Rains

It began to rain this morning.  A great thing.  Wasn't near enough but it was good.  We have been under an extensive drought for longer than I thought possible.  Several years.  While we have gotten significant rain events over this time, the in between has been rough.  I have had to redefine what my idea of drought was.  Apparently the deficit of rain over the years and the lack of water in the various reservoirs and rivers is a factor in that definition.  It is probably pretty deceiving to drive through this part of the State and see how green it is.  It has been greener than usual and certainly more than in past years.  But they say the drought is not broken.  Several rivers that I am familiar with have actually gone dry in various areas.  Something I have never seen before.   These were taken 2 years ago.  There is water now but not much.

 

 

This one is from this past summer.  You wouldn't normally see the rocks.

 

My water bill was outrageous this month and confirms the drought is still bad.  This was with the water restrictions that prevent over watering the yard.  Once you get to a certain amount the rates increase and other charges kick in.  Glad the milder weather is moving in, can't do multiple months of those kind of bills.

Another good thing about the rain is it helps the wife with an aspect of her business.  She is an independent contractor at a major resort near us.  When it rains, the guests at the resort look for something to do, especially for the kids.  She it there to provide activities and pocket some cash.  It's a win win situation for her, the guests and the resort.  She is also able to sell some of our creations.  She is a hard worker and gifted in dealing with people.  She has that spectacular smile and friendly, welcoming demeanor. 

My team didn't upset the land thieves as I had hoped.  Very disappointing to see them dominate most of the game and had much better stats.  However, they make way to many mistakes at the most inopportune time.  I see it as a lack of discipline and the coaching staff not making them pay the consequences throughout the week during practice.  I hate looking for moral victories to make something positive out of it, we still lost.  Just not a very good team right now.

 

Got pre-surgery instructions in the mail yesterday.  Not really anything they hadn't already told me.  Good to have it in writing though.  Now the waiting game. 

 

Happy Trails