Dampish

The rain started Monday morning early, around 2 a.m., I think, and it's been raining ever since. So far we've gotten over five inches of rain, and the tail end of this system just left Texas. We really need rain; we've been in a drought for about five years. I'm not sure that flooding is going to alleviate it in the long run, but what do I know? Good thing God is in control of this and not me. There are people in southern Missouri and Illinois who have been hit much harder and could use prayer from those of you who are so inclined.

Signs of life

The earth is still sleeping here. We have sunlight today, but it's weak, diluted by clouds. On my walk this morning, I detoured onto the hiking path behind our neighborhood. Most of the ice is melted, and it's not snowing today, so I was pretty sure I could walk it without killing myself. (I stuck my cell phone in my pocket, though, just in case!) I didn't bother to dig out my MP3 player this morning, and I'm glad I didn't. I'd have missed the bird calls.

I didn't know the birds were coming back already. We've seen ducks and swans, but we always see them here. They head a little further south when the weather gets really nasty, but they're around most of the year. The crows didn't surprise me too much. There was another bird I could hear but couldn't identify until I was further down the path and they flew by: redwing blackbirds. I heard woodpeckers and spotted pairs of kildares and mourning doves. I heard another one that might have been a variety of crow, but it stayed back in the woods. Grandma would have known what it was right away.

The weather guessers are saying that we're not quite done with winter. There is still snow and sleet in the long-range forecast and still some nights in the single digits. (It seems such a short time ago that I was watching long-range forecasts and thanking God that the highest temp was below 60*!) I'd rather have it that way, really. Last year we had a warm spell followed by an ice storm, and we lost most of our peach crop and a lot of the apples. My magnolias were in bloom, and of course they refused to bloom again after the ice. It's still cold, but there are signs of change. She who has eyes, let her see.

Various and sundry bits

Our snow was melted yesterday by heavy rain; near as I can tell we got almost an inch yesterday, but it looks like a lot more with the melted snow. The ground is smooshy and flash flooding is becoming a concern in some areas. We may have more snow in the next few days. Alex has decided he never wants to live in Illinois again, and he doesn't believe me when I tell him the whole state isn't like this, and that Champaign and Chicago have actual winters for months at a time.

The cats had their annual check-up yesterday. The girls were due for rabies, so I got them the 3-year shot, and they're both feeling poorly. Ryan isn't due until next year, so he just got the feline leukemia thing, but he's been alternating between 'I want my mommy' mode and hiding under the bed from the thunderstorms we had last night. Nobody wanted breakfast this morning, which is highly unusual. I'm almost wishing it wasn't Wednesday so I'd be home to keep an eye on them, but they'll probably just sleep all day. Tess curled up on the foot of our bed when we got home yesterday and as near as I can tell has only moved to use the litter box. Poor babies. Looks like I'll be choosing the 1-year vaccine from now on. If I have to take them every year for the feline leukemia, I might as well get rabies every year, too.

I've been reading through the rest of 'The Artist's Way' and it's been shaking loose all kinds of different blocks and preconceptions. Yesterday I was reading about how artists allow themselves to stay blocked by becoming martyrs. They really want to set up a dark room in the basement, but buy new living room furniture for their spouse instead. Or they pour all their time into caring for an elderly parent instead of carving out time to paint, and they can't figure out why they're angry and resentful all the time. I'd been thinking for a while about moving my work space out of my bedroom. I have it in there for a couple of reasons, mostly because I have the space. Our bedroom is huge--bigger than we've ever had, and frankly, I put my desk in there because I needed to fill the space! I don't know how to live in a bedroom that's not crammed with furniture, and while it's still not crammed, it's comfortably full now. The trouble is that if Eric is sleeping in or sick, I have to relocate to work. I decided that I should have an alternate workspace and started rearranging the guest room again. I've moved the bed and the two smaller bookcases. The next step is to move the bigger bookcase, and that was a good stopping point last night. My plan is to put my camp table by the window so I can work in there for a while, and if it works out all right I'll move my desk in there, too. That will give me more space to work and I won't have to move the laptop when I need to work on hard copies or do a test for school. We don't have guests for more than two or three weeks a year total, so this will be a more effective use of that space. It's not like I get a lot of work done when we have company, and laptops were made for moving.

So that's the excitement here for now. Oh, yeah, and I'm 6 1/2 miles down the West Coast Trail. I had a slow start but made good progress yesterday. Amazing what happens when you leave the TV off and move furniture.

Rendezvous weather--right here at home!

Usually we have several days to experience rendezvous weather. The hot, cold, wet, and dry don't usually happen all in one day, but that's what happened here yesterday. It was cloudy when we got up, but the sun came out mid-morning and heated things up nicely. We hit 65* by lunchtime--in late January--in the Midwest. Craziness.

It didn't last, of course. By 2:00 temperatures were falling. By 3:00 we had scary looking storm clouds blown in by strong wind. The rain started about 3:30, mostly fast showers with enough time between to dry the streets. By 4:30 it was changing to snow.

I had to take Vicky to an appointment at 5:00. It was snowing and blowing when we left, and as we drove down the interstate she said it was one of those days when she's glad she can't drive yet. When we got home about 6:30 it was 27* with wind chills in the teens. St. Louis had a wind chill of 1*, with a 50* drop in temperature in a matter of hours. Did I mention we were under a tornado watch yesterday?

Growing up in Michigan, we had strange weather. One Fourth of July we all put on jeans and heavy sweatshirts, and ventured outside long enough to burn some sparklers. I never saw anything like yesterday when I was a kid. In fact, weather was downright boring then. That'll teach me to leave home in search of excitement and adventure!