Good News/Bad News

The good news is that the rain has started and the green grass is returning
My favorite tree  was nicely silhouetted against a momentarily clearing sky and green hills this morning. This is how the same hills looked behind the tree two years ago.

The bad news is that it is raining and the cracks in our crumbling streets (see extra) are so numerous and so wide that small ecosystems of moss and grass are growing in them. Even the painted command in the road is not enough to stop the cracks running right through it.

The good news is that it is supposed to rain every day for the next 20 days. Predicted for months, the El Niño storm door is opening, and it promises to be the 'strongest' one yet….

The bad news is that it is supposed to rain for the next 20 days.
The ruined roads, neglected levees, burned hillsides, and sinking aquifers cannot be expected to perform well. There will be floods and mudslides, property damage and economic damage.

I still remember the last El Niño in 1997-8 when it rained for so many days in a row that nothing seemed to be dry. Our decades long habit of walking to Peet's every day for our morning coffee was being sorely tested, especially because we had to sit outside with the dog. There was cover under the eaves, but it was like sitting behind a waterfall, our feet in a moat, the dog huddled underneath the bench. 

One Saturday morning, fed up with damp clothes, wet umbrellas and wetter hair, I rolled out of bed, threw a raincoat over my flannel pajamas and drove to Peet's. Muddy water had flowed down the hill, overpowered the gutters and covered the pavement, breeching the space under any door unprotected by sandbags. 

The atmosphere inside Peet's is difficult to describe. The words that come to mind are 'slap happy'. Everyone was laughing, albeit slightly hysterically, a release, no doubt from cabin fever.

The good news is that now that we have moved, we no longer walk anywhere for coffee. We have a coffee maker at home. We live on a hill, well above the flowing ditches and the creek across the road.

The bad news is that we also have a steep hill behind our house held back by a retaining wall. I hope the hill doesn't end up in our living room.

My sympathies are with all those in the North of England and elsewhere who are suffering from endless rain and flooding, and that if you find yourselves out in it in your pajamas it is by choice and not necessity.