June 3, 2007
Good
grief!!! I hear that other parts of the country are so dry, they are
already having to ration water, have wildfires raging out of control and are
baking under the unrelenting sun. But not Oklahoma! Heavens no!
We are approaching rain forest territory and I am seeing all kinds of new and
exotic plant life in my yard (most of them weeds - very hardy weeds). I
have colonies of mushrooms of various varieties. The ground SQUISHES when
you walk on it because the ground is so saturated with water, there is no way it
can absorb any more! The mosquitoes are a big as Cessna 172's and about as
loud too. If too many of them land on you at once, you could lose enough
blood to require a blood transfusion!
Speaking of exotic plant life, which I was doing
before I got off on the prehistoric-sized mosquitoes, I found this mushroom - or
this thing that resembles a mushroom - in my yard yesterday. I've never
seen one like it. It is paper thin and tiny; very delicate and fragile.
Thought I would share it with you. I'm sure it's something that is
normally found in the Brazilian rain forest. If it keeps raining, the
state is going to LOOK like a Brazilian rain forest!
You may be getting the idea that we are being
inundated with rain. We are. You might even be astute enough to pick
up on the fact that I'm a little TIRED of all the rain we've been getting.
You would be correct in making this assumption. Today, however, the sun is
shining...the first time in at least 100 years. There are some high thin
clouds, but so far, it doesn't look like it's going to rain. I don't know
how to act! It felt so weird to see my shadow, I finally understood why
the groundhog goes back in its hole if it sees its shadow on groundhog's day.
What a revelation! It just better not mean we're going to have 6 more
weeks of rain. If so, I'm going to have to stop making jewelry and get to
work on an Ark!!!
June 7, 2007
We've
had a couple of days of sunshine...or at least partial sunshine...and things are
starting to dry out a little. But don't worry, more rain is on the way!
We have a tornado watch tonight. Nothing like a sunset in the anvil.
I'm just glad they appear to be west and a little north of my house. Maybe
I'll get lucky and most of the storm will miss me!
While I'm watching the clouds, Zoe is trying to
strike up a conversation with the dogs next door (via the knotholes in the
fence). Poor baby! She
wants to play with them so badly!! Like her predecessor, she runs up and
down the fence with them. And she whines the whole time...pitiful little
whimpers. I really need to invite some of my friends with dogs over for a
play date. Maybe for her 9 month birthday. It's coming up on 6/11!!
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June 10, 2007
Rain,
rain and MORE RAIN! I'm tired of wet grass, wet dog, wet streets, wet car,
wet sky, wet, wet and MORE WET!!!! We get a little sunshine in between
storms, but not enough to dry us out.
Here is a picture of the storm that came through
last night. You can see the leading edge. We had another storm come
through early this morning. Everything smells damp and moldy. The
vines from the woods behind my house are trying to take over my yard, eating my
fence. And the mosquitoes are trying to eat me and Zoe. They are big
enough to cause alarm...they could drain you of a great deal of blood!
I'm ready to head to someplace where the earth
doesn't smell totally saturated and isn't fungus infested. Beach, sand,
salt water, sunshine...ah, that sounds so lovely! If only I had that kind
of money!!! I wouldn't be here typing in my diary...
June 15, 2007
I know you'll NEVER guess what it did tonight at
rush hour!!! Well, maybe, if you've been reading my Thoughts & Ramblings
page for the last couple of months, you might be able to guess. Let me
give you a little hint. It's been doing it a lot. The mosquitoes are
thriving. The frogs love it. The woods out back look like the
Brazilian rain forest. Everything is wet, soggy, saturated, drenched...and
did I mention WET??
O.K., so you probably figured it out. We
had another crazy storm. MORE RAIN. The ground squishes beneath my
feet. There's a new frog pond by my mail box. It has been there long
enough that they're making babies in it, fixing the place up for their new
family.
I now have a serious need, and overwhelming need,
a consuming need, to go somewhere where it isn't raining every day 3 or 4 times
a day (or all day long, which it has also been prone to doing). I've
come to HATE my umbrella. I'm sick to death of the sound of windshield
wipers scraping the windshield and if these raindrops don't quit falling on my
head, I'm going to start beating my head against the brick walls of my house!!!!
GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!
June 23, 2007
We have only had one day where it didn't rain
since the last time I wrote. On most of those days, it didn't just rain,
it stormed. At this point, it's beyond ridiculous! Here are some
pictures from this morning when the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely
see across the yard!
Today has also been a day for experiencing
wildlife. I have a covered patio, and evidently a raccoon took refuge
there during the storm. Zoe was going crazy wanting to go outside and I
finally let her go. The raccoon was long gone, but he left his prints
behind, just to let us know he had been there.
Before you read any further, if you're a snake
lover, I have to warn you that you won't like my next picture. I apologize
to those of you who love them, but I HATE THEM, especially when they are on my
patio! Once again, Zoe was going crazy, wanting to be let outside.
Luckily, she ran like a shot to where the rabbit normally likes to graze in the
yard. I, idiot that I am, never DREAMED there might have been other
creatures lurking about until I saw a quick movement at my feet (I was wearing
SANDALS!). It was a 5 ft. long SNAKE!!! I don't think he is
poisonous, but quite frankly, when they get this big, I don't care! If
they are in my yard, up by MY house, they are trespassing and they have to go!
The penalty for trespassing (if you are a snake) is death by shovel. I'm
still shaking from the adrenalin rush, but the penalty was carried out in spite
of my being terrified. I'm petrified about encountering the mate.
It's an Indiana Jones thing...I HATE snakes...
June 25, 2007
So, this morning at 5:30, I'm outside with Zoe.
I go out with her, especially when it's dark, to "protect" her. Lately,
there have been WAY TOO MANY THINGS OUT THERE to protect her from. This
morning, she had her snout buried in the grass furiously sniffing something, so
I carefully proceeded to investigate. As I'm squatted down trying to see
in the dark, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and turn to look to my
right, back toward the house. There is this big THING coming straight
toward us. Big...really...bigger than my HAND...just sauntering across my
patio (nickname: Nature's Highway). I grab Zoe, skirted the creature that
was positioning itself between me and my house, toss her in the house and grab
the shovel - again. I get close enough to figure out what I'm about to do
battle with and discover it's a huge crawfish! ON MY PATIO FOR CRYING OUT
LOUD! And get this...the sucker has attitude! It curls its tail
underneath it, rears it's front end up and starts snapping it pinchers at
me!!!!! Considering I've had about 2 too many encounters with creatures in
the past couple of days, I hoisted my shovel and proceeded to smash it to
smithereens. It's too early in the morning to mess around. I have to
get to work. I'm sick of all these weird slithery slimy creatures hissing,
striking and snapping at me. So I sent yet another carcass over the back
fence. This is getting old. The rain is getting to us all...and it's
supposed to storm all week. GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 28, 2007
Unbelievably, the rain and stormy weather
continues. It's so far beyond ridiculous, it's hard to comprehend.
We've had flash flood warnings in effect all week long and they continue until
at least Saturday. Not only can I spell "depressed," I know it, I can
taste it, I can feel it, I wake up with it and lay down with it at the end of
the day. It feels as if the sky is sitting on my shoulders! YUCK!!!!
If this picture looks like all the others I've been sharing lately, it's because
that's the kind of weather we are having. It's crazy-making!
June 30, 2007
Our wet streak continues. There have been
flash flood warnings in place all week and the forecast continues to call for
more storms and heavy rain. It's hard to imagine that the sun is really
still there...we haven't seen it in such a long time. Here are more gloomy
pictures...one from yesterday evening and one from this morning. Surely it
will get better in July...
