moisture-loving Joe-Pye weed and huge Blazing Stars (Liatris spp.)

And the last two summers have been truly exceptional (note the current rating for the dark red area- ugh). I've marked where I live with the arrow!

But Tropical Storm Fay is bringing some decent rain, even to us in Upstate South Carolina. I'm sorry for the flooding in Florida, but we'll be thankful for the downpours that are predicted for the next few days.

After some rain...

Finally, a stray thunderstorm rained on our garden. The wind whipped the trees alarmingly and then the rain pelted down for 15 to 20 minutes. It was only about a quarter of an inch, but since we've barely had an inch over 2 1/2 months (our 'normal' is 4 inches/month), this is significant.

After the rain, the light was wonderful, the plants perked up, and the clouds were tinged with color.

More rain

It's seeming pretty wet now, but I feel like any amount of rain now is drops in the bank, hedging against the heat and dry spells to come. The long-term projections have eased for the Southeast -- we're in the 'improving' category in the U.S. Drought Monitor charts, much better than the 'continuing drought' category, but we're certainly not out of the woods yet -- we're running a 3 inch deficit this year already, after a 20 inch deficit last year.

The impact on natural communities is hard to detect, but is evident none the less. We'll see weakened mature trees senesce, and less tolerant understory trees die too, after the stress of last summer's heat and drought.

Interestingly, some plants are remarkably abundant this spring. Both color forms of Viola sororia are everywhere -- in lawns, along roadsides, in ditches, etc. - providing a lovely blue haze from a distance. I don't mind them; they're attractive and a nice reminder of spring.