Rain, rain, go away

I would like to issue an apology to the weather gods for my complaint about the fact that the promised rain did not arrive on time over the weekend. Seems their wrath has been invoked because, boy, have they sent rain. And it is being timed in the most inconvenient way. Yesterday, I had to drive to Corte Madera and it poured the entire way down. Then, once I was inside, it dried out. I did make it home in the afternoon with just light showers on the drive, but about the time I was going to go turn the boys out and clean paddocks, the skies opened and we got torrential rain, thunder and lightening, and even a bit of hail. The boys did not get turned out.

This morning I woke up to the sound of yet more heavy rain. In the hopes that it was just a passing shower, I snuggled in bed waiting for it to end, but to no avail. Eventually, I could feel the anxious vibes coming from the direction of the boys' paddocks and had to get up and feed them. I couldn't find my rain pants and got drenched. The back yard is flooded and I got even more wet while trying to dig some trenches to drain it. I spend a lot of time digging trenches in the winter. I have a lovely flat parcel but it is at the bottom of a convergence of a couple of hills, so sadly, the runoff comes down the hills and then stalls at my flat terrain. The runoff can be stopped by a poorly located clump of grass or gopher mound.

While I was at work, of course it dried out nicely. So when I got home about 2:30, I went out as fast as I could to turn the boys out. I led them next door to Laura and Ken's pasture as the skies darkened ominously and thunder rumbled noisily in the west. Ken was heading out for his bike ride and we mulled over the wisdom of our outdoor plans, but proceeded anyway, he to the road and I to the barn and paddocks to unload feed and finally clean those paddocks.

And the skies opened again as the lightening flashed and the thunder roared. Sheets of rain flew by, giving way to hail several times. Treetops nearly kissed the ground under the force of the wind and I worried about the neighbors' houses. I took cover in Cowboy's shelter but Ken got caught full force in the driving hail. Optimistically hoping that it would pass quickly, and observing that the horses were grazing unconcernedly, I held out on fetching them back in where they had shelter, but it became obvious that this was not going to end anytime soon and went to bring them back in. Ken was just returning from his abbreviated bike ride and helped me catch them (Dexter decided once again that we must be playing "tag") and we finally got them back in their paddocks--just about the time that the storm passed.

So yes, I know we need the rain, but I'm tired of mud, wet clothes and horse blankets that take forever to dry, no riding, flooded yards and arenas, and, well, I'm sure there's more. I hope the rain gods accept my apology and take the waterworks back to the Bellagio where they belong. And it's only been raining for a couple of days. Just wait and see how I feel by February!

Now what was it Martha said about gratitude? What would I be grateful for? Well, for one thing, that I own a place even if it floods. That I own a horse even if it means that I slog through the mud to care for him. That I still have work in this economy so I can pay for it all.

The fitness program is really suffering in this weather though. I did get through the beginning set of exercises in the Rider Fitness book today, so that's a start.