Did it Rain? Yes It Rained!
by James Glaser
June 29, 2012

Debby, our latest tropical storm wasn't all that windy, and we live far enough from the coast that we don't think about storm surges. However, I did empty my rain gauge three times, and it filled half way again. That means we got at least 22 inches, but one time the gauge was over flowing, and I don't know how long it had been over the top.

We have a crawl space under our floor, and the house sits on a slope, so we would need a storm of Biblical proportions to get flooded out.

Some of the local country roads had water flowing over them, but actually a super heavy rain was a good thing for North Florida as we have been in a drought for several years. If fact, just last week the local Water District set up rules about when you can water your lawn. This storm won't fix our water table, but it is a shot in the arm for all of our forests, and it is good to get moisture down to every plant's roots. I can tell already that the weeds in my vegetable garden are loving it.

I have to tell you that along with all the rain, the storm brought some cool weather, which was a good thing because we lost our electricity several times. I still have no idea how anyone lived in Florida pre-air conditioning. Driving to town in June in Florida with it being 65 degrees is a real unexpected treat.

There are towns near here that were flooded out with people boating down their Main Street and neighborhoods. What a horrible mess those people are facing for their clean-up. I look around here and think how thankful Wanda and I are for having a place that is high and dry.

So, I will continue my war with the garden weeds. The garden looks like something out of a garden magazine after a long battle with them, but it doesn't take long before they are popping back up. I think it is therapy for me to spend time out there pulling weeds and talking to the tomato plants. Other gardeners understand that.

Soon we will be reading about the next tropical storm or hurricane that is forming in the Gulf, and we will all be watching the radar and computer projections and will be thinking about all the storm equipment we meant to buy but didn't.

Hopefully, the next storm will be nothing but a long hard rain like this one was.

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