Rain in South Texas--At Last!

Most of Texas has been drought-ridden for too long.  Several counties had passed laws forbidding the sale and use of fireworks, which can really get to some of these folks  -- don't mess with their sidearms OR their fireworks!!  In any event, the ban has been lifted because it rained.  Boy-howdy, did it rain.  Last week in a little less than two hours we had two and one-half inches of rain.  Of course, with the ground so dry and hard-packed, it was hard to see it soak in.  And naturally, if it can't soak in, it has to go someplace.  Here in the mobile park the streets do have large drain grates, but water was running to fast and furious, it couldn't get down the drain either.

The photo with the small palm is taken from our front porch towards the corner of our yard--we live on a corner--you can see the street stop sign behind the palm.  The streets intersect, but you'd be hardpressed to see where!

The water was about one inch deep at the bottom of the porch steps (out of camera view), but you can see it crossed the yard and was up and down the streets into the yards across the way. I had never seen whirlpools here in the park streets, but again, it was running plenty fast. (I wonder if that is how things look around here when the residual rains from the hurricanes come through?)

This little eddy of leaves and debris came from up the street and was moving quite rapidly.   The last photo is of the house across the street from us.  That little wishing well in his front yard really got a soaking!

It was quite amazing that when we arrived in town the week before the grass in everyone's yard was brown as rusty straw.  After 24 hours, things were incredibly green.  Ken has had to mow the grass twice in the last week, and since it rained again this afternoon (and is forecast to rain sporadically for several more days, methinks he will be doing more of the same. 

On a happy note, Ken may not have to do a lot more yardwork as we are hoping to pack up and be leaving once again in a week or 10 days.  We may get to the west coast, yet!