Rain used to be a disappointment. Days when it wasn’t pleasant to be outside, when I wanted to stay in and was annoyed if I had to go out. But when I started farming, the rain became a joy, even though we spent more time out in it getting wet: moving fences, harvesting kale, etc., the work of farming doesn’t take a day off. But the earth needs rain; the plants need rain, and by extension we need it, too. So I learned to embrace the rain, to welcome it, to work through it or to welcome the opportunity to rest indoors until it passes. Especially this year, every inch of rain is a blessing, and the plants are loving the couple of inches we received this week. The violets bloomed immediately after the first soaking rain, as if they were waiting for a drink, and all the rest are growing happily now. The earth has heaved a collective sigh of relief, and I along with it.
Here is a look at what is poppingin the gardens right now.
Grape hyacinth
pussy toes growing in the lawn between mowings
white violet
First out of the gate ferns, but not the ostrich ferns that we usually eat. The last time these ferns emerged, the were in the shade on the side of the road, before the line crew cut down all the trees above them. I wonder how they will manage this time?
A new plant frowing in recently disturbed grown. I still need to ID it.
close-up on the same plant
The violets are thriving since the rains came!
The dandelions are starting to pop, and the pollinators are on it.
These paperwhites survived below a spruce tree for 30 years, where they rarely bloomed, but they are much happier since the tree came down.
