When it rains....

....it pours.

So about a month ago in May we got a big rain.  It rained hard and it rained all night and day.  I knew it was going to be wet, but when I let the dog out in the morning I didn't expect to have sudden lake front property.

You can see the neighbor's pool in underwater, but don't worry no water in the house.

There is a pond across the street that serves as a catch/holding from the water flowing from the golf course.  It then travels down a creek/ditch to a series of other retention areas.  Most of the year this pond is bone dry, (we have had a drought here for several years) but in the summer it usually fills as it's the rainy season.  I guess this rain was just too much too fast and the ponds didn't have time to drain out before they overflowed.
By noon the water had receded back  and while it still held in the park area it wasn't covering the road anymore.
So that made for some good play for the dog and the kids...

 This picture is for comparison.  I'm standing in my driveway and you can see the Hubs holding the baby in the distance.  Notice the mailboxes to the left, they had water about half way up.

These two are loving that the water is at this level.  Perfect for running amok.

I love this picture.  The moss on the trees, the ferns, the water and my boy...it looks amazing.  Really makes me wish I had the dream Canon, but for now we will deal with what I have.  I can make it work. :)

"Look, Mom, these two frogs are nibbling each other."   Ha.  That's right, buddy, they sure are.

Now this tropical storm Debby is in the Gulf and she's really dumping a lot of water. We spent most of Sunday the same way we spent the day back in May, playing in the water.

There's our cool neighbor Mr. Bill.  The blur of dogs is our black lab and Mr. Bill's  white fluffy dog.  There were also accompanied by Mountie's brother, a yellow lab, and a weimaraner pup.  I couldn't really get any good shots because they were in full speed play.

This picture is really dark and bad, but I added it because you can sort of see the mailboxes behind my hubs.  And that area behind them is the park that was ankle deep in the previous pictures.
It eventually got too dark to play or take pictures so we had to head in for warm baths.

When I woke up on Monday morning my hubs was still in bed.  I thought maybe he set the clocks wrong, since we had lost power on Sunday for about 3 hours.  I give him a shake and he tells me that he couldn't get out of the neighborhood.   Towards the front the roads were completely underwater.  About 9am, he ventured out again and was able to get the truck through.  So off to work he went.  
I got panicky around noon and called him to come home.  I was afraid that if it kept raining he wouldn't be able to get back to the house.  I mean, I guess he could have parked and walked across the course, but I didn't care, it felt safer with him home.  So he came back, to be with his family :)
The whole neighborhood was out buzzing around.  A few houses got water last time so there were some kind guys getting sand bags from the fire dept and bringing them to those in need.
We heard rumors that the golf course was doing bad.  There are a couple quarry holes that this course is known for on what you golfers would call the "back nine."  I guess all the rain caused some major landslides.  So we went with our other neighbor on his golf cart to check it out.

 

Here I'm standing on one side about the same height up as the house across the quarry.  You can see the small landslides on the opposite cliff.  In front of me is a huge drop off that also ran down.  The water on the left is not supposed to be there, nor all the dirt mess on the fairway.

 What a disaster.  I'm not sure what they are going to do about this.  For now, the course is closed.  I can't imagine the amount of machinery and money it will take to clear this out.  I'm not a golfer, but this is a beautiful area.  I hope they give an effort to clean it up.

Today it seemed that the water was the same, but it had actually receded a little bit.  More people were able to get out and go to work.  And there were men working on the golf course, cutting the grass and picking up debris.  Still along way to go, but things are looking up.

This is the main access for the neighborhood to get in and out.  Right now, only big trucks and SUVs can pass.  I'm hopeful that the house did not get any water.  They had sand bags blocking up their front door.  The land next to them is a vacant lot turned river from all water running off the golf course looking for somewhere to go.
For now the rain seems to be holding off and I believe the storm is making land fall up in the panhandle.
Seems as though Mother Nature heard everyone's request for rain.  She literally opened the flood gates.
Hope y'all are staying dry or playing in the rain.

