Any cheapo straight-sided container will do. Place it in an unobstructed part of your yard and get the true amount of moisture that falls from Mom Nature (hah) or by your sprinkler system (so you can adjust the times accurately).

A good craft project with the kids is to make rain guages out of empty liter pop bottles with the tops cut off.

Not sexist or truly gender-biased, but if you have small hands, it is impossible to find a good pair of gardening gloves (not the "la-de-dah" kind which, insultingly, are everywhere). With our tough weeds and lack of rain (hail does not count), weeds are deep-rooted pests.

Try out the quality craftsmanship at
www.womanswork.com. They also have a guide for sizing your hand.

If you are a righty or a lefty, a good pair of bypass pruners are a must. Felco makes a rotating-handle pair (right- or left-handed), that although are pricey ($49.00), take the strain off your hand, wrist and forearm. These pruners also have available parts so with good after-use care, will last for more than one season.

Available at www.leevalley.com in the Gardening section, under Pruners.

Well, just when you thought it was safe. No... so stick a pin in the Mom Nature doll and hope our older plants recover. This has not been the kindest spring for gardeners, but we are made of hardy stuff.

Seriously, a golf bag attached to a pull-behind cart makes the best tool caddy for working in the yard. It doesn't easily tip, rolls over everything and you can stow a rake and other long handled things in the club slots with enough additional pockets for pruners, trowels and what-not.

Pick up a used bag at a yard sale, commandeer your spouse's spare, watch the golf outlets' sales and grab a cart. It works great.

This tool is a cross between a knife and a trowel and is excellent for planting, transplanting, grubbing, removing roots and weeds, dividing perennials. The blade is dished and has a serrated edge on one side and a sharpened edge on the other. Does well in our crappy soil.

I got my Japanese Farmer's Knife at
www.leevalley.com for $17.50 in the Gardening section, under Trowels. It comes with a sheath.