Erosion

So the rains came down, and the floods came up-literally! Here you see the back side of our largest tank at the ranch. I was unable to get all of the wash in one photo so I have taken a series of photos to show just how massive the rains have been lately.

Last night we received 5 in., Yesterday 2 in. and I am unsure how much before.
I am sure of what we saw this morning as we rode around checking it out.

First up, we see our large tank. Last summer this tank's size was increased in both diameter and depth to collect more water due to the drought of the last 5+years. The first photo shows the backside of the dam built.

As you can see it is significantly more full than it was before the spring rains.





These photos show the backflow tank designed for the large tank.











You can see how quickly the water was still flowing 5 hrs after the rains halted.













The big tank wasn't the only one running over. The little tank next to our house has not only filled, but has backed up to our yard.
The water came very close to flooding our workshop. With more rain in the forcast this is a distinct possiblility. We are bracing for the worst, yet all the while rejoicing in the abundant rain.

Finally, I wanted to show one of the roads.
Today we find ourselves water bound to a stretch of about 2 miles as we have a creek on either side of us that have both washed out the roads.





On one side of the road you can see how the creek has overtaken the fields. This is the high side of the same road.







This is the low side . The water was deep and fast. So you can see that our blessed rain has allowed for some fun exploration and a great excuse to take photos.

Sustenance

With the abundance of rain filling our tanks, we decided it was time to plant a garden.
Well, we started one and found that it quickly became much too small. So, we ended up planting a second one of the same size.

Among the foods we planted are: Cucumbers, Carrots, lettuce, corn, okra, beans, tomatoes, watermelon, squash, Jalapenos,and zucchini. To spice up our lives we also planted onions, lavender, rosemary, and thyme. We are looking forward to our upcoming grub, but at the moment we only have tomatoes blooming.

Visitors

Last night as we opened our front door to let one of the dogs in, we found 3 baby mud robins who appeared dazed and unable to get to their nest. We decided that it was too late at night for these sweet things to stay outside without the safety of their nest, so we took them in and Jeremiah made a cage for them. They rested peacefully through the night.

The boys are so very excited, as our oldest son has wanted a pet bird for a long time. He is going to have to come to the realization that we must set them free. It is nice to have visitors, especially such unique ones. The great thing about visitors, though, is that they come and then they go. Just enough time is spent to enjoy each other and not enough to feel captive! So, we will be saying good-bye to our newly found friends and wish them all the best on their travels!

Red

So, I decided it is time for a new color.

Just as there was a lot of purple there is a lot of red around here.

Some is strangely unique and dangerous
while some border on exotic

The color to be found here is simply remarkable whether hidden in a crevice or boldly displayed.