It’s raining, it’s pouring. The thunder and lightning would keep anyone from snoring. Yes, just a few short years ago we were lamenting a drought. Nowadays, it seems like a day has not gone by since March that we haven’t had thunderous, black cloud showers. The ground is saturated, the ditches are full and the Brazos River has swelled up the highest it has been in years.
The ditches along the roads are saturated and full. Our driveway leading to the yard is a causeway with water on both sides. The cows walk through the pastures and you can hear their hooves sloshing through water.
We have had twice our average rainfall each month since March, and since January, the rainfall has exceeded our average. Can the ground hold any more? The other day my husband posted on fb the photos below and quipped, “yes it rained a lot but I am going to find me a fat bug to eat.” The rain gauge registers 3.5 inches one day, and then another inch the next day. Even the mocker below seems to be reading it.
Why do I love my husband? He captured a moment like this.
Grandson sang the national anthem with his choir at Minutemaid Park on Saturday. We watched him on the big screen jumbo tron. The Astros hit 3 home runs that night.
My mother called yesterday to report on the second graduation she is attending.
My brother and I had a date last week to award a scholarship to another recipient given in my parents’ names.
My heart is full.
How is the weather in your neck of the woods?
Can you believe that we haven’t had rain down in here League City since….I guess it might be last Tuesday. There could have been a shower, or a very brief downpour, but there certainly isn’t anything like you have up there. We’re getting a lot of flow from the rivers and creeks, but no rain.
Of course, when we drove into Houston on Wednesday morning, the number of cars still underwater along the Gulf Freeway was remarkable — all left over from Tuesday’s flooding. I just looked at the radar, and all the rain’s heading east, but north of us, so it’s time to think about heading to work.
I have a mockingbird on my railing right now, eating one of the raisins I put out. They’re one of my favorite birds: wonderful singers, and unusually tolerant of humans. Your photos are delightful.
…last Tuesday? Oh my. We had a downpour that started before dawn, sent 3 tornado alerts on Rick’s phone and finally cleared up around 10:00 this morning. We had coffee on the back porch watching the show until I pointed out we were sitting on iron chairs. I’ll have to tell Rick about putting raisins out for our mockingbirds who sit on the top rail of the fence, fly up into the trees, squabble and light again. Your marina might feel the influx of water this morning.
The mockingbirds love apple, too. Every time I eat one, I cut off a slice and dice it up into tiny pieces for them. And grapes. One big grape can provide about a dozen pieces for the birds.
Love it! btw I saw blueberries at a very good price this morning at HEB. $1.99 a box! They’re in season, but I don’t think we’ll be picking this year. btw2 We picked dewberries along the fence line a couple weeks ago and had dewberry shortcake.
We could use some of your rain, Georgette. We’ve been very dry this month, after an extremely wet April. Great shots of the mockingbird. They are so curious.
It has been everything but dry since March around here. But you had a wet April? The mockingbirds put on quite a show flitting about, squabbling and checking the ground for something to eat or drink.
Oh yes, it was very wet in April. Feast or famine I suppose.
Wow, the water is up there! I welcomed a little rain shower yesterday…could have used a bit more but not as much as you got!
We aren’t complaining. It’s been years since we had downpours like these. The pastures are very green.
Florida is warming up, and we have to supplement the rainfall with sprinkler doses twice a week as the City allows. I know when it’s time to water the lawn because the moss on the north side of the big oak in our front yard dries up. It’s like a weather gauge. I hope soon the weather in your neck of the woods finds a balance.
My heart is full too: Just yesterday we learned that another one of our grandsons is being honored as outstanding 5th grader in his district. He also gets to compete in a county-wide math contest on Thursday. I’m counting my blessings today.
You’re right about balance. All Rick wants is a window of time when he can mow.
Kudos to all of you on your grandson’s accomplishment. There’s nothing like watching your young ones succeed. To excel is very sweet.
