We have been getting just a tease of rain. Sunday we got enough to leave an outline of the plants on the dust but it vaporized very quickly. Yesterday rain clouds passed us by teasing us again with a few raindrops on the stones. It looks like today will be the same.
Perhaps fire swamp is a slight exaggeration , but Ed really was ready to spontaneously combust when he discovered this large pile of dirt behind the sweet cicely. The most disturbing part is that the pile contained stones. This garden bed was sifted to remove the stones and that means the ROUS, rodent of unusual size, that moved this pile of dirt has been digging at the base of Ed's stone wall.
We don't have quick sand, but the dirt is so dry that a touch of Ed's shovel collapsed the tunnel . Much like a vole tunnel, this one is larger running almost the length of Ed's wall. I don't even like to think of a vole that size and the idea of a woodchuck inside the stone wall is more than annoying.
Most of the plants in this area look terrible. If we get some rain we will get a better idea of the casualties. The tunnel has undercut the wall only slightly. I think the stones are from the stone trench which served as the foundation when the wall was built over a decade ago.
Work on this bed has been moved up on the to do list. I hope our ROUS has discovered this is not the place to be. If not E.F. will have to make an appearance.
This afternoon the clouds did not pass us by. We got perhaps 1/2 an inch of rain. The plants and the gardeners are thankful for every drop!
