microclimate II

life is replete with discrepancies and so it is with "official" and "unofficial" climate reporting...the official weather station which is about a mile from here maintains that since i put these rain gauges up there has been .54 inches of rain in the area...well..the rain gauges out back can't even agree about how much rain there was in the yard, much less the area...i put the gauge by the thermometer on the tree just to see how much rain was diverted from the immediate ground by the canopy of foliage...that gauge shows about .3 of an inch since tuesday...the one out at the east end of the yard on the tomato bed shows a shade over .7 of an inch...the one on the post towards the center of the yard shows .8 of an inch...and the one on the ramp bed on the north side of the house shows a shade over .8 of an inch...we could argue that the locust trees to the north of the tomato bed impacted that measurement...but the trees are bare...and an argument over the accuracy of $1.98 rain gauges compared tot he accuracy of "official" instruments could be made...but none of that really explains the disparity in measurements over a suburban back yard or why the gauge on the north side which is between my house and my neighbors would measure more rainfall than the others...accurate or not there is a disparity...there will be more rain this coming week and more readings...perhaps a pattern will develop..perhaps i am doing this just to keep busy during a slack gardening season...one thing i am certain of...this much rain, as opposed to snow, in january at the south end of lake michigan is not in line with the historical norms...it aint natural for the forecast to be nearly 60 degrees fahrenheit on the 21st.