If you're a fellow Northern Californian, you're experiencing the joy of a wonderful, rainy weekend along with me. This is the kind of long, soaking rain that we always wish for; a multi-day event, slow and steady over a long period of time. The 'river' that my kids used to run in (when they were little) has made an appearance in front of our house. What this shows (other than the fact that our local streets and sewer system, built in 1949, cannot handle modern construction, traffic, or weather) is that we're getting a good amount of moisture. Hallelujah.

'Pompeii' paste tomatoes, making a comeback

I am so glad I took some time Friday afternoon to sow native annual wildflower seeds. In anticipation of the rain, I had already laid in a good supply from Larner Seeds and American Meadows - Poppies, Tidy Tips, Goldfields, Gilia, Chinese Houses, Clarkia, and several pollinator mixes, which included a lot of Phacelia. I threw all the seeds into big bucket with compost, then tossed handfuls out onto any bare, un-mulched ground I could find.

Some of the flower stalks are falling with the weight of the raindrops

Sun and warm temps are predicted for the coming week, so everything will start to germinate. It seems weird to plant now for a spring bloom, but this is precisely the right way to plant native annual California seeds. And if you haven't done it, it's not too late - just watch the weather reports, and get them out before the next rain.

I also sowed seeds of kale, chard, and more peas in the raised beds on Friday. Something ate every single one of the seedlings that I transplanted last weekend; I'm guessing it's the opossum that's making its home under the train shed. The seedlings were too small for deer to notice, and eaten too fast to be snails or slugs - they were there one night and gone the next morning. So yeah, it's probably Mr. O. This means we'll have to do some sort of chicken-wire protection when the seeds start sprouting, or we'll have no winter greens.

Looks naked without the hop vines, doesn't it? Those are fava beans coming up in those planters.

During a break in the rain, I took some lettuce out to the chickens, and scared away a charm of goldfinches in the Thai basil, eating the seeds. They were too fast for me to take a photo.

And I noticed that the olives on our trees are starting to change color.

Aside from that quick foray outside, it's an indoor work day for sure. Baking bread was the first thing on my list, and I'll make a pot roast later. I just downloaded a new book a friend recommended called 'Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain,' so that is definitely on the schedule too.

My new bread lame (pronounced 'lahm') did a fine job with the scoring today.

While it might not be the most fun day to walk the dog, it sure is a good day to cuddle the cat.