Rain...It DOES Exist

Over the past few days, we have finally received more than just a spritz of rain.  Tuesday morning I woke up to that glorious sound of rain and wind, and could look out the window from my bed and watch the trees blowing along with the sheets of rain.  The water on the streets was flowing well.  Our house is in a gently sloped area, so the water runs off well from the street as long as the drains aren't clogged and there was no problem with that. Our back yard is a different story.

This picture was from several years ago, but is similar to how it was looking on Tuesday.  I refer to it as our own private "lake".  The majority of the back yard is concrete that is badly cracked and lifting from the root structure of the 50+ year old Modesto Ash that takes up the only non-concrete area.  In some places, the cracked concrete is lifted over an inch higher than the other piece it's cracked from.  Because of this, the concrete also slopes downward slightly towards the house from the big crack, and some of that water pooled up to over an inch deep.  I was worried it would get so high we'd be getting some into the house, but it didn't, so all is well.  

Marty had made it up onto the roof on Monday to make sure the past known entry points for leaks were tended to with the Henry's goop stuff, so thankfully, I didn't have any leaks in the ceiling of my craft room.  There was water that got into the window track though, so I had to use towels to sop it up.  I think that has been a problem since those windows were installed 10-12 years or more ago.  

Over the two main days of rain, I think we received just under 2" of that glorious, and much needed, wet stuff.  Mountain areas got a lot of snow, and that's even better because it will help fill lakes and reservoirs as it melts.  Heavy rains create too much run-off and end up in channels that run to the ocean more than they fill underground natural aquifers I think.  Slow, persistent rains might be better, but I'll be happy with whatever we get, it is so badly needed here, and in the mountains in this state.  We will get more, but not to this level at least for a week or so.  It sprinkled just a little when I went out early today for my "girls" annual appointment. 

The kitties were intrigued with the rain too.  Not so much with the rain maybe, but with the little birds that were trying to seek shelter under the entry area at our front door where the cats could hear them, and then outside our bedroom windows are flower pot ledges where the birds were also seeking a respite from the downpour.  The kitties were just itching to get through that glass to grab them.  I stood at the window myself watching for awhile and some of those little birds' heads were totally soaked.