12/22/10 My sad-looking cottage garden near the olive grove, saturated with water.
12/22/10 Our view for the better part of a week looked like this. It was great for the first few days, but then by the fourth or fifth day, that monochromatic expanse of gray wetness began to affect our collective sanity.
12/22/10 Sheets of water coming down from the upstairs balcony over my office window. We did not install rain gutters on this part of the house and found out the hard way that, after a couple days of endless driving rain, leaks were bound to be sprung. And spring they did.
12/22/10 Hana, stricken with an inconsolable ennui (aka "cabin fever").
Alas, she took it out on one of her hapless squeeky toys. Not sure if it was Rosencrantz or Guildenstern.
12/23/10 Hallelujah! Signs of clearing around 6:30am outside the garage.
12/23/10 Driveway, still foggy & soggy, but sans rain.
Driving to and from work this past Thursday, we came across visages of nature gone wild as a couple of our local, normally mild-mannered waterways were now churning up some incredible volumes of whitewater.
12/23/10 Santa Ana River off the I-15 in Norco with muddy debris along the banks.
12/23/10 Santa Ana River off the I-15 in Norco. A torrent of water along the edge of the concrete embankment. This area is usually dry, as the river's normal course is to the left of the line of willows in the picture.
12/23/10 Tons of H20 raging its way down the outlet channel at Prado Dam, off Hwy. 71 in Chino Hills.
The bright note in the aftermath of this deluge, was that we had an absolutely gorgeous day on Christmas Eve - brisk temperatures and a clear blue sky, with endless views of snowcapped mountains in the backdrop.
12/24/10 View of San Bernardino Mountains (Big Bear) from outside the kitchen door.
12/24/10 And panning to the right, here's Mt. San Jacinto.
Gotta count our blessings. This recent storm produced mudslides and floods that destroyed homes, properties & even lives in some areas (a poor woman was swept into Canyon Lake and drowned in her vehicle), and we came through with just a few leaks. What's a few leaks?
My cottage garden is similarly pathetic. And all the lettuce I'd so carefully planted from seed and tended and babied -- dead, dead, dead.
ReplyDeleteThat second photo looks like a painting. I enlarged just to make sure.
Hana looks perfectly capable of surviving in sub zero temps. Is she finicky about the wet stuff? I think I have the only labrador who hates water.
Wow, that's really something. Interestingly, we've only had a few inches up here in the bay area, Hope it dries up soon!
ReplyDeleteHey, altadenahiker - Hana is indeed of a cold temperature breed. Her ancestors hailed from the Akita prefecture (Honshu Island) in N. Japan. Hana and winter are like two peas in a pod, and I'm just so glad she's not shedding ad infinitum this time of year. She's generally very attracted to water, unless it's in the context of a bath. But a lab who hates water? Say it ain't so. LOL!
ReplyDeleteTown Mouse, it's crazy rain down here. We had another inch come down last night, and there's another system in the forecast for this Wednesday. What's up with that?
I didn't realise it was as bad as this. You certainly were fortunate to have such a few leaks. We don't see much of the sun during the winter months here - we call the weather "dreek" when we have low rain clouds like yours.
ReplyDeleteI hope Hana has finally made it outside to roam again.
Holy Schmoley!
ReplyDelete(The forlorn garden hose in the drowned garden photo is pretty amusing...)
Rosie, Hana did make it out to roam the outdoors again yesterday. Btw, I love the word "dreek" - it's oddly alluring and very descriptive of those cloudy rain conditions. I think I'm going to start using your term from now on!
ReplyDeleteLisa, notice that the forlorn garden hose is also in a serendipitous figure eight. We Asians are kinda superstitious, so at least that was a good sign.
I'm glad you came through okay! Considering how much water we got I think it could have been a lot worse for all of us.
ReplyDeleteIf all that wasn't water enough...there's more rain on the way for tonight! Well at least Hana has had some outdoor opportunities. Our cat was similarly feeling like under house arrest. Stay dry and safe. It should be another terrific year for late winter wildflowers! Woohoo!
Woohoo indeed, James! I too am looking forward to a wildflower boon late winter/early spring! I hear this next storm will hit us pretty hard by early tomorrow morning (just in time for our commute to work - ugh!). And then it's going to get pretty darned cold. Wouldn't it be cool if even just a few snowflakes came down at our lower elevations? Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteThe rain has been crazy this year. I'm not all that far south of Town Mouse, but we're up to almost 13 inches of rain here in the mountains, just for December! I just recently read an article from NOAA that explained although with La Niña we expected to be drier, a PNW anticyclone high pressure system off the coast of Washington was pushing their wet weather south through California. I vote we send it back...we need to dry out! You're right though, compared to the recent devastation, what's a few leaks and little ennui? Stay dry, and Happy (hopefully drier) New Year!
ReplyDeleteMy post for today is also a rainy foggy one! Beautiful views you have!
ReplyDeleteClare, all this from a PNW anticyclone hp system hailing from Washington? Fascinating! I actually don't mind, unless the rain continues nonstop for more than a couple days. Then it's just very damp and depressing!
ReplyDeleteCountry Mouse, just checked out your latest posting, and your views are quite beautiful, too!