These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Sunday, July 27, 2008

RAIN, Love It, Respect It

Yesterday I had 2.7 inches of rain here at my house. I emptied the rain gauge at midnight. This morning at 7:30 I had 2.1 inches again.

I'm not close to a river or stream. Fortunately. The banks of the waterways are not holding what is coming at them from every direction, and flooding is at every creek.

On the other side of the big mountain (Sierra Blanca) from me is Ruidoso. The Village got over 5" in the last 36-48 hours, and all the rivulets have become creeks, the creeks are rivers. This is mountainous country, forested, and every place that the hillside dips becomes a potential rivulet, feeding into creeks and then into rivers. Rio Ruidoso (Ruidoso River, for those who need the translation) is a very small river which most might call a creek under normal conditions, and it floods at 6 feet. This morning it it over 11 feet. There have been several "rapid water rescues" and one person is missing after being seen bobbing in the waters.

This kind of weather doesn't happen here. We don't have hurricanes here. Well, OK, remnants of hurricanes, as this is, in truth. This is monsoon season here, but 5" of rain in 2 days does not happen.

My lost grass seed, peat moss, and top soil is a piddling loss right now. I guess I will reframe the run-off loss to say that I'm going to have a lovely lawn on my side yard, and be happy that it isn't actually floating down some creek! OK, I need to work on the stubble of the scrub oak out there and enjoy that I have grass! Somewhere.

I'll replant after the big rains stop. My problems are few.

5 comments:

  1. That's a lot of rain! It's amazing how far away from the shore you are and you still got the remnants of the storm.

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  2. Wow, that really is a lot of rain. Sorry to hear about your grass seed. I guess you should be careful what you wish for. :)

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  3. Daisy, I wouldn't have thought it would happen, either! My whole yard is a mire with the saturation of the soil, and the dogs don't want to go out in it! They Don't know what squishy soil is!!! LOL!

    Caroline, yeah, it is. It looks like a little bit of the grass was rooted well enough to stay, but probably 1/10th of what I planted. sigh. Uh, I didn't with for THIS!!! I wished for rain, but not R.A.I.N!!!

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  4. I was amazed at the rain just a few miles over from you. I started the weekend with an empty bucket sitting on the porch. It filled up! I bet I woke up 1/2 dozen times during Saturday night and it was always raining. http://www.ruidosonews.com/news/ci_10015200 is a link with some pics and videos.

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  5. Anon, Gypsy Moth? That you?

    Boy, was it ever raining Saturday night! Like you, I woke frequently and couldn't believe how long and how hard it rained. I'm very glad I don't live in Ruidoso. I hear it's a real mess.

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!