Rainstorm

It rained all through the night. The temperature dropped and the wind kicked up. Our drought problems are over. 

The barn is mostly leak free now. I found one spot in the far corner stall. Carrie hired Jason to come through and fix the leaks that Kyle never did. 

Jason's friend put up the gutters and they were working as intended. Water was pumping through and Lake Wannagutter was closer to pond size than actual lake. I tried to take a picture, but Sam thought I was walking up to offer him food.

I took some pictures of the gutters in action instead.

Loki (and my fingertips) tried to hop in.

While we're not sure how much rain fell overnight, the arena offered a clue. There was more standing water than the previous rainstorm.

We have lots of photogenic animals. I was able to get a shot of the pond without anyone blocking the view the second time around. It was better than before, but more water than we hoped for.

We noticed a new tributary feeding into the pond, as well. Carrie and I talked about diverting it, but then the storm kicked it up a notch.

For the next hour, the rain came down in buckets. It was so loud in the barn that Sam and Maddy started prancing in their stalls. Sam started to act like he was going to panic, so we turned them out into the storm.

Nibs said there was no way she was leaving her warm, dry stall!

I took a picture of the mini-flood in progress. The stream from the driveway overflowed to the point it started to flow across and down the driveway otherwise we may have had water in the stalls.

The flow from the gutters picked up proportionally.

The heavy rain lasted for about two hours.

We watched from inside the house.

When the rain stopped, Carrie and I went out to look at the tributary. She pulled out the mattock before I could and then refused to hand it over. I would have preferred for her to rest her foot and knee, but she was stubborn and put her years of YCC experience to use.

I called out Shane when we were done and he was fascinated (the kid loves water).

I discovered a leak in the car when it was time for church. The front passenger wheel well was flooded. There had been a highlighter down there, so everything looked more yellow than it had a right to be.

I spotted where the water was coming in, but there's not a lot I can do with it right now. The Volvo is my "drive till it dies" ride. It's got 114k miles on it and I'm only going to fix the minimal to keep it moving. I may have to remember to park it in the garage for rain in the future.

The rain quieted down, but it was still a wet afternoon. I started to build a coat rack with Shane, but Carrie jumped in. His antics and her nerves made a poor combination, but the rack was built nonetheless.

We used electronics to quiet down and finish off the day.

We learn something new about the barn every turn. We'll get it functioning one day. I told Carrie that I actually enjoy the problem solving process and like figuring things out with her. I wasn't lying either. It'll be nice to not have all the odds and ends going wrong here and there, but when I look at them as a puzzle to solve it makes the process of getting there more fun.