It Rained

Once again, the rain chains were overpowered. Need more chains or a different solution. I forgot to mention that Jaime installed the mesquite mantle. Suna has it decorated for Halloween.

I need more pallets and a better way to get to the garage. The front pond is full and cleaner after the deluge.

But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’

And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard

It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

—Bob Dylan

I don't really know how much rain we got since the rain gauges overfilled, but we have at least 7 inches over the last two days, and it's still raining. If it had come earlier, we might not have had the cigarette induced grass fire earlier this month. But it is what it is.

Once again our climate model held up: mainly drought broken by flood. The front pond was low enough to capture all the runoff, so the dam wasn’t breached this time. But the ground is very soggy. I spread a bunch of pallets between the garage and the front porch. I could use a couple more. At the height of the rain, they were just tall enough to keep our feet out of the water.

The ponds are all full again. The cattle will like that. The flow of fresh water also cleaned out most of the pond scum growing in the front pond.

 

Ranch House Update

Something didn’t work right.

Stella remains nonplussed by the construction and the rain so long as she has her water bottle to chew on.

Here comes the rain again

Falling on my head like a memory

Falling on my head like a new emotion

—Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart

Time for another construction update on our house at The Hermits’ Rest Ranch. We’ve made good progress, if not as much as I’d like. Still, progress is progress.

• The house has been weather sealed, and the exterior siding is starting to go up.
• I’ve started piling sand up where the HVAC heat exchangers will go.
• Jaime has just about finished tiling the master bathroom.
• The drywall has been taped and floated, but there are still huge piles of the waste on the back porch.
• The second layer of subfloor is going down upstairs.

But in the middle of all that, we got another big rain: 1.6 inches over the last couple of days. The ponds are full to capacity again, and everything is soggy. The arroyo in the front is flowing briskly.

At least the rain is good for the little trees we planted last fall. The peaches continue to develop, and the fig shows signs of fruiting.