Done with the Mud

Unfortunately, the mud isn't done with us.

We seem to only be getting a day, or a partial day, between storms.  A couple days of sunshine would be nice.

We are in the midst of another doozy storm today.  It started last night and will continue through tonight with very heavy rain, high winds, flooding, blah blah blah.  Tuesday and Wednesday the rain will reduce in intensity, but remain.

Thursday or Friday, the next storm will arrive.  It will be colder than this one, with the possibility of snow.

Princess Lucy sloshes through puddles without blinking.  Yesterday, we left the horses out in the rain for the first hour or so, after the system arrived, because the rain was showery and they've been in the barn so dang much.  The boys were fine, rolling in the mud, thundering through the muck and spraying Brett with mud...

Pistol didn't mind either.  She was busy sticking her head under the fence, trying to reach every last blade of grass.  Lucy, stood at the arena gate and screamed towards the house.  When I brought her in, she was a bit wet.  The first thing she did was roll in her shavings.  When she stood up, there were shavings stuck to her nose, her cheeks, her neck and her entire body.  She looked like a chocolate donut covered in coconut.

Surviving the Deluge

All week the weather forecast on the NOAA website, for our area, was red: flood warnings, wind warnings, you-name-it warnings.  The rain was so heavy that I worked from home Tuesday, yesterday and today.  The roads were flooded, blocked by fallen trees, eroded, and some had sink holes.  We have had about 9.5 inches of rain since Monday when the storm started.  We were getting about an inch, or an inch and a half every day, until yesterday.  We measure the rainfall every 24 hours, at 7am, and then I report it into a National weather database that is accessed by NOAA and the National Weather Service, among others.  From 7am until 4pm (when we did the evening chores) we had just over an inch.  As I was climbing into bed last night, and Brett was brushing his teeth, the rain started to beat on the roof and the windows.  It continued all night long.  This morning, there was 3.5 inches in the measuring tube and it didn't let up until mid-morning.  The ranch was flooded; the drains and streams weren't able to keep up with all the water coming from the skies and flowing from the neighboring hillside properties.

This stream looks more like a ditch when it is dry, than a stream.  Standing in the bottom of it, I can rest my hands on the banks.

The pond in the donkey pasture overflowed its banks, towards the hen house, and ran in an ankle deep river down the driveway.  It took big chunks of the asphalt with it, and rocks.

You can see the bottom of the driveway emerging from the water just past the well house.  Fortunately, the well house did not flood.  The railroad tie you see "floating" in the water is actually the top of the bridge that goes over a stream.

 There was way too much water for the banks to contain.  There were rogue streams everywhere.

The water was kissing the bridge over to the girl's pasture.  There are two large pipes under that bridge -- they couldn't keep up.

Fortunately, the rain did stop.  There is no more rain in the forecast... until next Wednesday.  They are predicting another large storm.  I never thought I'd say this, but I'm ready for summer.

A Cold Rain

Yesterday afternoon storm clouds started moving into the Sacramento area.  About half-way home from work, rain drops started splashing off my windshield.  By the time I reached Placerville, my windshield wipers were working furiously.  A freeway notification sign said "Snow at the summit. Carry chains."  As I left the freeway and made my way across the winding mountain road that leads to our valley, the rain let up a bit.  At home, the road was barely wet and the windshield wipers were back to intermittent.

While I was changing into my chore clothes, the storm cell caught up to us.  We waited for awhile before going out to do chores, hoping that it would let up.  Flash and Mufasa stood in the open at first, grazing.  Then they moved under the trees and finally into their run-in shed.  Lucy and the goats were in their respective sheds at the first drops.  When it started to come down harder, Pistol moved into the shed with Lucy.  Jackson stood outside the shed, with his head down, getting drenched.  We quickly decided to bring the horses into the barn for the night.

