A morning walk

It’s been raining for three days and three nights now.  We broke the record for yearly rainfall sometime back in October.  The Bogs are saturated.  Nobody is building an ark yet, but it might happen soon.

Me in my Vibrams early this morning

Since I can’t seem to shake this flu, I decided to take it outside for an early morning walk after glancing outside and noticing that the rain had temporarily ceased.  It was jokingly suggested that I put on my waders.  I don’t have waders and still haven’t invested in a  pair of Muck boots.  It was highly likely I’d end up with wet feet so I did the sensible thing and wore my Vibrams.  I figured if I was going to be squishing about in the puddles, pools, and small ponds that have formed as a result of all the rain, I might as well go almost barefoot.

Locust trees on a gray day

I was surprised by how warm it felt.  After all, it’s almost December.  My feet were soaked as soon as I stepped off the driveway pavement.  The ground is beyond squishy.  It is liquifying and being carried downhill into the pond as mud.

View from the back of the pond this morning

Now that the trees are bare, you can see the neighbors’ McMansions off to the left in the above photo.  They are not as close as they appear, and during the months when there are leaves on the trees, you probably wouldn’t notice them at all.

Drenched

I greeted the ducks who have settled in and on and around the pond.  They don’t seem to mind me as long as I walk slowly and don’t get too close.  A chickadee led the way towards the woods, hopping from branch to branch on the bushes that line the pond, ti-ti’ing along the way.  The kingfisher scolded me before he took off, flying to wherever he hides when I come by.  A crow cawed and a rooster crowed somewhere in the distance.  The pond rippled with fish swimming near the edges.

I’m glad I went out when I did.  A little while later the sky darkened even more, the wind started gusting, and the rain came pelting down at an angle.  It almost looked like snow at first.

Nestled in the arbor vitae tree

My feet and the lower portion of my legs were covered in mud by the time I finished my walk.  One of the great things about the Vibrams is that you can just rinse (or, in this case, hose) them off.  I’ve heard you can throw them in the washer, but I haven’t tried that yet.

I did not go down to the woods because the creek has expanded well beyond its banks, covering most of the lower area of the woods.

Misty woods

Normally you would not be able to see the creek in the view above.  It would be much farther back.

Zooming in on the creek

The sun has made a few brief appearances today, but never long enough for me to grab the camera to prove it.

Reaching for the sky

We might even get some snow tonight.  It won’t stick around or accumulate.  The ground is too warm and wet for that.  But it sounds as if it might be our first decent snowfall of the season.

Tree branch and reflection

I have a quick question for you WordPress folks:  How do you feel about reblogging?  Do you use it?  Have you had any of your posts reblogged?  (I’ll explain why in another post.)

Tree branch and reflection II

That’s it from me for today.  Thank you for dropping by and joining me on my morning walk.  Perhaps I’ll have some snow to show you tomorrow.  🙂

Down the drain. (The pond drain, which is working hard lately to keep the pond at a reasonable level.)

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