Shortly after 5 am this morning, as I sat down in front of the computer to check the weather forecast, the possum that lives under our tub in the adjoining hall bathroom got into a fight with a skunk that wandered into the crawl space looking for shelter from the rain. I heard the whole thing transpire and ran into the bathroom stomping on the floor in an effort to break it up, but it was too late. The skunk let loose at full force, and now the entire house is permeated. The joys of rural living can be exaggerated at times.
Equally unpleasant can be the task of harvesting in the middle of a major storm. These last two CSA weeks have been unlucky for us timing wise. Rainfall makes the harvest more difficult mainly in that we can’t get our truck anywhere near the crops being harvested without getting stuck in the mud. This means that the crew has to walk the produce out of the fields much further than they otherwise would. And the act of walking itself becomes increasingly difficult as the ground becomes saturated—especially here at our home ranch, with its heavy clay soils which build up on your boots until they feel like they were made of lead.
It’s not that we are complaining though. No, with the exception of the harvest difficulties, for us it is all good. The rainfall will help to recharge local aquifers, fill the sloughs, keep our cover-crops growing lush and tall, leach harmful salts from our soil, and give the surrounding native trees and shrubs the thorough deep soaking that they have been so desperately in need of these last three years.
The forecasters say the storms these last few weeks mark the official beginning of the “El Nino” winter storm cycle here. They have a more Western trajectory as opposed to the storms earlier this year which came down more from the North. As I understand it, the effects of this pattern will be somewhat complex. Because the storms are coming off the ocean, they will have a strong moisture tap, but they will be warmer than those that drop down from the Northwest. This will mean more rainfall, but potentially less snowpack in the Sierra which could have implications for water availability statewide later in the year.
At any rate, the rain is still welcome. We were well prepared for a wet year and our farm is certainly already the better for it. We just have to hold our nose and dive in.
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