Enough rain, already

We had hoped that spring would have banished the rain and we could resume the usual Sonoma weather of sunshine and warming temperatures. That was not to be and in spite of that we managed to make some progress. Now we are all delighted that California is out of the drought and recent aquifer reports for our area tell us that water table levels are in good shape: From a year ago, water level is up about 5 feet to 46.5 feet. Up from the low in 2013 of about 70 feet. In some areas, it’s been reported that levels are up 30 feet since last spring. Our 80 foot well is in good shape we’re told but water quality reports revealed that we had high levels of silica in our well water and I’ve noticed white spots on glassware were hard to remove and streaks of white on the dark counter tops which convinced me that I needed to put in a reverse osmosis system. So now we have a scientific looking lab in my well room and I look forward to clean domestic water and we have two large tanks on the property to hold water for household use and another for irrigation.
 
Meanwhile, the garden seems happy with rain showers and some sunny days we’ve been getting so no complaints from our onions, lettuces, peas and fava beans.

A rare sunny day means we can get some concrete footers poured on the main house

2500 and 1000 gallon tanks ready to be rolled into place once the ground dries out.

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The reverse osmosis system goes into place

Happy garden which appreciates the rain and some days of sun.

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Fig tree leafs out and I'm happy to report that new addition of the main house skirts roots and ensures that the tree is still featured on the property.