Posts Tagged ‘rainfall’
Soaking Rain
There are a variety of ways our land is impacted by an inch of rainfall, depending on the time of year and how dry or wet it was beforehand. Yesterday, that amount of rain seemed like a lot more than just an inch. It rained for most of the day. Asher was about as reluctant to go out in it as I was. We made a trek down to the barn while it was raining rather intensely in the middle of the day to retrieve empty feed buckets from the morning serving.
Asher led me back to the house without hesitation after I was done down there, not even pausing to pee. We both decided the best course of action at that point was to nap.
When the appointed hour for feeding horses in the afternoon arrived, there was a pause in the precipitation, and Asher and I took advantage of that to first walk through the woods and around the fields. The trails were like flowing rivers. Water in the drainage swale along the south border of our property was overflowing its eroded ruts.
Water draining out of the hay field was running on top of the boards that keep the riding mower wheels out of a rut.
Soggy is an understatement for the conditions during our little walk.
The horses were split between interest in eating the feed pellets I was serving up and staying with the freshly washed green grass. Can’t say I blame them.
I inadvertently made a new version of a pitchfork the other day while turning the manure pile inside the large paddock.
I’m not sure what it would be good for in this configuration, but it looks interesting. Using a long-handled tool until it gives out due to metal fatigue serves as a marker revealing you’ve been at this game for a significant amount of time.
At this point, I suspect my body is going to give out before we see the replacement fork Cyndie brought home yesterday fail. I think my back was getting dangerously close to feeling like that pitchfork looked when it cracked on me.
It’s funny how robust physical activity can be a good workout for the body while also potentially putting it at risk of failure.
A little like how rain can be beneficial for all the growing plants and creatures, but can also be so soaking that it becomes too much of a good thing. In these cases, the adage “moderation is key” becomes the advice to heed.
I can control how hard I work my body. Too bad I can’t control how much or how little rain we receive on any given day.
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Rivers Running
Last Thursday I was driving home from work in a dramatic thunderstorm. By the time I arrived at our house, the bulk of the rain was moving away to the east. I immediately packed my car and drove to the lake with little discussion about how much rain had fallen at home earlier that day while I was working on the far side of the Cities.
Last night, Cyndie finally showed me what it looked like here as heavy rain fell Thursday morning.
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The drainage swale across our back pasture was flowing like a river. The ditch that runs along our southern border looked like an even bigger river. I am very pleased to have just knocked down the tall growth along the center of that ditch only a few days before, allowing the flow to proceed unhindered.
As I was mowing all of our turf grass yesterday, it became clear that the rain we have received has made the grass very happy. It was very tall and has thickened up considerably from the last time I mowed.
Everything is looking as lush and deeply green as a typical June day, which is a little odd since tomorrow is the first day of September. Although, I did notice a twinge of red color starting in one of the maple trees by the barn.
The rivers are done running already, but the wheels of the lawn tractor revealed multiple spots where the ground is still saturated.
It’s a little odd thinking of people living in the path of Hurricane Ida who are dealing with so much calamity while our little flash floods don’t cause any trouble here.
Counting our blessings, for the time being, free of wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes, while sending our love out to those who live in regions experiencing some really challenging situations lately.
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Wet Now
Over three inches in about 24 hours has definitely done the trick. It’s not dry out there at all anymore. As Cyndie put it, “There are rivers running everywhere that rivers can run on our land.”
The footbridge is doing its job nicely. The river runs under it.
Cyndie’s perennial garden, down slope of the neighboring farm field, has a river running through it.
We have grown accustomed to this routine, so it causes less anxiety than it used to. This amount of rain is pretty reasonable, actually, compared to some of the deluges we have previously faced.
The trees, shrubs, and grasses have in a matter of two days become the dominating color of the landscape and it is all about being green.
For the next day or two, green and very wet.
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Relative Something 