I guess it is all relative. We are about 7 inches below normal rainfall for the year in my area. By Utah standards it would probably be the wettest year on record. Still, most of the water here runs into rivers and out to the ocean pretty rapidly. They estimate we only have 4-5 months of water on hand for drinking if we don't get any significant rain. I've heard 2 kinds of "drought" discussed. The first is just lack of rain and the subsequent dry soil. In that sense, it doesn't matter if you are above or below average for a year, decade, whatever - it just matters if it rained recently. For a plant, living on its own on the soil's surface, that is the immediate idea of "drought." On a larger scale, we talk of drought having a deep impact on the macro water system - rivers, lakes, ground water. At least in my area, we have gotten enough rain recently so the grass has greened up, but the rivers and lakes are still dangerously low.

1. Use a good shovel or even knife to cut down into the ground near the plant. You will be cutting some roots but it shouldn't be enough roots to give negative impact on the remaining plants. Take the other plant that you are trying to move to another spot. In the future, you'll probably have to do something like this for some of your perennials, so you can get used to cutting through the ground or mound of a plant and know that you're helping the plant more than hurting it if you divide it or make it less crowded. 2. For other parts that are not being covered by some desired plant growth, you can use mulch. You also should consider mulching under plant stems that are bending over, even if they are blocking out weeds for now. 3. Lay out your compost in a thin layer several times a year. It shouldn't be eventually building up and increasing your ground level. If you add mulch, you will probably want to move the mulch aside when you add compost. If the plant is not growing yet, you may not need to side dress that particular area. I mention this since I assume you are focusing the compost on the current plants, not trying to add compost to the entire garden area every time you add compost. Alternatively, you can use your compost by making compost tea and feeding the plants that way.

Trailrunner, I hear what you are saying about the value of work, & how it contributes to lives, to society, to who we are. We are interdependent & couldn't get through a single day without the contributions of 100's of people! Isn't that a humbling thought? The efforts of so many are simply vital! One week without trash pick-up illustrates that reality beautifully! We really are all connected. We also live in a world where WORK is given so very much attention & adulation for all the wrong reasons! What people do to earn money (& of course how much they earn!) often defines them to an extent that I personally find bizarre. I know you know what I'm talking about! That is why I care less about how people earn a living than with other features of their humanity. What interests me the most about the people who have impressed me over the years, is a certain "quality of attention" they give to a task, no matter how grand or humble it may be. That presence, that "flow" as it has been called, is being fully human, & is strikingly beautiful. The way someone who is mindful & present sets a table, prepares a meal, interacts with a child, speaks to strangers, can mesmerize me. We can witness life in it's fullest, most whole, complete & beautiful, by seeing even the simplest thing done with great care. But, moments like that can easily be overlooked & or seen as meaningless in this world so obsessed with career paths & success strategies. Still, indeed, I well agree that a person can perform the work they do for a living with the care, attention & presence I am referring to, & when that happens, we are all made better! (Actually, you, your dh, your son & his wife (at the restaurant) impress me as fine examples of people who live like this!) You nursed the sick, you sang opera, you ran the trails. You have seen others nurse, sing & run as well. I would imagine that you did all of these things attentively, lovingly, mindfully, but certainly you have witnessed these tasks performed robotically or in a "check list" sort of fashion. For me, it is not the "what" but the "how" that leads to completion, wholeness, fufillment, whether we are "working" or not. Whatever we are doing, matters little in the end, but what could be sweeter than to feel content with "how" we've done things, no matter what they were, no matter how small or insignificant? To live with true quality of attention, to do our best, no matter if anyone is looking or a paycheck is in the mail. With this approach to life, when one "retires" the habit of living mindfully & being present has enriched the heart & mind so fully that a "deficit" or void of any kind is not perceived. Life in all of its fullness continues to surprise, delight & offer rich rewards, even without the job, title, paycheck & all the status & approval from others that those things confer.

I won't be buying the Ballard pieces, but will have the cabinet maker build customs. I've done a bit of research into banquette seating and apparently the trick is to make sure the bench portion protrudes beyond any side cabinets and that it is longer than the table. So my plan was for the bench to be 72" long and have a table that is a maximum of 66" long when extended. The side cabinets will be 15" or 18" deep on the bottom and 12" or 15" deep on top and the banquette bench will be 24" deep. without furniture Like usual my making a post here has probably made me answer my own question lol. I think I like the idea of a banquette as it pushes the table just a bit closer to the wall thereby freeing up the space in front of the door a bit. Also it gives me a place to store the table leaf.