Snapshots: Me vs. Mud

We have had so much rain. SO much rain. Inches a week. Given that our yearly average is 17 inches, this is really unexpected. The older people say it hasn't rained like this since the 1960s.

We are grateful, of course, because we've had years of drought and all the cattle ranchers here--which is most of the county--have been selling off their cattle and tightening their belts to hold on. Now they can start rebuilding.

I am happy for them, and I am happy for my garden, which prefers rainwater to hose water. But I am not so pleased about the mud.

My new job is mud eradication.

This is what the pasture next door looks like after it dumps half an inch in less than an hour.

And this is the gate we drive out of. (Look at all the green, though! Yay!)

These giant puddles act as a magnet to my children, who love nothing more than grabbing an old feed tub and sailing in these new little lakes. This only ends one way. And that way involves the hose pre-rinse.

The A-frame cover of the mechanic's pit works perfectly for spraying down clothing, I have found.

The other main battlefront is, of course, my house. No photos of that, but I'll just say I've never vacuumed so much in my life. Once a week used to be sufficient. Now it's more like every other day, with sweeping in between.

I am reminded of some things I do not miss about New York. I assume it will dry out again sometime, since this is not actually New York, but maybe this is just my life now.

And now, just to end on a fun note . . .

A sweet potato shaped like a heart. I was delighted by this, and so was Poppy.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.