Still Raining-Still Dreaming

"Rainy day, rain all day
Ain't no use in gettin' uptight
Just let it groove its own way"

                                        Jimi Hendrix, still raining still dreaming

A sunbreak is a naturally occuring phenomena that happens when sunlight pierces through the cloudcover causing temporarily lifted spirits, flowers open, vitamin D levels increase and a general feeling of wellness for sun lovers. According to sources it's a phrase that seems to have originated in the Pacific Northwest where rain can fall in torrents, or in heavy mists and clouds that touch from the ground to the sky are common place. Jimi would have known all about this, as he was from Seattle. Sun being the exception here rather than the rule. 

Rhodohypoxis have been found to fill a gap between the now fading Fritillaria and early bulbs and the yet to start Calochortus, Brodieae, Triteleia, Gladioulus and Alliums of the later bloom. 

Rhodohypoxis 'Glitterburg'
This selection has exceptionally large flowers

One of the nice things about Rhodohypoxis is they are not shy of flowering, even in cool damp weather. So many of the South African bulbous species like the Moraea need some sun to get those flowers to open and have rarely been seen during this extra cool and damp spring. 

Rhodohypoxis 'Pintado'
A cute little selection with darker pink edges and lighter centers. 

This post is pretty much just to gripe about the weather, come October I can't wait for the rain, the dust of summer is happily washed away as the fronts line up over the Pacific to move vast quantities of water inland. But now as we head into the middle of May and I'm trying to work on a nursery expansion, with construction projects being hampered by the weather, I really am ready for some sunbreaks to start appearing on the regular. 

I know I shouldn't complain, the truth is the snotel is showing fantastic levels, probably not enough to remove the overall drought issues we have been facing in the west, but these chilly, rain storms are still dumping snow in the high country and that does bode well for the summer, and the salmon that depend on that slow, cold release of water through the porous volcanic stone in the upper watersheds. 

I have a 2" rain gauge that I keep in a wine barely planter by the front porch, I feel like It filled and got emptied almost 3 times this week. Still raining, still dreaming. 

Mark