25 March 2011

That time it never did stop raining.


Once you're in the car for a few minutes, the fungus farmy oldy moldy smell kind of fades. There's damp towels, damp shoes, damp dogs back there and I believe the rain has lasted for 14 days now, give or take.


The sky is gray. That's it. There's no clouds. There's no mountains, all you see is heavy gray air, pressing in close. Textureless. Nothing tactile you could reach up and grab. When you drive, it presses right up to the windshield, and while the water just pounds away.


The girl dogs are tough. They just go about life, no matter what the barometer reads. It's just weather. Nothing you can do. Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.


Gustavo is a bit of a sissy weenie about the weather. Take him out in the open though, even if it's just up on the hill at work or out to the swamp, and he perks back up. Just has to get his run on.


We drove through town just before the flooding started. Who knew? I took the long way home on the ocean just for the hell of it. Was a short day at work. I decreed it short. Like hell I was hanging around out there all day, wouldn't stop pouring. The horses understood, went back to their naps, and I ended up driving through a hurricane.


The dogs usually sleep in the back of the car. They were all high alert status the whole way home, I guess they thought I was driving them through a car wash. Or into the river. But it was just the rain. I kept telling them, Uh oh, you guys. The river is all the way up at the top. I think it's gonna flood. Then same thing with the next river.


We're reaching that critical mass place right now, when the mudslides start and the trees are going down and the rivers overflow. That's just not nice. Whoever is in charge of the weather this week has some brutal feelers going down on us. Although us personally, right now, we're fine. So far, no melting.


When the skies do this, on top of us here in blissful, sunny California, it's a good reminder. Things ain't always how you want them to go. You stop paying attention for a second, hardly long enough to blink and the weather sneaks around behind your back, goes and turns over to the dark side. Isn't a damn thing you can do to stop it. Like I said. Sit back, and even if you can't enjoy it, you gotta take the ride.

7 comments:

nosemovie said...

Living here in the perpetually wet PNW, I can say, I share your pain. And it DOES get to you after a while. Make a fire, stay dry. You're sun will return. Ours? well, we've got MONTHS to go.

nosemovie said...

dang,
Your.

not you're...
morning.

Elf said...

I was going to type something witty but, dang, too dreary and I'm waking up every day and feeling depressed. I have the best lawn I've had in years and it's too wet to do anything on it; how fair is that? My dogs would love to be going for romps in the rain; TSD is so lucky to have a Human Mom who lets them do that. Instead, I huddle in my little chair and whimper and refuse to get my feet wet. If someone were to haul me out there and make me go for a hike in the rain, I'd probably have a lovely time. But I'm not volunteering. Gustavo and I may have a lot in common.

Elf said...

P.S. Heard yesterday that they were evacuating some places over there for fear of flooding. Hope you're not in that vicinity.

team small dog said...

I don't think I mind it that much. It makes my days weird, I work outside and all the days start to run into eachother. No days off. Just sort of a blur of being at work all the time in the rain. Taking dogs places to run around in the rain.

All the places I live or work at aren't in flooding danger. Just very wet. I'm one of those high ground people.

It's raining now. I know where my boots are. Off we go.

Amanda said...

It's all about equipment, baby! If you have great boots and great rain pants and great rain jackets, being out in it is not so bad.

Can't do anything about the depressing part, though.

Jodi, eh? said...

I am not trying to top your weather misery (or maybe I am but that's my perogative) but us keen Ontarians endured a very rare USDAA trial in Canada housed in an unheated horse barn @ -15C (that's 5F to you folks). We're talkin running in long wool underwear, snow pants, wool turtleneck, 2 fleeceys, down jacket, wool hat, down mits (no pointy fingers to use, imagine just pointing with your thumb!). 2Do spent his down time in a crate with a hot water bottle under his down sleeping bag wrapped like a mummy) Was it worth it? You bet, Kentucky here we come!!!! Sorry about the rain though, sounds wet.