Brett set up the stalls with hay, while I shooed the hens out of the henhouse and collected eggs. The minute I was done, they raced back inside.  Brett headed off to the oak pasture to get the boys and I headed over to the mare pasture.  They saw me coming with my arm full of halters.  Lucy craned her head over the run-in shed divider and looked at me over the heads of the goats, but didn't budge.  Pistol came out and met me at the gate.  Jackson stood right behind Pistol.  As I walked Pistol to the barn, Lucy came charging out of the run in shed and started racing along the fence-line, screaming her head off.

How dare you take Pistol first!
Can't you see I'm getting wet?  
Get back here right now and take me into the barn!

 Jackson trotted along behind Lucy, staying out of her way as she careened back and forth.  He waited for me at the gate when I took Lucy in next.  Jackson was so eager to go that he dove his head into his halter and then started shaking his head impatiently.  Once in his stall, I noticed that in addition to being soaking wet, he was shivering.  His sides, his flanks and his shoulders were quivering and twitching.  I thought about putting a cooler on him but I knew he would be walking back and forth between the stall and the run-out -- and a soaking wet cooler wasn't going to help.  Instead, I grabbed a big bath towel and rubbed him down.  The towel was very wet when I finished but he wasn't shaking nearly as much.  He was diving into his hay and his stall was deeply bedded with shavings.  I knew he'd be okay.  The horses have all shed their winter coats so they were not well prepared for this very cold storm.

This morning the clouds were moving out and the sun was trying to make an appearance.  We had over half an inch of water in the rain gauge.

Between the Waves

Last night I gripped the steering wheel tightly as I drove the last ten miles of my commute, down the country road from the freeway to our lane.  The windshield wipers slashed the water in front of my eyes, while the wind made waves of water across the road.  The center line of the road was buried and I couldn't see the edge.  I held my breath every time the headlights of an oncoming car met me, not sure if I would be able to correctly guess where the pavement ended and a water filled ditch started.  Once in the house, the wind howled around the house while the rain blew against the windows.  The horses were in the barn, the chickens snug in their hen house, the goats burrowed into the straw in their shelter, and the donkeys huddled in their run-in shed.  Kersey, Brett and I burrowed into blankets in the house and prayed the power wouldn't go out.  The storm was even worse further up in the Sierras.  Donner Pass was closed to traffic and trees were snapping in the hundred mile winds.

This morning, the sun came out while we were doing chores.

It was beyond beautiful.

The streams were all singing, the toads were croaking, the geese were honking, and the horses all rolled in the welcoming mud when we turned them out in their pastures.

The rain gauge measured 2.4 inches of rain for the first storm in this three storm system moving through Northern California.

We met a large group of our neighbors for the monthly pancake breakfast at the grange.  When we emerged a few hours later, the sun was gone.

This afternoon the rain started back up.  Wave two is supposed to be less intense.  Wave three will come through Sunday afternoon and should be a doozy;  More high winds, hail, lightening and a lot of rain.

We don't get our annual rainfall in a steady, well behaved manner through regular rain.  No, we get our rainfall through storm systems.  Six or more in a good year.  We had a couple good systems in December, none in January, and this is another good one.  The power is on, the phone is working, the wood stove is burning steady and warm -- life is good.

A Three Sweatshirt Day

This morning as Brett and I did chores, we noted dark, cloud filled, skies to the west and sunny skies to the east.  We headed out to the farmers market at 8:00 and I planned to ride Lucy upon our return home.  Halfway to Placerville, we hit scattered raindrops.  By the time we parked, fifteen minutes later, it was pouring.  We grabbed our basket and hit the "must have" vendors.  First, the pasta guy where we bought some pear and arugula ravioli.  Next, the bread gal who, Brett noted, was not wearing shorts as usual but was bundled up in jeans and a jacket.  We bought some breadsticks to go with our dinner tonight (stew), Brett's favorite apple cinnamon bread, an almond croissant for me and a cinnamon roll for Brett.  We were already wet.  Next, I headed for my favorite vegetable vendor while Brett stood under the nearest pop-up.  I loaded up with purple carrots for our stew, romaine and chard.  Last, we picked up apples and pears and then hightailed it back to the car.  The hood of my sweatshirt was soaked.  When we got home, I changed into sweatshirt number two.  Of course, it was pouring at home by then.  The mares were in their run-in, the goats were in, the chickens were in (except for one very wet hen that had gotten outside the fence and couldn't get back in), and Jackson was already in the barn with his trail boots on.  Everyone was dry, including Flash and Mufasa who were standing under the trees in their pasture.

