Rain, rain, you’re too wet,
Go away ‘til our house is set.

That’s the mood at the moment. Rain has been our latest nemesis trying to get the house finished. For the last two weeks, we’ve seen more rainy days than sunny days. This is unusual for a region that normally sees more than three hundred days of sunshine a year. Any other time, I’d be cheering for as much rain as Mother wants to deliver. And for all I care, it can rain even more—after our house is up the mountain and sitting on the foundation.

Once more, we’re on the schedule to pour the slab. With luck, by Monday afternoon, we’ll be carving our initials and the date into the concrete. According to the (ever-changing) weather report, the next couple of days will be pleasant before yet /more/ precipitation arrives. Oh joy. The region, being already saturated, can go under another areal flood watch at any time.

An areal flood happens slowly, unlike a flash flood. Where a flash flood is exactly what it sounds like—a flood that happens in a ‘flash’—areal flooding can happen six or more hours /after/ the rain has occurred. It is the product of all the drainage feeding into already swollen rivers and full lakes. When existing rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are at capacity, the water has nowhere to go but everywhere else. That’s when it becomes the most dangerous. Because that’s when it fills all the low spots.

Not that I think our property will have a problem with areal flooding, mind you. But, all that excess moisture in the ground could cause the gravel road to be slippery in all the wrong places. When one is hauling a load in motion up a steep mountain, any instability in the road base could be an issue. Our road is a challenge on a good day. I can’t imagine trying to drive a concrete truck, or three, up that mountain. The last couple of days have been rain-free, albeit overcast and humid. The weather-guessers forecast this drying trend to last just long enough to get the concrete poured. (crossed fingers)

Then, and only then, will I feel unstuck. We’ll see how the week goes.