Rain and more Rain

Water has come into the basement family room AGAIN, and yet again. It wasn't much, but the carpet had to be pulled back, the water mopped up and fans run for two days to dry things out. The day I went down to put the carpet back in place, a little more water had found its way in and made the fan necessary for another day.

It's raining again now. I don't have the heart to go check out the basement. I would just let the water ruin our stuff, except I got a letter from our insurance company reminding us that we're not covered for flooding!! So I keep moving our stuff/junk, threaten to get rid of it (except where would I find the energy to do that?!) and then put it all back where it came from. Vicious circle!

The neighbor's back yard has flooded again. This time the water is deep! A duck couple has taken up residence there.

When we look at the forecast, it mentions rain that may be "torrential" at times. It's easy to tell those times, as the sound of the rain is overwhelming. For some reason this gives me a calm feeling and I really enjoy listening to it. Usually this is accompanied by some LOUD thunder and intense lightening. We unplug our appliances and computers several times each day.

Madison had the worst winter in 20 years our first winter here. Now we're having the most volatile Spring that anyone can remember. Is it just bad luck? Poor timing? Global warming?

April Showers

We have Leaves on the trees! The grass is greening up and some of the early flower bulbs are in bloom! Everything is new and alive and it feels wonderful! Turns out these aren't leaves. They are blossoms, complete with pollen! But it sure is pretty.

We're also getting some rain. This is more than April Showers. During the night we had thunder and lightening that woke me up and kept me awake. It stopped for awhile, but now we're getting the beginning of a storm that should last for hours. More thunder and lightening and a steady, light rain.

Guess we'll be having more of the temporary flooding, and the ground is already saturated. The neighbors yard looks like a small lake again.

It's nice to be home, all warm and safe, watching through the windows. My story will change, no doubt, when I have to get out in it to go to work. But that's HOURS away. For now, I'll just keep watching.

Hopes are High!

At 2:30am I was awakened by a noise I couldn't identify. I sleep with a cool mist humidifier right next to the bed, and block out most sound with the white noise it makes.

I didn't really want to wake up, but this new noise was persistent. Coming a little more out of the sleep realm, I wonder if there are mice running across the rafters in the ceiling above my head. This thought brought me a little more awake, so I stopped to really listen. At first I couldn't identify what this sound was, and then I knew. It was raindrops hitting the window. Very gentle, no particular rhythm, but loud enough to catch my attention and wake me up to notice.

As I went back to sleep I was smiling. Rain, not snow was falling. When I got up, it was raining for real. With the temperature in the 40's and a steady downfall, I figured the 6 foot pile of snow at the edge of the driveway might just melt!

This week we're scheduled for daytime temperatures in the 40's and low 50's, with some rain. So, I think Spring might finally be coming!!!!

When I went outside at 5:30am to go to work, I knew we were finally into Spring. Even though it was still dark, there were birds singing and chirping everywhere. Guess that eternal Spring impulse is finally at work. Thank Goodness.

More Snow on the Way...

During my five winters in Wisconsin, these are the worst conditions I've experienced. The heavy, wet snow from Sunday froze in whatever shape is happened to be in and Monday saw icy, snowpacked roads all over the city. I hear cars trying to get into their driveways and spinning out as they try to pull away from the curb. Walking is dangerous as there are big, frozen chunks of ice and snow everywhere. The ground is so uneven it makes walking and driving an adventure (not in the good way!).

There are laws here that the sidewalks MUST be cleared by noon on the day following a snowstorm. Silly me, went to Home Depot to buy a snow shovel. They were sold out! As was Walmart and Ace Hardware. I bought the stuff you throw down to melt the ice. It's something that won't hurt the concrete, animals or the grass. Our landlord cleared our sidewalks, but ice had formed and I didn't want to fall between the car and the front door.

The forecast for today is 2-3 inches of snow this afternoon, followed by 2-4 inches of snow this evening. The snow began, as predicted, about 2pm. New snow on top of the crusty, icy, uneven mess is NOT something to look forward to.

If anyone had told me about the parking situation here, I would have held out for an apartment with underground parking. I looked at a few, but didn't weight my alternatives from my current perspective!

My prediction: It's going to be a long, cold, messy winter. Pray to God I'm wrong!