Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I miss the ol' drought...

Well that was fun.

The last few days have easily dumped more rain on Atlanta since we were not affected at all by hurricane Katrina in 2004. We don't have any levees to break or anything, so talking about Atlanta flooding to a New Orleansianite is sort of like bitching about the cold to someone in North Dakota.

Still... what a mess.


This is the fancy Canoe Restaurant on the west side of town. If they reopen, they might want to change their name to something less nautical. Care for a bite at Towels Under the Door?

The rains have made many locals recall when our Idiot Governor Sonny Perdue prayed for rain back in the clutches of the drought two years ago. I'm sure he's counting this as a win, but he might want to not say that near the friends and family of the nine people that drowned.

And I blame Sonny as well. He should have known what he was stepping in. Responding to a rain prayer by extending the drought another 18 months and then washing the whole state into the Gulf of Mexico is normal behavior from God. You have to be very specific what you're asking for with him.

"Lord, we beseech thee for rain to ease our suffering and refill our reservoirs, but for that rain to not exceed five inches in any 10-day period and at no time should the volume of water exceed our drainage system's ability to absorb it, in thy mercy."

Personally, I'm thankful we didn't have a vicious cold snap long enough to get Sonny back on his knees. The last thing we need is for the whole state to catch fire.

But at least the drought is over. We have a lot of water thundering down the Chattahootchie River to Florida. If you're in Florida, be careful -- we had some treatment plants get overtopped and knocked offline, so some of that is pure, all-natural sewage! Enjoy!

Out in our area, things weren't so bad. We live on a slope, so we had a couple of new fast-moving rivers on the property that could have swept away a smallish rabbit. The creek the runs past the house, which is normally a placid three-foot-wide by six-inches-deep affair became a roiling whitewater some 30 feet across and 8 feet deep. THAT could have caused problems if anyone had been stupid enough to step in it.


Our more impressive creek

Our new river behind the yard

Our fence's new waterfall

Apart from Monday's traffic snarls, the most obnoxious part was trying to get the dogs to stay out long enough to do what they needed to do. We went through a lot of rubdowns, and there were still a couple of atypical indoor accidents.

So we're fine, but at least nine people are dead and a whole lot of others are displaced. If you want to help, it looks like most of the relief work is being taken on by the Red Cross, although there are spots available for volunteers. Of course, donations always welcome.

As I write this, the National Weather Service is predicting more rain in the area in the coming days. If you will excuse me, I'm going to head downtown and shove a wet, mildewed sock in Sonny's mouth.