Seattle on Cache Creek?

Is it Spring yet? I know the calendar claims that it is, in fact Springtime, but calendars are mischievous things not to be trusted. We are more that 5 inches above the average rainfall with yet another week of storms lining up in the Pacific like cars in the drive-thru at Sonic. This kind of weather can effect us in strange ways. Most people seem to be overcome with a gloom that surrounds them and follows them through their day. It can make the most outgoing of us withdraw just a little, our once easy smile seems a bit forced.

I drove down to San Francisco today and went through a downpour that must have dropped 2 inches of rain in an hour. At my house, the front lawn has taken on the form of a giant green sponge. The back yard is littered in palm frawns and small branches from the eucalyptus tree. My wife's border collie seems to get great joy in dragging them around and making more of a mess, but hey, its the back yard and you can't see it from the road. I will wait for a long break in the weather before I gather the courage to venture out there.

The farmers are in a quandary. The rain means more water in Clear Lake and Indian Valley reservoir so irrigation water will be plentiful this year. The late spring also means a farmer with an early tomato contract in heap big trouble. Seed that should have been planted long ago is sitting in the shop and planting with seedlings could be the only (and much more expensive) option.

For those of us with horses, it is getting very expensive to buy hay right now. Most hay growers cut their first crop in April, in a dry year as early as March, this year it looks like the first cutting will be hitting the barns in May. Most horse people don't buy the first cutting because of the possibility if noxious weeds, so we could wait until late May before we start seeing lower prices . However, if you are a hay grower with a barn full of alfalfa right now, you can name your price, and we have to pay it. Supply and demand at work.

I have 6,000 feet of fence to put in this spring and while I am not exactly eager to start, I would like to have the fences done so I can bring home more horses. But what are you going to do? Protest?

Maybe I should take a day off and head down to the National Weather Service office and protest the excessive amount of rain. They are the government agency in charge of these things right? What about FEMA or NOAA, certainly someone is to blame and I have my rights.
Maybe I can litigate this...

Naw, I'll just get back to reading my book and getting the kids ready for bed. I told you this rain makes people grumpy.