my new rain gauge

My older son gave me this nice rain gauge for Christmas.He picked it out!  It is named "The World's Coolest Rain Gauge" and I have to agree that it is.

I love how it looks...the copper tube in the iron spiral.  It is made in the USA!

It is interesting how it works. The blue inside tube is marked with measurements. 

In the bottom of the blue tube is a porous sponge-like plug.  As rain water is collected, the sponge causes the blue tube to float up to show the marked measuring line that corresponds with how much rain has fallen.

(I know,  so scientific).

There were instructions on how to do a test to be sure it works accurately. It said to pour 1.2 ounces of water in the tube and it should show 1 inch.   Yep! It works perfectly!

I placed it where I can see it from my kitchen window. Even if I can't quite read the numbers from there, I will have a pretty good idea how much rain we have had by how much of the blue tube is showing (or I can just walk across the porch and look at it).

This will be really handy in the summer time to help with knowing if it's rained enough for the flowerbeds or if I need to water. And it's just pretty to look at!