The rain fell all morning, steady and hard.  By noon, we had over half an inch.  We fed the mares in their run in and Brett got hay set up in the barn stalls for Flash and Mufasa.  When Mufasa saw me coming with my rain jacket hood up and pulled tight around my face, his head flew up and he backed away.  Brett handed me Flash's lead -- Flash didn't even notice my hood.

Despite wearing a rain jacket and rain pants, the rain soaked through to my sweatshirt.  I hung the wet sweatshirt with the other one, in front of the wood stove, and put on number three.

Mid-afternoon the rain took a break.  Lucy came out, rolled in the mud and trotted over to the fence to see me.  Then she noticed Flash who had heard her trotting and was standing with his head over the run-out fence, his ears pricked towards her.  They looked at each other for awhile and then Flash went back inside the barn to finish his lunch.

In the early evening, just before starting chores, Brett looked outside and noticed that Whiskey and Cowboy were out again.  I rounded them up, bribing them with Cheerios.  Lucy had her head over the fence expecting to share the treats.

Brett staked the bottom of the fence down, it was loose by the water trough -- just enough to let the little black goats slip through.  He reinforced another small gap while the goats, Pistol and Lucy watched.

Lucy expected attention.  Lucy always expects attention.

We finished up the chores and headed back to the warmth of the house.

First Rain

I heard the rain start in the wee hours of the morning.  Thundering hooves woke me again into the dark pre-dawn.  I had planned to ride this morning, before the rain started.  Clearly the rain had arrived well ahead of schedule and plans would need to be altered.

I threw on a sweatshirt and my floppy gardening hat before starting the morning chores.  Even Brett wore a sweatshirt and it has to be very cold before he feels it.  Our jackets are still packed somewhere.  I did find a  box with my muck boots so my sneakers were spared the mud.

The rain has been steady all morning; not pounding and not softly drifting; it comes straight down in soft sheets.  The donkeys were in their run-in shed, warm and dry.  The goats called to us from the interior of their shelter.  The horses were standing under the grove of trees with the densest canopy.

Winston and Mufasa run laps every half hour or so.  Flash moved into the run-in shed where he is standing watching the others play and rest under the trees.  He has obviously taken control of the run-in shed and is not sharing.  The others don't seem to mind.

Brett's friend Richard arrived last evening.  He is staying for the weekend to help Brett with projects.  Richard was Brett's roommate in college and remains his closest friend.  They started in Camille's room where the ceiling fan was dangling, a casualty of the moving guy bringing in Camille's mattress.  After that, they fixed the fan in our bedroom.  They took an inventory of all the light bulbs that are missing and will make a trip to the hardware store to replace them.  The last project before lunch was taking out the built -in desk in the laundry room.  The laundry room is narrow with hardly enough room for the door to open.  We need the desk space for shoe storage and a bench.  They had the desk out in nothing flat despite it being very securely installed.

Meanwhile, I worked on packing up the kitchen and squirreling away paintings, ceramics and the items around the fireplace.

Remember the wood floors we had installed in the great room and kitchen?

We had the same rustic red oak installed as the existing wood floor in the entry and dining room. The new floor is unfinished.

The existing floor will be stripped and sanded.  Then the entire wood floor will be stained the same color.  We want the floor to match and we want it a bit lighter than the existing floor stain.  I love the variation in color and grain of this wood.

Before the guys arrive Monday morning to start stripping the floor, we have to remove everything.  Brett and Richard will move the dining table, sideboard and hutch to the garage tomorrow.  I'll keep packing up boxes.  It seems wrong to be packing and moving furniture out of the house.

