4 in a row???!!!

i got all excited, watching the radar as this system as it worked its way down from colorado, across the northeast corner of new mexico and the western panhandle of oklahoma; hearing the sound of thunder rumbling its way into little a-town.  

it did rain here at 7420, there is rain in the gauge, but my gauge is barely discreet enough to tell me how much.  it rained enough to wet the sidewalk, enough to run off the house a bit, flirting with 0.1 inch, but nothing close to the previous three days.

i don't mean to sound ungrateful; one should not take any moisture at all for granted. this system has already moved on, delivering its welcomed gift to parts south of here in this bitch of a drought that still has this country by the throat.

thanks to the great spirit-- ruler of the heavens,  of the earth and of man. we are blessed.

aio

empty bucket....

a check of the rain gauge first thing this morning showed it to be empty with the exception of a baby bug of some kind; a tiger beetle i hope-- and not a termite.  i'm leaning toward the tiger beetle option as the gauge was placed in the middle of the back yard.  i hope it's not just wishful thinking.

here at 7420 we've seen much welcomed rain on the three previous nights.  probably it was too much to expect, rain on four consecutive nights.  there is still a chance of rain in the forecast for today.  a check of the radar shows a little something building in the southeast corner of colorado and moving in this general direction.

if it continues to build and if it holds together and if it finds its way to 7420 before midnight, it will have rained here 4 consecutive days.

if it doesn't grace us here, that's okay, we'll be happy for those drought stricken folks who do get it. 

such is the life of a dry land cotton farmer's son.  

aio   

three in a row... whoa!!

no rain, or wind, woke me on friday night. imagine my surprise when i finally dragged out of bed this morning to find that indeed it had again favored us with a downpour.  my rain gauge showed 0.7 inches with another 0.1 added through the morning. the system is moving away, spreading its bounty across other parts of this thirsty land.

i can't recall when we've had substantial rains three days/nights in a row. whatever, but in these parts it's a rare occurrence. if my gauge correctly reflected rainfall on wednesday night, the heavens (read our good Lord) have favored us here at 7420 with 4.3 inches of life sustaining moisture over these few days. even if that wednesday total was off, and an average for the area was used to figure a total, we'd be looking at 2.8 inches.  either way, things are very wet here and we are left feeling extremely blessed.

the forecast still has a small chance for rain through sunday.  my gut tells me we couldn't be that lucky.

or could we?  i guess we'll see.

aio
                                                                   

one, more, time!!!

here we go again!  yahoooooo!

pictured above is what is left of the system that rolled through little a-town around 5 in the a of m this morning.  rain, driven by the gusting wind, pecked away at the window at the head of my bed, waking me-- again. that's a problem i can live with. 

it was quite a surprise as the local weather gurus hadn't given much lip service to chances for rain during the night.  hey, whatever-- when you're smack dab in the middle of the worst drought since the 1950's you take the rain when it comes (as if you have a choice in the matter).

checking the rain gauge this morning showed something over and inch of moisture fell overnight.  or did i fail to empty the gauge yesterday morning?  whatever, the sprinkler system is off until these chances for rain fade into yesterday's memory.

like i said, we'll take whatever the clouds are willing to give, today and every day.

aio

 

                                                                   

rain...

"stop, children, what's that sound... everybody look what's going down..." jefferson airplane

in the wee hours of this morning, before the dawn of a new day peeked its head above the eastern rim, the sound of thunder and the insistent patter of rain on the roof dredged me from my slumber. pausing, not fully awake, not sleeping, i listened, unsure if what i was hearing was part of an unremembered dream.

"wow, it's raining" and sleep came again. from time to time the gentle rumble of thunder and a persistent tap dance on the roof told me that rain was still around. heaven!

the drought persists around these parts.  local tv reports that little a-town has received more rain than in 2011, some 9+ inches, but we are still 7 inches behind the average annual rainfall-- still bone dry.

i've seen reports of 2 inches of rain around the area with this system.  when i checked my rain gauge this morning i found a like amount. still, until i saw these reports i was unsure as someone around here has been known to help the gauge along via her garden hose; not helpful, but with good intent.

rain remains in the forecast for tonight with a better than even chance of rain tomorrow. predictions are for some small chance of rain through sunday night.

bring it on! we'll take all the clouds are willing to give, and more if we can get it.