Strolling

A couple days ago the whole fam went for a stroll around the hood.
 Daddy with the leashed dog, me with the baby in the stroller and Ryder on his bike.  It was nice, we all had a good time.
Today, although Dad was in town at a basketball game, I thought I would recreate the act without the dog.  Baby, Ryder and myself around the block.   Simple.
I  gather everybody up.  Baby in stroller, Ryder on bike, let's move out.  The dog is barking like crazy, because he wants to go too.  Sorry pooch, not enough hands and you don't behave 100%.  He keeps barking, but we proceed.
It's nice.  We're just two houses down and Ryder wants to stop and pick some wildflowers out of the field for me.  Sweet boy.
Our neighbor comes out with his dog to chat and help Ryder get every color azalea off the bushes in his yard.  Very patient man Mr Bill.  A great neighbor. 

PINK AZALEA IN OUR BACKYARD GETTING POLLINATED BY A BUMBLEBEE

We get back on our way.  I can still hear our dog barking.
Some other neighbors stop in their car to get out and have a peek at the baby.  Nice.  He is a cutie.
As they pull away other people from the community are coming up the road with their dogs.  They are beautiful (the dogs, not the people)
Ryder stops again for more flowers for me, so I make small talk with the newcomers.  The dogs are some sort of Egyptian breed, tall and thin, show dogs.  Cool.  The lady is talking about the 'gentle leader' leashes they have on.  She's telling me I would be able to walk my dog and everybody else in my pack if I had one of these.  I'm smiling and nodding, the baby is stirring and I need to get moving.  As I turn to go she has a slight look of panic in her eye and says, "Is that your dog...."
(This next part happens in minutes, seconds maybe)
I turn to look down the street.
Mind you, we are only about 4 houses down, just right at the corner.
Out of the corner of my eye I see MountieBoo tearing at us.  He is running at us like a greyhound, full speed ahead.
So fast it looks like he's smiling.
The lady turns to get out of Dodge while saying..."we're just gonna keep moving, we don't want any trouble."
Trouble... ??
What the heck is she talking about??
Trouble?
From who the big galoot who's galloping at us??
Trouble?.. Like this is some sort of stick up.
Is my dog not pure enough to hang with your fancy dogs??
I'm so confused, I'm not even sure how to respond.
But what I'm really thinking is...
Holy Crap! how in the heck am I going to catch this dang mutt with the baby in the stroller, while keeping an eye on my other kid who has now abandoned his bike?
And how in the heck did the dang dog even get out?    
He better not have dug a hole!
So the lady kind of  run/walks away and, of course, our 'smart' dog barrels right at her and her husband and their show dogs.
Great.
They keep going, so does he.
God love him, he just wants to play.  He's running, jumping, just  a hot mess.
Somehow, by the grace of God, they stop retreating and I'm able to grab his collar.
He immediately realizes he's caught and in big trouble and gives up.
Again. Thank God.
So
Now I have the stollered baby and the dog by the collar.  Actually one finger in the ring in his collar so it stays tight and he doesn't try to shimmy out.  I'm looking at the bike wondering what my next move should be...
The show dog owners are practically out of sight at this point.  Thanks people.
I tell Ryder to go to the house and get the leash.  At least he will be safe in the yard or house while I comically walk, slowly, with everyone else in tow, hoping something doesn't catch Mountie's eye and he bolts tearing off my vulnerable finger.
Mr Bill appears like a saint, with leash in hand.
I hadn't even realized he disappeared.
He must have saw the whole scene play out when the dog was rounding the corner out of the driveway.   He managed to get his dog inside his house and reappear to save the day in seconds.  Smart, kind man.
 This could have been a real Greek tragedy.
 Instead it was hilarious.
Thank you Mr. Bill.
In the end, we did end up going for a walk.
All of us.
Even the dog.
And he did dig a hole.
Right under the fence.