And the Rains Came Tumbling Down

I miss rain! We don't get a whole lot in Bakersfield. When we do I'm the first to breathe a sigh of relief and go outside to smell the wet air. Rain dampers down the dirty air, allowing us to see the mountains that surround our valley. I'm always grateful, and I always laugh as natives of California start moaning about how we're never going to see the sun again.

Well, it's raining! It's been raining for three days. Not pouring, just raining. Slow and steady. But California isn't like Wisconsin. Ben & I discovered that in Altadena too, where there is so much pavement there isn't anywhere for the water to go--even small amounts of rain cause nervous driving and minor flooding. But it's more than lots of pavement in Bakersfield; we're built on what used to be a swamp. And after three days of rain, with a grand total of just over three inches of rain when I last heard, this is what we're seeing not too far away from us:And downtown today:
Roads are closed, we are in a state of local emergency, the back yard is completely flooded, and our roof is leaking again. Boo. But things are much worse in other areas around Kern County.

It's crazy to think that three inches of rain can wreak so much havoc, but think of it in these terms: our annual rainfall is around six inches, so getting half of that in three days makes it a little easier to understand.

On a lighter note, we've been so busy lately that the poor dogs have been neglected so we decided to remedy that on Sunday afternoon. Figuring that there wouldn't be a lot of folks out in the rain, we took the dogs to the park.

We saw some fall color . . .
And the lake that has grown up in the middle of the dog park!
Erik showing off his muddy leg and arm after a slip in the mud
Happy Dog
Muddy Dog
With everyone out of school for Christmas vacation, and with large amounts of water everywhere, this was a predictable sight:
These guys were having a leisurely paddle until someone's swimming dog caught sight of them and started making for the raft. I never saw anyone paddle so fast! Ha!
Other people had the same idea (Thomas thought he'd check things out).
Much fun was had by all. :-)
As we headed for the gate, Thomas started chasing birds. I don't think they knew he existed, but he was in earnest! I thought he was going to run into something as he raced around looking UP.
Wet Dogs
After getting them home and dried off, we headed back to church to watch "White Christmas" on the big screen, then stopped to celebrate Christmas with the youth group (REALITY) at their Christmas Party. A nice end to a busy week and weekend!