That is a lot of rain for your neck of the woods. It has been hot and dry here on the Costa Blanca. It has been comfortable as we always get a nice breeze off the Med. Except for last Thursday when the wind came from Africa and we had a hot dry wind carrying sand from the Sahara desert. That was not so nice. But it was just one day. Hope you get warm sunny weather soon and the water levels go down.
Sand from the Sahara? That probably called for keeping windows and doors closed and still some sweeping. What an experience. That sand gets into everything. I remember experiencing a sand storm in Phoenix once. Unforgettable.
What a lovely post! I do wish you could send some of that rain to California!
Here in NoVA it is getting warmer and more humid. Summer is on its way!
Isn’t that the truth. Daughter is moving back to CA in June (boo–:( ) but I don’t think the movers can move that much water. I’ll be going to DC in July and then again in September this year. Summers can be quite hot where you are.
I don’t know when we’ll be here — we’re trying to spend a lot of time in Maine this year. Let me know closer to the date and maybe we can meet for a glass of wine!
I’m taking grandson out to see the sights, a reward for a great year for him. And then we’re celebrating sister’s milestone b’day at her river house in September. That will be a quick weekend. I’ll let you know if it’s possible.
Ok. No pressure!
🙂
Long time since I visited, Georgette, and what a wonderful view of your surroundings – albeit a bit wet now. After a warm winter and noticeably cool spring (i.e. the temp seemed to remain constant for months), we’re finally able to go outside without light jackets. Well spaced downpours fill our lakes and freshen our world. The sun has been glorious even though it’s warmth is only now being felt in shadows. The flora is loving it…prolific this year. I have peas coming up in the little bed where I compost. Veggie gardens are being planted – nearly a month early. I adore the photos…especially the great shots of the little mocker. Does that mean it’s a mockingbird? We don’t have them here.
No apologies about visiting. I probably have averaged one post a month since January. We experienced a rather mild winter, too. Not a single fire in the fireplace this year. I wonder if you get the wet weather like Seattle or Sitka. We have planted, too…several varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, corn, lettuce, rosemary and dill. The mockingbird is probably our most frequent of visitors, and the red cardinal and hopefully the hummingbirds very soon. I put out the nectar yesterday.
No, Georgette, we do not get the amount of rain that Seattle does. In fact our little island receives less rain than Victoria or Vancouver. The Hummers have been back here for a few months now. I know…all this does not sound like Canada. We are a secret!
A well kept secret then. 🙂 When I think of my mother’s mother on her SE Alaska island and Seattle, I think rain forest rain.
Love your statement, “my heart is full”. Despite the treacherous weather conditions, there is still beauty, good & happy surrounding us & you so beautifully point it out. I am very excited about our good & happy trip coming up this weekend & the wonderful memories we’ll share. XO
I’m so looking forward to that glorious feeling of driving out west into the real hills. It’s so beautiful that way. Another commenter on this page lives near Kerrville.
Our weather finally turned warm and we are loving it. It’s been drier than usual though. We went 10 days without rain which is very unusual for us in May. Our dry time is August.
Trading in jackets for colorful T’s and flip flops, checking in for a pedicure and not feeling chilled are finally coming.
i LOVE the mocker on the rain gauge! so cool! yes, we’re soppy here, too. but i will never complain about rain, again. our pond is not yet full but so many others in the area are overspilling. hoping flooding and severe storms steer clear of both of us! 🙂
Soppy is right. The boys across the road were running around in their grandparents’ front yard yesterday with their galoshes and their mother calling “Please don’t get mud on your pretty neon shirts!”
Here in the Hill Country, we’re loving every drop of rain that falls. It will take a lot of rain for us to catch up. Glad to see you’re doing well. You seem to have settled right into retirement.
I hope more rain comes your way. Things can get very dry where you are. btw High school friend and I are coming to Kerrville this weekend for the art festival. I messaged you on fb.
