Pat: Rainfall is, indeed, quite bad here. We are in desperate need of consistent rain. As I'm putting in over 200 new, perennial plants (fruit and nut trees and shrubs, herbs, strawberries, etc.), I'm quite concerned about this issue. And what happens if we have another dry summer? Global warming has arrived - and it's right in our back yard. Suggest we all mulch a *lot* - and use other water conservation techniques. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Robert.