Lookitlookitlookit!
A much different sky than our usual intense and cloudless bright blue. Which is good, because it brought us . . .
Rain!
I hope all the exclamation points and annoying running together of words are conveying to you how exciting all this rain was. We haven't had enough precipitation to get the grass growing in the pastures yet this spring, which is kind of disastrous for a county that almost exclusively raises beef cattle.
The storms were very localized. Nine miles from us, they got an inch and a half when we got this 3/4 of an inch. Our neighbors two miles away only got 2/10 of an inch, although they got more later.
All in all, we got a total of an inch and a half over about five days, which should be enough to get the grass growing. Really hoping we can stop buying hay soon.
Happy as I was about the rain (rain!), I was not so pleased about the mud. The kids were also very excited about the rain, and spent a lot of time playing it. Unfortunately, I appear to have accidentally left their rain boots behind at our rental house in Texas, so they just went out in their shoes. ALL their shoes.
Yesterday was the first day with any significant sun to dry out said shoes, so I spent some time removing insoles and spreading them all out.
Flashing back to New York, when this was a very common activity for me.
My children seem to have forgotten that it's imperative to remove those filthy shoes outside on the porch before they come in the house. Usually it's so dry, it doesn't matter. This week, though . . . hoo boy. So much mud tracked in.
Poppy and I spent some time on Thursday morning before the awards assembly at school cleaning up my nemesis the entryway before summer break commenced. It's much harder to get anything cleaned up with four children in constant attendance.
So long, clear floor. See you in August.
And now, something non-rain-related but also exciting for both the children and A.
He bought a new truck.
Although "new" is perhaps not the best adjective.
It's an F-250 heavy duty. I'm not sure of the year, but I think maybe a '94. So, yeah, not new at all. It is, however, very beefy. It was used by a plumbing company, so it has these crazy welded racks on it, presumably for moving large lengths of pipe.
Jasper likes the truck, too.
A. bought it so he can haul more hay in the winter for the sheep. I think it will have no trouble with that. The children think it's the coolest thing ever.
For those keeping track, we now have four vehicles: Adventure Van, the Honda Pilot, this F-250, and the Ranger (which is, amusingly, a mini replica of the 250). I told the children I'm just going to give them each one of these vehicles as they reach driving age and buy myself a nice new Mini Cooper or something.
Unlikely, but fun to dream, right?
There you have it! My life, snapshotted.
* This is a song from the original Winnie the Pooh movie that is stuck in my head forever and that I sing anytime we get rain.
7 comments:
Too bad about the rain boots, but I'll bet at least 50 percent of them were outgrown over the last 6 months. Hold on; you will enjoy that Mini Cooper when the time comes! MIL
Piglet started bailing. Unaware upon the chair...
Yes, my favorite videos with my older kids.
The stormy sky is just as glorious as the blue!
Oh, that storm sky...
Linda
Isn't it interesting that in this region of the country, rainfall is measured in tenths and even hundredths? Our family business has had employees in the past from eastern states like Wisconsin and Illinois and Florida -- they couldn't believe that we even bothered to talk about tenths of an inch of rain. For them, rainfall totals weren't even a topic of conversation until there'd been a couple inches. The little rain showers that were a frequent pesky annoyance in their home states are the long-awaited, much-celebrated little rain showers that grow our pastures and keep our trees alive. All a matter of perspective, I guess. And also a matter of annual rainfall totals.
--Karen.'s sister
Karen.'s sister: Yes, we talk a lot about how in New York, rain was more of an annoyance than a anxiously awaited blessing (except in the curiously dry summers, when I would annoyingly have to water my garden after drowning in mud all winter). The kids here even change the end of the well-known "It's raining, it's pouring" song to "Rain, rain, don't go away, please come back another day." Once one of the girls at school misheard a little boy and thought he used the original words and scolded him, "Don't say that, we need the rain!" He was indignant because he had not used the original words, "I know! I didn't say that! My cattle need the rain, too!" :-)
And here I am, in Wisconsin, in a late May drought. I'm actually using a sprinkler to water the garden. Those who know me - and my three rain barrels - know how unusual that is. I hope the remainder of the summer has more balanced rainfall. (No, Mother Nature, I haven't forgotten that May 1 snowstorm)
Awesome sky!
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