Down Came The Rain

 I spent the morning shoveling rock and sprinkling grass seed. Yes, the forecast said rain, but, as everyone knows, forecasts are fickle. Besides, even though I watered the areas I tossed seed on, a good rain would be welcome.

It was a lovely sunny hot day. We decided to have some burgers on the grill. I cleaned the kitchen, gave Dora, the turtle her weekly bath and cleaned her habitat while waiting for the coals to heat. Folded the two loads of laundry while HeWho grills grabbed the meat I had prepared. I yelled to him to grill the package of hot dogs to reheat for lunch the next day.

Said hot dogs were in the fridge, most people keep them there. He could not find them. Translation ... they were not immediately in his view on the top shelf. I found them and took them out to him. Then I carried the turtle habitat out the door to dump the water and turtle waste onto a flower bed. I noted the breeze had picked up and it was over cast.

Suddenly the rain fell from the sky and after 5 minutes, this is what my yard looked like. My heart sank as I watched the water headed to the ravine, with my grass seed! You can see HeWho grills at the end of his truck grilling on the bright blue grill. He disdains gas grills, preferring charcoal. In his later years, he has finally perfected the use of the charcoal lighter fluid and the food is actually edible. My kids like to think back on their early years and Dad grilling burgers that always tasted like charcoal lighter.

The rain caught us totally off guard. The shed door hangs open and the chairs are sitting outside and not on the porch. Oh, and HeWho grills is trapped out there under the carport!!

I was safely on the screened porch, watching and bemoaning the fact that although we have two big umbrellas, both were in my car. He is in the carport, so what is the problem with that? Do you see my car in the carport? No, you do not. It is parked out in the open, in the downpour!

Even the golf cart has a better parking space than I do!! My car is off to the right parked next to the trashcans. When we moved here there was rock all the way up to the steps that go up to the porch and then back to the edge of the shed. Made the "front" yard a parking lot. I had a vision and it did not include the rock. I have been working on the rock since before we officially moved in. I raked and hoed and shoveled at least twice a week. To be fair, HeWho rarely resorts to manual labor helped. But yesterday I finally finished. Then I tossed grass seed out. My third bag. First bag was for the dog yard and the second bag had been applied as I made progress moving the rock. I was just gleeful and I seeded the entire front yard. Now the ravine has been seeded, like it wasn't already a pain to weed whack!

My woes don't end there. The turtle habitat that HeWho purchased without consulting the person who takes care of the turtle, that resembles a giant dishpan. Plastic, opaque blue, one end for water, the other end dry with rock. All this time I have been hefting this out to pour the water out and struggling to keep the rock from falling out. I am loathe to waste the turtle waste, instead using it on my plants. But the habitat is bulky and hard to carry.

Yesterday, when I brought it back into the house, after removing all the turtle toys and rocks, carefully scrubbing them clean, then treating Dora to her bath with a soft bristle toothbrush that she loves, I  discovered something I have overlooked for months. A PLUG. Same color and tiny. Small enough to keep the rock from going down the drain. Do I feel stupid? Why, yes, yes I do!