I’ve thought about you AND my niece and wondered if you’d had any of those severe storms. Sounds like it’s been all rain for you.
shoreacres who also lives in LC, TX commented above about their weather. You may want to read her comment. We have had lots of rain with the severe weather alert sounding off on Rick’s phone like an Amber alert. I don’t have it, but Rick does.
Wow! That’s a lot of rain!
You have lots of neat stuff going on to take your mind off all that encroaching water … will you have an influx of mosquitoes now, too?
It is hot & muggy here today (low 80s) but will dip to 50s tomorrow. May is very Mercurial in MI 🙂
If we could hit and stay at 75 that would be just grand for me 🙂
MJ
It certainly is, MJ. Rick has discovered citronella and swears by it. He has also found a recipe for homemade repellant. I told him we probably have a half dozen cans of OFF, but he’s all about making it, so I just listened as he told me about the ingredients. He can’t wait to make the stuff.
Good thing T-Bob is an indoor cat. Between the heart worm medicine, and staying inside, he should be fine.
75 sounds perfect.
Go Astros!!!!!
Yep, one year [several in fact]….Texas drought. Now, it’s flooding everywhere.
You’re saturated too? I hope not flooding.
It was a great game Saturday. Unfortunately the homeruns were singletons with no other players batted in. Still they won.
So happy you have rain to bust the drought! We have been soppy like you and we will take every inch! We were D0 on the drought monitor last week, hoping we are out of the first stage of drought this week. We were in D3 and D2 most of the last two years. All the farm ponds around us are FULL… yay!
Yay, indeed. Not complaining at all. The view from our back porch has been quite a show.
You check ponds, too? I love to check out water levels when we drive by. The river, though, is the most amazing. I don’t remember when we last saw it flowing with no sandbars in view.
Wonderful news on the river! I knew you weren’t complaining. I used to complain before our drought but now I am happy over every drop. We are still taking down Oaks that didn’t make it through the drought. I see so many signs that the drought is easing off. Happy!
Wow! What a change from a couple years ago! So nice to see the color green back in your landscape. Sounds like you’re keeping busy yet not so much that you can’t enjoy the nature surrounding you. It’s been a little too warm for my liking up here for May but is cooling down this week. Big, loud, showy thunderstorm with lots of lightning last evening which is bringing in a cold front.
It is a welcome change. The one photo was from 2011. That said, the river has looked like that even through last year. Only this year’s showers have made the waters rise. Do you watch the storm from your porch? Rick and I have been taking in several shows from the back porch, almost a daily occurrence lately.
We live in the panhandle and just returned from a week of vacation elsewhere. Came home to a yard that was “jungly!” lol A nice problem to have after four years of drought, for sure. We still need more rain in some spots to help fill up reservoirs, so send some up here please. 😉
“jungly” hot in the panhandle is pretty muggy. Wish I could send some of this your way. I would love to visit the panhandle. I have never been to Palo Duro canyon.
It is glorious place, and we have even taken our RV in there twice, too. Nighttime and early morning there is absolutely gorgeous! Hope you can visit sometime.
That’s a lot of rain, Georgette. We’ve had some much needed rain the last few days ending in a very loud thunderstorm last night. The weather’s been so strange – very hot and humid for a few days then cool and breezy. Congratulations on all of your family fun…a full heart, indeed.
We’re driving out west this weekend. I wonder how far we have to go to escape pouring rain?
Last week, there were promises of some thunder and lightning, which didn’t materialize. (Happily, there was a day of rain!) Tonight there’s rain promised in “some” areas. I hope it includes mine.
California needs every drop. I hope it rains in your part of So-Cal.
Hi Georgette! I’m trying to catch up. Your hubby got some great shots of the mockingbird–including lunch! Weird weather, nice days, then a cold front, easing back into warmer days…not much rain, though, looks like you’re getting all of it! Stay dry!
