It is REALLY raining. It is REALLY pouring.

It is and has been raining so hard since yesterday that I decided NOT to hike with my dogs this morning and just took them around the neighborhood instead. I can’t really ever remember doing that. Maybe once. I do have a few trails that aren’t too bad or dangerous when it is raining, but I was worried about even getting to those trails today. We have flood, thunderstorm, and mud slide warnings in affect. They are recommending that if you don’t have to be out to stay home. So, it was just a neighborhood walk instead because of the potential danger and hazards. Even with that (and I had boots and full rain gear on), we were all drenched. Through the boots into the socks. Through the rain pants. Through the rain coat.

Today is trash day. There is so much water trying to drain off that it is carrying off trash bins. I saw one go sliding along for two houses until it ran into a car, stopping it. It was common to see four and five trash bins all lumped together turned around or tipped over. Here all trash pick up is “automated” where the truck comes with two metal arms and “lifts” the bin dumping the contents into the truck. There is only one trash collector who drives the truck. There is no way that most people’s trash is getting picked up today. I saw one trash truck just leaving the neighborhood, probably shaking his head because it is such a mess.

Complete intersections in my neighborhood are flooded up past ankle deep, which is why my boots and socks got soaked.

I was thinking of going shopping or to a movie today, but maybe I will just stay home and go into cave mode instead. It will probably just get worse from here on out if we get as much rain as predicted. We have rain in the forecast for as long as they are predicting, through next Monday at least. If they are right and we don’t get any let up, it is going to be a dangerous mess here. In some ways I am glad that I have the week off for vacation. On the other hand, what a waste of a vacation week since I will probably be house bound for most of it.