A Hard Rain is Gonna Fall

Torrential rain coming down now. Flood alerts posted. The poor people south of here have been hit hard and are still not dried out. It rained hard for an hour or two in the middle of the night. My morning pre-dawn walk was squishy, but delightful, with the swirling mist, sheep moving through the apple orchard like ghosts, and a single celestial body shining brightly in the sky. I love to climb the hill in my nightie and boots, to the top of my land, and survey the farm below. The landscape is very dramatic with the ridge on the left creating the boundary of my farm and wide open valley below. The rising sun comes over the ridge, slowly illuminating the sky. No wonder I have trouble getting to work on time. I have to force myself to climb back down, get the chores done and get ready for work. My students are challenging but manageable so far, and I am enjoying them. We worked for a couple of hours this morning then put on music videos to dance to. It's a long morning together, 3 hours in one room, and the dancing was a perfect way to blow off steam, jumping around to rap music, making all the ridiculous affectations, and laughing hysterically. We played croquet in phys. ed. again, and the mosquitoes were out in force. I hope I can get home in time to get the blue Merino off the drying rack. I just made it in time yesterday to rescue the mohair from the rain. Rain is forecast for the next two days here, unfortunate for the people who are already water logged. The weather forecast is fabulous for the place where I am going to spend my birthday. It's a secret for now, to be revealed when I return. Until then...