3 more things to do after the rain

• • • Check for soil erosion in your yard. Be it a little or a lot, it's never good. If everyone lost just a cupful of dirt into the gutter during a rain, that'd be a lot of dirt. If you have a slope of any size at all, check it out and do something about it: ground cover plants, mulch, retaining walls, wattles, rip rap, gabions, terraces.

Whether your slope is 80degrees over 80 feet, or 8degrees over 8 inches, keep that dirt on your property.

• • • Turn off your sprinklers. Really. Nothing announces to you neighbors that "I have no clue about the world around me" than to water anything right after the rain.

• • • Spread seeds. Pick an empty lot, a bare spot in your garden, or anyplace that would benefit from some California golden poppies. In your lawn, spread rose clover-- it's fairly drought tolerant and low maintenance and good for the soil.