Along for the ride:

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Rain - You want us to do what?

Yesterday was a day of lashing rain, exuberant wind whipped trees and frothy sorbet yellow, pollen rimmed puddles.
This being brash and media hungry California, it was impossible for us to slide into an autumn season of gentle precipitation. Hell No! We went from Heatwave and Wildfires to Typhoon, Flooding and Mudslides as quick as a blink. We had 6-8 inches (15-20 cms) of wet stuff from the sky in a twenty four hour period, with high winds to match. I loved every minute of it!
Itsy bitsy dribbly rain is annoying. You don't take it seriously; it's too much trouble to put a coat on; you get surreptitiously dampened; glasses useless, hair flattened, shoulders shivering in cold clothes for the remainder of the day. Bah Humbug.
Give me a rip roaring horizontal torrent and I'll show you my happy face. I have pink wellies with daisies on. I have Gore-TeX rain wear and a leather baseball cap from The Territory Ahead, ever so slightly accented with plaid. If I'm going to get wet anyway, I might as well enjoy being outside when I pretty much get the place to myself. Joggers, cyclists and even squirrels were noticeably absent from the landscape. Just me and some very wet dogs.
Number One Dog, Diva, was a puppy during our first go round with El Nino. I was in shock: When we moved to California from Europe we arrived at the beginning of a seven year drought. I thought it would always be like that. So, you weren't supposed to wash your car and lawns were considered antisocial; You could plan a barbecue or trip to the beach with the certitude of warm, dry surroundings. I didn't even own a raincoat.
I think the El Nino climate kicked in early in the spring one year, or maybe it came to my attention then, because we procured our First Canine, who was an adorable, teddy bear sized puppy with needle sharp teeth and a need for exercise. Diva grew up splishing along trying to catch the bubbles she and I kicked up in the gutters on our walks. As wet from below as from above, "What the Hell? I'm English-What do you Expect?" When it's time to go out, we go out. Weather? What's that?
Yesterday morning I leashed up The Foster Dogs for their usual 45 minute constitutional and opened the door, ready to set out. You should have seen their faces. "You want us to do what? In the Rain?" was expressed as clearly as if they had spoken. We went out anyway, of course, and after a block and a half of near paralysis
they must have reached down into their inner Collie-core of hardy Scottish herding dogs and they got with the program. Big fluffy Marks and Spencer's bath towels were used for doggie massages upon our return and I made good use of the hot shower for myself. It's not exactly roughing it; we were never in danger of hypothermia; we didn't have to hack down branches to build a temporary shelter. Between the morning and afternoon outings with separate sets of dogs, I filled a washing machine with clothes and towels. I had a smile on my face all day and from the look on the faces of the few car drivers who slowed to make clever comments to us, like "You're going to get wet, you know?", we amused some other people too.

20 comments:

  1. Rain is not such a novelty in New Jersey. And this time of year, it is usually cold and wet. I cannot join your rush of joy at the prospect.

    But I do enjoy reading the happiness in your words. Glad the collies discovered their heritage and joined in. No dog should ever be so pampered as to lose touch with nature.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you have the time and know a warm dry place is not too far away then getting soaked can be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great giddy goofballs of raindrops... some of your sentences remind me of Tom Robbins... and that is a superlative compliment. Can just see you out splashing in pink wellingtons and a leather ball cap... splashing away ! Love it... I'd be out there sailing little boats down the street gutters to the storm drains...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fantastic! And I am so jealous!!! Here it just drizzled and they dared to call it rain.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with you on the drizzly mizzle that sometimes tries to pass itself off as rain. If I must get wet, I want stair-rods please!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Splishing"! What a great word!

    Our Old English Sheepdog, Abby, just hates the rain and would love to commiserate with your gang of Foster dogs. We had a pretty good downpour or 2,3,4,5 today and more expected for the next week. I'm on my way to the Oregon coast later in the day. It's really stormy over there, so I should have a fantastic time with the beach basically to myself!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very good post, our dogs do the same thing when it's raining.
    How do you change the comments link? I like the "sounds of passing hoofbeats"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jean, we had the wet, without the cold, which I truly appreciate. Icy wet water running off your finger tips is a whole other story. Our storm really was the edge of a Typhoon. An exceptional event that broke records held since the early '60's. There are still power and phone lines down all over.
    Lisleman, I agree.
    Owen, thanks for the praise. Your little boats would have been gone in an instant. I rescued a football (American) and a big old mail box, floating by. The cardboard box of a few posts ago is mush and the tree has keeled over into the mud.
    Fr'Amie, you can't have all the fun.
    Martin, stair rods it is. Great description.
    Lydia, Oh the stormy beach in winter. Fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Di, Your blog is so pretty and you know how to change the background etc. I am always impressed. I went into "Customize", Page Elements, clicked edit on the Blog Post and wrote over Comments with hoofbeats. Saved and voila! Did you see that now Followers are "Along for the Ride"?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Alabama...what can I say. I'm sitting in the air conditioning, making sure the heaters are in working order for winter which is due to arrive tomorrow. I will then turn off the air conditioning for maybe several hours before I crank on the heat.

    And another thing...40 degree nights and endless rain...buckets and buckets of rain...keeps everything green and washed off...no need to pick up any doggie duty here, it just floats away....Can you tell I'm a little down about the monsoon season?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I was lured here by your "horsey spice" comment on Behind the Bit, and I will definitely be back!!! I love your sense of humor and look forward to getting to know you through your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Michelle, welcome and thank you.
    @eloh, My brain is seeking the sound track to go with the visual of pooh-pooh gaily floating along. I did notice you were absent temporarily. I hope your personal thunderclouds blow away.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I do love those proper downpours too, they redefine the word 'cosy' into something magical entirely :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. English or what...
    Happy paddling!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wiola, when I worked as a groom in a show-jumping yard years ago, I lived in a small caravan onsite. I loved to lie in bed and listen to the rain on the roof and sides and be buffeted by the winds. Of course, going outside, crossing the garden in the rainy dark to go to the toilet was less charming!
    Friko, after all the wetting and drying my dogs are shiny clean and oh so fluffy. I don't want to jinx it but we have two potential adopters in our sights.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The refreshing feel of rain upon my face never fails to whet my appetite for words. Give me a wet window pane to a bright sunny sky at least twice a week, and I'll bash out a tale or two by reply.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jimmy, Your window panes have so many nuances, with or without rain drops.

    ReplyDelete
  18. There's nothing like people who merely think they are funny - imagine all those drivers slowing to make comments!

    Sometimes it can be really nice to be out in refreshing rain - though i doubt my cats would agree. Lovely post xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Pixie, I didn't mind the comments, I liked the interaction and I agree we looked crazy with two spectacularly wet hairy dogs and a wet through human. It confirmed that we are not invisible to others as everyday life can sometimes make us feel. I hope you're feeling less stung by life than in your last post.

    ReplyDelete