April showers bring........worms!

Remember last summer, when I was endlessly whining about the drought? 

Well, I am most certainly not going to complain about the copious amounts of rain that we have been getting this year. We desperately needed the moisture and I am happy to have it. 

But, 

it's been a lot of rain. Sooooo much rain. A . Lot. Of. Rain. 

But it's okay, I'm not complaining, I am merely stating a fact. Did I mention that it's really, really wet?

5 inches of rain in two days on top of the already saturated ground is...good. 

I always wanted a pond. We now have a pair of Mallard Ducks living in our ditch.

After the heaviest rain, the ground started belching out worms by the thousands. I thought we were having a Worm Apocalypse, of sorts. Turns out, we weren't. I know this because I found this interesting bit of information about our wiggly little friends on the internet: 

"Dr. Dennis Linden, Cindy Hale, and other worm experts say that worms do NOT surface to avoid drowning. In fact, they come to the surface during rains (especially in the spring) so they can move overland. The temporarily wet conditions give worms a chance to move safely to new places. Since worms breathe through their skin, the skin must stay wet in order for the oxygen to pass through it. After rain or during high humidity are safe times for worms to move around without dehydrating. It is true that, without oxygen, worms will suffocate. But earthworms can survive for several weeks under water, providing there is sufficient oxygen in the water to support them."

Who knew?

Well, Dr.'s Linden and Hale, I respectfully disagree. I don't know how "safe" it was for the worms to move about over the ground, because the next day, when it didn't rain, some of the stragglers didn't make it back to the grass and the driveway was covered with what could best be described as dried up 'Worm Jerky'-a windfall for which the roosters were most appreciative.

Interestingly, or maybe not so much, my very first job as a kid was collecting worms after the rain for my neighbor who was an avid fisherman. He would pay me a penny or two for each worm. Come on, I was like 8 years old, it seemed like a good job at the time. I digress.

This is part of the Mississippi River, or, I should say, part of the river, plus parts of a park, a road, a train track and a few other things that the river claimed when it came out of its banks near the building where I have my Farmers' Market booth. 

And then random things floated by. 

I have no idea what that is, but somebody's going to be looking for that.

I am anxiously awaiting warmer temperatures, because, in spite of all the rain, it hasn't warmed up enough for much of anything to grow. Overnight the temps have still been in the 30's-40's most nights.

The buds on the trees haven't opened all the way yet.

The Daffodils are putting forth some effort. Yay, Daffodils. Good job.

The Robins have been back for some time now. That's a sign of Spring, right?

Rhubarb gets an "E" for effort, but that is about all that is growing so far.

We have no new lambs yet. Yes, we are still waiting for Holly!! 

So here is a rerun. More pictures of Lilly's girls.

And a random rooster face...because I have no new lambs, no flowers, no pretty pastures to show you...but I'm not complaining.