Lovely day today. It’s no secret that it’s been a bit…wet in Western Washington. The whole Pacific Northwest has been either wet, frozen or buried in snow. The one thing we haven’t seen much of is Sun. Yes, Washington State is known for it’s rain, but this year Mother Nature has decided to make up for those three months two summers ago when we had no rain whatsoever. Then there were the days where she didn’t know whether it should rain, snow or sunshine, so she decided to throw it at us all at once and see what we would do. Yeah…. Fun times, fun times.

Yet even with the weather going every which way, Spring has arrived. Trees and bushes are starting to bud out, Crocuses are almost done blooming while the Daffodils and Tulips are getting ready for their turn to shine. We even got up to a blazing 60ºF! I told my best friend who lives down in Texas this, and she said she was not going to comment on that. I told her rather drily that no, no she wasn’t. (Again, lives in Texas.)

So Spring is here, and it’s technically the raining season even if it is on steroids. What this means is IF we do get a sunny day it is in the middle of the week when most everyone is working. At least I am. On the rare nice weekend I was so sick with the cold that was circulating in the school I work at that going outside, no matter how nice it was, was not an option. Frankly, getting off the couch was not an option, but I digress. (See Cold From Hell poem.)

This week we managed to squeak in two and a half nice days before the deluge began once again. Early this morning I looked outside to see water pouring out the end of one of the gutters. This tells me that the drain is plugged. I am of the I’ll clean the gutters tomorrow, but when tomorrow finally comes it pouring down rain society. There are a few of us living in this wonderfully green land with lots of pine and fir trees that fill up our cutters with needles. We all probably have the same conversation when we see the tell-tale sign that a gutter is plugged. “Ah, damn.” Which is followed by a deep sigh and “I really don’t want to go out in the rain” whine with a smidgeon of resignation and muttering as we put on our rain gear and head out for our first or second shower of the day. I am here to tell you that rain water in March is COLD!

As I am hauling the ladder around the yard I notice that along with the plants and flowers I actually want in my garden,  the shotgun weed is doing wonderfully. For those who do not know what shotgun weed is, it’s a small leaf weed with pretty little white flowers. All good, until it goes to seed. Then it’s dangerous. Why? Because when a slight breeze or hand touches it, it shoots seeds far and wide. If you let the weed go this long I highly recommend protective eyewear and make sure your mouth is closed while pulling it out. Yes, it’s that bad.

After I finished with the gutters and my hands are nicely numb I think, what the hell. I’m already out here and wet, why not get some of that weeding done that is quickly piling up. An hour later my husband comes home from running an errand and sees me out there. Here is the conversation that follows, me outside in the downpour, he and the dog by the now open window inside where it’s dry.

“What are you doing?” There is a fair amount of disbelief in his voice.

“Weeding,” I respond as if weeding in a downpour is an everyday occurrence.

“You’ll catch cold.”

“I already have a cold.”

“Well, then you’ll make it worse.”

“Possibly. I was already out here cleaning the gutter and wet so I thought, what the hell.”

He’s was not sure how to respond to that, so he shrugs and says “Okay,” and closed the window.

One thing I noticed, now this may not be new to most of you but bear with me, moss is so much easier to scrap up when the ground is saturated with water. Usually it’s rooted deep and is a pain. I pulled moss out of plants that I’ve been struggling with for years. I also found that my new rain coat that I bought at Costco is wonderful! It kept me nice and dry and warm. Now I wouldn’t recommend it for below 40ºF, but it did just fine for 46º. Much better than being drenched all the way through.

Tomorrow is suppose to be nice. In fact, shortly after I came in and took a shower it decided to stop raining and I did eventually see sun. Maybe I can begin cutting plants back. I heard or was told you should never cut plants in the rain because it gets into the wood from the new wound. We’ll see how it goes. Lots of work still to do.

Have a wonderful evening. 🙂

Copyright © 2017 Heidi Barnes