today i went to the garden with the intention of planting peas and pulling weeds. i should mention that it snowed last night and i was expecting a thin layer of snow or ice on the plot (it’s on the side of a hill, elevation approximately 550 feet) like so:

(the edge of the parking lot)

instead, i walked over to find this:

good thing i was wearing rain boots, because in some spots the water is 5 or 6 inches deep. it is both running down the hillside and bubbling up from underneath the ground.

i asked the garden manager if this happened all the time and he said it only started happening last year, and it would most likely drain out within 2 or 3 days. i’m guessing there’s something that is blocking the creek running behind the garden that’s diverting all the water into my spot. for now, all i can do is hope that we get a few dry days so i can build some raised beds. most of the other plots already have them. it is a minor setback, considering i could potentially be gardening at this spot for the next 5-10 years if not much longer. (the land’s been fully owned by the city of portland since 1976 and has a caretaker living on site!)

here’s some other pictures from today:

a beautiful mossy tree just above my spot

it was 45 degrees out and yet there was still a ton of snow on the ground

the chickens are not bothered by snow