Rain, Rain, DON'T Go Away—Please?!
—and Saving the Rain
Hubby and I were excited that we got rain on June 1 (a whopping 0.38”) and were especially happy because this was the only rain we received this past month. More rain is forecast now for the next few days, but the total amount predicted is only 0.21”…so, yeah, our drought is continuing. 😠
Here’s my Perpetual Journal page showing how I chronicled the momentous event of our June 1 rain!
Regarding my 2024 and 2023 PJ entries on that same page, we’ve seen very few butterflies of any species since our last Queen Butterfly eclosed on May 17, and we’ve seen NO Gambel’s Quail chicks at all this year! ☹️ For the past 5 years, we’ve always seen Gambel’s Quail chicks starting in May; in years before that we saw them starting as early as April or as late as June. We assume this year’s lack of cute little Gambel’s Quail chicks is due (at least so far) to our current drought.
🌧️ Saving the Rain! 💧
As part of Hubby’s and my commitment to living more sustainably and supporting the native flora and fauna in our yard, we had two 870-gallon rainwater harvesting tanks (each about 6’ tall x 5’ wide) and one 100-gallon rain barrel installed in Spring 2024.
Before installation, our Homeowners Association (HOA) asked us to provide an elevation drawing showing the proposed placement of our rainwater harvesting tanks, so I created this drawing. Given that ≥99.9% of the art I post here is analog, I thought you might enjoy seeing this digital art I created!
After our tanks and barrel were installed, Hubby & I created a chart to show how much rainwater our tanks and barrel store after each storm. We can easily look at this chart and see that the 0.38” rain I referenced on my Perpetual Journal page above resulted in our collecting and storing about 350 gallons of water—some of which we’ve definitely used since then.
Is this enough to keep all the plants in our yard alive? No—but it helps—and every native plant we keep alive helps insects survive and thrive, which then helps birds survive and thrive, and so on, up the food chain.
📖 Book Nook
Speaking of rain and clouds, I just read a super-cute illustrated kids’ book about clouds and the water cycle:
When Cloud Became a Cloud by Rob Hodgson
This book explains in a simple way how clouds, storms, rain and snow form—with fun illustrations in which everything from raindrops to clouds to the sun sport smiley faces! This book definitely made me smile—and heaven knows we all need more positivity right now!
Note: I’ve included a link to this book at the Pima County (AZ) Public Library. Even if this isn’t your library, the link provides more information about the book. I’m a big fan of libraries and encourage you to look for this book at your own local library!
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Here’s more positivity: this Sunday, July 6 is The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, according to the Gregorian calendar. I’ll honor this with a quote of his:
“It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.”
- The Dalai Lama
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Your rain barrel collection reminds me of the Fremen in Dune.