It really is unusually dry for this time of year here. I am working in my veggie garden doing prep, and usually it's unworkable now, either under snow, still frozen, or totally sodden.

This time last year I had to buy a pump and pump the water out of my cellar due to the heavy snow over winter followed by drenching rains in spring. The pump worked well but I had to stand there while it pumped which became tedius as the days and weeks passed. I tacked a shower curtain to the side of my garage and draped it over my sprouted winter sown containers to keep the rain off them.

Fast forward to 2012 and I'm busy again, this time bottom watering my sprouted winter sown containers that are drying out from the lack of snow and rain.

Steve - thanks for posting the link to that blog even if it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. The map was helpful too.

Not too dry here, but I'm not touching any of the mulch or doing any gardening until later in the season. Spring comes late here anyway, and I keep a thick layer of leaves/compost/pine needles all over to retain the winter's moisture.

There have been Red Flag Warnings for fire danger posted several times, when the wind has been very high combined with very low humidity. Forest fires we don't need.

Claire

Yeah the map is interesting, although the blog doesn't tell me anything I don't know either. It is very unusual for precipitation to be this low this time of year. Has me quite worried, but I'm a worry wart, so hopefully it won't be that bad.

I already have 250 feet of hose hooked up around the house and have been watering recent transplants, as well as anything that was planted or transplanted in the latter half of last year.