As of this writing, there hasn't been much rain for a few days, but I still feel damp. The ground is soggy when I walk the dog in the morning, and the dew soaks my shoes. And there's that whole matter of having rarely seen the sun for going on two weeks previously, thanks to back-to-back hurricanes and their remnants passing through and dumping buckets full of water.
I don't like to complain about the rain, so I won't. Actually, while I'm not crazy about being sequestered indoors during a spate of wet weather, I'm inclined to look on the bright side of cloudy days.
A few cases in point are worth going over — some good news about the rain, so to speak — at least in my mind. I'm fortunate enough to live at a spot that, according to the topographical map that pops up on the National Weather Service web site, is 499 feet above sea level, and about a mile from the nearest creek that's too big to step across. I've been fortunate, therefore, to not have been affected firsthand by the floods of recent years, though I have family members in Harrisburg, Pa., who keep an eagle eye on the Susquehanna River during hurricane season.
I guess this being in relative safety from the storms makes me so willing to look at the positive side of them.
The best thing that came out of this latest double-whammy of storms, at least in my mind, is that the newly-rebuilt Forest Hill Community Pond has been refilled with water. After the first storm, Irene, passed through, there was a short break in the rain and I happened to get a chance to walk around the pond.
For those who are unfamiliar with the popular picnic and playground spot, I'll give you this background: The pond has a small island in the center, connected by wooden bridge to the mainland. It's stocked with a few hundred trout each spring, so it's a popular fishing spot. Unfortunately, in recent years the banks had eroded, the outflow function appeared to have been compromised and silt had filled in much of the water.
Earlier this year, the county parks and rec operation undertook an effort to upgrade the outflow mechanism, remove the silt and put erosion preventing rocks around the shoreline. Also installed have been walkways and a short boardwalk enabling people to easily get to the pond to fish or feed fowl.
The grass hasn't fully grown in yet, so the pond's not open to public use yet; it's surrounded by that plastic orange temporary fencing, but I managed to walk around the outside of the fence and get a good look at the pond between the storms when it was about half full (not really half empty because it was filling up).
I had two main reactions, the first being that the new pond looks a lot nicer than what it replaced, and a lot more able to deal with the large numbers of people who recreate there. The other thing that stands out in my mind is the large number of snapping turtles that already had taken up residence. The day I was there, they had congregated around a dead goose and were having a feast.
After the last storm, I drove by the pond again and I'm happy to report it's filled with water, so it's just a matter of time before it's a nice place to visit again.
This particular example of a positive effect of all the rain is spiced up a bit by the usual wet weather bright spots: I'm sure the grass will green up at the pond, just like it did in my yard, as a result of the heavy weather. And there's the matter of our springheads. Though there was plenty of runoff and flooding, I'd venture a fair amount of water soaked into the ground and has recharged a few aquifers around the area, which will help keep the creeks flowing and ponds full for another season or two. Plus, as those of you on well systems are aware, it's a good thing to have a full aquifer.
All in all, I've come to realize there's not much you can do about the weather, so you might as well find a way to enjoy it, no matter what it brings.