Rain, rain, stay and play!

In the past few years in the DC area we've had periods of tremendous rain in the spring, followed by periods of drought in the summer.

I've experimented with ways to collect the rain we DO get during those droughts and for all my efforts the only thing I collected, in any large quantity, was funny looks from my neighbors (and guffaws from my husband) as I run around my house with trash cans and a baby pool in the middle of a storm.

And so one of my first real efforts at turning a little MORE green will be installing a rain barrel.

Rain barrels have been around for ages and if you're like me, you might think of the old western movies where the bad guys fall (butt first for laughs) into a wooden barrel filled with water.

Well rain barrels have come a long way. Just see these rain barrels!

I'm just trying to decide if my less-than-green husband will help me, or if I should just pay someone. I'm also wondering if my home owners association will care.

So if you have tips, tricks, or connections to a discount rain barrel guy, let me know! (Rain barrels cost anywhere from about $150-$300 depending on the size you want.)

Janine