Rain! Glorious Rain!

We've finally gotten some real rain. Yesterday we got about a half an inch (13 millimeters). It sounds crazy (and it was), but it was the first time that we've had a rain event greater than a millimeter in three and a half weeks.

This morning, the world was green again. It's amazing how quickly nature responds. ...and to top it off, it's supposed to rain all day today and into tomorrow!

Yahoo!

Rhododendrons

Rhododendrons are among my favorite plants. My love for them can be traced to days spent fishing in Rhododendron-lined creeks in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

There are two Rhododendrons on either side of the front door to our house. One is pink and the other fuschia. Unfortunately, that's all I know about them. ...Well, that's not entirely true. I know that they're both growing in full sun. I know that the pink one is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) tall and 6.5 feet wide. I know that the fuschia one is about 4.0 feet (1.2 meters) tall and 4.0 feet wide. I know that, according to my in-laws, they were both planted "10 or 15 years ago" (translation: 15 to 20 years ago) and that they were both "standard" varieties.

At this point, my best guesses are that the pink one is Rhododendron 'Roseum Elegans' and the fuschia one is Rhododendron 'The General'. Let me emphasize that these are guesses.

If you have any thoughts about what cultivars they could be, I'd love to hear from you.

Rhododendron 'the pink one':






Rhododendron 'the fuschia one':

Still dry as a bone, but...

Another weekend is past, and it was another weekend without significant rainfall. Since 29 April, we've received about .40 inches (10 millimeters) of rainfall. We've been unlucky, because some farms in our area have recieved more than 1.5 inches (38 millimeters) in that time period. I'm hopeful that our "mini drought" is near its end; rain is forecast for 8 of the next 10 days.

Despite the extremely dry conditions (for our area), most plants have shown little sign of stress. Instead, they've simply slowed down. It has been nice for those of us with large lawns; the grass has grown much slower that it normally would.

Congratulations A.C. Milan

Congratulations to A.C. Milan for winning the European Cup. They defeated Liverpool 2-1 Wednesday night in Athens. Filippo 'Pippo' Inzaghi scored twice for the victors, while Dirk Kuyt scored the lone goal for Liverpool.

For a video clip of the highlights, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN5iQPw29wM

Football today

The second-biggest competition in football (soccer) is happening today: the Champions League final. Liverpool is taking on A.C. Milan in a rematch of the 2005 final (which Liverpool won in dramatic fashion). I'm going to try to watch the game via the web.

While I love watching Kaká, Seedorf, Ronaldo, and company, I'm going to have to cheer for Liverpool. Internazionale Milano is my favorite Italian team, and to cheer for their rivals would be heresy.

So go Gerrard, go Kewell, go Crouch; take home the cup for a second time.