And, lastly, felicitations! to my friend Sylvie who is marrying her companion of many years, Christian, today.  I wanted to be there in the worst way; sipping champagne on a small island of the coast of Brittany; toasting her happiness.  But, a new job, new house and surgery conspired to keep me here.  My thoughts are with her today.

Rainy Day Activities

What do you do on a cold, rainy day? 

I wasn't in a hurry to get up this morning.  It was dark, the rain gutters were talking, and the wind was blowing.  Besides, I figured it was time to start adjusting to the clocks being set back tomorrow.  Right?  We did finally make it down to the barn and despite wearing my hooded rain jacket, my hair and clothes were drenched by the time I finished mucking.
 
The wet clothes went in front of the fire to dry. 

I threw more wood on the fire and watched the rain coming down.

I played in the kitchen for awhile making tomato sauce from the last of my tomatoes.  I will use it in the chili I make for dinner tonight.  Brett loves guava juice but it is so expensive in the store that I rarely buy it.  Our yoga teacher gave us some guavas so I made Brett some juice. 

Then I stood by the fire and looked out the window some more.  The storm moved through in waves and the blustery breaks were very pretty.  While they lasted.  Which wasn't long.

I spent some time doing this:

and thought about doing this:

And tried really hard not to stuff my mouth full of these:

What a Storm!

Wednesday we were hammered with the second front of an Alaskan storm.  We got almost two inches of rain but the nastiest part was the wind.  I stood in front of the woodstove, feeling its warmth on the back of my legs, gazing out of the great room windows and watched the wind drive the rain.  First the rain blew horizontal right, then left, then right, then... what the??  ... a major limb on one of the sycamore trees had broken and was splayed across the front slope.

I grabbed my camera and headed outside to get a closer look.  Water was pouring out of the broken rain gutter by the garage-to-garden door.

The break in the tree is high off the ground.  It's going to be a trick getting it down.  Rain was blowing around me as I took pictures so my apologies for the damp spots on the photos.
 

Sycamores don't usually break in the wind.  We are used to finding stray limbs from the cottonwoods and the neighbors' eucalyptus; this is the first time we've had damage to a sycamore.

I tried to take a picture that would show just how hard the wind was blowing.  Impossible.  This is the closest I got but even with the trees leaning, it doesn't do the storm justice.

At this point, my camera was seriously wet and so was I.  After five minutes outside, I had to hang my dripping jacket and change out of my soggy jeans.

This morning we surveyed the damage.  My trusty team of helpers checked the ground for squirrels.  By this morning, the tree had broken in half where the limb fell so we had two big pieces on the ground and a significantly shorter tree.

Then, to add insult to injury, when Brett fired up the tractor to haul away all the mucky wet straw from Jackson's stall he found this...

A flat tire on a tractor is not a good thing.

I did manage to find one positive result of the storm; happy flowers.

Pop over to Farm Friend Friday for more fun posts.  Click on the link in my sidebar.

The Wet Head is Dead

Actually, I'm alive and well but I really got drenched this morning when we went down to feed.  It's been raining steadily all day and it's cold.  This morning I had the hood up on my jacket on the way to the barn and then lowered it once I was inside the aisle way.  I hate the way I can't see anything when the hood is up.  I have a little tiny pinhead so the hood falls over the top of my head and covers my eyes.  So when I went out into the pasture to muck, I initially left the hood down so I could see where I was going.  But it started to rain hard so I flipped it back up.  Meanwhile, the hood had filled with rain so I effectively dumped a bucket of water on my head and down my back.  It soaked my head, soaked my back, soaked my arms - I was thoroughly soaked.  I threw everything into the dryer when I got back to the house, used the blow dryer to dry my hair and warm me up (not that I care what my hair looks like on a freezing rainy day but I was COLD) and poured myself a steaming mug of coffee.  I've spent the rest of the day in front of the fire,staring out the window at the rain.   

Where did the California sunshine go???  I want it back!!