April Storm Runoff in the Raingarden

This picture from April 2, last week, after a heavy rainfall we had. Taken in the morning. Later in the day the water had all seeped into the ground or had flowed from the channel at the lower end of the garden to areas below.

Growing here we see grasses, heuchera, hellebore, sedums, lots other stuff. I use it like a nursery for struggling plants, such as the yellow twig dogwood in left of this picture.

Next I need to fix up the drainage channels so that not only the vegetable area below gets watered, but the runoff from that will drain to my new shade raingarden, to be made from my now messy weed pile under the spirea. More on that soon, I hope.

Spring in January 2010

Been so warm outside these days, really feels like spring. Grass is starting to grow, daffodils are up a few inches or more in places, primroses blooming and for sale at all the groceries, weeds growing, and we hear they are worried about getting enough snow for the Olympics next month up the road in Vancouver, B.C. And no, this warm winter in the Puget Sound Convergence Zone has nothing to do with Global Warming, or as we should call it, Global Climate Change. What I don't understand at all is why so many people who have learned to read and write and supposedly understand what they read have decided not to use their abilities to discern what scientists keep telling us. The glaciers are melting, that's a fact. But don't take my word for it, or the National Geographic's word for it. Go read for yourself. Ok, so now we just call it Global Change. Not just climate, or maybe not even climate, and certainly nothing to do with the weather. Changes in the global envir...

Spring in the Rain Garden

Now that I'm making sure my plastic will be finally laid in the landfill, after being cast out of the recycling facilty if it does not meet the requirements, or after being recycled into park bench or decking material, and what's left goes in the landfill to stay forever, now that that's all figured out, I can focus back on my little rain garden project. Just visited a yard where the drainage is a real problem, lawn all squishy and mossy. But here we live on a hill, near the top at nearly 500 ft so we don't get drainage from above, except of course from the up the cul de sac to our east. A river of storm water runs along the front of the curb, and if I could just figure out a way to channel it into the yard, I'd really be in business. But back to the drainage from the roof of our split-level, and the channeling into this little swale. Here's a new picture of the daffodils and a few plantings. The red twigs were just stuck in as cuttings to root, but those...

What is The Convergence Zone?

The Convergence Zone is, for me, a place where things come together. Where I put down thoughts and jottings as I like for whoever may be interested, relating to living here where we are in the middle of the Puget Sound Convergence Zone. As a weather feature of the Puget Sound region, this zone is remarkable as a place where weather systems collide and create storm conditions: Heavy rain, storm, wind, hail, snow, thunder, lightening, and so on. The following is adaped from the KOMO TV explanation: The Puget Sound Convergence Zone occurs when there is a northwest flow in the upper atmosphere, and unstable air. Frequently following a storm system, northwest winds blow stronger and can collide with the Olympic Mountains. Part of the air flow is then deflected east down the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Puget Sound, while the other part is deflected down the western side of the Olympic mountains. When the northern air flow reaches the Cascade Mountains, it is forced to the south. Meanwhi...

The Convergence Zone

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