In my county our water supply is from local reservoirs on a local mountain, which are still OK because of the enormous amount of rain we got last year. However, most of the surrounding areas get water from the Sierra snow pack, and that has been so awful this year that they could hardly find it! This series of storms is predicted to drop many many feet of snow also, so that is great. The first day of Spring is next weekend - and we are getting our first real series of WInter storms! - go figure. Jackie

Jay, I had that kind of windburn problems with my plants while they were still hardening off. I'd have them out for their part-day of hardening off and would leave to go to a fire, and would come back hours later to wind-burnt tips with blackened foliage. Most of mine came back just fine from the windburning, but I lost a few of the smaller, weaker ones at that time. Had I been home, of course, I would have brought them inside when the wind kicked up, but I wasn't, so I couldn't. The wind here today is pretty rowdy--gusting often to the lower to mid-20s and may go into the 30s this afternoon. Tt is very warm (and so humid!), so I've been trying to plant some more tomato plants. I feel like if I can't get them in the ground soon, then there's no point. It will heat up quickly here as June approaches. It is still very wet, but who knows when it will finally dry out. I can't plant beans yet--they would just rot in the ground, but maybe by next week. Our back yard's low spots only have about 2" of standing water in them now, so I am hopeful today's heat, wind and sun will help dry that up. The part of my garden that is planted looks pretty good, but that's mainly the raised beds. The grade-level plants are still struggling, but not dying, so I am hoping for the best there. I think that by this time next week, I should be able to plant 100% of the fenced-in garden. Maybe then I can focus on the flower and shrub beds a bit more. On a more positive note, the trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and lawn look luscious and green so they've all benefitted from the heavy rainfall. And, on a more negative note, downstream flooding below Lake Texoma has caused the Corps of Engineers to keep the lake's floodgates closed, which means areas on our side of the lake (the upstream side) are suffering. Sometimes I think it is hard for people on the upstream side of the lake to remember that the lake was built specifically to help control downstream flooding. Dawn

Ashe junipers are water-hungry, pollen-bursting trash trees... But if you want better drainage there, all you have to do is dig a hole about 2' deep or less through the clay layer into the more permeable sand layer underneath it in the lowest spot of your yard corner...and then fill it with compost or some other non-clay type of topsoil. Then when it rains, water will drain down through here instead of standing on top or running off into the street.. And even better, then plant a better tree in that hole other than a Juniper!

I have been thinking about you a lot. I am glad you didn't have any flooding, and your DD also.