(let it fall, let it fall, let it fall)
please don't stop the rain!
(let it fall, let if fall, let it fall)
please don't stop the rain!          james morrison

aio

alice...

                                                                  

it is a sad fact that we have as yet not been blessed with grandchildren.  in lieu we, perhaps foolishly, refer to our kiddos pets as grand-cats and grand-dogs. 

on tuesday we got a call from our daughter in new orleans reporting that one of her two cat's, alice, was not doing well-- not eating or drinking and thus not peeing or pooping, that she knew of at least.  over the last little bit she had reported that alice had been losing weight.  in truth, alice could lose some pounds without missing them at all.  K. lovingly called alice "sausage" and the last time i saw alice the name still fit.

on wednesday, alice was no better.  if anything she was worse having become unsteady on her feet as she tried to walk.  she had a 3:00 p.m. appointment with the vet to see what's what.  the answer--  without running $1200 dollars worth of tests, which might or might not explain alice's decline and perhaps point the vet to a solution which might or might not be effective, his educated guess was kidney failure or diabetes. our daughter certainly doesn't have that kind of money and though we love our daughter more than life itself, and we love alice as we do our own three kitties, we were not inclined to front what was unlikely to be a positive outcome.

facing the stark reality of circumstance our daughter made a brave, extremely tough decision--that being to put her sweet alice to rest.

she called when she got back home.  i cried buckets of tears as she told me of being there with alice, gently speaking words of love and comfort for her delightful companion of ten years. as she painted a picture of alice's last moments, i could hardly speak.  the words i so needed to share caught in my throat. 

as i write this tears are streaming down my face, not so much for alice, she is with gus and buddy, with roxie and velma in the kitty hereafter, but for K. who is nigh on to 900 miles away from the hugs and love no phone call or blog entry can sufficiently convey.  

k., i know you are in pain... i know you will miss her.  treasure your memories of miss alice, of your "sausage" and know that we too will treasure memories of our grand-cat.

                                                                 
alice (second from right) you were a wonder. R.I.P. 09/19/2012

aio

and the race is on...

                                                                   

the inaugural concerts of the amarillo symphony's 88th season are a done deal.  the season is aimed at selecting a new maestro. candidate number one is stilian kirov, a native of bulgaria, more recently serving as assistant conductor for the seattle and memphis symphonies.

it has been said "you never get a second chance to make a first impression".  now ain't that the truth! my first impression of stilian was positive.  he strode confidently onto the stage, conducted our national anthem in fine style and took his leave giving sway to the introduction of this year's symphony belles and beaus.

to the audition at hand.  i've heard it a million times from the judges on american idol, the voice and others.  song choice is key.  the same would apply to orchestral music as well it seems.  Leonard Bernstein's Candide Overture  and Serge Prokofiev's Violin Concerto, No. 2, op. 63, G minor --while ably conducted and played, both left me unimpressed.  Stilian's style is reminiscent of our previous maestro.  his hair, styled in a minor key, managed to convey the passion he is feeling for the music that was so telegraphed by maestro's hair in years past. 

intermission.

Ludwig von Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, op. 67, C minor.  from the first four notes -- pum! pum! pum! pum! --it's on!  Stilian and our Amarillo Symphony took us on a ride I'll not soon forget. Skillfully conducted, and yes we noticed there was no sheet music to refer to, and beautifully played; one word-- BRAVO!!!  A true, lengthy and much deserved standing O for Stilian and our merry little band of symphony musicians. way to bring on the big guns to finish with a bang!

song choice is key.

aio

Think blue TOO...

you may not be aware that September is national prostate cancer month. on a takeoff of the breast cancer awareness slogan "think pink"-- we have "think blue, too". if you see someone wearing a blue ribbon, most likely it is for national prostate cancer awareness month.

