Wet Season!

Here is our road out this morning.  The man turned around, obviously.  He is staying put today. 

The Wet Season

Yesterday, we ventured out for a look at the gulches around us. It's been raining consistently for about a week, so we took advantage of the break in the action. When I say rain, I mean torrential, pounding downpours. Everything is green and happy, and the grass around our place is saturated and squishy-wet. No water shortages around here! Below are a few shots of the neighborhood, including one of the gulch that I took on February 3rd, before the rains began.

Hubris

Main Entry: hu·bris
Pronunciation: \ˈhyü-brəs\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek hybris
Date: 1884
: exaggerated pride or self-confidence
— hu·bris·tic \hyü-ˈbris-tik\ adjective

We are watching a stunning documentary by that name on MSNBC. All about the reasoning (or lack thereof) that led this country into the nine-year war in Iraq. Narrated by Rachel Maddow, it promises to be fascinating... In a monumentally sad, "I told you so" sort of way.

It's been raining here for days. The gulches are roaring and the catchment tank is spilling over. So, although weed pulling isn't optimum, I've been canning like mad. Yesterday's batch was local Rangpur lime and ginger marmalade. (Rangpur limes are orange.)

Looks Like Rain (Hooray!)

May 29th, 1971~Winterland

Aiko Jim comes through with another from the archives. Isn't Bobby pretty? Click on him for a better look. The subject of my girlhood dreams for years and years. Jim says that color shots of the early days are tough to find, and that the red hue is due to the light show. Oh, and it's raining here!!

Looks Like Rain - Bob Weir

On My Cloud, Baby

The clouds around these parts were really wild tonight.I went out in back and took these after a sudden and intense downpour of hail. All this after an 80-degree day here on the coast. That' s a heat wave in this town. Did anyone else notice interesting clouds or weather?

There's Some Satisfaction

...in the San Francisco rain.

Love, Reign O'er Me

Here's what the backyard looks like underwater.

Another view of our new pond.

Ready for the elements, and off to school.

Abandoned ironing board in the nearby woods.

It has rained for days. Thankfully, that's something I am accustomed to. Typical winter weather on the wild north coast. Last winter was sadly deficient water-wise. Now we may have enough water. Always nice.

I don't really follow football, but am glad that the Patriots lost. Apologies to any I may offend with my snark. The word patriot has really begun to grade on my nerves these last few years. It's a word that has been used-to-death, and bastardized. I made delicious snacks for the "big game"... potato skins with blue cheese and mushrooms, and puff pastry with spinach, feta, and garlic. All washed down with Lost Coast Beer. Burp!

Looks like Maria Shriver really is a Kennedy girl, after all! She endorsed Obama today, a few days after her husband, the Terminator endorsed McCain. Curiouser and curiouser. I can't stand Arnold, as an actor OR the Governor of my native state. He has screwed things up even more than they were screwed-up when he cost us all millions with the (unnecessary) special election. It was a total sham, which I thought from the start.

Today I spoke with my dad by phone, as I often do on weekends. He proudly informed me that he had just cast his vote for Obama. Older daughter cast her vote for him as well. One voter is 73, the other is 21. A substantial gap, bridged by one candidate. I like that. We are already imagining the party we will have, if he wins. It will last at least a week! For the first time in many bleak years, I feel a slight glimmer of hope. Guarded, yes. But it's a start.


I took down my plea-for-a-ticket-post. In my over-exited state, I thought that Barack Obama would be at the show. I think the original rumors said it was going to be a rally, with music. Nope. So... my desperate need to attend the show on Monday has dwindled almost completely. I will listen to the live stream of the show, warm and cozy at home. It's always good to read between the lines.

After The Rain

I took these later in the day, following our first big storm wave. That one brought us winds up to 75 m.p.h. When you live in the middle of the forest, this can be significant. Trees fell all around us, but not on us. (This time!) Just down the street, a row of massive bull pine were snapped off at their bases. Those were the fallen trees that caused our extended power and phone outage. In the afternoon, I walked around our place. The light was serene, and the greens were vividly so. This in contrast to the hundreds of limbs and natural debris scattered-about everywhere. Another case of nature's unique ability to please, while reminding me that she's always in control.

This flowering shrub is along our drive. I enjoy the shade of pinkish-red. It's in for a serious pruning in a few months.

This is an old workshop on the property. The fallen door-turned-gangplank had a latch and lock on it. Gale force winds made quick work of the hardware.

This one gives you an idea of how humongous the trees surrounding us are. That's my car, parked in front of the garage. More an outbuilding than garage.

Out With A Bang

2007, that is. The storms on the West Coast have been awe inspiring. Among other things. That parking lot in the above photo is where I work. This is how it looked Friday morning. No work that day. Or power. Or phone. Just wind and rain and thunder and lightning and hail. We were almost expecting locusts to swarm and frogs to rain down. Almost.


Our power was out for about three days. The phone for five. Rarely do people here in the sticks lose phone service anymore. Electricity, yes. So this one was a whopper. Magically, we had made plans some time back to go away on Saturday. Good thing we found a road out of here, because many were closed due to trees down. Huge trees. Cypress, Bull Pine, Redwood, Douglas Fir, Eucalyptus. Like that.


We had tickets to see Pharoah Sanders at Yoshi's. A legend, to put it mildly. We stayed near the club, in Japantown. We love that neighborhood. Gastronomically orgasmic. Had a tasty meal at a Hawaiian-style place. We then walked the six blocks to the club. Our table was about ten feet from the man and his saxophone. Anybody that has heard him play knows how excited we were, with our seats. Seeing him was a musical benchmark. He opened with Coltrane's "My Favorite Things". Memories stored deep. What a night.


Which is a good thing, because the next day we dealt with some automotive issues. My beast, (the Volvo) decided to be persnickety. After some ups and downs, we made it home. To our cold, dark house. Got a fire going and about an hour later, lights! You don't miss your water until there's no electricity to fire the pump. Living rurally for the past decade-plus, we are accustomed to just dealing with it. School kids even got an extra day of winter break out of this storm.


Things are getting rather interesting, politically. I think it's odd that many seem to think anyone can fix what ails this country. Not right away. That's expecting a lot of ONE human being who is bound to be influenced by entities we hesitate to wrap our heads around. I am cautiously excited about Obama. He has evoked his god a lot, and he isn't behind an immediate end to the war. Things I don't agree with. If he wins the nomination, I hope he picks Edwards as his running mate. That seems like a bearable ticket. But it will not be the instantaneous fix some people are imagining. This mess will take some time to clean-up. I'm still a Kucinich supporter, despite the fact that he is being rendered powerless by the political system so many continue to trust.

Hamburg

He's in Hamburg now. Here are some photos of the city and of the club they're booked at, Hafenklang. Also, a link to some Hamburg facts. We had a break in the rains today, with more to come. The frogs are delighted! Oh, and last night's sleep was interrupted by the sharp, pungent odor of skunk-spray, just outside the bedroom window. That is a mighty strange sensation to wake up to.