The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain

In Sacramento, not so much. Actually, we are the plain. (Sacramento: elevation 25 feet.) And we are officially in the rainy season these days. Perhaps you heard about it on the news over Christmas? There was flooding, or potential flooding, of six counties here in Northern California. I returned to find (a) my house fully intact – yay! and (b) leaves – gross, wet, icky, gobs of leaves. Piles of wet, stuck-together-by-the-rain leaves. A lovely layer of sticky, wet leaves, about three inches thick, covered the road, gutter, sidewalk, patio, every horizontal surface imaginable. Leaves, leaves, leaves, leaves, leaves. Ew. The mat by my back door was completely saturated and collecting mud. Ew, ew. It was unavoidable – I tracked mud and piles of leaves into the house. Ew, ew, ew.

I shook the mud off the mat and hung it over the deck railing to dry. Two days later it was only marginally less wet, so I opted for an hour in the industrial strength dryer. One problem solved! The leaves, however, stuck around until the gardeners showed up the following Monday. (Yes, we have gardeners. Shush. Almost all the rental properties here have them. Yes, it’s a couple of "Mexicans." Stereotypes come from somewhere!) It’s still raining. And it will be until April. People must just get used to it – yesterday I saw another gardener mowing my neighbor’s lawn in the rain. What?

But, I’ve left the house without a coat every day this week, and I can definitely live with that!