Come Again Another Day

Sunday, May 26, 2019

After yet another rainy night, here’s a shot of my equines holed up in their loafing shed during an early dry moment.

It’s begun to feel like I’m living in the Portland or Seattle areas instead of in Central Oregon’s high desert. This spring in my area has been the rainest during the near-fifteen years that I’ve lived in Central Oregon. By keeping abreast of predictions in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, I’d have been prepared for this May, which was expected to be rainier than normal and with cooler temperatures. In fact right now and still early this morning, rain again has begun tapping on my roof.

The Almanac adds reassuringly that the upcoming summer temperatures and rainfall will be “near normal”. This publication has been around, it seems to me, since time immemorial. What first struck me about the Almanac was that three years ago it predicted we’d have unusually huge snowfalls. And truly, we had some dozies! That’s when I decided to keep an eye on the publication, but alas, I forgot. Until the rains and now.

Of course, if we can see ahead that the Almanac predicts something like unusual spring rains, there’s nothing that can be done to change that potential. But at least we could be prepared mentally. We would know to avoid waking every morning, expecting to see sunshine because it’s May, and more realistically would know to anticipate the likelihood of a day of drear and clouds.

The daily pattern so far suggests we can look for breaks in the rain. In such a quiet period, I’ll be at the ready. I’ll dash out, get the horses exercised, note the wellness of my resident Bluebirds, and assess the widening spreads of weeds. At least on days like this, there’s no need to worry about house plants that can’t take much sunlight. They can be set outside beside the hardier plants for a healthy infusion of fresh air and moisture.

Dear Friends, have a lovely day. Diana