T.G.F.T.R.

Scary last night but....

THANK GOODNESS FOR THE RAIN!!!

Tropical Storm Dolores sent a few drops of rain (okay, more than a few!) up the California Coast. We had lightening and thunder, very scary, but I was good with it as long as it came with rain. I have lived all of my life in California and to be honest, we really don't get a lot of lightening. I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, probably the same as why we don't get many tornadoes.  But last night...WOW!

Saturday was a quiet day, spent most of the day cleaning up the rancho as we were having a birthday BBQ for my husband.  Absolutely beautiful in the afternoon.  A light breeze, warm temperatures. Here is a picture of the beginning of the sunset.

And here is George, while he was still happy...he loves company. More pets and scratches than he knows what to do with.  LOL

We were done and in bed by 10 pm.  Heard a tiny bit of rain about midnight.  Around 4 am, started to see little flashes, the booms came about 6 or 8 seconds later.  Okay, not too bad.  The rain got heavier.  I was very excited!!  George was fine, stayed on his bed, barely lifted his head when I got up to check the windows in my dad's room. Suddenly, a HUGE white light filled the bedroom and BOOM!  Not even time to start counting!  At that point, it was strike after strike and the rain was dumping buckets.   He was up and pacing.  The panting started and the poor thing started to drool and couldn't stop.  I felt so bad for him.  I had never seen him this way. We have a fireworks show about 2 miles away during the Fourth of July, but he had always seemed calm.  I stuck my head out the front door and could hear the neighborhood dogs and horses going crazy.  I got my blankie and sat on the living room floor with George, trying to keep him calm. I don't thing he could have sat any closer!

An hour later, the lightening moved farther away...and then, we lost electricity...Keep in mind, that means no water, no cooking, no coffee, and NO internet!  LOL  My husband has a generator out in the barn, but we kept thinking that the power would be back on any minute.  SEVEN HOURS LATER!!! It seems that we were one of 12,000 customers that lost power in our county.  We took a quick trip into town for a bite of breakfast, came home, and then just hung out.  The power came on at the same time that I needed to get Dad's lunch.  A blessing!

We can still hear the thunder, but it's moved beyond the foothills, so life is good.  I went out to check our rain gauge.  A little over 1 1/2 inches in less that 14 hours.  I know, it doesn't seem like much, but so welcome in California!

Here's a picture of the ditch in front of our house.  The culvert was plugged this morning, which sent water over the road, but it happens on wet years so we keep a 20 ft. pipe next to the side of the road that we shove through the culvert to unplug it.  I had to laugh.  At least 10 cars went through the water this morning and not a single person stopped to help.  We've lived on this road since 1985.  It never fails to amazing how "un-neighborly" some people can be when it includes mud and mess.  LOL

So, take care, peeps.  The sun is out, the thunder is gone.  The ground is soaked and my flowers are happy.  It is a good day.  Be kind to one another.