uh, RC....................usual fee?? ;-) J.D.

We've been having thunderstorms almost every day too. Today was very cloudy and it looked like it was going to storm any minute. We definitely don't need any more rain for a while. I think this is the forecast for the next week at least. It's unusual for June/July. We usually get brief afternoon thunderstorms a lot of days in August, but June and July are usually hot and sunny.

Thanks Claire. I was pretty happy with the way the framing and contrast turned out, but me and/or my camera didn't quite capture the true golden hue that the glow of the sunset had.

There are articles that give a lot of detail on building a rain garden. HERE is one. The size of a rain garden depends on two things the square footage of roof drainage and your soil type. You need a larger rain garden if your soil is clay than if it is silt or sand. For instance, one downspout contains runoff from 200 sq ft of roof and the soil is clay. Multiply 200 x .43 to get the rain garden size of 86 sq ft. Of course, a larger rain garden gives more containment during heavy or prolonged rain, and also allows greater plant diversity. Many sites recommend 150 sq ft. Note that many sites recommend digging deeper and generously mixing compost with the soil so it will hold more water. Ultimately, a rain garden is a shallow depression or a bermed area that catches runoff and allows it to soak in. After a heavy or prolonged rain event check to see if water flowed out anywhere. As long as the flow spreads out over lawn everything is OK. It's only if the overflow cuts into a berm or forms a runnel that you would add rocks or gravel to alleviate the erosion.