Torrential rain makes for a difficult week. Local bridges are declared unsafe. Verges are washed away. Roads are under water.
I worry about my mother and set off to see her. And a lengthy diversion means a journey that would normally be 15 minutes takes three times as long.
At least I manage to get there. Dodging the flooded bits in the chief’s 4 x 4.
Just a wee bit of rain
And when I arrive at her house on the loch, she is fine. Listening to the radio and drinking a cup of tea.
Because not a lot fazes the oldies. Especially a wee bit of rain.
Unlike we middle agers. Returning home in another torrential downpour is not the best time to discover that the driver’s windscreen wiper blade needs replacing.
When last was it so wet?
We have known it for a while, but something is going on weatherwise. Because I do not recall it ever being this wet.
Or maybe it was, and the little grey cells are fading…
It has the makings of a long winter. And it is still only autumn.
At least the green tomatoes are making an effort; now picked and on a tray they are slowly ripening on the top of the boiler.
A milestone birthday
Then all this rain does not seem to bother the young, either. This week our neighbour’s daughter celebrates a milestone.
She has just become a teenager and her mum has erected a tent in their garden; in which she – the birthday girl, not the mother, that is – will overnight with six of her school friends.
I keep all fingers and toes crossed for this intrepid band. But as they arrive, presents in hand, the heavens open and they refuse to close.
And that, you might think, would be the end of the outdoor adventure. But not a bit of it.
Rain does not stop play
Sleeping bags are found, towels are at the ready, and the party goes on; our giggling team staying several nights under canvas.
Excited chatter and peels of girlish laughter can be heard from the wigwam affair.
They are drinking lemonade and eating cake whilst the rain drums relentlessly on the roof
They make them hardy here in Scotland. Unlike my doggies.
MacNaughties say no to rain
Because the weather seems to give the MacNaughties another excuse to be lazy.
Delilah the Chow Chow sniffs a very damp air. She digs her paws in and will not go past the back door.
Bennie the Norfolk puppy, meanwhile, takes one look and goes off to find another toy to destroy inside.
Whilst Barra the Cocker Spaniel senses discomfort without even stirring from his bed. He opens one eye, sighs, and goes back to sleep.
We’re not the wettest, but we’re close
We are not the wettest region in Scotland. That unwanted accolade goes apparently to Argyll.
But here in Dumfries and Galloway, our puddles are so deep, and our grass is so green that we must be a close second.
Rain, rain, go away. Perhaps those brainy climate change boffins can come up with some sort of solutions in Glasgow…
