I wrote about dust and wind, but when Chrissy asked me if I would write about water, I told her probably not, because there was not enough water around here to comment about. Today there was. We had a bodacious Noah-class thunderstorm, one of the most violent thunderstorm I ever experienced. It knocked out our power and left big and deep puddles all over the place. The disadvantage of boots designed for the desert became quickly apparent as I walked through ankle deep water.
I went out to run at around 5 pm. It was a normal day until then, a little dusty. As I ran NW I notice the sky was very black. There was a bank of clouds coming. It looked like something out of an apocalyptical movie, or on the funnier side, that sky scene from Ghost Busters. The black clouds looked angry. I ran out for around five minutes and then decided better to turn around and run back home, quick as I could. That was smart. Even as I ran back I could feel the big cold drops begin to fall. The wind picked up. Fortunately, it was right at my back so it pushed me along and I didn’t get the rain in the face. Just as I got back to my can, all hell seemed to break loose. Think of the storm music from the William Tell Overture. It just started to pound like that. It went on for around a half hour and then, also like the storm in the William Tell Overture, just stopped.
Now it is clear but chilly. The rain washed the dust out of the air and it smells good to have a little moisture in clean air. I am writing this part at night on battery. Tomorrow I will go out and take some pictures of the water in the daylight. Although I expect much will have drained off, I think there still will be a lot.
The ground here does not accept water. It doesn’t soak in. What doesn’t drain off just sits on the surface until it dries out, leaving a salty ring to make the erstwhile puddle.