I shouldn't have blinked

[gerisullivan]

Two days ago at this time, Wilma was still a tropical depression expected to reach tropical storm status on Monday. Now she's a Category 5 hurricane. At 892 millibars, she's already claimed the record for lowest pressure observed this season. I am concerned about other records she could and may well set in the days to come.

The whole weather thing really is all too much right now. How can I regale readers with entertaining theories about the bizarre disappearance of water from my pond following the 6.30 inches of rain that fell here in the early hours last Saturday when such devastation appears headed for land? Of what consequence are 55 mph wind gusts that are so yesterday's news when Wilma sports speeds three times that and more?

Heck, I wasn't even here last weekend; I was thankfully high and dry at Joe and Edie's, and missed the whole thing. The only signs awaiting my return were an entire season's worth of driveway erosion achieved in the course of a weekend, and the lowest water level I've ever yet seen in my pond. It was at the highest level ever when I drove away in Friday afternoon's rain. Not yet overflowing the rocks that line the pond's edge, but 6 inches of rain would have changed that. So what caused the water to drop far lower than it's ever been, exposing 5+ inches of pond liner and turning the low end into a soggy mudflat?

I dunno. The 12x20' pond seems to be holding the water I added to bring it back up to its normal level. And I'm going to toddle off for some sleep in the hope that it will help me better hold up through whatever more the coming days end up dumping on us all. 'Cause right now, I can't even generate enough energy to enjoy the Powerball fantasy du jour. Though winning would leave me in a better position to help both myself and others in the wake of all these storms....

"Don't you remember when the music was a rock that we could cling to so we'd not despair?"

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"Once upon a time was a backbeat
"Once upon a time all the chords came to life
"And the angels had guitars even before they had wings
"If you hang on to a chorus you get through the night"

B

Keeping the beat

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. Very good. New to me, too. Thank you!

Remember everything that I told you
Well I’m telling you again that it’s true
When you’re alone and afraid
And you’re completely amazed
To find there’s nothing anybody can do
Keep on believing
And you’ll discover baby

There’s always something magic
There’s always something new
And when you really, really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through
The beat is yours forever
The beat is always true
And when you really, really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through...for you...

There's a lovely concreteness and aural memory to "keep the beat" that makes it far more useful to me than the more traditional "keep the faith."

Small world phenomenon: Lyricist Jim Steinman went to Amherst, which is about 30 miles from me.

WoW

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

I assume a lot of the rain is the left-over from the hurricanes pounding away in the south. Parts of Mpls had a gully washer a week or so ago, but nothing like the east has been getting.

Could the wind have blown the water out?

Re: WoW

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

The gully washer that hit Minnesota and Wisconsin croggled my mind. Then it started raining here....

As Joe put it, usually the hurricanes are still strong enough to blast through whatever the area weather is at the time. But Hurricane Tammy ended up stuck between two highs and just sat here, pouring her rain down on everyone

The wind blowing the water out was the first of the bizarre possibilities that occurred to me. Don't know. Doesn't seem likely -- the area is awfully protected, but I have seen the treetops swirl in amazing patterns during previous high winds, so maybe.

I also wondered if the rain-sodden ground underneath had perhaps shifted in ways that caused a sharp rock to cut through the lining, but that doesn't appear to be the case as it's holding water well now. My current best guess is that in the downpour, an alternate erosion path formed, diverting water away from its normal path down the waterfall. That would have left the pump dumping water into the upper pond but only a fraction of that water then making it back down to the main pond. If so, the density of the water celery probably aided and abetted the storm. The stuff serves as a water filter, but also tends to clog things up, especially when the roots are really dense. I've just chilled my fingers to the bone and mud-splashed the N4 shirt I was going to wear to tonight's MCFI meeting ripping mass quantities of the stuff out, and more water now appears to be flowing downwards.

As usual

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

Always good to hear from you. Please keep us posted.

Nate

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I vote that it was a mysterious low intensity waterspout.