End of Summer Brings Lots of Rain
Greetings from the island everyone. I hope that all of you are doing well, and are looking forward to the first day of Fall/Autumn, which begins tomorrow, Sept. 22. I have always referred to this season of the year as Fall myself, and felt that Autumn was more of a northern used word. I don’t know, maybe that’s just the coastal blood in me. But regardless of the chosen word, Fall is upon us. . . Yay!
And goodness gracious, Summer has decided to go out with a rainy bang. As I sit here downstairs at my kitchen table on Friday, Sept. 14, the rain gauge out on the pier walkway has measured a total of 18.8” over the past fourteen days, and it’s still falling from the sky. That’s a lot of rain, folks! Yes, several weeks ago, and actually for most of the summer, my prayers included the mention of rain. . . and they have certainly been answered. But okay, Mother Nature, you can shut the sprinklers off now.
My rain tanks, providing all of my inside fresh water usage, are of course completely full. I did notice one day after a heavy rain that filled my tanks, that the level on one of the tanks was down 250 gallons. After further inspection, I discovered a small crack in the tank about half way up, causing the water to leak out, not a good thing. Luckily I keep “black & yellow” on hand, a two part putty-type epoxy that works great even under water, and was able to repair the leak.
And the abundance of rain also replenishes our below ground water supply for the water wells, which provides all of my outside water use. So yes, even though this amount of rain can be frustrating and inconvenient, and make a muddy mess of the chicken pen area, the heavenly fresh water is needed and I am thankful to receive it.
With summer now behind us, I normally would have a small Fall garden, maybe 6-8 tomato plants and a few assorted varieties of peppers. I always focus my efforts and time on my Spring garden, which is my favorite season of the year. I’m going to forego a Fall garden this year, and just get all of my raised beds prepared and ready for next Spring. I need to add lots of organic material to all of my beds, as I believe the soil has become depleted of nutrients.
Going into the mainland 2-3 days a week to spend time with Mom doesn’t afford me the extra time right now to devote to a garden. But that’s ok, Mom is the priority and she is getting better all the time. I’ll have plenty of time to get everything ready and hopefully have a great Spring garden with lots of fresh tomatoes.
Even with the hot summer and recent heavy rains, my chickens and guineas have continued to lay very well. Just prior to them beginning to lay in December, I started them on 20% protein laying pellets, and I believe this has really made a big difference. With 15 layers and 3 guinea hens, I’m averaging 12-14 chicken and 2-3 guinea eggs every day. I’m very happy with their egg production, and enjoy raising them.
Even though I don’t watch TV very often, I have one in the kitchen and one outside on the covered porch, I do rely on them for tracking storms and late night watching. Well, within two days both TV’s went out on me, the Dish receiver box inside and the actual TV outside. Some great friends gave me the porch TV, and I am thankful for the time it lasted, so now I have a new one outside. This salt air environment plays havoc on any type of electronics. Just part of island life.
That’s it from the island for now; everyone take care and enjoy this Fall weather.
