So Much Rain!

Free bath for the Orange Jeep!

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for rain just as much as the next guy. It does make it difficult to perform some tasks but it makes others easier. Like pulling stumps and shrubs are MUCH easier when the ground is soft.

I've kept Old Red Belly in the barn the past week. I don't want her getting any more unnecessary skin cancer (read: rust). She fires up without a hickup just about every time now. Still waiting to try out the new (to me) brush hog that a cousin dropped off while I was out of town. It looks MUCH newer than the one I've been using.

My cell phone is blowing up every 15 minutes with Thunderstorm Warnings via my American Red Cross application. This is one handy app for staying on top of Mother Nature. Sure, storms can appear out of nowhere with no warning...but the A.R.C catches it with NOAA very fast and the alerts keep me well informed. It is helpful to me when I am inside a building (farm house, hospital, etc) and not able to see the clues on the horizon.

Issued about every 15 minutes

There are so many thunderstorms here in Oklahoma that the National Weather Service has numbered them so that when a warning is given, they say "...thunderstorm warning #482 has been issued for the following areas...". I'm not too far off with that number either. I made a quick run to the local Wallymart tonight and always turn on my BaoFang ham radio when I'm driving. I was informed of thunderstorm warning #48x-something. This one has been reported as coming with nickel-sized hail in some areas.

Since things have been so wet lately, I figured it was a good time to burn some trash at the farm. I fill up a 40 gallon bag about every 2-3 weeks and had one ready to go to trash heaven. I walked it down to one of the old burn barrels between the farm house and barn. With just a tad bit of accelerant (come on, I'm a guy), it lit right up.

I stayed nearby to make sure no embers wondered off but the ground is very wet these days. The girls would have loved this activity. I'm sure it is a chore that won't go unclaimed. I bought several fire extinguishers on Amazon during a sale a while back. They can carry one of those with them after they've been taught the appropriate safety rules. I suppose if we're REAL thrify, we'll roast some marshmallows at the same time?

While adding pictures to this post, I found an old picture of our family with neighbors having a marshmallow roast in our backyard back in Arizona. We have a nice fire pit area formed out of stamped concrete (they don't call the city the "concrete jungle" for nothing, right?).

I hung Christmas lights all around the wall for lighting and decoration. There are two bench seats built into the wall along with some lawn chairs and two bar-b-que grills. That was the closest we could get to camping or the countryside for many years...13 years, actually, this Christmas.

I'm going to miss that house. For my youngest three daughters, it's the only house they've ever known. I personally grew up in the same house (in Oklahoma City) from first grade all the way through senior year in high school. I think staying anchored like that is good for a child. Constantly moving can be stressful but there are some folks that endure it. Some even thrive, I imagine. Yes sir, I'm gonna miss that house.

~OJD