Welcome Rain, welcome winter!

The past 6 days of rain were a welcome sight. The weather this winter has been anything but typical. The other day, I was driving "Limey" as a vacuum cleaner through the orchard to pick up leaves. Here it was in the middle of January and I was bundle up from head to toe. The grasses were brown, the ground dry as a bone and the dust; well, let's just say I had to shower when I was done. This time of year the property is usually lush green, watering is absolute and we struggle to get a handle on the weeds. With no rain, the weed seed cannot sprout or green up. Were we really in winter? A shower after mowing is typically required July-October. I was shaking my head in disbelief. With little to no wind or rain this winter, the leaves have carpeted themselves on every inch of the property. Already we have hauled away 30 trailers(appr. 70 lawn & leaf bags) worth of leaves and we have another 10 trailers left. As for the last of our leaves, the rain came 2 days too soon, so the leaves still remain on the ground, carpeting the mud underneath. As I look out the window today, the sidewalks are stained with muddy paw prints and the ground is way too saturated to do anything outside. Now, I can say...Winter has begun!