In Austin, after almost four straight weeks of overcast, drizzle, rain, thunderstorms, floods, and a few tornadoes, things have finally gotten back to normal. That means mostly hot and sunny, so I’ve gone out photographing three days in a row now. Creeks are still running high, and one low-water crossing I visited in Williamson Co. on Monday has the North San Gabriel River running four feet over the damaged concrete roadway.
I wrote this before the floods. I hardly know how to react as so many folks have experienced hardships. We were “inconvenienced” but no loss or damage, thankfully. Grandson is back to watering his garden as the rains are not pouring daily. Rick and I wonder when he can mow and when the pastures will dry up and the cows hooves will be dry again.
So glad you can return to photographing in the sunshine. I will say when we were in Dallas last weekend, we saw the most beautiful skies…a blue I have rarely seen. My mother is wondering when the water in Richmond Rosenburg will recede so she can come out to visit us again. At almost 90, yes, she still drives and loves the adventure.
Good to hear from you. I will be consulting most of June and conducting an online class plus moving daughter, so my blogging will be sparse. I hope to be back in July with greater consistency. I do enjoy your posts.
Because your state’s weather isn’t getting as much national attention, I’m assuming it’s better now.
Much better, thank you. Hope you are doing well. It looks like the East was pounded last week with what we got since March and up to two weeks ago.
I leave for your great city on Thursday. It’s my annual thing. I’ve packed my red shirt to catch a Reds game.
Happy summer to you, Frank. I miss the frequency of touching base with everyone. I involved myself in various projects this year taking away from my blogging time. Thank you for thinking of us down here.
Glad to hear all is much better. Although the east got the storms, we need the rain. How long are you in for?
I wanted to say “Saturated” was written and posted two weeks before the floods so it really became a mess here on top of saturation.
Quick and busy trip – 9 days. Doing consulting work during the day + teaching course online at night on the road. Will get to see college friend. One year we ate in the spindletop restaurant in Covington during a rain storm. What a show that was.
I missed this post but I can blame it on the rain as we have had our share though no flooding. It sounds as if you have been quite busy and grateful for your life. Have a good summer. We are grateful for the wet spring and hope the hurricanes skirt us this year!
After our spring rains, floods, tornadoes and hail, we do not need a hurricane, do we?
I wrote this a week or two before the floods. I didn’t quite know how to follow that post, especially when so many were beyond inconvenienced because of the storms. So many suffered damage and/or loss. I feel very grateful, indeed.
While you are getting the rain, we’re setting records for highest temps for days in a row and driest spring on record. No middle ground for sure. Did have a round of storms this weekend and a bit of lightning damage here and there, but as you say, it pales in comparison to what others are going through.
So I guess I will pack TX clothes for my next trip coming up. Thanks for the update. Flying to DC with grandson in a couple of weeks. I do hope the weather smiles on us for this big trip for him.
Daughter was held up in Dallas back in May and had to drive to Houston due to our weather, and husband was held up last week in Dallas because DFW had grounded planes due to the weather. What a wet season we’ve had.
At least your daughter and husband weren’t held up by robbers.
Thank goodness.
btw Loved the blue Aztec dragonfly the other day.
And the Aztec reference is right up your alley.
🙂 I laughed at the ID of the dragonfly. Thank you for teaching it to me.
Oh how I love the mocking bird! We only have a couple at The Holler, but I grew up with them, literally. I raised some. What wonderful photos, and what a wonderful life!
Sometimes they screech, other times they sound like songbirds. And they tussle with the squirrels like siblings. They entertain us every morning.
When it started raining yesterday, and the ditches filled up, I thought about you and wondered if your ditches were full again. I have a mockingbird with two new babies coming to feed, now. Why wouldn’t they? I put out fresh blueberries for them. What the babies think about it, I don’t know, but I have a feeling the parents are glad to have one source of food they don’t have to chase down the sidewalk!
Hi Georgette — if you come back to blogging, I hope you will come visit me at my new blog! ecrire1823.wordpress.com Take care!