Wet Weekend

Here is a photo of Lucy fishing in a creek, taken a few weeks ago at a birthday party. In an inspired piece of birthday party organization, my friend Jen had given each kid a garden cane fishing rod and gummi worms to tie on the end. They were entranced.

Here is that same creek on Sunday morning during the 10 inches of rain we received in 24 hours:

It was a torrent - hard to capture the speed and the violence of the water with a still shot. We didn't even dare let the girls out of the car in case they (Lucy) decided to get too close. It gives you a healthy dose of respect for mother nature when you can hear boulders bouncing down the creek bed.

I feel sorry for any tourists who'd booked a quick getaway in sunny Santa Barbara this weekend.

Still, as the eternal optimist - (and this is despite another leak developing in one of our tenant's ceilings...), there are advantages to stormy weather. It's not very often you get to cuddle up on the couch with a steaming mug of Aztec Chili Hot Chocolate imported from Hotel Chocolat. I bought this on a whim during our last visit to the UK. Damn you sterling and your deceptively low prices!! It sounded really good in the shop, as an icy May wind blew right through my thin Californian 'jacket'. Then we got back home to Santa Barbara, to the year round 72ºC sunny skies and the chocolate languished in the back of the cupboard. 

Bring it on Pacific storms - we're ready for you!