Soggy Days

The winter rains have begun in earnest. The Pacific Northwest has many areas currently under flood watch or warning. In the picture above you can see the soggy streets. What I was not able to capture here are also the tiny rivers flowing down our street and dumping into nearby Fox and Nice creeks.

I have noticed a bright spot in all the damp. The snow crocuses are peeking their heads up, preparing (hopefully) for an early February bloom. Every thing else is mush for the time being.

I forget sometimes that it's as important to prepare for the muddy, rain slogged winter, as it is for any other season. For example, I forgot this year to solve the problem of a muddy dog run in our back yard, as well as a muddy path to it. Hence, I have wet smelly dogs in my back 'mud' room currently, as it's really too damp for anyone outside. (And I'm easily suckered by our two dogs).
We also need to level, lay down a weed barrier and then get a load of gravel to smooth out our driveway. Ahh, the list of to-do's never ends as a home owner..but the mud this time of year is enough to drive me crazy!!

In other news, my plants appear to have for the most part, survived the 2 week cold snap we recently had. The roses are actually showing new grow, and while many of the perennials are flattened and mooshy, they are still looking normal for this time of year.

All of our Pacific NW rain reminds me of how important it is to set up your bulb beds correctly in the fall so the fragile bulbs like tulips don't drown and rot through the wet winter season. Planting them on the high point of a slope or mounding dirt over the bed to direct the water off the bed.

Well, I think a hot cup of tea is in order and my kiddos would probably appreciate some fresh baked cookies on this rainy, winter day.

Here's hoping you find yourself something cozy to eat and drink too!
Happy Winter!