Rain, rain – yippeeeeeee!!! So Cal needs a few sprinkles

smiling dirt likes rain
The other night, late at night, when I was reading a creepy book in bed I kept hearing this strange tapping noise.  What the heck?  It seemed to be coming from outside… all over outside.  It took me a while to realize it was rain.  Oh yeah, I remember that sound.  That’s when we got the big sixteenth of an inch.  It was gone almost as fast as it hit the ground.

Last night there was more of that tapping and I awoke to see actual moisture on the ground. 

See? The ground is smiling!

dry dirt

Actually that’s one of those big cracks in the dirt you see in the desert.  They have an actual scientific name which escapes me in my delirium.  When it hasn’t rained in ages the soil shrinks up into crackly bits and the crevices go down really deep.  I know, this crevice is in my back yard. 

But it looks a little happier after some rain.

I was so excited I dug up a hole in the bare patch to see how far the ‘moisture level’ went.  

You can’t really tell in the photo so I upped the contrast and used arrows to show the actual dampness in the ground. 

I think I’m stretching it by using the term “moisture”.  It’s only damp for about 1/2 an inch.  Oh well, it’s better than a kick in the shins, I guess.

 

We’ve had a little more rain tonight and I think we’re closing in on 1/2 an inch of rain in so Cal so far.  Wooo Hooo!  

Hopefully it’s just enough to stamp out any lingering brush fires and maybe get a little growth going in the burn areas.  But not enough rain to start mudslides in the hillsides.  Cross your fingers guys!