Sunday, May 29, 2022

A Frustrating Start To The Season

Working with weather conditions is something we have to do, but it sure can put a great big ol' klinker in your plans.
 
Here we are in the midst of Memorial Day Weekend with fog, heavy rains and possible severe storms dictating activities.  Plans for outdoor get-togethers and recreating have had to be changed.  My plans for projects outside here at home on our little homestead are thwarted, too.
 
There's another landscaping berm box built and set in place that wants to be filled with dirt.  If the rain stops long enough it's possible I can work on that today.  It will be dictated by whether the black dirt pile isn't a packed mound of mud.
 
My season's painting project is definitely on hold as the wood trim on the house actually feels wet.
 
Two days ago, working together, Papa Pea and I got the grassy areas within our growing area mowed.  But what a job it was.  Cool, wet growing conditions are definitely to a lawn's liking and the grass was high and wet in about half the area.  I did manage to get much weed whipping done around the perimeter of all the growing areas and the raised beds.
 
Our wonderful small engine repair man/friend got my Mantis tiller back in working order (boy, did I miss it when it was out of commission) and returned to us.  Happily, the fix was minor and his charge was two dozen eggs.  I put the tiller to work edging around our flat growing areas after I finished my part of the mowing.  That night, the rains began again.  So now if the rain would stop and give the soil a change to dry out, I could get some tilling and planting done.
 
Last year at this time we were bemoaning the extreme spring dryness and heading into a season of drought and fire danger.  This year we're experiencing way too much moisture causing areas of flooding, road closures and structures on lake shores sustaining damage.
 
As the old nursery rhyme goes, "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day."  I don't want to complain too much, though, just in case Mother Nature might throw in a twist and abruptly bring last year's much-too-dry conditions back.  One can never be sure with the weather. 

14 comments:

Tim B. Inman said...

Harry Truman was right when he said "it's just one damned thing after the next." He was talking about history, of course, but it might be a universal sentiment. I've spent the whole last week just fixin' stuff. My porch chairs are now back together, and new blade arms to replace the broken ones for my porch ceiling fan are on the way. Storms!!!! Cheers anyway.

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I only just got my potatoes planted a couple of days ago, and I've been edging my vegetable garden, bit by bit (so much invasive twitch grass and clover). Last night I JUST planted my onions, carrots and some peas. I checked the last possible frost date for my area which was May 20th, so I'm in the clear for other plants. You're not that "behind" and if you get a bit of warmth, things will catch up quickly enough. Glad you got your little tiller working again! Ha - two dozen eggs payment! -Jenn

SmartAlex said...

Why is the weather always "too much" somethingorother? Is exhausting

Mama Pea said...

Tim - I fear we humans operate on the principle that once we get one thing (or perhaps two or three things) done, all will be smooth sailing for a while. It's kind of like once you get your house/home just the way you want it, there's little time to relax and enjoy it before the necessary maintenance of it all starts! Cheers to you, too, oh wise one! ;o)

Mama Pea said...

Jenn - Oh, I'm so glad to hear your gardening efforts are currently at about the same stage as mine! Yep, I just got my taters and the last half of the peas planted a couple of days ago, too. Hubby and I were just walking back through the woods after checking our neighbor's place (they're gone for a bit) and I commented to him that as far as our projected summer tasks go, it's not even June yet. (Okay, darn close but still . . .) So you are correct in that none of us are really "behind" at this point in time. :o)

SmartAlex - Yeah (I say stomping my foot), why can't we have everything just the way we want it?? ;o)

Leigh said...

If it wasn't for inconsistencies with the weather, we would all have perfect gardens!

wyomingheart said...

We are praying we don’t have a drought this yearπŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌπŸ™πŸΌ!!!

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - Do you think we'd find something else to blame for our gardening oopsies? :o)

wyomingheart - Oh, I hope you don't have to deal with that either! Last year when we were so dry, there weren't more than a couple of days that I didn't either put the sprinkler on a portion of the garden or stand for an hour using the hose. It really became a drag trying to keep adequate water on everything. I'll do a little rain dance for you. Or maybe it should be a dance to send some of our rain to you. We're supposed to get thunder and lightning with our overnight rain. Ugh.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

We normally get rain on Memorial weekend, but this year it hot. I am using a hand hoe in the tomatoes until my small tiller arrives. Working solo has not been fun for sure.

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Isn't it remarkable that two people working together can get about three times (or more!) done than one can do working solo? But in those circumstances when help isn't available, we just keep plugging along and most of the necessaries do get gone. Hang in there.

Nancy In Boise said...

We're in the same boat, it's Memorial day and 45 degrees! Heavy rains for 3 days, supposed to plant the veggie garden this weekend. I wouldn't mind a cool summer, this this is crazy!

Mama Pea said...

Nancy - The little seeds (not yet sprouted) in my garden are calling for life vests! We've gotten another inch of rain so far today. :o(

Rosalea said...

Glad to hear your Mantis is up and running. What a change from last year for you. Hoping the weather clears up so you can get back to gardening! How many inches of rain so far this spring? We've had a lovely inch+ over the past week, and now we're into heat.

Mama Pea said...

Rosalea - Silly me, I never thought of keeping track of our total rainfall since it began this spring, but it's got to be note worthy. Our gravel roads are washing out regularly (the county workers can't keep up with it) and some buildings (homes and businesses) have sustained damage. Lakes have risen so much that docks and piers have floated away, portages between lakes and campsites are under water and bridges have come close to having water flow over them. I know it could be worse and it is west of here. To say we're ready for some drier, warmer weather is an understatement.