last year the agn printed an edition on pink paper to promote awareness of national breast cancer month.  little a-town has an annual susan g. komen 5-k run to promote awareness of breast cancer in women. 

in what may be a first anywhere in this country, today's edition of the agn was printed on blue paper.  there is no equivalent, on a national scale, to the susan g. komen "race for the cure" to spotlight the importance of prostate health screening in men.

locally, in 2007,  joe ed coffman picked up that torch for area men in the form of a "friends of fogelberg" concert. it is staged bi-annually in memory of dan fogelberg who died of prostate cancer at the age of 56.  there is hope that "friends of fogelberg", now a second-party fundraiser, will catch on across the nation ala the komen foundation.

funds from the concert are given toward prostate screenings for indigent and uninsured men through the don and sybil harrington cancer center.

anything the "friends of fogelberg" bunch can do toward raising awareness of the critical importance of prostate screening,  particularly in men aged 50 and beyond, is a potential life saver.  the agn reported last year's free screening found 10 men in the 300 screened who were referred for future monitoring. 

men are such pussies!  denial is our strong suit!  a "that'll never happen to me attitude" can lead to a personal, potentially fatal health crisis.  no man wants to think about suffering the indignity of his physicians annual "finger wave" exam.  but, it is over in seconds and should be seen as an investment in your longevity.

and let's face it guys, the "finger wave" is nowhere near as personal as the exams our ladies must suffer through.  think about it, you, on your back with your legs up in stirrups, splayed wide to facilitate a speculum exam or having your breasts squashed  during a mammogram.  what if a similar exam was required to document "your boys" continued health. ouches all the way around, right?

face it men, what we have to endure to monitor our prostate's continued health is nothing in comparison!

so men, swallow your foolish pride.  get your prostate checked, i did; and while your at it explore the need for a colonoscopy.  your future just might depend on it!

aio   

let there be light...

and there was light.  my last post ended with the HOPE that the power would soon be restored at the daughter's place there in new orleans.  her place is but one among hundred of thousands of homes and businesses affected by isaac. she bore the previous nights away in  an inky blackness broken only by candlelight, the stars and a rare blue moon.

what is hope, if not a form of prayer?  hope was rewarded last night about 8 in the p of m.  she was in the process of lighting her candles when the lights came on.  thankfully she would not have to withstand another anxiety ridden night in the dark, another night of humid discomfort with only the sound of cicadas singing to pierce the quiet of the march toward dawn. 

thank you entergy for your due diligence in not making my daughter be one of the ones whose power may not be restored before midweek. thank you to the powers that be for listening to our supplication for relief.

what is left of isaac is still doing its thing in indiana and kentucky as the currents steer him where they will.  there will be some good come of isaac's passing.  while the miseries of the folks along the gulf coast linger still, isaac's path will have left behind some much welcome moisture across parts of this drought plagued country.  for that too, we are grateful.

   aio                                                                        

too long gone...

                                                                  

there is no more helpless feeling than sitting here in little a-town with some guy named isaac bearing down on the big easy.  so what's the big deal about that? weeelll... that's where the daughter and her hubby live, in orleans parish in that hurricane magnet called new orleans, louisiana.

as far as that goes, they came through the storm mostly unscathed. oh, they did lose power around midnight as isaac snailed his way past out to the west of new orleans proper.  the problem is, going onto 72 hours later there still is no power at their place.

what WAS isaac is up at the top of illinois and indiana doing its thing while the daughter sits in her apartment off napoleon, stewing in her own juices.  miserable doesn't begin to describe the conditions. no power doesn't end with no lights, but also means no a/c... which anyone along the coast will tell you is a disaster in its own right.  sweating the day away is one thing but sweating all night, in the dark no less, is quite another.

it seems there are entergy trucks in the neighborhood this morning giving some hope that power will be restored in her lifetime.  that's another thing that's adding fuel to my angst; that being... all she, or i can do IS hope.

aio