It's Going to Rain

Heavy rain. Flash Flood warnings have been issued. Thunderstorms at times. Just when the poppies are beginning to bloom. So I busied myself this morning to putting out bamboo stakes and spreading light weight flannel sheets as a tent over them to protect the flowers and leaves. And I put down the sides on the hoop house so It would not take on too much water.

Water! I checked my emergency water reserves because I have three dogs and a cat to keep hydrated if the power goes out. The rain barrel is always an option for other uses. But that about covers the possible impact of this storm for me, here on high ground. But I have friends who could well be in the way of deadly flash floods in the area of the Ute Park burn scar.

I was talking on the phone just yesterday with a friend who lives outside of Albuquerque. There was recently several deaths because of flash flooding. In this time of drought the homeless had set up camps under over passes in flood control ditches. These ditches are concrete conversions of the arroyos which are a natural part of a desert environment. As a kid I got the  arroyo lesson from my folks. And watching a friend's house move downstream sealed that wisdom forever in my mind. 

I remember those images well. I had friends who lived in the valley.  Because of the percent of land which is paved flooding has only gotten worse. We have just gotten better at moving it down stream. Albuquerque is already getting heavy rain. Here there is just that pregnant pause like before a tornado forms.

But on a lighter note  the cast iron griddle arrived yesterday preseasoned and I was going to make flat bread today. But if the electricity goes off that could present a problem. I may save that for tomorrow and tend to the neglected issue of the box room. More about that on another blog.