It's raining, it's pouring. . .

. . . and I'm thrilled! I just came in from planting seeds in the garden. We're running out of room out there. Jon went nuts with the ones he planted inside, so we have about 50 little tiny tomato plants--I don't know what we'll do if they all make it! And our neighbor's (adult) daughter gave me 3 tomato plants last night. They were called "Mr. Stripey" so I couldn't refuse. I can't wait to try striped tomatoes! Today I planted spinach and cilantro. I'm so happy that the rain came after I planted them and not during it all.

Another reason to rejoice about the rain: we bought (and installed) a rain barrel! It almost made me cry to hear Jon sawing away at our copper downspout (it's so pretty and patina-ed) but now that it's up, we can save money on water for the garden, give the plants fresh, unchemicalized water, and keep the storm sewers flowing properly. It's a win/win/win situation. You can purchase rain barrels at Green Home Experts in Oak Park (there's a link to their website at the bottom of this page). We got ours from the Water Reclamation District. It's just for Cook County residents, but I think most municipalities are offering them. I've linked to their site--click on the title of this post, if you're local. We put ours up on cement blocks so the watering can fits neatly under the spigot. I think a lot of our neighbors got one on Saturday. Scott and Suzanne, Chuck and Diane, and Jon and I all were installing them at the same time. Chuck gets first prize for efficiency, Scott for attractiveness. His is up on decorative rocks, not cement blocks. We get the prize for judging the "contest".